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Level 1

6 points

How can I buy an unlocked iPad 2 from online store

I want to ask if I can buy an un locked iPad 2 from the online store

notice that I am not in the United States and I am going to used it out side it

Sony VAIO, Windows Vista

Posted on Mar 6, 2011 9:57 AM

30 replies

Sultan1234 Author

Level 1

6 points

Mar 13, 2011 5:02 AM in response to Chris CA

ThanK YoU SO MucH

Mar 14, 2011 12:21 PM in response to Sultan1234

I purchased an iPad 2 3G Verizon edition. Verizon uses CDMA technology, I want to activate it on Mexico. The only carrier that uses this same technology is Iusacell. Is there any way I may activate it?

stadum

Level 1

0 points

Mar 14, 2011 10:33 PM in response to Chris CA

This confirms what I was told in the San Francisco Apple store on Chestnut Street today. The iPad 2 3G AT&T model is not locked. (Mind you, I have found that U.S. Apple store employees generally do not understand locking and unlocking, so I reserve judgment on the accuracy of the statement -- but, it does correspond to what Chris says, so there is cause for hope.)

The AT&T model, in contrast to the Verizon model, operates on the GSM standard. The unlocked iPad 2 3G AT&T model should therefore work with SIM cards from GSM carriers in other countries, and that takes in almost every country in the world. In this respect it is similar to using an unlocked iPhone in various GSM countries. That process is well established. I have an unlocked UK iPhone 4, for example, and use it with a SIM card from Vodafone Germany.

spradhan

Level 1

0 points

Mar 14, 2011 11:52 PM in response to Chris CA

Could you please confirm this...if AT&T version will work in other countries...coz I got different answers from Apple customer care and store sales persons...

Message was edited by: spradhan

deggie

Level 10

167,183 points

Mar 14, 2011 11:57 PM in response to spradhan

If you wait a few days you'll probably be able to read some posts here where people have traveled with their iPad 2. But I can tell you it is not locked by AT&T. As to whether it will work in other countries it depends on if their are carriers with microSIMs and plans that support iPads.

stadum

Level 1

0 points

Mar 15, 2011 10:18 PM in response to Sultan1234

This statement appears on the Singapore iPad 2 website:

+Can I use my iPad while travelling outside the country?+

+You can connect to Wi-Fi networks in many places around the world. Check with your carrier about connecting to 3G networks outside your home country, as additional charges may apply. Or you can purchase a micro-SIM card from a carrier at your destination and choose a new data plan to connect to a 3G network there.+

See, http://store.apple.com/sg/browse/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad

No such statement appears on the iPad2 website in the U.S. Apple is being very coy about this subject.

Apr 19, 2011 7:23 AM in response to gitarzysta

Here in UK we have the choice of at least 6 different, competing, carriers - and I can certainly confirm from personal experience that a UK ipad 2 + 3G model will work with a SIM from our carrier named "3".

It is always an amazment to me that the US has two big carriers whose systems are totally incompatable with each other. So for use in the UK don't get a Verizon iPad 2, unless you will be using wifi only. All UK iPhones, or iPads need sim cards for 3G service.

Chris CA

Level 10

82,434 points

Apr 19, 2011 8:13 AM in response to Sultan1234

The GSM AT&T iPad 2 in the US is not locked.

It may be locked in other countries if the purchase is subsidized through the carrier. I believe O2 in the UK is sold this way.

Apr 19, 2011 8:37 AM in response to Chris CA

Re: I believe O2 in the UK is sold this way.

Quite corect - I should have added that iPad 2's bought for the full price direct from a UK Apple Shop or Apple Retailer will always be unlocked to any carrier - but not if you buy the iPad from a UK carrier at a subsidised price.

May 24, 2011 12:27 PM in response to Sultan1234

Got news for you. My iPad 2 3G Wifi (with AT&T) IS locked. I bought it 10 days ago shortly before my trip to Germany. Turned it on in Germany and it immediately said that the SIM was locked. I just got back to the states and am going to the Apple store to have them unlock it OR simply return it.

May 24, 2011 12:31 PM in response to macademianut

Of course the AT&T sim would not work in Germany. That doesn't mean your iPad is carrier locked. What you SHOULD have done was gone to a store in Germany and purchased a micro-sim card with data, removed your AT&T sim, put in the sim you bought there and the unit would have worked just fine in Germany.

paulcb

Level 6

19,239 points

May 24, 2011 1:15 PM in response to macademianut

It's not locked, it just has a SIM (AT&T) in it that won't work in Germany without being provisioned. Buy a SIM in Germany and it will work. Thousands have done this.

GuimeX

Level 1

0 points

Jan 19, 2012 5:54 PM in response to Sultan1234

Well...too late...but better than never...

I actually never needed to use it out of AT&T, but now just happened to a friend of mine gave me a SimpleMobile SimCard, and I pop that right in and...BOOM...it worked perfectly!!!

Good luck everyone!

iPad2 3G GSM iOS 3.1.3

tareuman

Level 1

0 points

Feb 4, 2012 10:52 AM in response to Sultan1234

If you buy only wifi you can bring every where in the world but not +3G .......

Apr 7, 2012 5:48 AM in response to tareuman

So...if I buy an iPad2 3G in USA for mostly use in Europe...should I buy the one with the AT&T sim or the Verison? I will wont to buy 'pay as you go' sims ( I assume from my reading that this will be a micro sim card) for WiFi in the countries I travel.

Thank you for any answers to clear my confusion and save a few pennies!!

How can I buy an unlocked iPad 2 from online store