Apple iphones

[cliffdunedin 8]

Hey guy's, i just bought a couple of cheap secondhand 3GS iphones off e-bay and am wondering if i can get them unlocked at Vodafone or through Apple NZ? I know a friend who can jail-break them but i'm giving one to my old man and another to the missus' dad so updating and jailbreaking later on will be a pain in the ass.

Any of you kind people out there have any knowledge on this?

[bimmer boy 21]

I dont think you can get them unlocked at Vodafone or Apple as far as I know. I always assumed if your bought a locked iPhone its locked to the country it was sold in first and Jailbreaking is your only way to unlock it again. But I could quite easily be wrong, I just didnt risk it and bought a brand new one insted..

[Tristan 338]

Our ones were done by a guy at Dad's work. Fairly sure that providers' shops in NZ won't unlock them but I believe there are people that advertise their services around. (Not sure where though) I think I saw it in the paper one time.

[o.shepherd 0]

i take it not being cheap and buying a nz one like everyone else around here does but instead try and wriggle your way out of every last cent is out of the question then?

uhhh you really think apple or voda will help you out after you just undercut them? good one buddy

Edited November 17, 2010 by geoff the maori

[bimmer boy 21]

Yeah Tristan sounds correct here. I would deffinatly avoid going to Apple or Vodafone to try get it unlocked as when I bought my handset outright from Apple they make you sign a contract and make you install your sim card there in the shop and assign the phones serial number to the sim card also so people dont just buy the handsets and sell them overseas etc. But im pretty sure there are quite a few people out there who can unlock it for you. Obviously it probably voids warrenty etc...

[Tristan 338]

Yeah, as Ryan when you open it up and muck around in there to sort it for NZ provider's SIMs etc. the warranty is void. It is indeed a PITA with updating etc. on jailbroken phones. I had a 1st Gen which was jailbroken and every time I plugged it into iTunes it wanted the new software (which would bugger it if installed), unless it was brought up to date by the guy that jailbroke it.

The conventional wall charger is your best bet in terms of convenience as jailbreaking for each update is almost unreasonable; I'm not sure if your father and father-in-law are very tech. savvy and will be using all of the functions of the phone but the main drawbacks of outdated phones are functionality of call/text/etc. but more for downloadable apps.

The most recent apps. will be designed to be compatible with the most recent phone software and as this is continually updated so are the apps, even the ones created for an older software are updated.

Hope this little insight is helpful.

[Jeddy 0]

My iPhone is jailbroken and unlocked and I just told iTunes to stop asking me to update "do not ask me this again" and have had no problems.

[blk320i 0]

Unsure if it helps but when i moved to oz i picked up a second-hand iphone that was locked to Telstra. I got it unlocked legitimately by calling up Telstra and giving them the sin number and my credit card details. It unlocked with-in a few hours and i can now use it with any provider any where in the world. Maybe you can un-lock them in the same way? I presume they are locked to AT&T in the states? May be worth jumping on there website and searching about?

Edited November 17, 2010 by blk320i

[5amchris 45]

takes around 5 mins to unlock it =? youtube is very nice tool

[Grant 4]

Because I had my NZ iPhone 3G here, when I upgraded to the iPhone 4, I was able to sell my iPhone 3G for more than the iPhone 4 cost to buy, because it was unlocked as standard from NZ.

When I advertised it on Craigslist for sale, I got more than 50 emails in the first hour it was listed with people wanting it. An unlocked, but not jailbroken iPhone is highly sought after here.

Not very relevant to the original post, but I found it interesting at the time none the less.

[Tristan 338]

Because I had my NZ iPhone 3G here, when I upgraded to the iPhone 4, I was able to sell my iPhone 3G for more than the iPhone 4 cost to buy, because it was unlocked as standard from NZ.

When I advertised it on Craigslist for sale, I got more than 50 emails in the first hour it was listed with people wanting it. An unlocked, but not jailbroken iPhone is highly sought after here.

Not very relevant to the original post, but I found it interesting at the time none the less.

Sorry if I've missed something but why do the American's value it more? Is it because they don't have to be on a contract?

[danthaman01 0]

Sorry if I've missed something but why do the American's value it more? Is it because they don't have to be on a contract?

you got it, I have brought in around 6 iphone 3gs from the states for friends and family its not really the jailbreak you have to worry about its the unlock and making sure they dont upgrade the firmware to lose the unlock, you can only unlock up to firmware 4.0 at this point and a few of my friends are buying cheap iphone running 4.1 in hopes the new unlock is released sometime this month

vodafone and apple wont touch them... get them jailbroken and unlocked and explain to who you are giving them to that apple updates are evil and if you update enjoy your new ipod touch thats what I did

personally I have an iphone 4 from the US unlocked and running on XT as said earlier tick dont tell me about updates and then the pop up stops, there is also a jailbreak app that lets you change what firmware the iphone is telling itunes you have which stops the warning all together you could look into

[Grant 4]

Sorry if I've missed something but why do the American's value it more? Is it because they don't have to be on a contract?

It is so that they can use a carrier other than AT&T. A lot of people don't like AT&T (although they seem fine to me, all our phone, internet and cable television is through AT&T).

The guy who actually ended up buying my old 3G travelled a lot to Europe and had SIM cards for carriers in different countries, so he wanted the unlocked iPhone so he could use it on T-Mobile here, as well as with other carriers in Europe without having to pay roaming charges.

Edited November 17, 2010 by Grant

[fuzyfrog 0]

Just jailbrake it.

If something goes wrong with it and it can still be force restored you can still return it to Apple for warranty.

[Jeddy 0]

Is an iPhone still available for warranty if its outside its country of purchase? ie Purchased in USA, can you bring it into Apple in NZ?

Just jailbrake it.

If something goes wrong with it and it can still be force restored you can still return it to Apple for warranty.

[simke 0]

Is an iPhone still available for warranty if its outside its country of purchase? ie Purchased in USA, can you bring it into Apple in NZ?

If you have purchased extended AppleCare protection plan then it should be. Not sure if you only have standard warranty. Edited November 17, 2010 by Simke

[Grant 4]

Unless Apple have changed their T&Cs, the warranty is only valid for replacement or repair in the country of original purchase (I asked this when I got my iPhone 3G in NZ, as I knew I was moving to the US a few months afterwards).

[Gotheschu 1]

I had a 3G S just unlocked and it didn't need to be done on every update....

Just search long and hard on youtube/google.

If not just give me a text or call PM for number...

I've had every iphone released today, and successfully jailbroken and or unlocked each one.

=P

Warranty is effectively void but you just restore it to a factory firmware ( which I have a huge library of going back to 1.1.2 ) I can hand people CD's with all the firmware editions for iPod Touch, iPhone 1st gen, 3G , 3G S and 4. You just need to prepared when you do this procedure, because if you are, you can simply force the phone to restore to factory and Apple has no way of telling you have ever been on a Jailbroken firmware....

Edited November 17, 2010 by Gotheschu

[Jeddy 0]

Unless Apple have changed their T&Cs, the warranty is only valid for replacement or repair in the country of original purchase (I asked this when I got my iPhone 3G in NZ, as I knew I was moving to the US a few months afterwards).

Thats what I thought, plus I just managed to answer my own question by having a quick search. So therefore if you bring in an iPhone, not jail-breaking it because of voiding the warranty is invalid.

Also, iirc AT&T refuse to do carrier unlocks, whereas other carriers, ie Vodafone may unlock it at a cost.

[Grant 4]

Also, iirc AT&T refuse to do carrier unlocks, whereas other carriers, ie Vodafone may unlock it at a cost.

That makes sense. AT&T retain a good portion of their wireless business due to the fact that they are the sole carriers of the iPhone. There are lots of areas in the US that do not have AT&T coverage.

Verizon, the biggest wireless carrier here are getting their version of the iPhone next year, so that will make things interesting.

[Jeddy 0]

"AT&T has stated that they themselves will not unlock iPhones under any circumstances, regardless of the legality of doing so, even after customers are out of contract."

So if it came from the USA, you'll need to jailbreak it and unlock it. This is a relatively easy process and as you said you have someone who can do it for you.

That makes sense. AT&T retain a good portion of their wireless business due to the fact that they are the sole carriers of the iPhone. There are lots of areas in the US that do not have AT&T coverage.

Verizon, the biggest wireless carrier here are getting their version of the iPhone next year, so that will make things interesting.

[fuzyfrog 0]

iPhone warranty is worldwide unless its a first Gen that was only available in the states.

[cliffdunedin 8]

Thanks guys, i think my Q was well and truly answered...just was unsure and couldn't find anything specific to NZ.

I had a 3G S just unlocked and it didn't need to be done on every update....

Just search long and hard on youtube/google.

If not just give me a text or call PM for number...

I've had every iphone released today, and successfully jailbroken and or unlocked each one.

=P

Warranty is effectively void but you just restore it to a factory firmware ( which I have a huge library of going back to 1.1.2 ) I can hand people CD's with all the firmware editions for iPod Touch, iPhone 1st gen, 3G , 3G S and 4. You just need to prepared when you do this procedure, because if you are, you can simply force the phone to restore to factory and Apple has no way of telling you have ever been on a Jailbroken firmware....

My old man is computer illiterate, so my worry was him updating by accident.

Am interested in this ^^^ and will do a hunt when they arrive...otherwise will flick you a pm.

[cliffdunedin 8]

i take it not being cheap and buying a nz one like everyone else around here does but instead try and wriggle your way out of every last cent is out of the question then?

uhhh you really think apple or voda will help you out after you just undercut them? good one buddy

Thank you for posting on the internet Geoff