Will an iPhone 6s bought in US work in Europe (Portugal)

Hi,

I was interested in this and looked it up because I found it strange that the warranty was not applicable abroad (in the end there are many good reasons for that to happen, as for example, an expat moving for some time to another country, etc.) and I believe this statement is not accurate (or at least not anymore):

From Apple - One Year Limited Warranty - Worldwide:If the device is portable, the warranty applies worldwide. However, only for the services included on that country's warranty. Here's an excerpt of the chapter "OBTAINING WARRANTY SERVICE"

[...]

"Apple or its Apple Authorised Service Providers will provide warranty service on products that are tendered or presented for service during the Warranty Period, as permitted by law. If the product is portable, meaning that it can operate independently without a power cord, you may obtain warranty service worldwide. However, service will be limited to the options available in the country where service is requested. If the product is not portable, warranty service may be restricted to the country where the product is purchased. Service options, parts availability and response times will vary according to country. You may be responsible for shipping and handling charges if the product cannot be serviced in the country it is in"

[...]

Hope this helps,

Alex

The warranty on iPhones and iPads is NOT worldwide. While you emphasized one statement, you ignored the next sentence:However, service will be limited to the options available in the country where service is requested.

If you look at the warranty for the specific product: Apple One (1) Year Limited Warranty

You will find this:

IMPORTANT RESTRICTION FOR iPHONE, iPAD AND APPLE TV SERVICE.

Apple may restrict warranty service for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV to the country where Apple or its Authorized Distributors originally sold the device.

There is a good reason for this; iPhones (and iPads and Apple TVs) come in different models for different geographical areas. And Apple does not service a device under the warranty, they replace it. An Apple store in a different geography than the one where the phone was purchased will usually not have the same model to replace an out-of-area device.

Hi Lawrence,

Thanks for your reply. My bad then. I did not ignore the following sentence, I just thought it meant that the warranty would be limited to the service options available at the country (it would be possible that in Switzerland, for instance, a warranty would cover say, damages in the glass whereas in the US it wouldn't or viceversa) and not to the devices.

From your message I understand Apple may restrict the warranty for those portable devices. Is there any way of knowing for sure? For example, if I bought the Apple X in the US, is there a way for me to know in which countries the warranty would be fully serviced?

Thanks!

Alex

The official answer is that it will only be serviced in the US. If it is a minor problem some Apple stores, out of the goodness of their heart, may fix it in other countries.

The one exception is that a phone purchased in any country that belongs to the EU (plus Switzerland) will be serviced in any other EU country. How this will affect the UK in the future is as yet undetermined.

You need to buy an unlocked model iPhone which limits you to the full price T-Mobile or Verizon models. You need to check with the cell provider you are going to use in Europe to see if you will have LTE support. If you need warranty support you will have to return to the US and you might have trouble buying one right now.

Can I just turn the phone On in Europe with my own SIM card?

That is what I do with my US phone from Verizon. I swap the sim out while on the airplane and when I land in Germany I turn the phone on and I have service.

There is no world-wide warranty on iPhones. Even AppleCare+ is not world-wide, so if you bought it in the US you will have to return it to the US for warranty or repair. You can use it anywhere in the world if it is unlocked.

Lots of people offer LTE (4G) support but they use different LTE bands. The bands on the phone have to match what your carrier uses.

There is no such thing as an international warranty. If your phone fails you will have to return to the US for service.

The only unlocked iPhone 6s that the Apple Store currently sells is the T-Mobile. The GSM side of the Verizon iPhone is unlocked per an agreement with a US governmental agency.

Put your nanoSIM in the slot and activate it.

If it is an AT&T phone it is locked to AT&T and will not work with any other SIM. You must ask AT&T to unlock it. If you paid full price they should. See: http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB414532

You may also wish to check out which countries your particular iPhone model's LTE bands are supported in:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

Identify your iPhone Model:

Identify your iPhone model - Apple Support

A full price AT&T iPhone 6s is contract free but is locked to AT&T. You will need to contact them to unlock it.

Yes, you need to put the nanoSIM you get from the cell provider in your iPhone and activate it. If they are an authorized iPhone provider it will set up with no issues.