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.
This is what i was searching for; since the day i have seen one of my friend using iPhone I got a mood to replace my old handset with Apple iPhone. But if I purchase in India it will cost me more than 35k but if I buy it from US it will cost me only $200 which is around 10k.
my friend is going to come from US so i am planning to buy an i phone 4s from US coz its its only 199$ means 14k . will it work if i unlock or do jailbreak here?
very good advice Manshu !
how much is the rent miimum rent on monthly basis…i m also confused if they charge for contract then why do they send a monthly charge…cost of contract includes what..
can u tell me if we buy an iphone 4 with a contract ..after all the procedure stated above after buying we do and use it with a airtel sim..then do we have to pay rent of the contract of usa …
yes we do have to pay the monthly contract charges under any circumstances.The monthly charge depends on the plan u select.The minimum monthly charge is 70$
Hii. i want to buy an locked iphone4s from US and then bring it here through my friend.My friend will be using the sim which comes along with it there.so my doubt is can we use the simcard which comes along with the iphone there in US in some another phone???.
I m planin to buy a i phone from US through my dad’s frnd can u guide me how can i get it at a very low cost.
hi i have got iphone 4s from canada to India and it unlocked but if insert my airtel sim it shows this sim is not valid can you plesase help me in solving this problem
how much it cost you to buy it from canada to india ? And wch one is it , contract or no contract ?
Does the SIM fit in?
I mean have you cut the SIM in size first? If you’ve already done that then I’m afraid I can’t offer any other suggestions. You can try looking up a shop near you that deals in those kind of things because using iPhone 4 in India is quite common now so they should be able to fix your issue.
One of my friends is going to Canada for a holiday, is he eligible to buy a locked version i.e. the one with the contract after paying say 200$?
I’m not familiar with how the Canada market works – sorry.
HI Manshu,
I am just about to get an iphone 4s from the US through my uncle. He got it when unlocked version was not available in US then. He paid the extra amount to get the iphone carrier free, so that he doesnt have to pay any monthly extra charges. It was locked with At&t before. Just tell me if i will have to something to get it working over here other than cutting the sim?? will it work here or not.
If it’s unlocked then you’re set. You can cut the SIM to size and use it when you get it.
Well. What if I already have one? 😐
I’m not sure what to do in that case – have no experience with that. Good luck.
For how much you got the i-phone And is it like brought from U.k / U.S to India ??
and wch one you got ?? With contract one or without contract one ??
aah……not at all now !!
What i finally concluded is you take is from anywhere the difference in cost won’t be that much as we think and its not about APPLE iphone it implies to all gadgets…
Thanks for clearing my doubts bro.. 😉
You are welcome 🙂
Dear Manshu,
Would apple figure out who is using their iPhone outside of their country? The context being the same – getting the phone to India after claiming it from the Insurance company in the US/UK.
What would be the best way to make it usable in India and still be not liable to anything?
Thanks,
I think the best way is to get an unlocked one from eBay
yup most of the things are cleared so temme a thing like suppose i am on tour to U.S for vacations and i got an iphone for me (with contract one) then will they sell me that or they will not ???
When you go to buy the iPhone they will check your credit history – if they come up with nothing they will want a deposit upwards of $200 to give a contract. In your case, since you don’t have a residence proof or SSN or any of those other things – I think they won’t sell you the phone at all. No one that I know has tried this so I don’t know for sure, but some of my friends have paid security deposits to get the phone.
You are free to buy it from eBay but you will have to pay full price.
Do you have any more doubts?
Hello Manshu ,
First of all i would like to thank you from all of of user’s side as i read all of your reverts . M impressed that you have a good knowledge about this stuff.
Now m coming directly to the point … You said if we brought the i-phone with contract ($199 around) and use it in India after getting it unlocked , nothing will go wrong with us the only problem is that the original buyer will receive monthly bills for 2 yrs as the phone is in contract and if not paid then it can be a problem for him . Right… I got everything whatever you wanted to convey but now i want to ask you that HOW CAN IT BE POSSIBLE THAT BUYER GETS MONTHLY BILLS WHICH HE MUST HAVE TO PAY ?? what i know is that we get charged on the SIM (which will be AT&T in U.S ) and its like if we don’t pay or get recharged by there monthly plan they can cut our service and we can’t use the i-phone …. As simple as that …and as it will be already brought to INDIA then who cares for the contract… Buyer can simply say this as well that he didn’t liked the service and don’t want to use this product…so is there any law written that YOU MUST HAVE TO USE THE PHONE FOR 2 YRS …..its simple that they will cut out the service…nothing more the company and provider can do… One more thing… If i go by your answer that is penalty and fine and all stuff then What will be the case if your phone gets stolen ???? That means you will still have to pay for 2 yrs as YOU BROUGHT THE PRODUCT ONCE….
See there is lot of confusion and i seriously didn’t liked your answers at all as they just are confusing and not upto the point . Please revert me with what can be done coz if we buy an iphone4 without contract that costs same as it does in india…then who will go for it… The only reason we want to buy it from U.S is coz it will be dam dam cheaper and will cost not more than 10k (including unlocking stuff here in india) once we get an iphone with contract…
So please help me and others as well… Coz i think you can find out the correct answer and way to this problem .
Thanks
With warm regards
DiV
Divyansh – when I buy an iPhone from Verizon / AT&T / Sprint under a 2 year contract – that means I am obligated to pay that contract money for the 2 years. It is like a post paid contract in India where you are sent a monthly bill. There is no recharge business there right?
The big difference however is that they are selling the phone for CHEAPER than they actually get it from Apple because they make their profit on the contract that they have with you. If I stop paying the contract then I will default on an obligation and that will appear on my credit history which will damage my credit and thereby damaging my ability to take credit or loans in the future.
You have to understand that you are only getting the iPhone at a lower rate because you MUST pay for the contract. Otherwise on this price the phone companies will themselves make a heavy loss.
You can’t simply say you didn’t like the service and cancel the contract. You will have to pay the contract breakage fee which is actually called an EARLY TERMINATION FEE because you are NOT paying the full price of the phone. You are paying a SUBSIDIZED price of the phone. Do you understand this? This is the main thing to understand.
If you stop paying – they will cut the phone service AND they will report to the credit bureaus that you are a DEFAULTER.
To your question of who will go for it – people who want to buy the phone and use it in the US WILL go for it.
If you lose the phone – they will send you a new SIM, but it’s up to you to get a new device. They will not simply replace the device.
The phone companies are not selling the phone cheap so foreigners can game their system and drive them bankrupt – they are selling it cheap so they can profit from the money on the contract.
Now, this is the best that I can explain this situation and what you can do is Google “early termination fee sprint” and you will get a lot more results about this and see what this is all about. You will also get results on how to avoid this but I am skeptical that they work.
I hope this clarifies your doubts, and all others who haven’t really figured this out yet.
yes i knew it was printing mistake……ur information was more valuable……thanx again..:):)
thanx very very much…..:):):)
Oops sorry – 2 years I meant 2 years in my earlier comment, not 2 months. Will correct and edit now so that others don’t get misled!
so i cant take locked iphone from US because of contract….and iphone without contract is unlocked right????…..
is there any other way to get it at this very low cost……cuz unlocked phone is very costly in india and US also…
You have to look at it this way Abhilash – you’re getting the phone for $200 or so only because you agree to pay the carrier a monthly fee for 2 years. So, if Verizon can charge me $100 every month for at least two years then they can recover the cost of the phone that they subsidize to begin with.
That’s the whole deal behind these contracts and getting the phones at lower price.
If you buy from eBay or anywhere else – ask them specifically if the phone is unlocked in addition to being jail broken.
hello manshu,
im planning to to buy iphone 4s with locked carrier from US. i have read one article regarding unlocking iphone 4s . it says that 4s can be unlocked after 60 days to any carrier.
http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/10/12/iphone-4s-to-be-sim-unlocked-on-sprint-verizon-after-60-days/
is that possible to take it to India after that 2 month period and use it with indian carrier like vodafone. or it must be unlocked within US only with their carrier. does it mean that contract is just for 2 months and after that we can use any carrier. and after that Sprint and verizon wont charge monthly??
please reply asap…….tahnx in advanced..:):):):)
HI Abhilash,
The contract is for 2 years, and when they ship the phone – it’s locked to the carrier that ships it. So AT&T can’t be used with Verizon and so forth. What these guys are saying is that if after two months you call the provider and ask them to unlock the phone – they will unlock it so that you can use it outside the US with other carriers.
This however has nothing to do with the contract. The contract remains in place for two years and you are obliged to pay it every month. If you break it then they will charge heavy breakage fee.