Unlocked iPhones bought in US, function with foreign operator?

Hi,
If I buy an unlocked iPhone in the US, will I be able to use it with my european operator in Europe? I know in the pas there were some issues with it but from what I understand it has now been resolved. I prefere to ask as the unlocked phones are sold through an American operator (T-mobil).
Thanks a lot guys
Agnes

There is no unlocked iPhone 6 sold through T-Mobile in the US. No such phone exists.
The difference is that the T-Mobile phone is contract free/sim free, but this is NOT the same as unlocked. If you want an unlocked phone from the US then you will have to wait at least a couple of months until they are available.
Anyway, if you live in France and want to use the phone in France, why on earth are you even considering buying the phone in the US? If you live in France this just does not make sense. Buy it in France and you will then have full EU warranty, which you would not have if you purchased the phone in the US - iPhone warranty is not international, but country specific. You will also have full 4G compatibility with the French networks, which you would not get with a US phone.
Bottom Line: If you want to use the phone in France, then buy it in France - this is a no brainer!!

Similar Messages

Why is iPhone 5 no longer functioning with AirDrop

Is there a reason iPhone 5 no longer functioning with AirDrop when it did before?

After managing to get it to charge 100%, i realise the connector in the iphone is lose, it moves from left to right, only charges when moving to the right, def a lose connection on iphone. Speaking to customer services

Unlocked iphone bought in US to be used in Israel

Planning to buy an unlocked iphone 5 here in the US from a very reputable vendor on Ebay.. I will be returning to Israel and want to use it with an existing SIM card/data plan I have with Pelephone, one of Israel's 3 largest, iphone-friendly networks (it is GSM). Would this unlocked iphone 5 work in Israel with the existing SIM?

Get the model number to verify the LTE Support as mentioned by Deggie, and make sure you have contact info for the Reputable vendor in case Activation Lock comes into play.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13695
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4515

I had my unlocked iPhone 4 replaced by apple with a refirb and am pretty sure they've issued me with a locked phone. Has anyone else had this problem?

Hello all
I had my damaged unlocked iPhone 4 replaced by apple with a refirb model and am pretty sure they've issued me with a locked phone.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Is Apple aware that they are refirbing but not unlocking phones?
Cheers
Ty

It is entirely possible that the human you spoke with at Apple simply made a mistake. You do realize that humans make mistakes, correct?
Take the device back to the store along with any documents you have stating it is or is supposed to be unlocked and let them clear it up.
This all assumes the device was unlocked by the carrier and not some shady website or local electronics store.

Would an unlocked iphone bought in the usa work in the uk with a uk sim card

I am looking to buy an unlocked iphone 4s on my next trip to the usa and was wondering if it would work back in the uk with a uk sim card?

If it is truly unlocked, yes. Note, though, that you would get no warranty or other support for a US-sold iPhone in the UK. Should it ever need service, you'd have to send the iPhone to someone you know in the US to get it serviced. So think hard before you decide to purchase a US iPhone.
Regards.

Does Unlocked iPhone 4S Have Full Functionality ?

If I purchase anFactory Unlocked iPhone 4S, will it have full functionality (i.e. Siri, iTunes, FaceTime, Apps) even if I do not activate it with a cell carrier?

Yes. You will have to connect it to a WiFi network to get all the Data Functions.

Is it true if sprint or verizon will unlock iPhone I can only use with CDMA career?

Is it true if sprint or verizon will unlock iPhone 4S, iphone 5, iphone 5s or 5c outside of America, I can only use with CDMA career??? I mean can I use GSM on this iPhones?
Thanks

To send messages to non-Apple devices, check out the TextFree app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/text-free-textfree-sms-real/id399355755?mt=8
How to Send SMS from iPad
http://www.iskysoft.com/apple-ipad/send-sms-from-ipad.html
How to Receive SMS Messages on an iPad
http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/receive-sms-messages-ipad-16776.html
Apps for Texting http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/apps-for-texting
 Cheers, Tom

Newly-unlocked iPhone 4 will not activate with new sim card

I recently bought a used iPhone 4 from a friend and brought it with me to Cambodia. The friend initited a request to AT&T to unlock the phone so I could use it, and the request was granted by AT&T. She forwarded me the email with instructions, but I have not been able to successfully complete the unlock. The instructions say:
Open iTunes on your Mac or PC and verify that you have Internet connectivity.
Ensure a SIM card is inserted into your iPhone.
Connect your iPhone using the dock connector to USB cable that came with your iPhone.
Backup and restore your iPhone using iTunes. For information on backup and restore, please visit http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414.
After restoring, your iPhone will be unlocked.
When I try this, it refuses to recognize that there is a SIM card installed.
The instructions don't say it has be any particular SIM card, just "a SIM card" so I'm using my local SIM. I also tried a second SIM with the same result.
Any ideas why this isn't working or what I should try next?

I can't even get to an option that asks me that question. I don't want any of the data on the phone now, as that is my friend's data, but I can't even get to a place where I can delete her data or anything else.
All I get is the "activation" screen options (choose language, country, wifi network) and then the error message that "Activation Failed - please insert a SIM card."
I'm not sure if that clarifies exactly what you're asking, My apologies if it doesn't, and try asking me again.

HT201328 how to unlock iPhone bought from France

My friend bought iphone 4s from France and it is not unlocked yet. how can I unlock it please?

ONLY the carrier to which it is locked can unlock it.
Contact them and see if they offer this service and if you qualify

I bought an unlocked iphone 5 with 32mb especially so I could use any wireless carrier that I wanted to. Why does apple hold me prisoner to use only the carriers that apple wants????? The only thing I can't do is send and receive picture messaging.

I specifically bought and paid for an unlocked iphone 5 from APPLE so that I could use any wireless carrier I wanted to. I have been paying ATT WAYYY too much money the last 20 years. But for some reason APPLE wants to keep me from using any wireless carrier - and I can only use the carriers that APPLE will let me. WHY???? I paid my money!! I expected a lot more than I got. The only thing I can't do is send or received picture messages, but it makes me so Mad that I can';t do that!!!

If you bought an unlocked iPhone then it will work with any carrier but will work only under the restrictions or requirements the carrier sets for its customers. Apple has nothing to do with that. You are describing a problem of restricted access created by the carrer. If you cannot carry out the functions you want, talk to the carrier and see what limits they are placing on you. An unlocked iPhone is fully capable of all functions the carrer allows.

If unlocked iPhone 5 comes with a nano-sim... can we link it to other providers?

If we can buy unlocked iPhone 5's that comes with a "default" nano sim...
If we live in another country that does not have a provider that provides nano sims; can't that foreign provider just link the iPhone 5's "default" nano sim to the person's account on their network? That way we would be able to use an iPhone 5 in a country on a provider that doesn't "support" iPhone 5.
I'm not sure how "linking" SIM cards work with providers... so is this actually possible?

If you buy an unlocked iphone it does come with a default "Blank" sim card. You will need to register the IMEI number or MEID with carrier to activate and start functioning. Settings>General>About lists it.

Can unlocked iphone 5s be purchased in the U.S. and used in China with local networks?

I was told that China is working with different network standards regarding mobile phones, so I was wondering if I could buy an unlocked iphone here and use it with a Chinese simcard (which are also different sizes...?)
How would it work?
Thanks!

Hello Katze30,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
To unlock your iPhone from your current carrier please follow the steps in the article below.
iPhone: About unlocking
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5014
Take care,
Alex H.

Apple unable to unlock replacement unlocked iPhone 4S

This is especially important to anyone who purchased an unofficial unlocked iPhone 4S in the USA with an AT&T micro-sim rather than the official unlocked iPhone 4S SKU packages (starting on 11/11/11).
On Oct 17th I purchased a 32gb iPhone 4S at an Apple store in North NJ. The phone was purchased at full price and was indeed unlocked. Unfortunately, the microphone crapped out after one day.
Oct 19th I get a replacement that functions perfectly unfortunately the phone was locked to AT&T. Apple tried feverishly to unlock the phone through their engineering department. The phone was listed on it's profile as "unlocked", but the phone was still locked. The consensus was it was an unforseen issue to an unforseen problem that wasn't anticipated so there was no way to resolve it at the moment. The solution was to return the phone and repurchase another.
Oct 21st I return the replacement phone with the box from the original phone. They bring me a new phone, open the box and hand me the phone. The phone was unlocked.
Oct 31st I get home from a trip and to make a long story short, I break the screen on the unlocked phone. I am unable to get a replacement for my iPhone from any Apple store in my area at this time.
Nov 2nd Apple sends me a replacement they assured me would be unlocked.
Nov 3rd I receive a locked replacement from Apple.
Without going in to too much detail; I spoke to every level of advisor, an engineer for several days following the receipt of the locked replacement and they assured me they would be able to unlock this iPhone by placing the serial number into a database which affirms the unlock every time the phone is synced.
Again, I was assured this would solve the issue of activating the unlock. However it was finally determined (on Nov 11th) that something is inherently wrong in the system. The senior advisor I spoke to yesterday said that the issue I am having has already sprung up a handful of times with similar results. His resultion was for me to go to the Apple store (he made the appointment for me and spoke to the manager of the store) and return my phone and purchase a factory unlocked iPhone 4S.

Believe what you want. Maybe it wasn't locked down from the moment of sale, but it was sold as carrier locked to AT&T.
Similarly, news has broken recently that the SIM slots in phones sold on Sprint were unlocked out of the box, but Sprint would be locking them down effective yesteday.
Any phone that came with an AT&T SIM card was not meant to be unlocked. It may have taken some time for Apple/AT&T to pur the serial numbers in the system and get them locked down, but they were never advertised or sold as unlocked. I don't know why Apple would spend so much time on this with you frankly, as unlocked phones did not officially become available to order in the U.S. until yesterday.
Perhaps, now that there is one model of iPhone in the US that for the first time, is available on multiple carriers, They are ALL unlocked on the shelves and are being fed into the database to be locked down at the time of sale. This is the way it has worked in some countries for a while (where there were multiple, supported, GSM carriers).
Either way, you're not going to find much in the way of sympathy here, since Apple did not advertise or market the unlocked iPhone in the US at the time you bought yours.
If you bought your phone on October 17th, then you have 5 more days left to return it for a refund. I sugest you do that and purchase an iPhone that is actually marketed and sold as unlocked instead.

Why my unlocked iPhone is not working with SIM card bought in Europe (it shows SIM card l

I bought unlocked iPhone in Apple store in US with a thought that I could also use it when travelling to Europe. I've bought SIM card there, place it in my iPhone, but It's not working. Still it shows that card is locked for some reason. What can I do to solve this problem?

Which Carrier's sim exactly did you buy and in which Country ?
You are sure you purchased an unlocked rather than Sim free iPhone ??

HT201328 I just bought an unlocked iphone 5s, 32 GB, and it came with an AT&T sim card. Is that normal?

I just bought an unlocked iphone 5s, 32GB, and turns out it came with an AT&T sim in it. Is that normal?

Certainly sounds that way, with the fact that there was an ATT card included, and your chosen cell provider SIM doesn't work.

Unlocked iPhones bought in US, function with foreign operator?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for