Using iphone in Philippines

In Australia where I am I can get a phone on a plan from a carrier and it will be locked to that carrier for the term of the contract. After the contract is up I can ask the carrier to unlock it. What I did was by a phone outright from an apple stores and it was unlocked and did not have a sim. I purchased a sim from a carrier of my choice and the activated the sim, ported my old number across and activated the phone. The phone is not locked to any carrier.

You won't be able to use a Japanese iPhone in the Philippines, unless you're roaming, so don't waste your time calling Apple. All Japanese iPhones are carrier locked, with no way to get any of them officially unlocked. In order to use a Japanese iPhone where you are, you'd have to hack it, & there is no support for hacked iPhones.

Apple support, in the Philippines, won't help you. Don't waste your time calling.

Thank you. I'm a bit surprised as I thought iPhone subsidies by cellular carriers was primarily an American thing.

I thought, obviously incorrectly, that most if not all countries have unlocked iPhones available to purchase.

I appreciate the knowledge.

Japan is a strange animal when it comes to cell phones. Ask anyone that's purchased a cell phone outside of Japan & then tried to use the phone on a permanent basis, in Japan, about how "easy" it was 😎.

Thanks.

Maybe I'm showing my ignorance here, but in the U.S., you can buy an iPhone unlocked and SIM-free directly from the Apple Store. So does that mean (as I think it does) that there is no dependence on any particular carrier when buying an iPhone this way? I assume after the fact, the purchaser would walk into a carrier of their choice and request a SIM card.

Not in Japan. Heck, up until the last few years you couldn't even purchase a pre-paid sim card there if you were not a resident, let alone use a phone you didn't purchase in Japan.

Where and whether you can purchase unlocked phones is governed by law...some places its illegal to sell locked phones, & carrier policy.

Yes, I understand ... you got a subsidized rate on your iPhone because it was locked to a plan. I'm saying that in the U.S., if you choose, you can pay a much higher price for your iPhone and not have it locked at all at the beginning. Then presumably (I'm not sure), you could go to any carrier you wish, get a SIM from them, and start using the iPhone right away. Presumably had the original poster on this thread purchased an iPhone that way, it would be fine to use it in the Philippines.

sberman wrote:

Presumably had the original poster on this thread purchased an iPhone that way, it would be fine to use it in the Philippines.

Correct, except for one important fact: There are NO such iPhones sold in Japan, even if you pay full price.

I found this kb that lists which carriers offer unlocking http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1937

Contact Apple Support.

Here's their telephone number in the Philippines:

1-800-1441-0234

I retract my response. I'm sure wjosten is much more knowledgeable about this.

FYI:

There are no officially unlocked iPhones sold in Japan & none of the Japanese carriers offer unlocking for the iPhone.

Thanks, I understand.

It is, but as the conversation since I posted the phone number suggests, you should not waste your (or Apple's) time. You cannot use a Japanese iPhone in the Philippines.