It may have come to your attention that iPhone 4's (Not iPhone 4s, regular iPhone 4) prices has dropped ever since the upcoming and after the release of the newest iPhone 4s. As usual, these iPhones are based in a $600 US Dlls basis. Same as with iPhone 3G and iPhone 3Gs, their cost dropped to in between $300 and $400 US Dlls after their successor. Different from iPhone 3G and 3Gs, the iPhone 4 has strict restrictions about unlocking. If you are planning on buying an iPhone 4 from the US so that you can use it outside the US, you MUST read this article.
iPhones have been strictly put into carrier exclusivity, meaning they're locked for the carrier you originally purchase the iPhone with. All iPhones have been unlocked by using a soft method, using specific programs or applications to unlock it. Pretty simple stuff to be honest.
However, the iPhone 4 could not be unlocked by using those methods. Let me explain a bit about how iPhone unlock criteria works.
All iPhones and iPods run on a specific software release. Depending on the software version, it depends on the phone "baseband". We call the baseband to the injected program/software that decodes the carrier signal, transforming it into an actual phone line signal.
If the baseband is supported by an unlock method, it can be unlocked with no doubt. The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3Gs are able to be unlocked by injecting an iPad baseband, which turns to be compatible with all unlock methods.
However, the iPhone 4 is NOT compatible with the iPad baseband injection. This makes it harder to be unlocked, and believe it or not, is not something that your local PC guy or black market can unlock. Is not upon their decision, since they use the same methods we have published here.
Buying an iPhone 4 from Craiglists or eBay so that you can use it in another country, may sounds like a deal. Currently, you may get an iPhone 4 in Mexico for about 550 US Dlls while in eBay you can get it for almost half the price.
Regrettably, your iPhone 4 will ONLY work if:
1. The iPhone software is below 5.0 release. (Any version such as 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.3.2, or 4.3.3 are "unlockable").
2. The iPhone must be an AT&T carrier based (GSM). Verizon iPhone (CDMA) does NOT have a SIM card (GSM), meaning is NOT unlockable.
Now, check the following scenarios so that you understand a bit more of locked phones around eBay.
A. If your iPhone is running iOS 5.0 or latest software, you will not be able to downgrade to any previous release.
B. If your iPhone is running any release between 4.0 and 4.3.3, you won't be able to restore the phone to factory settings unless you upgrade to iOS 5. Meaning you will either delete stuff manually, or leave the previous owner's information there.
It sounds complicated. But trust me, IT IS COMPLICATED.
There's a few people who understand the whole iPhone and iOS device unlock principles, but if you are planning on getting a phone from the US just because it's cheap, you must think twice or you will be earning an expensive iPod looking just like an iPhone.
There might be chances for the phone to be eventually unlocked, but if you're buying it so that you wait until they release an unlock, you might need to have a sit and focus on disappointment because your phone might never be unlocked!
Or perhaps it will be unlocked after they release a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), which by then your phone will cost less than what it cost you already, even in your country.
If you have any doubt, feel free to tweet me at my Twitter page.
iPhones have been strictly put into carrier exclusivity, meaning they're locked for the carrier you originally purchase the iPhone with. All iPhones have been unlocked by using a soft method, using specific programs or applications to unlock it. Pretty simple stuff to be honest.
However, the iPhone 4 could not be unlocked by using those methods. Let me explain a bit about how iPhone unlock criteria works.
All iPhones and iPods run on a specific software release. Depending on the software version, it depends on the phone "baseband". We call the baseband to the injected program/software that decodes the carrier signal, transforming it into an actual phone line signal.
If the baseband is supported by an unlock method, it can be unlocked with no doubt. The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3Gs are able to be unlocked by injecting an iPad baseband, which turns to be compatible with all unlock methods.
However, the iPhone 4 is NOT compatible with the iPad baseband injection. This makes it harder to be unlocked, and believe it or not, is not something that your local PC guy or black market can unlock. Is not upon their decision, since they use the same methods we have published here.
Buying an iPhone 4 from Craiglists or eBay so that you can use it in another country, may sounds like a deal. Currently, you may get an iPhone 4 in Mexico for about 550 US Dlls while in eBay you can get it for almost half the price.
Regrettably, your iPhone 4 will ONLY work if:
1. The iPhone software is below 5.0 release. (Any version such as 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.3.2, or 4.3.3 are "unlockable").
2. The iPhone must be an AT&T carrier based (GSM). Verizon iPhone (CDMA) does NOT have a SIM card (GSM), meaning is NOT unlockable.
Now, check the following scenarios so that you understand a bit more of locked phones around eBay.
A. If your iPhone is running iOS 5.0 or latest software, you will not be able to downgrade to any previous release.
B. If your iPhone is running any release between 4.0 and 4.3.3, you won't be able to restore the phone to factory settings unless you upgrade to iOS 5. Meaning you will either delete stuff manually, or leave the previous owner's information there.
It sounds complicated. But trust me, IT IS COMPLICATED.
There's a few people who understand the whole iPhone and iOS device unlock principles, but if you are planning on getting a phone from the US just because it's cheap, you must think twice or you will be earning an expensive iPod looking just like an iPhone.
There might be chances for the phone to be eventually unlocked, but if you're buying it so that you wait until they release an unlock, you might need to have a sit and focus on disappointment because your phone might never be unlocked!
Or perhaps it will be unlocked after they release a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), which by then your phone will cost less than what it cost you already, even in your country.
If you have any doubt, feel free to tweet me at my Twitter page.
