Buying iPhone 4 from Craigslist.. Question about unlock and precautions!

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Buying iPhone 4 from Craigslist.. Question about unlock and precautions!

Hello, I'm new here and I'm about to get my first Apple device (Woo ho!)

I'm going to buy brand new iPhone 4 iOS 4.2.1 from someone via Craigslist and he said it has iOS 4.2.1 that's going to sell me one for $500 (16GB). Is this reasonable? My phone is broken now so I need one soon.

Would I be able to unlock it to T-Mobile US and use their 3G/4G service?

What are some things to check when I buy phones via Craigslist? It's my first Apple device and I'm not sure what to check. Should I bring my laptop and install iTunes before wards to see it works? Since it's not unlocked, I cannot check to make sure the phone works right?

It's a lot of money so I want to make sure everything works fine. Thanks!

Lenovo, Windows 7

Posted on Jan 26, 2011 1:37 PM

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Answer 1

johnkim Author

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Jan 26, 2011 1:39 PM in response to johnkim

Also how easy is it to unlock? I found some sites that on Google and it sounds easy but I'm not sure if it will break the phone. I'm not going to jailbreak, only unlock.

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Answer 2

roaminggnome

Level 10

106,365 points

Jan 26, 2011 1:51 PM in response to johnkim

All U.S. iphones are carrier locked to AT&T and cannot be unlocked.

The ONLY place that can unlock an iphone is the carrier to which it is locked, and many including AT&T do not offer this service.

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Answer 3

KiltedTim

Level 10

195,813 points

Jan 26, 2011 2:34 PM in response to johnkim

A Piece of advice... DON'T do it!

You don't know what you're getting. Whether it has problems, is stolen, etc. In addition, ALL U.S. phones are locked to AT&T and can not be unlocked legitimately.

IF you manage to hack it and put it on the T-mobile network, you need to know that it is NOT compatible with the T-Mobile 3G network in the U.S. You will get Edge speeds at best. Also, there are reported problems with other features, face time, visual voice mail, etc. not working on T-Mobile.

Is there some real reason why you can't just use AT&T, or starting 2/10, Verizon?

A brand new iPhone 4 with a warranty is only $199 on contract. You're going to have to buy voice and data service no matter who you get it from, so why not just bite the bullet and sign the 2 year agreement. Unless you can't get coverage from either one of those, in which case I'd question how you manage to get T-mobile coverage either...

This all assuming you're in the U.S. since you don't specify.

If you're in another country, there are legitimate sources for unlocked phones.

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Answer 4

cls24

Level 2

395 points

Jan 26, 2011 7:04 PM in response to johnkim

People here won't and can't talk about unlocking and/or jailbreaking a phone (two separate things). Regardless if you are buying on CL and you are intent on doing it no matter what we say here, make sure you buy it in person, and bring someone along that has an iPhone to compare every detail to make sure it is authentic.

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