Activating the german t-mobile iphone without t-mobile contract

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Activating the german t-mobile iphone without t-mobile contract

As this topic is important for german customers find a german translation below:
After a day of trying i found out how to activate the iphone which is currently sold in germany by t-mobile without contract:

The currently sold iphones in german t-mobile shops are all prepared for the use with t-mobile.
so they have to be activated with a t-mobile simcard in the shop.
There is NO OTHER WAY to activate these phones.

The following preconditions have to be met in order to activate this phones:
1. iphone
2. Simcard for demonstration provided by the T-shop
3. Customers Simcard
4. PC or Mac with itunes installed and itunes account of the T-shop
5. itunes cable
6. T-shop employee who is used to working with itunes.

With the following steps the iphone can be activated:

1. Buy Iphone without contract.
2. T-Shop reports IMEI to apple by phone
(Important: Note IMEI on invoice)
3. activate iphone with demonstrator card and itunes
4. Now the user can access the menu of the iphone
Without this step the user can not use the iphone !
5. Click 'Einstellungen' in the iphone menu
6. Click 'Allgemein'
7. In 'Allgemein' click 'Zurücksetzen'
8. In 'Zurücksetzen' click 'Netzwerkeinstellungen'
9. Confirm 'Netzwerk zurücksetzen'
10. Now put users sim card in iphone.
11. After 24hrs (Apple needs 24hrs to release the IMEI) connect the iphone to the users itunes-Installation.
Bind the iphone to the user itunes database.
12. After release by apple itunes reports:
'Congratulations your
iphone is unlocked now'
13. On the iphones display top left corner now the carrier is shown.

The user can now do calls.
If the customer does not have a T-Mobile iphone plan 'Visual Voice Mail'
is not available, Voicemail workslike with any other mobile phone an can be accessed via 'Voicemail' in the phone menu.

German translation

Die aktuell im Umlauf befindlichen iphones müssen mit einer t-mobile
Karte aktiviert werden, auch wenn das Gerät keine Vertragsbindung hat.
Anders kann ein Kunde ohne Vertragsbindung das Gerät NICHT in Betrieb
nehmen

Hierzu sind folgende Voraussetzungen notwendig:
1. iphone
2. Demosimkarte des T-shops
3. Kundeneigene Simkarte
4. PC oder Mac Rechner mit itunes und itunes Account im T-shop
5. Verbindungskabel
6. T-shop Mitarbeiter der im Umgang mit itunes geschult ist.

Schritte zur Aktivierung des iphones.

1. Iphone ohne Vertragsbindung kaufen.
2. T-Shop meldet IMEI telefonisch an apple
(Wichtig hierbei: die IMEI sollte auf der Kundenrechnung vermerkt
werden, dies kann handschriftlich geschehen)
3. Gerät im Shop im t-mobile Karte und itunes aktivieren
4. Erst jetzt kann der Endkunde auf die Einstellungen des Telefons
zugreifen !
Ohne diesen Schritt kann das Gerät nicht vom Endkunden bedient werden.!
5. Auf das icon 'Einstellungen' des iphones klicken
6. In Einstellungen auf 'Allgemein' klicken
7. In 'Allgemein' auf 'Zurücksetzen' klicken
8. In 'Zurücksetzen' auf 'Netzwerkeinstellungen' klicken
9. 'Netzwerk zurücksetzen' durch anklicken bestätigen.
10. Nun SIM-KArte des Kunden einlegen.
11. Nach 24h (Apple benötigt mindestens so lange um die IMEI
freizuschalten) das Gerät an die itunes-Installation des Kunden
anschliessen. Hierbei die Frage von itunes bestätigen, dass das Gerät
mit der neuen itunes Datenbank verbunden werden soll.
12. Hat Apple freigeschaltet meldet itunes nun: 'Congratulations your
iphone is unlocked now'
13. Im iphone oben links wird nun der Carrier und die Empfangsstärke
angezeigt.

Der Kunde kann nun telefonieren und alle vom Netz bereitgestellten
Funktionen nutzen.
Hat der Kunde keinen T-Mobile iphone Tarif steht ihm 'Visual Voice Mail'
nicht zur Verfügung, die Mailbox funktion funktioniert wie bei jedem
anderen Handy und kann über den Button 'Voicemail aufgerufen werden.

fixed some tipos

MBP 15" 2,4Ghz // Iphone w/o simlock, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Nov 23, 2007 1:26 AM

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Answer 1

patdan

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Nov 23, 2007 3:03 AM in response to kali1705

Great,
I bought the iphone two days ago from T-mobile Germany without contract for and was assured that I could activate it online after 24 hours. I am now back in Tobago and cannot use it. Tried to call the T-Punkt in Berlin Schlossstrasse 116 but nobody would pick up the phone. Is there any way to activate this phone without flying back to Germany?

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Answer 2

kali1705 Author

Level 1

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Nov 23, 2007 3:16 AM in response to patdan

AFAIK t-mobile and apple are working on a simplfied way to activate it.
So there could be a chance if you try again that the step of activationin the shop might be allowed to be left out, but that is just gessing.
That is what i learned from a e-mail that i received today from the t-mobile hotline.
In any case i would try to call the t-mobile hotline: +49 180 3 302202 or send a fax to: +49 180 5 330633 or send an email to: Kundenservice@t-mobile.de.(Find more details at http://t-mobile.de/iphone)
As t-mobile had to set up the whole unlocking process by 21.Nov. in the afternoon i am sure they are not prepared for overseas support cases like you have.

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Answer 3

Nov 24, 2007 6:44 AM in response to kali1705

Very interesting! Many thanks for these detailed insights. How come does NO T-Mobile person know. I have spent half the day on the phone to them and no one new. I'm currently also not in Germany but would really like to kick of iPhone. Who in T-Mobile would be able to help? Any guess? The help line was friendly by utterly useless!!!

You wrote in your initial posting it is the only way - is there any other by now?

Many thanks!!

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Answer 4

kali1705 Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 25, 2007 7:20 AM in response to DissapointediPhoneUserAdam

Hi as my iphone is activated i am not sure if there is another way...
I did not have the need...
Maybe you ask via email (see contact above in the forum)

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Answer 5

tr_baden

Level 1

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Nov 25, 2007 8:19 AM in response to kali1705

Thanks for the info You stated! It's horrible: On Saturday I waited for 1 hour to watch the T-Punkt Girl calling herself through various hotlines. Her statement at the end was: I can use my T-Mobile card but the process to get it working with the iPhone can take up to one week!! She told me to try from time to time the initial process in iTunes...
After reading what You wrote doesn't seem to be the right way to wait...

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Answer 6

Nov 25, 2007 9:23 AM in response to kali1705

Thanks for the insight. I am also one of those, who still is not able to activate the iPhone after 4 days! I bought it on wednesday at about 14.00. I went twice to the T-Point. First time an advisor tried to activate it with a T-Mobile card without luck. His Vista PC didn't even recognize my iPhone. The Second time they told me they "refuse to do the activation at all, because you can do that via iTunes". So on saturday, i took the option to send it back to Apple and have it checked. That will take about 96 hours. That's the worst experience i had so far, buying a mobile phone.

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Answer 7

kali1705 Author

Level 1

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Nov 25, 2007 9:35 AM in response to El Duderino

Just to understand:
Did you send back the iphone to apple ?
Is there an option to get it activated by apple and then receive it back ?

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Answer 8

Nov 25, 2007 10:46 AM in response to kali1705

Hello,

i bought an unlocked iphone last friday in germany. i live in austria, and they told me in the T-spot, that the iphone is working in austria perfectly except the voicemail function. they called t-mobile germany to unlock the phone. and then we had to wait for 24 hours that the phone is unlocked. next day we could configurate our phone in austria with our sim-card with itunes. but some main functions didnt work. we cant dial, we cant use sms, we cant go back to calls, we cant use the list of the missed calls,...
i really love apple over years. but paying 999,- for a phone that doesnt work is very embarassing. can anyone help me. i want to use it - so what do i have to do.
my sim -card is "t-mobile austria"

thx bernhard

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Answer 9

Nov 25, 2007 11:19 AM in response to kali1705

While on this journey, i called both AppleCare and Tkom hotlines several times. A guy at the Tkom hotline, who seemed to have some more experience, told me that i have to bring back the iPhone to the T-Point where i bought it and have it exchanged, because "my phone has a problem". He also told me there were several other iPhones on the way back to Apple. At the T-Point they denied to exchange the phone, of course. So the only option was to send it directly to Apple.

It seems to me that there are two sorts of iPhones out there: one that ignores the fact, that a non-Tkom SIM card is inserted and activates without problems and one that failes to activate due to the same reason.

I blogged the full story here: http://web.mac.com/olliq/Macland/Blog/Blog.html

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Answer 10

Nov 25, 2007 11:24 AM in response to kali1705

Kali1705, can you explain why you are so sure the way you describe is the only way to unlock the iPhone? Many users have reported unlocking it without a demo SIM. Unfortunately I'm not one of them. My iPhone is unlocked T-Mobile and Apple have been most unhelpful in getting it working.
This will be of interest:
http://www.macnotes.de/2007/11/22/iphone-ohne-vertrag-eure-ersten-eindrucke/

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Answer 11

kali1705 Author

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Nov 25, 2007 10:10 PM in response to Concupiscence

Obviously there are two types of iphones in the german market.
One type which can be activated using itunes, another which needs to be activated in the T-shop first.
Or maybe apple changed the way to activate them.
So i am not sure anymore that the way shown above i the ONLY way.

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Answer 12

AKAC

Level 1

12 points

Nov 26, 2007 9:07 AM in response to kali1705

Its obvious why this is not a straightforward procedure yet - its new. Apple obviously designed a way to do this, but didn't expect to have to implement it so quickly so its a mess. Give them some time to get it straightened out.

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Answer 13

Nov 26, 2007 9:09 AM in response to AKAC

how long do you think it will take?
and do you think apple knows about this problems?

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Answer 14

kali1705 Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 26, 2007 9:45 AM in response to faserferl

From my point of view it's not an technical issue.
It is about customer communication.
It would be great if apple just would show the process in a short 'how to' document on the itunes or iphone page.
Obviously it works in some cases, in some it does not.
SO I PRAY THAT SOME APPLE STAFF MEMBER READS THE CONTENT OF THIS DISCUSSION.
It could be so easy...

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Answer 15

RainKing

Level 1

8 points

Dec 1, 2007 12:43 AM in response to kali1705

I have just (Thursday, 29-Nov) purchased an "unlocked" iPhone from the T-Punkt store in Cologne, Germany. The guy at the store told me that it would be automatically unlocked in 4-24 hours. So, 48 hours later, the phone is still locked an is not recognized by iTunes.

My colleagues in the German office of the company I work for (in Cologne) rang T-mobile for me, and were told that "many many people have purchased an unlocked iPhone in Germany, and Apple are behind schedule in unlocking them."

So, I guess there is nothing I can do but keep waiting ... and keep trying to sync my phone every 12 hours or so, until Apple get around to inputting my IMEI into their database.

What a pain!

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