How to activate factory unlocked iphone 3gs with os 4.0

You've got a real problem on your hands, and most likely you'll have a nice paperweight.

No iphones sold in the US are sold as unlocked. All are locked to AT&T with no official way to unlock them. Further, OS 4.0 has not been released yet, it's still in beta. So, what you've got on your hands is one thoroughly hacked phone. You might even have a problem trying to activate that phone in the US.

Good luck.

Well I'm sorry to hear this. There is no such thing as a "factory unlocked" phone, as the factory doesn't unlock them. They are unlocked via iTunes after the official carrier releases information to Apple.

ALL phones sold in the US are carrier locked to AT&T and they DO NOT UNLOCK PHONES, for any reason whatsoever.

This support article will provide you with the list of official carriers and which ones offer unlocking services for phones. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1937

OS 4 has not been released so who really knows what you have and what has been done to it. I suggest that you do what you can to sell the phone and purchase one sold either in your country or one of the officially unlocked countries. On a side note however, warranty service on the iPhone is locked to the country that it is sold in, so you would have to return to the country the phone came from for warranty service, and they will not ship the phones outside of their countries as well.

Hope it works out for you.

I'd suggest returning the phone and get your money back. There is no such thing as a "factory unlocked" US iPhone.

4.0 has not been released yet so you're pretty much on your own.

pavanraj wrote:
iphone 3gs loaded with latest os 4.0

If the iPhone had the 4.0 Beta loaded on it, the iPhone needs to be registered with a developer for the iPhone to even function. If it's not registered and the beta is installed then it is a brick. Regardless of if it is registered or not, as Tamara said the iPhone 4.0 Beta has no support. The Beta is a beta and is for developers who are developing apps. That way they can release apps as soon as the OS 4.0 is released sometime this summer. You should get an error message saying something along the lines of this phone is not registered with a developer, if the iPhone is not registered.

pavanraj wrote:
I want to activate it without at&t sim as its factory unloacked.

If it is unlocked by the carrier then you just need to plug it into iTunes with a SIM card from a compatible carrier. If you get a message saying that the SIM is not from an authorized carrier, well then the iPhone is not unlocked, sorry.

If the iPhone is not unlocked you are really out of luck. While there are ways to hack an iPhone to unlock it, there are no methods for the 4.0 Beta to unlock the iPhone, and even if there is a way to hack it to unlock the iPhone 3GS on the 4.0 OS, it won't come for a long time.

Well, Chris you are very right in most of the things you said, especially when you said that America doesn't sell factory unlocked phones. But there is in fact "factory unlocked iPhones" around the world. Maybe he got hands on one of those. I am sure there are factory unlocked iphones because I too have a Factory Unlocked iPhone from Hong Kong. If you really have a "factory unlocked iPhone" then you cannot bring it to ANY Apple store in the US because they do not sell them there.

4.0 isn't out yet. It is indeed as a few other people commented above, still in Beta so it's supposed to be in the hands of the Developers.

He said he bought it in the US. There are no factory unlocked iPhones sold in the US. All US iPhones are locked to ATT and they definitely are NOT being sold with the 4.0 beta on them.

Well, as he said about his factory unlocked iPhone, he states that he knows for sure that his iPhone is indeed factory unlocked, that means somebody bought it from somewhere where they sell Factory Unlocked phones and sold it in the USA.

Factory unlocked iPhone sold in the US:

http://www.puremobile.com/Apple/Apple-iPhone-3GS-16GB-Black-GSM-Phone/

And another example (sold out for now but I've seen it in stock before and considered buying once):

http://www.buy.com/prod/apple-iphone-3g-16gb-never-locked-w-full-apple-warranty/ q/loc/111/210461450.html

Forgot to say also...dead giveaway here is that the phone was loaded with iOS 4. Sounds like you may have been scammed on eBay. If you had bought a "legitimate" factory unlocked iPhone it would not have been loaded with iOS 4.

You may still have a chance, though. Current version of iTunes would not properly recognize OS 4 as a legitimate phone, as this OS isn't release yet (will be released on the 21st). I would attempt to restore the phone with a legitimate 3.1.3 image and try again. Or you may need to try a jailbreak solution to get back to a legitimate OS image. Or simply wait until iOS 4 is officially released and then try to activate.

I think you have been scammed through any internet seller. Because no iPhones' will be pre-loaded with iOS4 Beta edition. Officially iOS4 is not yet released.


<Edited by Host>

pavanraj wrote:
i have bought a factory unlocked iphone 3gs loaded with latest os 4.0 in usa for $850 , but i am unable to activate it over itunes.
I want to activate it without at&t sim as its factory unloacked.
Can anybody give me the process or any reference links on how to activate it.

Thanks in advance,
Pavan Raj.

Does iTunes even see the iPhone? If it does can you not "Restore" the iPhone. It will "ZaP" your 4.0 but become usable with ATT.

If this does not work you are the proud owner of a 3GS "brick"