Buying iPhone 13 pro max from USA to my mom in Israel

What we are trying to tell you is that you should purchase this phone from the Apple's Israel online store. That way it can be guaranteed to work with Israeli telecoms and be able to get serviced should it require it.

If you're in the United States, there is only a single type that's unlocked. The model number for an unlocked iPhone 13 Pro Max will differ slightly depending on storage capacity and color, but they're functionally the same. You would just need to go in and order the specific model/capacity/color. There are 4 different colors (Graphite, Gold, Silver, Sierra Blue) and 4 different capacities (128/256/512 GB or 1 TB) for 14 different permutations. I don't know the model numbers right now, but if you have a particular combination you're looking for maybe. But as far as I know, the way to order one would be to specify something like 256 GB Silver and that should be enough. If you order online, one orders by model, capacity, and color and select "Connect on your own later". You wouldn't need to know the model number.

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-13-pro/6.7-inch-display-256gb-silver-unlocked

I did a sample and picked iPhone 13 Pro Max, Silver, 256 GB, Connect on your own later, and One-time payment. I received options to have it delivered by January 4 but none were available at my closest 12 Apple Stores for pickup. But if I played around with different colors and capacities there was local availability. But there's no guarantee that you'll be able to get exactly what combination you want. Apparently many are selling out.

If you don't care about warranty or repair issues, who am I to judge? I've seen people from overseas at Apple Stores who wanted to buy an iPhone to bring back to their own counties. It's their money and their problem if anything goes wrong.

The only place you can buy an unlocked iPhone in the US is directly from Apple.

Apple will not ship a phone from the US to a different country or to a freight forwarder.

It will have no warranty outside of the US. If you purchase AppleCare+, it will only be valid in the US.

Similar issues....I purchased iPhone 13 Pro Max gb 256 (no SIM and Unlocked) directly from Apple in U.S. AT the time of order the phone was OUT of STOCK.

The phone was a gift for my fiance who is in Damascus Syria working on medical duty (he is cardiologist) for the United Nations. Under instructions, I sent to the designated UN freight transporter in Atlanta where it was sent to the location in Syria.

MY QUESTION IS:

Does Apple have the capability to see a signal from the phone? If necessary, does Apple have the capability to disable the chip (? or whatever) to render it un-useable?

I am paying for the iPhone as the terms require. However, there is no indication that the Dr. received or has been/was able to set the iPhone up....for whatever reason.

He has not been able to communicate with me here in the states since 12.29.2021 via his laptop, which was at very low battery capacity at his last communication.

In the event the worst has happened and he has been injured or killed, I want to be able to scramble the activity (?) .....I guess I may want to just shut the phone down .

This is a strange situation, but ...could anyone offer me advice or a path to solution at this time?

I would be so very grateful to any help or advice. Thank you

lorrayne65 wrote:

MY QUESTION IS:

Does Apple have the capability to see a signal from the phone? If necessary, does Apple have the capability to disable the chip (? or whatever) to render it un-useable?

No.

I am paying for the iPhone as the terms require. However, there is no indication that the Dr. received or has been/was able to set the iPhone up....for whatever reason.

He has not been able to communicate with me here in the states since 12.29.2021 via his laptop, which was at very low battery capacity at his last communication.

In the event the worst has happened and he has been injured or killed, I want to be able to scramble the activity (?) .....I guess I may want to just shut the phone down .

You can not do so. Only the owner of the iCloud account used to enable the Find My service on the device, assuming it was activated, can do that.

This is a strange situation, but ...could anyone offer me advice or a path to solution at this time?

I would be so very grateful to any help or advice. Thank you

Nope. Sorry.

That said, I have a question.

First, I'm very sorry to hear about this and sincerely hope that everything is alright.

Now for the uncomfortable part... You have actually met this person? Physically? Please tell me this has not been a strictly on-line/long distance relationship that has resulted in your engagement, and subsequent sending of gifts to someone you've never met...

lorrayne65 wrote:

Similar issues....I purchased iPhone 13 Pro Max gb 256 (no SIM and Unlocked) directly from Apple in U.S. AT the time of order the phone was OUT of STOCK.

The phone was a gift for my fiance who is in Damascus Syria working on medical duty (he is cardiologist) for the United Nations. Under instructions, I sent to the designated UN freight transporter in Atlanta where it was sent to the location in Syria.

MY QUESTION IS:

Does Apple have the capability to see a signal from the phone? If necessary, does Apple have the capability to disable the chip (? or whatever) to render it un-useable?

I am paying for the iPhone as the terms require. However, there is no indication that the Dr. received or has been/was able to set the iPhone up....for whatever reason.

He has not been able to communicate with me here in the states since 12.29.2021 via his laptop, which was at very low battery capacity at his last communication.

In the event the worst has happened and he has been injured or killed, I want to be able to scramble the activity (?) .....I guess I may want to just shut the phone down .

This is a strange situation, but ...could anyone offer me advice or a path to solution at this time?

I would be so very grateful to any help or advice. Thank you

If Find My was turned on, then it's possible I guess, but I'm not sure how Apple logs that other than with the Apple ID on a device that uses the same Apple ID. However, most likely a location can be triangulated by the phone carrier.

Apple does have the technical capability to remotely erase an iPhone (I've done that before on an iPad just to try it out), but it's supposed to be done by a user with access to the Apple ID.

As far as I know, Apple doesn't help out with these things without court order. But if he gave you permission to access to his Apple ID (or perhaps the email used for it) before he left, you might be able to access it and maybe find out the last known location of the phone. But then again there's no way we would know if the Find My feature was enabled, although I understand it's the default setting these days and would stay enabled until purposely disabled.