Guys, I heard that the 3G version is available in Singapore and there were news about the iPhone can be unlocked at Apple stores in the United States. Does it move the same way for the ones sold in Singapore?

Nobody knows, Singtel is keeping mum on details.

Singtel should be mirroring Optus's business model, seeing how Singtel owns Optus. Whether that means they allow no-contract iPhones or only offers contract-based ones remains to be seen.

Unlocking here can mean a lot of things. Unlocked to be used with sim cards from within the country of origin only, or unlocked to be used by ANY foreign sim cards? Belgian, Switzerland and a lot of the European unlocks are unlocks of the first nature: Unlocked to be used with sim cards form country of origin. Exception seems to be the Italian iPhones.

Asia and Oceanic region, only HK and New Zealand seems to have the unlocks to be used with any foreign sim cards. Optus still is locked to be used only with sim cards from Australia only.

All this will not matter once software unlocks from Dev Team is made available, that is the universal unlock. A lot of folks here are holding off for Singaporean launch, thinking of maintaining the close proximity as an added advantage in case of the need to return the unit when defective, but if Singtel(later Starhub and M1) do not provide no-contract unlocked units, what is the point of waiting for the Singaporean launch? The moment you dive in and starts unlocking using Dev Team unlocks, your warranty is void, and the advantage of having Singapore close by is gone.

after the launch .. a sudden surge of "noobs" keep posting new topics or ..." i heard.. .." ... this is getting out of hand

What I know is that the 3G iPhone is definately coming to S'pore.. but not sure when and not sure if it's selling without contract

Apple Singapore

What happens when it is contract-basis only? Live in Singapore?

For those people that are hoping for the Singapore launch, the price and the no contract phone availability are not known as of today. So most of the "news" or "I heard" are just speculations. Wait till Singtel makes the announcement themselves.

@stringfellow
Most of the people are waiting for the Singapore launch because they think they can get the warranty. But if we bought a non contract phone from other place i.e Australia or NZ, won't we able to claim warranty from Apple Singapore too since we're not tied to any contract (provided we restore the phone to clear the jailbreaking)? Last time with the 1st gen phone we can't do this because the phone only available in the US and EU only. If this is true then it doesn't matter where we purchase the phone because we still can claim the warranty from Apple Singapore. Right?

well having said that, even though if apple singapore refuses to provide warranty. you can be assured that they have the correct personnel and expertise to repair your iphone and of course the parts used are OEMs.




thats comforting enough for me because no more self-experiment to disassemble my own iphone without all those cold sweats and hand shaking stances.

That may not be the case. You see, in Singapore's case, the iPhone is not sold through any of the Apple's retail stores. Warranty-wise would still be restricted to region of purchase, so if you're thinking of claiming warranty from Singapore and choosing that fact as the reason why you're waiting for the Singapore launch, there may be other factors that would hinder that. Plus, iPhone warranties are not worldwide, you still have to return to the country of purchase for returns.

For example, we dont know how "unlocked" the iPhones are from Singapore. They may be locked tight, or unlocked only to Singaporean telcos. If this is the case, then you still have to jailbreak it, and therefore voiding your warranty. And from past experiences, Apple do know if you've been "naughty" with your iPhones.

My fascination with NZ iPhones is that, it requires ZERO jailbreaking or unlocking at all. I can simply slip in the sim card, and Celcom works right away. That way, if things break down, I still have a non-tempered with iPhone for claims and warranty from New Zealand. Granted my case might be unique, thanks to my travel opportunities and such, but I'm ready to take advantage of these circumstances. Now, if Singaporean iPhones mirrors the case of the NZ iPhones, then hurrah! No need to get from NZ already!

If I'm able to get the NZ iPhones, I'm planning to leave this unit unmolested as it is, and use the first gen as the jailbroken unit.

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Added on July 13, 2008, 1:52 pmWiht one condition: Provided that Singaporean iPhones are unlocked right out of the box and ready for use with our sim cards, without jailbreaking.

The moment that is the case, I'll be on the first flight out to Changi myself!

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jul 13 2008, 01:52 PM

Is it confirmed that the warranty are restricted to region of purchase? I thought that only applied to 1st gen phone since its not available worldwide (is this the correct term ) before.

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Added on July 13, 2008, 2:15 pmLet say we bought the phone in Australia or NZ (which is a non contract phone that needs no jailbreaking or unlocking) and then went to US. Suddenly lady luck is not with us and spoil the phone. Can't we just walk in any apple store and claim the warranty? Or do we need to return it back to Australia or NZ? If its the latter then what a bummer.

This post has been edited by frozzbyte: Jul 13 2008, 02:17 PM

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iPhone...ation_Guide.pdf

One-year limited warranty information is in that PDF file. Whichever region you purchase from, the warranty information still links to that PDF.

Read Page 22 onwards."Country of Purchase"

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jul 13 2008, 02:22 PM

So we're still out of luck in the warranty department if Singapore's phone is not like the one in NZ. Mmmm ... well thats not a problem to me since i'm not interested in getting one . I'm more interested in FW2.0 itself.

Even if Singapore iPhones = NZ iPhones, Singapore is not that close, unless you live in JB. They still have to get your information such as contact number and all, and unless you're free most of the time, you still have to arrange coming up and down there to return and collect your iPhone. Not that easy.

It's easy to reconciliate ourselves that Singapore is close and all, but the reality is not so rosy.

well its still cheaper and more convenient to travel to singapore, rather than to NZ.

going to singapore from kl could easily be a one day affair job as opposed to NZ.

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Added on July 13, 2008, 2:37 pmi think revirginise (if that term has not ketinggalan zaman yet) the JB iphone should be able to sort that problem.

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Jul 13 2008, 02:37 PM

Again, provided if SG iPhones = NZ iPhones.

I've accepted the fact that the iPhones I'm getting will not be covered by any warranty. I'm looking at cases like videogame consoles, where owners having to send their consoles to Singapore for warranty purposes (XB360) as an example. The process is not straight-forward, but achievable, provided you have the patience. Things like having to provide Singaporean addresses as proof of residence,and claiming waranty, for example. Apple Singapore have all the rights to refuse service once they see that Malaysian cellphone number you put in as your contact number. In the end, isn't it back to square one?

I've read it in either Hackint0sh or TUAW that Apple have means of detecting tampered iPhones even after revirginizing. Plus, how are you going to explain to them about your problems during warranty claims when your iPhone is revirginized and returned to its factory state just like before it is activated? This alone means you have activated it by your own means, a.k.a illegal unlocks, used it and faced problems and returned it to its present state. Apple is not gullible.

A typical conversation on claiming warranty and making up a story about an imaginary defect to claim warranty would go something like this:-

User: Hi, I'm having a problem with my iPhone
Genius: Okay, I can help you with that. What exactly is going wrong?
User: Well, my network signal is on the fritz. Nothing is helping.
Genius: Uh, your phone is not activated.
User: Oh. Right...
Genius: How are you having fluctuating signal if you've never activated your phone?
User: ...
Genius: Did you unlock your iPhone?
User: I.. Uh..
Genius: ...
User: No?
Genius: Sure. Your warranty is void. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.


This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jul 13 2008, 03:00 PM

well of course i know about that, apple isnt exactly crazy but having said that, we are working on the assumption that they are being lenient here as their malaysian counterparts when it comes to warranty.

the apple service centres in malaysia arent operated by apple itself, but they sub-contract it to local vendors. these local vendors will still be paid by apple for performing the warranty services on their behalf for the malaysian customers. and most of the time (from my experience working part time), they dont really care much and would still gladly perform it for free despite in violation of what-so-ever codes (for example, accidental drops, prying the unit open deliberately etc) because at the end of the day, apple will still reimburse the local vendors. and of course my post comes with a disclaimer as it does require some extend of luck and convincing but will still work typically, an odd much better than our current situation.

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Jul 13 2008, 03:00 PM

Dude, iPhones are not available in Malaysia. Apple Singapore is not incompetent. Any warranty and repair services, would have to go through Apple Singapore. The very reason why local vendors here would'nt touch a defective iPhone here with a ten-foot pole, is because of this.

Seriously, how would you convince an Apple rep that you have a defective iPhone, when you have not even activated it yet? It is still at its locked page, therefore you should have not even used it. If you said you have used it and *insert a fake defect story here*, then they would automatically know that you have activated it by illegal means.

With the advent of Apple Singapore now handling the launch to Singtel, this is even more telling. Singtel would have kept all information on which iPhones are adtivated by them , and which ones remained not activated. The ones remaining not activated would be prime suspect for illegal third party unlocks a.k.a iLiberty/etc.

the most important bit of my concern is actually being able to source the right personnel and parts for my iphone if it does require maintenance or repairs.


its not hard to ask someone working to perform an "operation" out of his/her working hours as i know he/she has the necessary tools and knowledge to dissect or rip my iphone apart.


im not too concerned about those free covered warranty because as you have said earlier; i have already anticipated these nonsense and prepared myself mentality. im not typically malaysian who requires warranty/personal warranty crap (as seen in LYF garage sale) as im willing to pay as long as it doesnt come out with a dodgy result.

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Added on July 13, 2008, 3:10 pmdude... this isnt my first day in iphone LYF forum. of course i know they are not available locally. hence i said previously, "we are working on the assumption" and my post above as im not keen on the covered warranty bit. i dont think its wise for me to reiterate or repeat myself as i know you are one person who refuse to move back (judging from your previous posts) and will definitely continue retaliate with a even longer post. hence im gonna stop now.

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Jul 13 2008, 03:10 PM

Okay, now you're making sense.

I'm taking that same route myself. Until Malaysia has its own official iPhone, having to rely on Singapore and hoping that they would accept warranties point blank without asking you to jump through hoops, is hopeful at best, and potentially devastating in the future. I have friends and relatives living in Singapore that I could rely on for returns and warranties, but even that does not convince me of the warranty route via Singapore. Having to rely on anybody else but yourself, to me, is the weakest link.

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Added on July 13, 2008, 3:15 pmAnd I dont move back for a good reason now, dont I? Are all my reasoning that hostile or are there a ring of truth in them? I'd like to think I can go the "warranty in Singapore route" but how would you bluff the Apple rep into taking your warranty claim, when your iPhone is not activated at all, after several weeks/months of purchase? Is that too hard to believe?

I'm more than happy to "move back" with good reasons and proof, but I dont see any chances of Apple accepting defective iPhones without any convincing scenarios I can think of. Can you? If I'm wrong, prove me wrong, and I'll be happy to eat crow. So far, I dont see any points that refutes my points.

P/S: Why.....so.....serious? Teh internets....serious business, eh? Oh well, people change. I'm afraid I dont. Been this way since, and many have since find it hard to accept it that way.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jul 13 2008, 03:18 PM

i do apologise for posting another one. but this is my last one; i can assure you.


of course, as much as i would like to be independent but i do acknowledge that the is a reason why each human has his/her own specialties or weaknesses.


and coming back to this iphone topic, it will definitely be a much better, and viable alternative for me (not much hassle for you of course because you are a pilot) to travel to singapore rather than another country of iphone origin.

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Added on July 13, 2008, 3:20 pmerrr who said anything about asking apple to take in my illegally unlock iphone? even though im merely a student, but im not that naive either (im sorry if you think i am ). i did say that despite everything, my main concern is only the knowledge and genuine parts of the singaporean apple workers. im pretty sure that i can offer them a reasonable price to tempt them to fix my iphone outside the store.

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Jul 13 2008, 03:24 PM

Yes, I agree. Singapore is logistically closer. But the relative closeness does not guarantee that the return and warranty claims procedure would be easier. If it does, I'll join the bandwagon and buy my iPhones from Singapore, no doubt. But if it is not, the situation will have leveled out to square one back again.

We agree to disagree, deal? I'd like not to have to turn more into adversaries in here.


This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jul 13 2008, 03:27 PM