Hi guys!


Looking at the growing number of questioned posed at the iPhone subforum in regards to obtaining an iPhone 3G (both locked and unlocked), I thought that the creation of this thread will help to explain the situation better and also answer some frequently asked questions.




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Q: Alright, this subforum has gotten me all excited about the iPhone 3G! I will be heading to XYZ country soon/have an acquaintance from back soon et cetera, which countries are eligible to sell these officially unlocked iPhone 3G units?

A: To answer this question, there will be two parts to it; 1. unlocked directly from the box and 2 .initially locked but the respective carrier can perform an authorised unlocking subsequently
1. Czech Republic, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Macau, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia (Orange), South Africa, Turkey (TurkCell)
2. Argentina, Austria (One), Australia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Guatamela, Hungary, , India (Airtel), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal (Vodafone), Romania (Orange), Spain, Switzerland (Orange), Uruguay



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Q: Why would I fork out so much for an officially unlocked iPhone 3G? I can easily purchase an American bound unit from AT & T for a fraction of the price. The prices are clearly a rip off and not mention a day-light-robbery attempt!

A: Here are a couple of reasons on why you should NOT purchase these units in favour of these SIM card adapters (for example a TurboSim):-
1. Frequent dropped calls during the initiation of conference call
2. Frequent disconnection from the network provider (which may require you to search for the desired network manually thereafter)
3. Unable to ultilise the GPRS/EDGE/3G network for internet connectivity purposes
4. Unable to make/receive calls (frequent experiences of Call Failure)
5. Certain SIM card adapters (or versions) will not necessarily work for all network providers.
6. The upgrading/restoring process is no longer straightforward (requires additional software) and may pose undesirable complications
7. The possibility of the SIM card adaptor melting inside your iPhone (I am NOT joking about this)
8. According to the dev team, early reports suggest that the 2.2 update disables the functionality of these devices; meaning you will not be able to upgrade to future firmwares.
8. You should NOT be a cheapskate to own an iPhone.


officially unlocked iPhone 3G units will have a display like this upon successful upgrade/restoration, instead of "The SIM card inserted in this iPhone does not appear to be supported."




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Q: But wait a minute, can't I just rely on the fact that locked units require some sort of SIM card adapter (for example a TurboSim) to bypass the unlocking process?

A: There is a growing concern regarding an ongoing scam, where the SIM card adapter is actually "built-in" where these unscrupulous parties dismantle the iPhone units and subsequently soldering them on (as shown below). Checking both the part number or model is the only way to certain. Period.


extracted from iClarified.com



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Q: So are you telling me now that those advocated SIM card adapters is my only alternative to locked units? As far as I am concerned, isn't there like some sort of software based unlocking method available?
A: Not for the iPhone 3G unfortunately.



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Q: So, enough of the mambo jumbo tech talk, now how do I actually locate this so-called part number or model?

A: For this question, I will be using two examples; a Singapore SingTel unit (mine) and a New Zealand Vodafone unit (davidgary73's).


on the box


on the actual iPhone via Settings -> General -> About -> Model

MB489ZA/A corresponds to the SingTel provider of a Singapore origin from the list

****************************************************************


on the box. picture taken by davidgary73

MB500X/A corresponds to the Vodafone provider of a New Zealand origin from the list

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the pictures in this thread are taken and owned by nokia2003 unless stated otherwise. all pictures are copyrighted by nokia2003. do not use pictures without permission. all rights reserved.

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Nov 23 2008, 12:00 AM

SINGAPORE (SingTel)

There are relatively three easy methods for Malaysians to obtain the iPhone 3G.

1. ask a legitimate resident of Singapore to sign up a contract for you. (The easiest feasible alternative is if you know some acquaintances there)

2. purchase directly from those who are interested to let go their units upon renewing/signing up contracts. These private sellers typically advertise their intentions on ebay.com.sg, hardwarezone.com et cetera and are generally safe as they usually insist on a COD transaction. From there, you will be able to inspect the part numbers and model as described in the first post. A precise and detailed personal encounter of mine to acquire a SingTel unit has been documented here. (The likeliness of being ripped off is much less)

3. purchase from commercial resellers (or fondly known as mobile phone retailers) which can be found in major shopping complexes along Orchard Road for example. Please bear in mind that these retailers are out to rip you off and haggling or negotiations efforts are known to be futile as they can fetch as much as RM4000 for a 16GB unit. The discussed scam in the first post also runs freely under this section. (Not recommended)

Information courtesy of nokia2003

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Nov 8 2008, 03:28 AM

NEW ZEALAND (Vodafone)

Unlocked directly from the box (with the cellophane packaging intact) iPhone 3G units can be purchased from Vodafone New Zealand.



According to psyeo, some shops don't sell outright, hence it is recommended to ring them up beforehand to check for availability and if they sell it outright (click here for store location map).

Even though, Vodafone stores and First Mobile do sell it outright, but certain stores require you to purchase it together with accessories.

Information courtesy of psyeo



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At the ongoing exchange rates (as of 07/11/2008), the 8GB and 16GB iPhone 3G units will set you back at RM2081.35 and RM2400.25 respectively.





This post has been edited by nokia2003: Nov 8 2008, 01:15 AM

AUSTRALIA (Optus, Telstra, Vodafone)

Out of the box, Australian iPhone 3G units are locked by nature. However, the local network provider can perform an authorised unlocking (by paying an extortionate fee)


According to mangoman, Optus prepaid iPhones are extremely rare nowadays and to make things worse, Telstra does not sell them outright anymore. However, one can head to JB Hi Fi, Next Byte or Harvey Norman to purchase them. However, the downside is, the unlocking process will cost you approximately AUD150 per unit.


Another viable alternative is, to sign up a contract. Please bear in mind that, you require a legitimate Australia resident to sign up a contract for you. Hence this is only useful if you do know some acquaintances there. The cheapest way to go around this is to sign up for Optus 'yes' AUD19 plan for 12 months period contract and then subsequently canceling it. This plan also includes an AUD62 per month handset repayments. Hence a simple calculation will yield a total price of AUD972 ([19 + 62) x 12 months] for the 16GB unit, which of course include a free unlocking service.


Information courtesy of mangoman



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Step-by-step instructions to perform an authorised unlocking (using Optus as an example)
1. Sign up a contract with Optus where a credit check will be conducted (applicable only to legitimate Australian residents)
2. Opt for the 12 months contract plan
3. Make at least one call using that very same iPhone with the provided Optus SIM card (enabling Optus to register your IMEI number on their database)
4. Call Optus to request for an unlock
5. A text will subsequently arrive, indicating that it has been successfully unlocked (this may take up to 10 days)
6. Restore using iTunes and test it with a SIM card from another network provider
7. If it fails, ring up Optus again. However if it does, proceed to next step.
8. Call Optus to cancel your contract and they will then bill everything in a single bill
9. Pay the bill (and please don't be a cheapskate to even contemplate forgoing the payment)
10. Enjoy your iPhone!



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According to NekoRacing, Optus based iPhone 3G units are entitled to an additional privilege where they do not incur any unlocking fees. One has to ring up Optus and their customer support team will subsequently transfer you to an Apple representative. From there, you will proceed to provide Apple with your IMEI number and it will typically take up to ten days to complete the unlocking process.

Once it has been initiated, you should be receiving a notification text message as shown in the picture below.



picture courtesy of beavis68


Information courtesy of NekoRacing


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At the ongoing exchange rates (as of 07/11/2008), an iPhone 3G 16GB unit will set you back at RM2348.35

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Dec 6 2008, 12:13 AM

HONG KONG (3)

There is not much information which I could retrieve about the Hong Kong bound units. The only information which I do know is that you can use Malaysian based credit cards to purchase them online, but you require a valid Hong Kong address for delivery purposes (hotel addresses will work fine as well). Hence for more information, kindly head to their official website here

Information courtesy of nokia2003


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At the ongoing exchange rates (as of 07/11/2008), the 8GB and 16GB iPhone 3G units will set you back at RM2550.96 and RM2928.88 respectively.





This post has been edited by nokia2003: Nov 8 2008, 01:29 AM

RUSSIA (MegaFon, MTS, Beeline)

According to Masamune, iPhone 3G can be found almost everywhere throughout Russia, from the Apple Stores, telecommunication stores and down to a modest typical phone shop. The official price found in the Apple Store is 21999rub and 25999 for 8GB and 16GB respectively.

In the view of the network providers, Megafon, MTC and Beeline are the three main players for the iPhone 3G. All three will enable one to purchase the iPhone 3G directly with no strings attached, but at different prices (for example Megafon sells their 8GB and 16GB units for 21500rub and 25500rub respectively)

As the information provided is relatively vague and the websites are in Russian, it is best to PM fellow user Masamune for more information.


Information courtesy of Masamune

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Nov 16 2008, 03:18 PM

done! =)


thank you for complying with my request!

Nice...very detail

i'll try 2 get info frm our neighboring country...

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Added on November 8, 2008, 10:07 ambtw., good job nokia

This post has been edited by harmeet15: Nov 8 2008, 10:07 AM

I plan to ask my friend in Australia to buy from Optus, what are the steps?

1. Sign up Optus 'yes' AUD19 plan for 12 months
2. Cancel the contract and repay AUD62 per month
3. Ask Optus to unlock the phone

Can the above steps be carried out at the same setting?

please elaborate the underlined statement further.

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Nov 8 2008, 09:03 PM

What I mean is can all steps be done at one go or do I have yo return to Optus again?

BTW, what is the cheapest price a legitimate Singaporean have to pay SingTel for an iphone 3G 16GB?

This post has been edited by eclau: Nov 8 2008, 10:13 PM

1. Sign a contract with Optus, they will do credit check on you, make sure u take up 12months plan.
2. Make at least one call using that iphone with your Optus SIM so that Optus can register ur IMEI num in their database.
3. Call Optus to unlock it.
4. Wait till u get a msg telling u tht the iphone is successfully unlocked.
5. Restore using itunes and test with other SIM.
6. If it doesnt work, call Optus again. If it does, proceed to next step.
7. Call Optus to cancel your contract and they will bill everything together in 1 single bill.
8. Pay the bill and now u can walk out with 1 unlocked iphone.

Hope it is clear enough for u. Any question just ask here. Cheers.

mangoman's step by step instructions has been updated under the "australian" post

i will be getting my iphone on next friday,how do i check the iphone 3g is original or not if i haven't activated it using itunes?i'm buying a singapore set ,and the seller say it's a sealed boxs...tq

@ william1980


come on mate. surely you can read the first post? i believe that my thread is as clear as it can get to be honest.

fruit company..

I'm kinda confused about this activation stuff. I'm supposed to get a Singtel 3G set from a seller this weekend. He said the set will be pre-activated by Singtel. So my question is, is this 'activation' a one-off thing? If we do a restore later on, do we need to activate it again? I supposed not eh

u suppose are correct.... if really activated, u should have no problem upgrade it or having problems later on... but what i want to know is... WTH is pre-activate?

Means the set is already activated by Singtel.