i'm just wondering can the iphone 3g from USA be used in malaysia?

because the so called genius told me to get it in malaysia because the iphone 3g in USA is using a different frequency, which didnt make much sense to me.

thx!

LoL..no frequency involved..

As of now, US iphones are lock. Only a few countries offers unlock 3G iphones.

As of now, there are no software sollution to unlock any 3G iPhone except those thats not locked to any particular telcos i.e NZ iPhones. There is hardware sollution that uses a sim adapter to trick the phone in seeing its a legit sim card like TurboSim.

@ezinger,
#1 - Apple does not ship the iPhone 3G to Msia so it's not possible to get it here without a premium
#2 - US models are locked to AT&T and as of now there's been really no possible unlock methods YET [I did read about one (search thru this forum - i stumbled upon it here) but am not sure if that's been guaranteed]

can u link me about the iphone 3g in US being locked?

It's everywhere. Seek, and thou shalt find.

so US never sold unlocked iphone 3g?

Never ... since the 1st gen iPhone.

i remembered i read somewhere that you can cancel the contract with a fee and get an unlocked iphone 3g. is that true?

@ezinger,
AT&T has a non-contract price for the iPhone 3G. However, those non-contract phones are still locked to AT&T's network. This information has been clarified by AT&T [I read it somewhere but did not save article].

Contract and lock phones are two different things.

U can have a contract phones with subsidy (cheaper phone) or u can buy a non contract phone without subsidy (higher price).'

Both are still locked to AT&T network.

@frozzbyte,
That's absolutely right - I think many people tend to think a non-contract phone is automatically unlocked.

Locked meaning its a carrier lock its locked to d telco ATnT...this is to protect d benefit of theit telco cos they hv mutual partnership between ATnT & Apple...the termination of contract u read is termination of phone plan so even after u terminate ur phone still locked to ATnT...tats y when bring over to malaysia you can't use it cos here no ATnT service only GSM aka maxis, digi or celcom or U-mobile...for now only hardware unlock solution available just like d old times n confirm working n safe to use

@isell,
Hardware Unlock Solution available just like d old times?! Er.... so meaning there is a way of unlocking those locked phones now?!

oh damn..my mom is in san franc, thought could have told her to get me the iphone 3g..now my dreams are shattered into pieces ;/

yep bro, i was told by my supplier 10days ago n y'day a fren on mine tried it n confirm working...tmr i'll get mine n confirm it myself hehe...good oso la hardware unlock cos it'll only damage ur GSM sim card not d phone

ive been thinking bout locked 3g US iphone. how bout reflash the firmware with pwned one.
izzit possible?

u cant buy it, if u're just visiting US, u'll need somesort of US id and credit checked before u can buy it...

@isell,
Er.. damage the sim card?! Oh, are U referring to that 'unlock' method which was posted on this forum a week ago? EwWw..... so troublesome but well I guess it beats not being able to use the phone!

Good Luck and keep us updated.

Almost all if not all Aifontriji being sold in LYP or Sg. Wang are US models. Hardware unlock may work but there are cases where calls need to be dialled twice and call dropping.

The best solution is still the fully unlocked ones. No cutting sim cards and planting them on dodgy sim plates, plus you're guaranteed future unlocked status even when Apple issues a firmware update. There are guarantees that the simulated AT&T hardware sims would prevent Apple from rendering it back into locked status.

Buying in the States no longer means waltzing into an Apple store and grabbing it off the shelf. You need Social Secuity number, which in turn will give them a valid American residential address and contact number. You will also be required to show proof of sufficient credit, via credit check with local American banks. Then only they will release ONE iPhone to you. Those planning to ask their uncles and aunties to get it will come back disappointed, unless your uncles and aunties are willing to sign off two years of their life on contract, not to mention RM6000 or more from their wallets. Enjoy!

3G iphone still cant unlock in Msia but 1st gen can.lucky me.

buy at NZ or buy at SG...join me....haha

hmm NZ is the best bet r..wait for SING?

but there are a couple of other places selling unlocked ya?

Locked 3G phone can only be jailbroken and can't unlock at the moment. If its as easy as reflashing with a pwned firmware, won't the dev team done it already? Right now the problem is with the new bootloader chip on the commboard. Its different from the 1st gen phone and the hack they use on the first one is not working on 3G phone. Right now they are making progress and only time will tell when the unlock for iPhone 3G will arrive, something like the 1.1.2 unlock last time if you all remember. It takes around 2 months for them to crack that thing.

@Esqandare,
No news on unlocked phones via SG so that's not an available option for now, IMHO.

How sure are you that singapore iPhone not going to be locked?

aaahh..true true..locked to their telco

but norm..assuming like before...sing sell phones we here oso can user mer...can v assume the iphone would be the same?

@d3vilzzzz,
No that assumption cannot be used here. In the event the iPhone 3G available from SG is locked to SingTel, it will remain locked hence unusable on MY shores.

aiyark btol ke....

This post has been edited by Esqandare: Aug 12 2008, 11:24 AM

aaahhh thanks for the enlightenment

Act.. someone just posted an article on another discussion thread about IDA not allowing locked phones in SG. If that is accurate, that would mean SG handsets will have to come unlocked.

And if that is truly the case, I can only imagine the amount of smiles it'll bring to most forumers here

Not to burst anyone's bubbles, but disallowment of IDA of any locked phone, may mean no locked phone TO a singular Singaporean carrier only. It may still be locked to the three Singaporean carriers.

@stringfellow,
Now that certainly ain't good news for those on MY shores *grins* No point speculating; might as well wait and see

Yup. all we have here are guesstimations. The same case was with the NZ iPhones , I wasnt even considering them until launch day, and the fact that the iFixit.com guys were lining up at the main Vodafone branch. What were a group of guys from the States doing there in NZ getting NZ iPhones, besides getting the first in the world?

Only through research on Geekzone forum, and confirmation from Cocklea that the unlocked status was a reality.

Why dont someone else do Singapore, just like how I did NZ? Research and info-finding can lead to satisfying results. Also remember, at the time of this post, iPhones from HK, NZ, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and Australia are unlocked. Australia ones are unlocked with a request, while nobody knows the status on the European Aifontrijis. We all know about NZ ones.

o ya..

one of the seller in the forum selling the 3G has quite an attractive price..a price below RM3000 for the 8gb 1..i tink around the RM2700. RM2800 range..

he says stock is frm USA, can be unlocked...asks him hw..says he dunno..fren is doing it for him

lemme get his name...KyLe91

@d3vilzzzz,
I'm still not too convinced about the USA handset being unlocked; a friend apparently had another friend who was letting his set go for about RM2k (8GB) - he said it's from US and unlocked.

As I've not heard of official unlocking methods (unofficial too!) I decided to keep my RM2k

test the set before buying?

if its unlock i m sure he'll allow u to test test...he has nth to loose? unless...

2K for the 3G is one helluva price!!

@d3vilzzzz,
Apparently my friend did take a look at the set - he said he the fella showed him the set and it was working with Maxis. I'm not sure if he actually used his own sim to re-test it.

Nevertheless, unless I'm quite certain it's a legal unlocked set, I wouldn't want to be forking out RM2k for it - RM200 still can consider lar

Did your friend insert his own sim into the iPhone 3G? That would reveal if it indeed fully unlocked or if the seller has to mutilate his simcard to be slotted into the SIM-duping equipment.

Most important must do in front of you...

then oni can see hw the sim was inserted liao..RM200? hahahaha

hmm.... ...trick or treat....

@stringfellow,
I asked him that question but I don't remember what his response was - at the end of the day, I told him I wasn't interested. He seemed to be more convinced on my stand about ALL US iPhones being locked *grins*

Guess he didn't actually use his own sim card to test *shrugs* He wasn't interested in getting an iPhone 3G

yeah ..
still can use ..
juz need to unlock using sim unlocker
then everything will be ok

y this thread still open?

anyway..haihz..as usual post count +1

If tis unlocked unit,should not be a problem using it.

ermm..us set hw to unlock?? turbo sim n all?

o btw..great prices..ur offering the best prices so far..