Can I use my American iPhone 3GS on Japan's Softbank service?

[cphil19]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the world of the IPhone so excuse me if the answers to my questions are obvious ones. Basically, I'm moving to Japan in about a week and am lucky enough to be eligible for a phone upgrade with Att at the moment, meaning I'd only have to pay about a hundred bucks for a new iphone if I buy it here (It's actually on my brother's account who doesn't care if he needs to sign another two year agreement). So, my question is, if I buy a new iphone here from Att, could I bring it over to Japan and use it with Softbank's service? I already have Softbank service/sim card (thanks to my Japanese gf) so getting a sim wouldn't be a problem (however I have read conflicting reports that I might need a "special" iPhone only sim card), I just wanted to make sure that after I buy the phone, I could just slip the regular softbank sim card into my iphone and it would work without a hitch. And when I say work, I mean not just phone functionality but apps/internet/all that good stuff as well. Thanks guys!

[codester3388]

All the info you need is right here.

Japanese Cellular Phones FAQ


Basically.....no.

[wissman]

Nop u can't.

[trevorcobb]

what misinformation.

yes you can use an iPhone from another country in Japan with Softbank. It must be a 3G or 3GS though since Japan there is no EDGE service here. It must be jailbroken and SIM unlocked obviously.

I moved to Japan last July and successfully used my AT&T 3GS for several weeks here with no issues.

In the end, I decided to get a Softbank iPhone 3GS 32GB because it was $0 out of pocket for me and $10 extra/month on my bill.

Do a search on the gaijinpot.com forums for more info, but basically there is a set of APN's you use if you have the special iPhone only "black" sim card from Softbank, and another set that you use if you have a regular sim card.

So you will need to upload a custom IPCC file based on the APN settings that you need.

Be really carefuly though, because the "packet houdai" (unlimited data package) for the iPhone is different than for the other phones, and if the see an inordinate amount of data coming to your phone and it isn't an iPhone packet houdai plan, your GF might get a nasty bill in the mail.

You may want to think about using it on Docomo instead. They have better coverage and have a number of phones that people have high data usage with so you might not stand out like a sore thumb while using their network with an iPhone.

[ame=http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?t=71862]Case Study: Softbank Iphone 3g - Japan Forums[/ame]
[ame=http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?t=73537]Softbank MMS working PERFECTLY in unlocked iphone 3.0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Japan Forums[/ame]
[ame=http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?t=76321]unlocked iPhone for softbank; help me!! - Japan Forums[/ame]