legally unlocked by apple and tmobile

[LastSonOfKrypton]

the reason i m thinking of buying legally unlocked is i have no idea what is going on with unlocking. sim unlocked software unlocked. there are so many things. and jailbreaking too.apple is doing as much as they can to stop unlocking their phone by others.
i m afraid when i try to unlock i will break my ph :S after all, i m just a student

Unlocking is actually quite easy with YellowSn0w, the problem is buying a brand new iPhone with the 02.28 baseband. I'm willing to bet most of the iPhones in Apple Stores come with 2.2.1 and the 02.30 baseband which can't be unlocked via software.

Honestly, if you can walk into an Apple Store and they'll at least look for their oldest iPhone in stock it might be worth it to just buy from them. Ask them if they'll turn it on and check the baseband version for you.

If they ask why, just say you've read about AT&T users having trouble with the newest baseband

[z3r0_plus]

if i do software unlocked, is there any chance to b locked again?
i saw some issues about unlocked software is locked back when they update itunes or whatever

what is difference between software and sim unlocked? which way are you guys recommended

another thing is if i unlocked iphone (software or sim or both) but not jailbreak, can i use iphone with itunes like iphone locked with at&t

and thank you so much for everyone who answer my questions.
i m a newbie

[Mr. DeLeon]

ahh so that is where those legally unlocked by apple iphones come from i see on ebay... i have been trying to figure out if they were actually unlocked by apple LOL yes i know im goofy... ha ha

[GenesisDH]

Officially unlocked iPhones are being sold on Buy.com; they're 800+ bucks, though.

Apparently they are getting them from abroad, as they said the included guides may be in a foreign language.

[talk2me]

if i do software unlocked, is there any chance to b locked again?
i saw some issues about unlocked software is locked back when they update itunes or whatever

what is difference between software and sim unlocked? which way are you guys recommended

another thing is if i unlocked iphone (software or sim or both) but not jailbreak, can i use iphone with itunes like iphone locked with at&t

and thank you so much for everyone who answer my questions.
i m a newbie

Hey z3r0, to answer all your questions, if you get a data plan from tmobile it is quite easy to get the edge network up and running on your iphone. are you looking to buy an iphone or iphone 3g? I have tmobile and i went for the 3g just because I liked the gps that you dont get with the original. but the original is easying for an unlock. let me explain. you can use 1 of 3 ways to unlock your iphone. first, you can do a software unlock with yellowsn0w but that only works with firmware versions below 2.28.00 and below, and apple just released their latest update to include version 2.30, so unless you can get your hands on an iphone 3g with the 2.28 baseband or under, this option won't work. however the original iphone with the latest update will still work with yellowsn0w (currently, unless they update the firmware). the thing with a software unlock, is that it is only good for the version you are using, but if apple releases a firmware update that you inadvertantly update to your phone will most likely become locked again until the developers can figure out how to unlock it with software again. the second method is with hardware and it has similar ramifacations as the software unlock, however most sim chip manufacturers allow you to buy a sim chip programmer and download updates to your sim chip almost immediately after apple releases a firmware upgrade, so unlike the software which can render your iphone nothing more that an ipod touch for months, you can keep up without having to wait for a software solution. the last solution is to just buy a damn unlocked phone from outside the us (i saw this answer in more recent posts of this thread) and then you will never have to worry about keeping up with unlocks period. sorry for the long post, i hope this makes sense of a few things for you.

btw. jailbreaking is something different all together and it will void apple's warranty, but is not much of a risk of destroying your phone. you need to do a jailbreak to software unlock, but not hardware unlock with a sim chip. and all jailbreaking means is that you get to use apps that are not endorsed by apple, and are available for download thru a devolpment called cydia or installer.

happy shopping

[z3r0_plus]

thank you so much for explaining to me.
i got one last question. if i use sim unlocked, m i able to access itunes n dl applications?
which way do you prefer? hardware unlocked or sim unlocked?

Hey z3r0, to answer all your questions, if you get a data plan from tmobile it is quite easy to get the edge network up and running on your iphone. are you looking to buy an iphone or iphone 3g? I have tmobile and i went for the 3g just because I liked the gps that you dont get with the original. but the original is easying for an unlock. let me explain. you can use 1 of 3 ways to unlock your iphone. first, you can do a software unlock with yellowsn0w but that only works with firmware versions below 2.28.00 and below, and apple just released their latest update to include version 2.30, so unless you can get your hands on an iphone 3g with the 2.28 baseband or under, this option won't work. however the original iphone with the latest update will still work with yellowsn0w (currently, unless they update the firmware). the thing with a software unlock, is that it is only good for the version you are using, but if apple releases a firmware update that you inadvertantly update to your phone will most likely become locked again until the developers can figure out how to unlock it with software again. the second method is with hardware and it has similar ramifacations as the software unlock, however most sim chip manufacturers allow you to buy a sim chip programmer and download updates to your sim chip almost immediately after apple releases a firmware upgrade, so unlike the software which can render your iphone nothing more that an ipod touch for months, you can keep up without having to wait for a software solution. the last solution is to just buy a damn unlocked phone from outside the us (i saw this answer in more recent posts of this thread) and then you will never have to worry about keeping up with unlocks period. sorry for the long post, i hope this makes sense of a few things for you.

btw. jailbreaking is something different all together and it will void apple's warranty, but is not much of a risk of destroying your phone. you need to do a jailbreak to software unlock, but not hardware unlock with a sim chip. and all jailbreaking means is that you get to use apps that are not endorsed by apple, and are available for download thru a devolpment called cydia or installer.

happy shopping

[cpjr]

^yes you can still download apps.

And its not hardware unlock vs. sim unlock, its software unlock vs. sim unlock.

Software unlock is better, but only available on baseband 02.28.00 unless its officially unlocked.

[talk2me]

Hey z3r0, there really isn't any limitations between a software or hardware unlock, I prefer a software unlock because it tends to be a bit more stable, but I am currently using a sim unlock because I am past the 2.28 threshhold. Once you pass it you can't go back, I will use a soft unlock as soon as yellowsn0w (thats the software unlock) releases one for my version of firmware, which is currently 4.20 because I was running the os 3.0 for a bit and am now back to 2.2.1, but once you upgrade your firmware you can't currently downgrade, however you CAN downgrade your os. Other thing is the hard unlock is not permenent so you can always use it temperarily until a soft unlock is released for you're firmware. A sim unlock is simply another sim card that you sandwich into the sim tray with your carrier sim, it's a tight fit in the iPhone and you do have to struggle a little to wedge the assembly back into your phone. If you do go with this solution (I got a rebel sim on eBay for $13 including shipping) make absolutely certain you use tape to hold the sims in the tray otherwise they can become dislodged inside the phone making it almost impossible to get out. It should show you how to do this with the instructions that come with the sim. It's fairly simple to do this and I just cut the tape flush with top of my my phone, it's a little bit difficult to get the tray back out but it doesn't look as stupid as having a piece of tape hanging out. I'll post a pic later.

[z3r0_plus]

thanks, man. i really appreciate it. i should consider the software unlocked. hope i wont screw up during the process

Hey z3r0, there really isn't any limitations between a software or hardware unlocks, I prefer a software unlock because it tends to be a bit more stable, but I am currently using a sim unlock because I am past the 2.28 threshhold. Once you pass it you can't go back, I will use a soft unlock as soon as yellowsn0w (thats the software unlock) releases a soft unlock for my version of software, which is currently 4.20 because I was running the is 3.0 for a bit and am now back to 2.2.1, but once you upgrade your firmware you can't currently downgrade, but you can downgrade your os. Other thing is the hard unlock is not perminant so you can always use it temperarily until a soft unlock is released for you're firmware. A sim unlock is simply another sim card that you sandwich into the sim tray with your carrier sim, it's a tight fit in the iPhone and you do have to struggle a little to wedge the assembly back into your phone. If you do go with this solution (I got a rebel sim on eBay for $13 including shipping) make absolutely certain you use tape to hold the sims in the tray otherwise they can become dislodged inside the phone making it almost impossible to get out. It should show you how to do this with the instructions that come with the sim. It's fairly simple to do this and I just cut the tape flush with top of my my phone, it's a little bit difficult to get the tray back out but it doesn't look as stupid as having a piece of tape hanging out. I'll post a pic later.

[Mr. DeLeon]

i have used both myself and so far currently using gev sim (since im on 2.2.1) and for the past week i havent had any issues with calls dropping or anything else... this is the only kind of turb sim i have used also