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i-phone from the usa |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 170
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i-phone from the usa
hi im goin to the states in a few weeks and was wondering if it was worth buying an i phone there as there a lot cheaper can i use my existing o2 sim card on contract what else would i have to do to get it working cheers in advance
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,687
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when comparing prices don't forget that the american prices do not include the sales tax whereas our prices include VAT.
you will need to jailbreak and unlock the phone which will void your warranty. ziphone seems to be the most popular method. you'll then need to enter the 02 settings for browsing. i don't know if ziphone allows you to do this. if not you will need to either put some code on the phone to allow editing APN settings onscreen or put in an 02 preferences list. |
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#3 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 584
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Quote:
when comparing prices don't forget that the american prices do not include the sales tax whereas our prices include VAT.
you will need to jailbreak and unlock the phone which will void your warranty. ziphone seems to be the most popular method. you'll then need to enter the 02 settings for browsing. i don't know if ziphone allows you to do this. if not you will need to either put some code on the phone to allow editing APN settings onscreen or put in an 02 preferences list. |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Posts: 2,118
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Quote:
when comparing prices don't forget that the american prices do not include the sales tax whereas our prices include VAT.
you will need to jailbreak and unlock the phone which will void your warranty. ziphone seems to be the most popular method. you'll then need to enter the 02 settings for browsing. i don't know if ziphone allows you to do this. if not you will need to either put some code on the phone to allow editing APN settings onscreen or put in an 02 preferences list. Sure if you hardware unlock and take a soldering iron to it, you void the warranty. However, u can now get SIMM unlocks for the iphone, u pop ur sim card in a holder and insert that into the iphone, viola unlocked, u want it back to normal, take it out. Also ZiPhone has a very handy "restore" button which puts the phone back to factory settings and removes all traces of the unlock, u can also acheive this by restoring or updating the firmware, the unlocks will vanish and Apple will be non-the wiser. just thought I'd clear it up as I read it a lot, and its simply not true anymore. Plus you no longer need to enter any settings for browsing generally with the newer firmwares after 1.1.1, I unlocked mine and it worked fine with Edge on Orange without entering any settings. I'm back to my O2 sim now, but it does work fine. ZiPhone is literally as simple as point and click, plug ur iphone into your mac/pc with the usb cable, open ziphone, there are 3 tick boxes "Unlock & Activate Phone" "Jailbreak Phone" (putts the application installer on so u can install thousands of free 3rd party apps), and "Do Both". You click the tick boxes, then click "Go" and it does it for u in two minutes, so easy! For those considering buying from the States, it can save you money, but remember to get it send as a "gift" as you will have to pay customs on it, plus you may get unlucky as they do random checks, if they find it, they'll slap VAT & Import tax on it. I see you're going over yourself, in which case yeah, buy one there and just pop it in ur pocket when u come home, it'll look like its just ur normal phone, unlock it when you get back! |
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Weston-super-Mare
Posts: 9,167
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@chocolate_boy. There seems to be a flaw in your warranty logic. If you claim under warranty that you haven't activated the iPhone; how would you explain the registering of the phones IMEI on a network. Additionally, say you take it back after a few months and they ask you what's wrong, you can't simultaneously claim you haven't activated it and that its faulty.
On the customs point, marking something as a gift only applies to items under £36. |
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 80
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I'm going to the US next week and was thinking of getting one too, but I have a question: once unlocked i will use my current Orange sim card, but as i don't want to spend hundreds of £ on data, is it possible to only allow wifi for the internet and email?
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 2,940
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Quote:
I'm going to the US next week and was thinking of getting one too, but I have a question: once unlocked i will use my current Orange sim card, but as i don't want to spend hundreds of £ on data, is it possible to only allow wifi for the internet and email?
Only use Safari when connected via WiFi. |
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 276
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Quote:
Set Mail not to check for new messages automatically.
Only use Safari when connected via WiFi. There is a setting on the handset to stop data roaming Settings > General > Network > Data Roaming Off |
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 80
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ok, so the only way is to be careful then...!
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 276
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Quote:
ok, so the only way is to be careful then...!
I would reset the data counters on the handset before you go. That way you can keep an eye on the data sent/received and work out how your network will charge per Mb. |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: birmingham U.K
Posts: 1,930
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Quote:
I'm going to the US next week and was thinking of getting one too, but I have a question: once unlocked i will use my current Orange sim card, but as i don't want to spend hundreds of £ on data, is it possible to only allow wifi for the internet and email?
![]() if so how long before a update locks it...again |
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Posts: 2,118
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Quote:
@chocolate_boy. There seems to be a flaw in your warranty logic. If you claim under warranty that you haven't activated the iPhone; how would you explain the registering of the phones IMEI on a network. Additionally, say you take it back after a few months and they ask you what's wrong, you can't simultaneously claim you haven't activated it and that its faulty.
On the customs point, marking something as a gift only applies to items under £36. If you restore it and it hasn't been activated, you can just say you got it as a gift a few months ago and hadnt got around to trying it, they cannot call you a liar if there's no proof. There's nothing in the warranty agreement that says the phone has to be activated/in use on o2 before Apple will fix them. |
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Posts: 2,118
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of course his warranty will be harder as he'll have to send it back to the usa.
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 276
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I have had friends get them repaired from apple, they don't generally check all the networks to find out if your phone's IMEI has been used on orange, t-mobile vodaphone etc. It would take them too long to check all the networks to see if your phone as been used on them. Plus there's a little law called the Data Protections Act of 1992 which wouldn't allow them to pass on details of your mobile phone usage to another company (ie Apple).
If you restore it and it hasn't been activated, you can just say you got it as a gift a few months ago and hadnt got around to trying it, they cannot call you a liar if there's no proof. There's nothing in the warranty agreement that says the phone has to be activated/in use on o2 before Apple will fix them. |
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#15 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Alacant
Posts: 7,773
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Quote:
It takes exactly 2 seconds to check if the IMEI has been used with ANY networks sim in it. Its all done on the one system. So if you did say you hadn't activated it and tried to make a claim on the insurance etc, it would take the insurance company less than a minute to know you were lying.
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#16 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Posts: 2,118
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Quote:
It takes exactly 2 seconds to check if the IMEI has been used with ANY networks sim in it. Its all done on the one system. So if you did say you hadn't activated it and tried to make a claim on the insurance etc, it would take the insurance company less than a minute to know you were lying.
Plus IMEI's are cloneable aren't they? I don't think its any hard evidence. |
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#17 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Posts: 2,118
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You are wasting your time Amanda. Chocolateboy is the worlds' premier expert at all matters iPhone. He was voted iPhone expert of the universe. By himself. From his iPhone.
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#18 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 276
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Quote:
Plus IMEI's are cloneable aren't they? I don't think its any hard evidence.
Cloning or changing an IMEI is illegal though. |
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#19 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Weston-super-Mare
Posts: 9,167
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@chocolateboy, when you get something repaired under warranty you need to say what the fault is. As an example, suppose callers couldn't hear your voice. How do you tell Apple or O2 or Carphone Warehouse about the problem when the iPhone hasn't been activated?
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#20 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 170
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so basically the answer is buy one if their cheap enough spend £4-£5 on ebay buying some unlocking software and hoping that it doesnt go wrong or am i over simplifing it
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#21 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Posts: 2,118
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Quote:
so basically the answer is buy one if their cheap enough spend £4-£5 on ebay buying some unlocking software and hoping that it doesnt go wrong or am i over simplifing it
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#22 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Posts: 2,118
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Quote:
@chocolateboy, when you get something repaired under warranty you need to say what the fault is. As an example, suppose callers couldn't hear your voice. How do you tell Apple or O2 or Carphone Warehouse about the problem when the iPhone hasn't been activated?
If its blatanty sent to them and still jailbroken etc then they'll reject it though, although I have heard some tales of them repairing them anyway lol |
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#23 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Central London
Posts: 6,845
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Quote:
For those considering buying from the States, it can save you money, but remember to get it send as a "gift" as you will have to pay customs on it, plus you may get unlucky as they do random checks, if they find it, they'll slap VAT & Import tax on it.
I see you're going over yourself, in which case yeah, buy one there and just pop it in ur pocket when u come home, it'll look like its just ur normal phone, unlock it when you get back! |
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#24 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,687
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Quote:
Surely doing all of those things is fraudulent?
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#25 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Posts: 2,118
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Quote:
Surely doing all of those things is fraudulent?
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