The iPhone 4 is not yet available in India, and a few of you would be asking your relatives or friends to get an iPhone 4 from the US to use it in India.
Before you do that there are at least 4 things that you should know that might surprise you later. These are things that might make your iPhone 4 useless as a phone in India if you aren’t prepared for them.
1. Activate the iPhone 4 in US itself: If you get an iPhone 4 from eBay – it may not even be activated. This means that you can’t do anything at all with the phone. It just shows you a screen saying that it is not activated, and can only be used to make emergency calls. The phone is practically useless in this state, and the simplest way to activate this iPhone 4 is to insert an original AT&T iPhone 4 SIM card, and fire up iTunes. This will activate your iPhone 4, and let you past the first screen. Since it is a lot easier to find someone in the US with a iPhone 4 AT&T SIM card than it is to find one in India, you should ask whoever is bringing you the phone to at least get this done. There are other ways to activate the iPhone 4 called “hactivation” but they are much more complicated, and you would much rather get it activated than hactivated.
- After this step you will be able to use it as an iPod
- It will still not allow you to run third party apps.
- It will still not work with other carriers such as Airtel.
2. Jailbreak your iPhone 4: After you’re past activating the iPhone 4 – you will need to jailbreak it. Jailbreaking does not mean that this phone can be used with any other carrier. It just means that you can run apps that are not approved by the iTunes store on your phone. This is also a pre – requisite to “unlocking” the phone which does allow it to work with other carriers. This has also been deemed legal earlier this year. It’s quite easy, and there is a simple hack by “limera1n” that allows you to do it in a few minutes. You don’t need an original SIM for this.
- After this step you will be able to use it as an iPod
- You will also be able to run third party apps.
- It will still not work with other carriers such as Airtel.
3. Unlocking your iPhone 4: The next thing you need to do is get your phone “unlocked” which will allow it to work with other carriers like AT&T, Hutch etc.
The key thing to keep in mind is that so far there is no unlock available for iPhone 4 running on iOS 4.1 or 4.2 with a Baseband of 2.10.4 or higher.
To be honest, I don’t know what the Baseband actually means, but before you buy the iPhone 4 – ensure that it is a lower Baseband so that it can be unlocked.
If you have an iPhone 4 with a 2.10.4 Baseband then you will not be able to unlock it right – away. Sooner or later a method will appear to unlock them and at that time you will be able to unlock it, and use it with other carriers, but you will have to wait till that time.
I’ve read a few posts on lowering the Baseband, but those methods don’t look very promising, and seem to be complicated as well. If you’ve not already bought the iPhone 4, then try getting one with a Baseband lower than 2.10.4.
For others – you can unlock the phone with various techniques listed online, and you will be just one step away from using it with your carrier.
- After this step you will be able to use it as an iPod
- You will also be able to run third party apps.
- It will work with other carriers such as Airtel.
There is just one more thing you to do to actually use it though.
4. Cut your SIM to size: The iPhone 4 uses what’s called a micro sim, and is much smaller than your regular SIM. The two share the same technology, and there are quite a few instruction videos online that show you how to cut up a regular SIM to fit in an iPhone 4 and make it work.
iPhone 4 is quite a cool device, and hopefully will start selling in India soon, but if you are getting it from someone in the US – keep all these points in mind. Ideally (at least for you) if the person getting the phone can do all these things for you (except perhaps cutting up the SIM) that will work out the best, as doing these things in the US is always a little simpler than it is to do them in India.
I have an iphone 4 bought under contract in US with AT&T.. Can i unlock and use it in india? Cant i just say that i lost my iphone. How much would they charge for breaking the contract.. Can i buy a new iphone there and continue the same contract?
Will iphone4 work properly if we get it from us and get it unlocked in india?
or it will be just a stationary iphone?
It will work properly if you buy the AT&T one that’s GSM, and then all other steps are followed properly as written about in this article.
@manshu – my frnd is coming to india permanently and wont be going back again then whts d issue in this way coz many of my frns are using iphones which are brought from us locked ones and they simply unlock here can this be done ??
There is no problem if your friend doesn’t have a contract and is willing to get it for you. You can get it unlocked in India once you have it.
m planning to buy an iphone 4 from usa…if m buyng an iphone for at&t contract…will in work as an i pod in india…or as a phone or will simply nt work over here….kindly let me know if ne further problems may arise….ne suggestions r more dn welcome….
Aman,
If you buy it in a contract with AT&T then you will have to first incur some contract breakage fee that will be significant. Else, the person who has bought it on contract will continue to receive a bill every month, and failure to pay that bill will result in default and screw his credit score.
As for the phone itself, it will need to be unlocked before you can use it in India. It can be unlocked in either US or India, but you should know someone or someplace that can do it for you. I’d suggest getting an unlocked iPhone from eBay which is in good condition. You will have to pay extra but won’t have to break a contract or worry about unlocking it etc.
can anyone plzzzzzz help me out plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz m living in india and m thinking to bring iphone 4 locked with contract via my friend who lives in usa can anyone tell me is this correct way becoz iphone(loocked) in usa is much cheaper than in india later i will unlock it here only and what are the problem that i can face and things to remember ?????????????????????????????????????????????????
If it is locked with contract then your friend will have to pay the monthly cost for as long as the contract lasts, or will have to incur significant contract breakage charges. That’s not advisable at all.
What if his friend does not pay the monthly fee? Email me brother i need your help.
If i get iPhone 4 from USA, how much exactly it will cost. Do i have to pay the monthly fee even if i get it unlocked.
hi Dinesh.
Iphone4 without contract costs $599 in the US and is available at AT&T outlets. the total you have 2 pay depends upon the tax rate of the particular state. Ex: tax rate in NY is 7% so it costs 642$ there. you donot have to pay monthly fee if u buy it for 599$ but it will still be locked to AT&T. so u ll have to get it unlocked. n u lose the warranty as soon as u get it unlocked.
hi
Guys i m planning on buying the iphone4. i am a little confused and need ur help. Iphone4 is available in USA without contract for $599 + tax but is locked to AT&T. So v just need to unlock it and its gud to go. its also available in Canada for $659+tax. its factory unlocked and is ready to use newhere. But calculating the taxes it is about $100 more expensive den the US version. wat i am really confused about is the warranty. the one purchased from US will lose its warranty as soon as its unlocked. The one from canada has the usual warranty but i dont know if its international. So after writing a long paragraph, my real question is this: is the iphone warranty international.?????? now i m thinking that i cud ve just written this last line bt thanks f reading. :D. Cheers!!!!!!!
im thinking of getting a locked iphone from US. and then jailbreak and unlock it to use it in india with some other sim. but im not sure of the monthly fees. i would have to pay it even if i dont use the AT&T sim??
When you buy the iPhone from AT&T it will come with a 2 year contract. You are bound by the contract whether you use the SIM or not unless you renege the contract.
However, there are significant breakage fees that AT&T charges if you break the contract. If you just stop paying then your account will go in default and your credit history will suffer.
The other issue you will face is that there is no easy way to unlock the iPhone 4 with the latest software. There are round about ways of doing so but they’re not as effective as they used to be.
I’d suggest looking at eBay and see if you can find some phones that are already unlocked.
Hmm… so then why do ppl unlock it?? they still have to pay the monthly charges. there is no pay as you go plan in AT&T???
I think if you go to an AT&T shop in the US or even the Verizon one they will be able to explain to you much better than what I’ve been able to do.
thankz for ur help…..
You’re welcome Abhi.
and wt abt the monthly charges and the contract??? will they keep on charging the monthly charges???
If you buy under a contract then you will have to pay the monthly fee as long as you use the service. If you break the contract then there is a significant breakage. That’s why buying under a contract is only meant for people who live in the US and are going to use it there.
what if i jailbreak and unlock it???
If you buy it under a contract then that still applies. Where are you located, and how are you planning to buy this?
is the unlock now available for the higher basebands?
n how can i cut my sim card?
Not as far as I know – the baseband has not been out yet.
Cutting the SIM is not all that complicated. I’ve seen videos where people have just used regular scissors and cut it. You can check that out too.
hi…just wanted to know what price will the iphone 4 be if bought in the us as in 1 website i heard that it will be for $299 with an AT&T contract which like only 9k in india so i dnt think it would be that cheap….please tell the real price in the us.
Varun – the price you see are for the contract version. This means that the phone is locked and can’t work with another carrier. The prices are low because they are subsidized by AT&T or Verizon since the customer is effectively locked with them for 2 years in which they can recover their money.
If you want to get a phone to use in India then go to eBay.com and search for unlocked iPhone 4. You will see search results that are in the range of $700 or so which is what the price is.
Hi, i am planning to buy samsung google nexus s phone from USA.So let me know whether i can use this samsung google nexus s phone in India for vodafone network or not..please reply me back as soon as possible..Also let me know whether samsung galaxy s2 phone is still not released in USA..
Google has stopped making the Nexus phone to the best of my knowledge; there is an option to buy a developer version but I understand that’s more expensive. This is a good thread about whether it will work in India or not with a lot more details than I can every provide.
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=049f5a48aa175091&hl=en
I don’t know about the Samsung phone. If you’re in a hurry then the best bet is to go to eBay and see what’s available there.
Ok. Thanks.
Sure, no problem, and do let me know if you find anything of interest about the Canadian iPhone market.
my thoughts exactly Manshu. btw do you have any idea about the price of iphone 4 16gb in USA???
You can get one from eBay for 700 bucks or so….don’t know if you can get an unlocked one brand new at retail or not.
Is it ok if the phone is purchased from canada??? will it be brand new or will one have to do these steps for an iphone 4 purchased from there also.
Not sure about Canada Abhinav, although I see Apple selling iPhone 4 on their Canada website for about $650 or so, which makes me think that it’s unlocked.
thankx a lot manshu..
Its available in India for 38K for an unlocked piece, guess they are buying it in Singapore and selling it here. Its available on amazon for $665 which comes to INR 30590 approx for a brand new piece but am not sure if unlocking this piece would be an issue, need some solid advise here as i am planning to buy one soon. I am hearing mixed comments on unlocking the US piece and dont want to get into trouble after buying it. Any help is more than welcome….
Amazon US – Are they shipping to India, and is it really brand new? I mean it must be some individual who bought it, took out the SIM and is now selling it without using it. So, it’s not really brand new like that. If you share the link you saw I’ll take a look.
Personally, I’d wait another couple of weeks to see if an unlock is out for the current baseband, and if it’s not then buy one from India and avoid all hassles.
Refer to this link
http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/2010/11/29/unlock-iphone-4-2-1-ultrasn0w/
Clearly states -“If your iPhone 4 is not on baseband 01.59.00, you will not be able to unlock it.”
can we ask for an iphone with a lower baseband as mentioned in your post….i mean arent all of the iphone 4’s are available on the same baseband??
If you’re buying it off of eBay which is what you would most likely do if you have to bring it to India – ask the seller what baseband it is.
Not every phone will have the same baseband, as this is updated when someone updates their software using iTunes, so people who are aware of these locking issues might not have upgraded their software and still kept the provision of having it unlocked.
Let’s hope that the unlock comes out quickly, actually I was expecting it to be out by now, but the folks at the Dev Team seem to be busy with other stuff.
Rather then getting from US and facing hassles…one can get unlocked version from UK,Singapore and HK!
If that option is available then yeah it makes sense to avoid the hassles. How much is this going for in the UK or Singapore Chints?
It will cost 31k.
In case of UK, you should reclaim VAT from airport while leaving. The tax is quite high there and if you are lazy not to reclaim VAT, then you will end up paying 37k.
No such issue in HK and Singapore.
Thanks, so it’s slightly more expensive than buying one off of eBay in the US, but then that won’t be brand new. Thanks for sharing.