Buying the iphone 4 overseas.

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9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#433393 31-Jan-2011 21:09

Also remember all iphones sold in NZ are unlocked, you can change the sim and use them anywhere.

And if you get an iphone in the US the call plan you're locked into is US$55 per month (about NZ$71). You can get a reasonable discount from vodafone getting an iphone on a plan here too. Not as cheap as the US phones but at least you can choose cheaper plans and still get the phone for nearly half price.

littleangelboy

114 posts

Master Geek

#433398 31-Jan-2011 21:14

@ Mizon

If you read what i said earlier i stated that my friend works for AT&T so i can get a discount for the phone and the disconnection fee... meaning it won't be on AT&T anymore
so then i just need to unlock it. which isn't that hard. seeing the iphone is 199$ in the Usa with discount the iphone i purchase from the usa is going to be significantly cheaper then one you buy from vodafone.
I'm also not going to be using a plan for now. just txting and calling and wifi where i can get it untill i am in the position to get a plan.

I'm also going to be using this on telecom.
unless i have to use it on vodafone.

thanks

kyhwana2

2566 posts

Uber Geek

#433432 31-Jan-2011 21:58

How are you going to unlock it? Also the disconnection fee means you're going to be paying the full retail price for it.

littleangelboy

114 posts

Master Geek

#433433 31-Jan-2011 22:02

@ kyhwana2

There are places that do iphone unlocking. all i need to do is downgrade the software to 4.0 and it can be unlocked. and wrong, the disconnection fee is not the retail price of the mobile device ive looked in to that i checked with my friend who works for the company.

kyhwana2

2566 posts

Uber Geek

#433436 31-Jan-2011 22:05

So you'll be paying $200 + $325. Which I suppose is only ~$700 + whatever it costs to unlock it.

1eStar

1604 posts

Uber Geek

#433526 1-Feb-2011 09:05

Good luck. There will be no shsh blobs saved for your phone anywhere for your phone. Assuming it is supplied with 4.2.1 there will be no way of downgrading to 4.0 or 4.1. Besides which you can't downgrade the baseband to an earlier modem firmware at this stage. So you will effectively end up with an iPod touch with a gps chip in it. I hope that's what you were after.

gehenna

8512 posts

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#433533 1-Feb-2011 09:18

This is a disaster waiting to happen, can't wait to see how it pans out if only for its entertainment value.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

SteveON

1916 posts

Uber Geek

#433541 1-Feb-2011 09:29

Do not do it, hacking my iPhone was the worst decision I ever did. Made it crash all the time and cydia was a junky app.

littleangelboy: All i need to do is downgrade the software to 4.0 and it can be unlocked.

Just Don't, don't do it. On a friends US iPhone I had to use a hack that used part of the iPad modem software, which then meant I could NEVER upgrade the software from apple again.

To be able to downgrade to 4.0 you also need the backups of your particular iPhone from the 4.0 version, which is impossible when the phone you get is 4.1/2. The modem software will be different from the ones you can get online.

For the sake of $200, get a NZ New iPhone unless the one you are buying is unlocked; then go ahead.

Or... yeah, do it. I'm wrong, everyone else is wrong.
Just don't start up a new thread complaining about your really expensive paper weight. Maybe I could sell you a brick instead. They have all the features of a bricked iPhone except its a lot heavier.

Can we rename this thread to: "How to downgrade an iPhone 4 to an iPod touch"?

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#433542 1-Feb-2011 09:32

SteveON: Just don't start up a new thread complaining about your really expensive paper weight.

He can start the thread any time. People will refer back to this discussion.

littleangelboy

114 posts

Master Geek

#433605 1-Feb-2011 11:04

@steveON then ill just get the 3GS or wait for the unlock to come out.

if your phone had problems maybe you did it wrong?
i know of so many people who have jailbroken their stuff... and nothing has gone wrong.
they made ipods/iphones able to jailbreak for a reason....

freitasm

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#433606 1-Feb-2011 11:05

Jailbreaking and unlocking are different things though.

littleangelboy

114 posts

Master Geek

#433612 1-Feb-2011 11:08

I know that.

it's not like im going to be "Unlocking/jailbreaking it myself

My man said he does iphones from overseas so he would be jailbreaking them too....

gehenna

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#433615 1-Feb-2011 11:18

littleangelboy: I know that.

it's not like im going to be "Unlocking/jailbreaking it myself

My man said he does iphones from overseas so he would be jailbreaking them too....

A big problem is that you're always stuck in time when you jailbreak/unlock. If an iOS update comes out there is never a guarantee that another jailbreak/unlock will be released for it. Sure, it's "likely" to happen, just so long as the devs can find an exploit in iOS, but it's never an easy thing...and there's always delays. You can be waiting months before you're able to upgrade your iPhone, and then you're back to square one every time, having to jailbreak then unlock then reinstall all unsigned apps, etc. Your "man" may do iPhones from overseas but that means nothing as every country other than America has unlocked iPhones - whether you have to have them unlocked by the carrier or not. Jailbreaking an iPhone is easy, unlocking is not (see a trend here?).

Adding further frustration to that - it takes even longer for an unlock to be released. a jailbreak is one thing, an unlock is altogether different and much more complex for them to implement. Sometimes going so far as to say that if you do implement one method of unlocking, you might be stuck there forever because the next method won't work for you, so on and so forth. Essentially making your iPhone useless and unsellable.

What has been said about jailbreaking and performance is valid, and I suggest you talk to your friends that have jailbroken in the past. They will likely have suffered hits on their battery life. Though a jailbreak can work fine, it only takes one poorly developed unsigned app to throw a spanner in the works and begin crashing your iPhone. That said my 3GS is jailbroken - but I only use SBSettings and a couple of other reliable apps, and it's not unlocked via jailbreak either.

You asked the opinion of a group of people who by and large know what they're talking about, their feedback is pretty strongly in the negative for the whole idea....for valid reasons. Logic would dictate you act on that feedback :)

SteveON

1916 posts

Uber Geek

#433622 1-Feb-2011 11:53

littleangelboy: @steveON then ill just get the 3GS or wait for the unlock to come out.

if your phone had problems maybe you did it wrong?
i know of so many people who have jailbroken their stuff... and nothing has gone wrong.
they made ipods/iphones able to jailbreak for a reason....

Nope didn't do it wrong, it would crash about once a week, usually when I needed it most.

I have jailbroken and unlocked a few phones and have done the research, I wouldn't bother again.
Get an android... lol

littleangelboy

114 posts

Master Geek

#433623 1-Feb-2011 11:57

ahahaha i don't really like androids.

if worst comes to worst i will just get him to fish around his friend's or on ebay and get me an unlocked one
someone is sure to have one that isn't sky rocket priced

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