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User profile for user: Terence Richardson
Terence Richardson Author
User level: Level 1
15 points

US iphone in Europe

Hi,

I have a 3GS that I purchased in the US and have been using in the US for the past 15 months. I'm going to the UK for an extended period and was wondering what my options were in using this phone in the UK. Can I get a UK sim inserted and use the phone in that market? What if I upgraded to the iPhone 4? Are there any operational issues?

Anyone had any experience?

Would appreciate any help and advice,

PowerMac G5 2.3 Dual 1150Gb Hard Drives 8Gb Ram, Mac OS X (10.5.8), MacBook Pro 2.4Ghz 10.6.2 2TB Raid

Posted on Oct 16, 2010 8:19 AM

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User profile for user: wjosten
wjosten
User level: Level 10
95,321 points

Posted on Oct 16, 2010 8:35 AM

All US iphones are locked to AT&T with no way to officially unlock them as AT&T will not unlock an iphone for anyone for any reason. To use your phone in the UK would require international provisioning activated for your account. From there you'd pick a plan and carrier to use while in the UK. For any length of time, this would be very expensive. You didn't define "extended period". If a year or more, sell your US iphone, purchase an unlocked iphone in the the Uk, then you can use that phone in the US when you come back.
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User profile for user: wjosten
wjosten
User level: Level 10
95,321 points

Oct 16, 2010 8:35 AM in response to Terence Richardson

All US iphones are locked to AT&T with no way to officially unlock them as AT&T will not unlock an iphone for anyone for any reason. To use your phone in the UK would require international provisioning activated for your account. From there you'd pick a plan and carrier to use while in the UK. For any length of time, this would be very expensive. You didn't define "extended period". If a year or more, sell your US iphone, purchase an unlocked iphone in the the Uk, then you can use that phone in the US when you come back.
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User profile for user: mrtotes
mrtotes
User level: Level 6
11,836 points

Oct 16, 2010 1:16 PM in response to Terence Richardson

Hello,

For the reasons wjosten explains your best bet will probably be to purchase an iPhone 4 from Apple UK (which are unlocked) when you arrive. £499 (inc VAT) 16GB, £599 (inc VAT) 32GB. (VAT increases by 2.5% on 31 Dec 10).

You can then get a cost-effective "SIM-only" plan in the UK which I think all 7 big name operators in the UK offer on a 30-day contract basis. You'll save a little money (typically £5 per month) if you can commit to a 12month contract.

If you move around in Europe the handset will be unlocked and so you can pop in a local SIM anywhere in the world.

For light use the MVNO Tesco offers 1GB data, 250mins voice (outgoing) and unlimited SMS for £15pm SIM only and the contract is only 30 days.

mrtotes

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US iphone in Europe

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