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Posts: 164

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Q: iPhone 4S question - Can I buy it in Canada and get it activated in China?

I live in Canada. I am going to buy a new iPhone 4S at Fido. I am not going to activate the phone until I reach China and let an Apple store in China to do activation. Is this a great idea?

12 years 10 weeks ago in  Web & Technology - Shanghai

 
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Posts: 3025

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If you choose to do so, just make sure the phone is unlocked and  GSM (Europe compatible) cell iphone  Once you arrive in China, of the three major providers China Unicom is the only one authorized to offer iPhones, so for a plan you will have to see them.   China Mobile and China Telecom may be able to offer you a plan, but I do not know if their SIM card will work on an iPhone.  But I was told that if it is GSM compatible, at least China Mobile SIM cards will work on it.
It will also be a wise idea to ask the store phone guru if the phone will work in China, I have been told that sometimes iPhones purchased abroad do not work here, but this is second or third hand information, and could be true or false.

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12 years 10 weeks ago
 
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No don't do it if you want to use it in China with a local carrier.
Fido phones are locked and you will only be able to use it with them.  $3 a minute in China BTW.
You have 2 options...1 buy the Fido phone and find a reputable program online that you can buy to unlock the phone before you leave (but this is risky because it might be a bad program and will mess up your phone and void the warranty).
Or you can do what I did 1 month ago before I returned to China...buy your 4s in an Apple store unlocked (costs more I know) and you can use it anywhere in the world with whatever company you want and the warrany will still be valid.
When I got back I had a normal SIM card from China Mobile and for 20rmb they cut it using what looked like a stapler and now it fits into my 4s and works without problems.

sammah:

It's best to buy an iPhone 4S at Apple store and have them unlocked it for you. Got it. You bought a sim card from China Mobile and what type of plan did you buy from them?

12 years 9 weeks ago
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sammah:

It's best to buy an iPhone 4S at Apple store and have them unlocked it for you. Got it. You bought a sim card from China Mobile and what type of plan did you buy from them?

12 years 9 weeks ago
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thedude:

Yes...but the Iphone at the Apple store is already unlocked. I paid $650 without taxes for a 16gb 4s. I am just on a pay as you go plan right now in China...seems to work fine for me, but I still don't have a data plan yet...something I need to do in the new year.

12 years 9 weeks ago
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nevermind:

Dude, buddy, you're off on this one. I went to Vancouver for xmas, the Iphones were cheaper at the apple store by about $100 and came unlocked. I bought one, brought it back, put my chip in and away I went, that easy.

12 years 9 weeks ago
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thedude:

I bought mine at the Oakridge Apple store 4 days before Christmas...had to wait in line for an hour to get it. Did you buy a 4 or a 4s? Because if I paid $100 too much I will be pissed.

12 years 9 weeks ago
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nevermind:

4s at the downtown store, made a reservation. I got a 32 for 750 and a 16 for 650. The guy at the fido store told me to buy it at apple cause it was $100 cheaper than they could sell it to me for without a plan.

12 years 9 weeks ago
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thedude:

OK cool, I understand now...you paid the same as me. I did't know Fido could sell them unlocked...figured it was just under a contract.

12 years 9 weeks ago
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12 years 10 weeks ago
 
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I think you have to unlock iPhone first before it can work in China. Right?

solveit:

Yes, I agree with you...The iPhone should be unlocked to accept other networks.I recently knew about this when I was trying to use my locked iPhone with another network.Then after unlocking it through the remote unlock service from Unlocking4u.com I was able to remove the network lock permanently and fix the problem.

10 years 4 weeks ago
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12 years 10 weeks ago
 
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you need it unlocked (like said above) either buy it that way and pay more, or trust someone to hack it for you and ruin the warrenty.  But also, if you want to make it work world wide, make sure it is quad band.

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12 years 10 weeks ago
 
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Yes, I did just that a couple weeks ago. I bought it unlocked at the apple store and brought it here. 

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12 years 9 weeks ago
 
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unloked US iphone works pretty bad here, in some areas in China there's no connection.

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12 years 2 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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You have two choices in Canada :
1) you buy an iPhone 4s with subscription, but then it's lock on your service provider and you would need to unlock it to use in China with a Chinese service provider.
2) you buy your iPhone 4s already unlock. Then when you move to China, you can buy a Micro Sim Card with a Chinese service provider.

I advise you the second solution. It's by large more convenient. If you buy it already unlock, then the warranty is still valid. Be sure that when you buy your iPhone 4s in Canada, Apple Canada provides you an international warranty. You need to pay an additional cost to your iPhone. To activate your iPhone, you don't need to go to Apple; connect your iPhone to iTunes and it will be activated and backed up.

In terms of Chinese service providers, I won't advise you to make a contract with China Mobile. Apple and China Mobile are still in talks on how to solve the communication issues between iPhone and China Mobile standards. Meaning that sometimes your iPhone can get a network, sometimes not. As for China Telecom and China Unicom, I didn't have any positive or negative feedbacks from friends regarding network issues.

 

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12 years 2 weeks ago
 
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my iPhone  has a new software IOS 5 bandwidth 4.11.08. It is the bandwidth that hasn't been cracked yet and can't be unlocked, so I think maybe some other new locked phones can't be unlocked yet  either.                         

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12 years 2 weeks ago
 
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