Ask iPhonewzealand
Every week we receive dozens of emails from people who are considering buying an iPhone from overseas, or who currently live overseas and are moving to New Zealand with an existing iPhone, and they want to know whether or not said device will work here in New Zealand. Unfortunately, the answer is almost always ‘no’, but read on for the full lowdown.
New Zealand is lucky in that it is one of only a handful of countries in the world where the iPhone can be purchased outright and unlocked. By outright I mean free of any term contract and by unlocked I mean that it is not restricted for use on any one particular network. Once purchased through either Apple’s Online Store or via Vodafone, you are free to connect your iPhone to any compatible network anywhere in the world.
Shackled to AT&T
In the USA (which is where most of you ask us about getting them from), it is a very different situation. There, the iPhone is exclusive to the AT&T network and every iPhone sold in the US is locked to that network only. Even if you pay for the mobile outright and don’t enter into a term contract, the phone will still be locked to AT&T. This is also the case for most other countries including the UK (which is probably the second most commonly mentioned country when you contact us).
Can they be unlocked? Not legitimately, no. Software unlocks do exist but they are not authorised by Apple, can invalidate your warranty and are often reversed when you apply a new software update, which can you leave you high and dry without a working phone. Just take a look around our forums and you’ll see the amount of people that this has happened to, so it’s fair to say that this is risky at best. [edit - some carriers around the world allow an authorised unlock, you can check which ones do here. If you are in the category of being currently overseas with an existing iPhone and are wondering about bringing it to New Zealand, talk with your carrier to discuss whether an unlock is possible and under what conditions.]
Then there’s the issue of the warranty. Unlike most Apple gear such as iPods or Macs that come with an international warranty, the iPhone is only covered by warranty in the country of purchase. So even if you did buy a phone from the US, and even if you did manage to unlock it, you’d be left without a warranty and that’s not a good position to be in should something go wrong with your device.
If you’re considering buying a second-hand device from places such as TradeMe, be extra careful to make sure that the phone you’re bidding on is officially unlocked (i.e. bought that way) and not just software unlocked (hacked or jailbroken). Some sellers are less than up-front about this so if it isn’t clear in the description make sure you ask before laying down any money.
Look out for scammers
The final piece of advice I’d like to give is to be very wary of websites or unsolicited emails that offer iPhones at substantially reduced prices and claim to offer “international warranties” or amazing deals due to “wholesale pricing”. Firstly, Apple don’t wholesale these devices to just anybody — for example, here in New Zealand only Apple themselves and authorised Vodafone dealers can retail them. Secondly, the margin on these devices is very thin and retailers really wouldn’t be able to take anything off the RRP. Offers such as these are almost always a scam and going along with them will invariably land you with a fake iPhone or even stolen goods, so exercise caution!
Well that’s it for this week, class – keep the questions coming!
I believe you’re right about O2 Mak but they’re not the only official UK carrier any more – there’s Vodafone, Orange and even Tesco Mobile now, so the waters are too muddy for us to give clear guidance around that. I’ve slightly edited the article to allow for this. Thanks.
Ive got an Australian iphone 3gs and its currently in the process of being unlocked with optus and they say once it is unlocked it will work with any network in the world and I would like to move to telecom XT but after reading this Im not to sure anymore can you please tell me the right answear
(lakeview01 has made 199 comments)
@ lakeview01:
If it is being officially unlocked by the carrier then it will be fine to use…
(Daniel Burgess has made 613 comments)
@ Dan: Apple keep record of what carriers you can request an official unlock from (on their terms): http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1937
(Mak has made 222 comments)
scored a 3g 16gig on craigslist in Maui last year – unlocked it there and used an AT&T sim… worked pretty good in the states cept you can’t use internet with iphones on prepaid … I Jailbroke it on the Goldcoast at some cellphone store for $100 they installed Cydia and said i can’t update so i’m stuck with 3.0 for the mean time.. there’s some cool apps that i want but you need 3.1 anyway, while in Oz i used an Optus prepaid sim – it worked sweet… cept iphones can’t use the unlimited youtube that they offer… fine print stuff… and now back in NZ i put on an XT sim…. works fine apart from some txts that have a +64 in front of their number… i’m heading back to the states in a few weeks and will try a Verizon sim – hopefully it works… will let y’all know.
(tigerhour has made 4 comments)
Cheers Mak, I’ve updated the post.
(Daniel Burgess has made 613 comments)
I'm 99% sure UK phones can be unlocked upon request to O2.
(Mak has made 222 comments)
You paid someone to use free software on your phone…. probably should have investigated that one
.
(Mak has made 222 comments)
cheers – will do.
(tigerhour has made 4 comments)
You mention that the Iphone isnt covered by an international warranty but Mac’s and Ipods are…do you know what the story is with the Ipad? Only covered in country of purchase or importing one from US not an issue as covered here anyway?
(camtab has made 480 comments)
Good question. My guess would be that it will be a worldwide warranty due to the fact Apple sell them, not carriers. I think even the 3G ones are just direct from Apple and not select carriers. Obviously I have no evidence to back that up so don’t take my word for it
.
(Mak has made 222 comments)
@ Mak:
investigated? – i know, i should've but internet in Hotels is expensive and Back packer internet places are… hhhmmm … yeah. plus jailbreaking is still a mystery to me… why the need? there should be a simple iphone that you can use anywhere, with any sim.. i think i'll pay someone to get me to 3.1 if that's poss – im too scared it might lock if i do something wrong.
(tigerhour has made 4 comments)
It's possible to do certainly. I'm reluctant to help people over the internet (again) since it's quite a time consumer and isn't actually that much of a help.
Please start a topic in the Jailbreaking forum as it is not appropriate to discuss this further in the comments.
(Mak has made 222 comments)
Clear as mud then ha-ha. Guess we will find out soon enough…sure to be a few who import one in (me included..just couldn’t wait for NZ release) so fingers crossed we don’t need the warranty anyway but if we do……
(camtab has made 480 comments)
In one section the warranty states they may limit service to the country of purchase and in another it says that they may cover it.
You can have a read for yourself here: http://images.apple.com/legal/warranty/docs/NA_iP…
(Daniel Burgess has made 613 comments)
So does this mean that I wont be able to update to 3.1.4 when it comes out
(lakeview01 has made 199 comments)
lakeview01 if you do indeed get it officially unlocked by Optus then you can do whatever you like with your phone and it will stay unlocked. It’s only software unlocks (yellowsn0w, ultrasn0w, blacksn0w etc) that will get wiped if you upgrade/restore and there’s a high chance you won’t get it back.
(Mak has made 222 comments)
my friend is over in mumbai and I am thinking of buying an iphone 3g there as they are significantly cheaper then buying one here in NZ. If it is unlocked does that mean it will work here? and would there be any limitation in updating software etc… than buying one here in nz?
(billabong_babe89 has made 1 comment)
billabong_babe89 It all depends if the carriers in Mumbai lock the iPhone to their networks. I believe there are two carriers Vodafone Indian and Airtel. If your friend goes into one of these stores, they should be able to answer any questions.
As far as unlocking, you would again need to ask the carrier, some countries offer an unlocking service.
And of course, your friend can buy one online for you!
Cheers
Allan
(allanmloveday has made 42 comments)
hi there… i just bought an iphone off somebody… now ideally if it was bought from vodafone, it should be able to accept any sim cards right???
(sire0715 has made 1 comment)