Apple Now Selling Unlocked Iphone 4 In Usa

[bubba]

You can now buy unlocked iPhones directly from Apple on their USA store. At $649, they work out to cost about 3,000 baht cheaper than the Thai price, although I suppose depending where you order from in the USA, you could get hit with state sales tax. Definitely not worth a special trip for the savings, but just in case you find yourself over there and still need an iPhone 4....

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC603LL/A?mco=MjI4NTM2NTM

[nullx8]

After 3 Years over 4 (phone)Generations the rip off comes finally to an end ...

[Jimi007]

I am currently in the USA and I just called Apple Care and asked them if I already have an iPhone can I download the unlocked version of their software and they said yes through iTunes. It will give me a choice of AT&T, Verizon or unlocked. I was thinking about buying an iPhone 4 from a friend that has an Apple repair shop here, but didn't know if I could get an unlocked version of iOS for it... I think I better try it before I buy it.

[nikster]

^^ it's not the software that's locked or unlocked, it's the phone.

If yours is locked then you need to hack it - jailbreak and unlock - after every software update. If you have an unlocked phone (unlocked when bought, not hacked) then you never have any issues it remains unlocked forever.

[nikster]

I think this will become really interesting in the usa with the next gen iPhone which will work on all us networks (even CDMA ones like Verizon and sprint).

It might even lead to a revolution in the us phone market away from the rip off that is subsidies + lock in contracts and to cheap prepaid plans... maybe...

The current gen iPhone only works on AT&T and t mobile in the usa as these are the only gsm networks. And t mob is being bought by AT&T

[nullx8]

^^ it's not the software that's locked or unlocked, it's the phone.

If yours is locked then you need to hack it - jailbreak and unlock - after every software update. If you have an unlocked phone (unlocked when bought, not hacked) then you never have any issues it remains unlocked forever.

if it's where the phone you would not be able to Unlock it afterwards ...

you wrote that yourself in your secound phrase

he phone will be activated after every upgrade via iTunes or over the air .. IF you have a "locked" phone .. apple know the uuid of the phone and will verify the provider while the unlock is happening.

a "locked" phone simply results in failure of this process if the mnc does not match the uuid of the device.

[Jimi007]

^^ it's not the software that's locked or unlocked, it's the phone.

If yours is locked then you need to hack it - jailbreak and unlock - after every software update. If you have an unlocked phone (unlocked when bought, not hacked) then you never have any issues it remains unlocked forever.

How could it not be the software that's locked? Apple only makes the one GSM phone that is marketed around the world by different phone services and now by Apple at the Apple store for use in any country without a service provider contract. As you just said and nullx8 pointed out, it's a software hack that will unlock a locked phone, so it is the software.

To the OP: It's $749 for the 32GB at the US Apple store plus sales tax of 8.5 % around where I am. My friend just bought one in Phuket for $766 including VAT.

[mr3cho]

There are two types of unlocks.

1. Firmware unlock

2. IMEI unlock

Say you have firmware 4.1 and unlock your phone, then upgrade to firmware 4.3, your unlock is gone and you need to unlock again. This type is a hack provided by the iPhone hacking community.

IMEI unlock has something to do with the serial number or IMEI number and Apple's database. This unlock is permanent. You can upgrade firmwares as you please and the unlock status remains.

That is the difference

[bubba]

^^ it's not the software that's locked or unlocked, it's the phone.

If yours is locked then you need to hack it - jailbreak and unlock - after every software update. If you have an unlocked phone (unlocked when bought, not hacked) then you never have any issues it remains unlocked forever.

How could it not be the software that's locked? Apple only makes the one GSM phone that is marketed around the world by different phone services and now by Apple at the Apple store for use in any country without a service provider contract. As you just said and nullx8 pointed out, it's a software hack that will unlock a locked phone, so it is the software.

To the OP: It's $749 for the 32GB at the US Apple store plus sales tax of 8.5 % around where I am. My friend just bought one in Phuket for $766 including VAT.

Well I did say that depending on what US state you are in, you could get hit with some sales tax.

It's interesting that your friend bought a 32GB iPhone 4 in Phuket for $766. The fixed price for that model in Thailand is 27,820 (including VAT), or about $927 without a service package, or $852 with a package. Here is the pricing page from AIS, and of course Apple has fixed the price to be the same at all official resellers.

http://www.ais.co.th/iphone/en/package/

So $766 would be quite a deal. Where did they buy it?

[Jimi007]

^^ it's not the software that's locked or unlocked, it's the phone.

If yours is locked then you need to hack it - jailbreak and unlock - after every software update. If you have an unlocked phone (unlocked when bought, not hacked) then you never have any issues it remains unlocked forever.

How could it not be the software that's locked? Apple only makes the one GSM phone that is marketed around the world by different phone services and now by Apple at the Apple store for use in any country without a service provider contract. As you just said and nullx8 pointed out, it's a software hack that will unlock a locked phone, so it is the software.

To the OP: It's $749 for the 32GB at the US Apple store plus sales tax of 8.5 % around where I am. My friend just bought one in Phuket for $766 including VAT.

Well I did say that depending on what US state you are in, you could get hit with some sales tax.

It's interesting that your friend bought a 32GB iPhone 4 in Phuket for $766. The fixed price for that model in Thailand is 27,820 (including VAT), or about $927 without a service package, or $852 with a package. Here is the pricing page from AIS, and of course Apple has fixed the price to be the same at all official resellers.

http://www.ais.co.th...one/en/package/

So $766 would be quite a deal. Where did they buy it?

Good question. I'll have to ask him. He's an AIS customer. I think maybe his math is off! Your math and mine are the same. Are the iPhones unlocked there? I don't currently have one... I guess if I really want one I should get it here and just put in my AIS SIM card. No 3G by True in my end of Phuket yet... (Plus I really don't like True!) Most of my friends in the US are using Android phones though. Maybe I should look for one of those...

[bubba]

When you say "are the iPhones locked there?", do you mean Thailand? If so, yes, they are all unlocked. If you are in the USA and want an iPhone that you can also use in Thailand, just buy it there as even in a state with high sales tax, it will still be cheaper than in Thailand. Keep in mind that you will need a micro SIM card for an iPhone 4. You can either trim down a regular one, or else go in to AIS and they will provide you with one.

[nikster]

There are two types of unlocks.

1. Firmware unlock

2. IMEI unlock

Say you have firmware 4.1 and unlock your phone, then upgrade to firmware 4.3, your unlock is gone and you need to unlock again. This type is a hack provided by the iPhone hacking community.

IMEI unlock has something to do with the serial number or IMEI number and Apple's database. This unlock is permanent. You can upgrade firmwares as you please and the unlock status remains.

That is the difference

That's right. #1 is the software unlock, which is not permanent - that is it doesn't persist over software upgrades which is a pain in the neck. A factory unlocked phone is in Apple's "happy unlocked phones" database so every time you upgrade the firmware it confirms that you have an unlocked phone and hands iTunes a special token that allows it to unlock the phone.

Each such token is only good for the one IMEI it is tied to. They're using some form of public key encryption to accomplish this. That's why there are hardware unlocked phones and hacked ones. Hardware unlocked in this context means Apple has a record of the hardware ID, and it's on record that that ID is an unlocked phone.

Anyway long story short, there's factory unlocked phones and factory locked phones that have been hacked. The former remain unlocked forevermore. The latter lock every time you upgrade the firmware. The factory unlock is tied to the hardware by means of a unique ID that is hardwired and cannot be changed. At least nobody has found a way to do that yet (that would be the mother of all hacks, I hope somebody does it...).