iPhone 4 activation problem

I got more information from my carrier Telenor now, and according to their systems, the IMEI of my iPhone is listed as locked to an unknown (to Telenor at least) operator. This is likely why I cannot activate it using my Telenor micro SIM.

Now, the people at the Apple Store in Paris has confirmed that the iPhone I bought should be unlocked. What to do? Have they sold a locked phone by mistake? I don't know where locks on specific IMEI numbers are stored - could it be that my IMEI is falsely listed as locked? If so, who can unlock it?

The Apple phrase "It just works" is far from my reality right now...

Cheers
/Martin

Yepp, I read your post, and thanks for the tip! I haven't tried it yet, but it's on my list of things to try. Before I try it out though I'm awaiting a response from the Apple guys in France.

They specifically sold it as an unlocked phone, and they have explicitly confirmed that it should work with any carrier in any country as long as they support micro SIM. So, it seems a bit strange to me that I will have to unlock it here in Sweden.

Right now I'm wondering if the lock status linked to the IMEI of my phone is faulty, and I have asked Apple in Paris to check this. If they sell it as an unlocked phone it should also be unlocked. But then again, I'm not an expert on telecom stuff.

After talking to Apple Care in France, I learned that French iPhones are not as unlocked as you might think - they are still locked to French carriers and will not work with carriers in other countries.

So, it stands clear that Apple Store Opera in Paris gave me faulty information when I asked them if I could use it with my Swedish carrier and they said "yes, the phone will work with any carrier in any country".

Now I'm trying to return the phone and get my money back... currently sitting on hold with Apple After Sales...

@xarissolidus: if you bought an iPhone in France to use in Cyprus, then I guess it's tough luck... unless you want to take the jailbreak-alternative...

Best regards
/Martin

Hmm... you're right - I just checked the french FAQ ( http://store.apple.com/fr/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone#faqs).

Do they distunguish between iPhones sold onlne and those sold in physical Apple Stores? Would be strange if they did.

I will call back and point them to their own FAQ and see what happens.

Thanks for the hint, wjosten!

An update: my iPhone 4 is now activated and works like charm (d*mn what a display!)

So what happened? I'm not sure. When my iPhone bought in Paris would not activate when I got back home to Sweden I sepnt a couple of hours with Apple Care and had some mail conversation with the Apple Store in Paris to sort this out. It all ended with someone a bit higher up in the Apple Care organisation (he said he was a supervisor) telling me last Thursday he'd see to it that I could activate my phone, but that "...it would take until Tuesday/Wednesday next week to sift through all systems". So, come Wednesday I tried the phone again, and waddyaknow... now it works!

What was wrong? Unclear. And Apple will surely not admit that there was anything wrong either, which is not surprising - that's standard procedure in all industrial domains... My guess is that for my phone there was something wrong in the IMEI register (this is were information is kept on whether a phone is locked to a carrier, if it is reported stolen etc.), and that Apple Care issued a change request for my IMEI number and this did then take a few days to be executed.

Why would this happen? Well, seeing as the iPhone 4 is still a new product and that Apple's suppliers are working their butts off to get those babies out, I'd guess they have not yet worked out all the kinks and bugs in the production line, which can result in errors in parameters and configuration of individual units. This will likely be fixed as production matures.

So, are iPhones from France unlocked? Well, it seems that this is still an unclear issue.

According to Apple's web site, a French iPhone can be used with any GSM carrier in any country (see the FAQ linked to in an earlier post in this thread).

According to Apple Care, a French iPhone is locked to France, but you can use any French carrier.

According to the Apple Store where I bought it, the phone is unlocked, but will be locked to a carrier in the same instance as it is activated (the carrier whose SIM card is used fro activation).

I would put my money on the web site being the correct answer, and that Apple Care and Apple Store personnel may have been a bit confused this time. In any case, the web information is the official information, so this can always be used in an argument.

So, my advice to people who bought supposedly unlocked iPhones in France but cannot activate them is to contact Apple Care and get them to fix whatever needs fixing, as they market the French iPhone as a completely unlocked one. If the problem is the same as I had, then you don't need to return your phone - they can fix it remotely. Don't be afraid that the French Apple Care people don't speak English - they do, and they do it well. The French are just modest when they say they can't speak English 🙂

The same advice goes for iPhones bought in the UK, as these should also be unlocked (see http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone#faqs).

Even though this was not the start of my iPhone adventures I hoped for, I must say that everyone at Apple (both Apple Care and the Apple Store) were very nice and helpful and I felt that they all really wanted to help me solve the problem. Which they also succeeded with (especially many thanks to Andreu KELEMEN at Apple Care!).

So, now I'm a happy camper, eager to spend time and money in the App Store 🙂

Thanks for all advice and help I got here (especially wjosten)!

Message was edited by: martinhiller

Hi rha916,

if you bought the iPhone in an Apple Store in the UK it should be completely unlocked, that's what they say on the Apple web site (check link above). If you bought it from a UK carrier, then it might be locked to that carrier.

I would call Apple Care in the UK (see http://www.apple.com/uk/support/iphone/contact/ for telephone number) or the Apple Store where you bought the phone. Unfortunately I don't know if there is an email address you can use instead.

If the phone is wrongfully locked, I'm sure they will be able to help you.

I hope you are successful in your endeavour! Best of luck!