Moving and changing carriers

[brentbizzle]

Ok, so I've looked all over for information on the possibility of this and have not found much of a definitive answer. I'm in Japan and have a 3g locked to Softbank. yellowsnow isn't a possibility. I'm moving to Australia next month and every carrier pretty much supports the iPhone.

My idea was to restore the phone back to factory settings. This, as far as I can tell will wipe the carrier settings from the phone. Then take it to a provider in Australia to have it activated at their store, essentially locking to their network.

I know there are definite possibilities that it won't work because of the IMEI being registered with Softbank and it may not be able to be registered with a different provider, but I have no idea what checks are made and if this is even a possibility.

Thoughts?

[chanquete]

Have you tried jailbreaking/unlocking it?
Do you know your firmware and baseband versions?

[brentbizzle]

I've already noted yellowsnow is not an option... 2.2.1 , 2.30.03, 6.2...

[chanquete]

I did read that. Your message didn't have the info about versions, and your profile doesn't specify it either. With the huge range of iPhone knowledge out there, you cannot assume anything when reading the posts.
No offense intended in my questions.
Now, getting back to your original post, I don't think any provider will unlock your phone to lock it back to their settings. That would mean that they have the ability (or capacity) to unlock a factory locked device, which I don't think it's out there yet.

[brentbizzle]

Ah, I don't know much about the whole carrier lock deal. Figured that the phone came to the store virgin and was locked when bought from the carrier. I guess it makes more sense that it's locked from the factory otherwise it would be MUCH easier to unlock them. Nevermind!

[confucious]

They will not be able to unlock it, sorry.
Your only hope is a piggyback SIM until 3.0 is out and unlocked. Best wait to see what tomorrow brings.

[brentbizzle]

My original thought was maybe they weren't locked until activated by the carrier... but yeah, I was wrong. Nevermind.

I've already ordered 2 different piggyback SIM's to test when I get to Australia. I'll be sure to post my findings after I do. The networks I'll be using them on will support the iPhone, so I'm hoping for good compatibility.

[confucious]

Could you not sell your 3G in Japan and get one of the new ones when you move to Oz?

[brentbizzle]

A. Japanese people don't like the iPhone
B. That's why you can get the friggin phone for FREE from the carrier
C. It would cost a lot more to buy the phone again in Australia and since I'm moving and having to find a job, not a smart move.

So unfortunately, no, can't sell and rebuy.

[confucious]

You can get the iPhone free from O2 here in the UK, it doesn't mean they don't still sell for lots of money on eBay!