How easy will it be to unlock a US bought iPhone?

I've just received flight details this morning for me to travel to the US on 30th June for one week for work.

Luckily for me just after the release of the iPhone.... So I figure I could pick one up whilst over there.

How easy will it be to unlock a US bought iPhone for use in Europe?

Thanks in advance for any ideas you guys may have.

My guess would be, impossible.

I hear that ATT has to add special features to their whole system to support the iPhone. It's not generic at all.

Any phone can be unlocked, some just require a code to enter the system features, some require a connection via the contacts on the GSM chip or USB. I doubt this will happen soon, but it will happen eventualy. Another option is to ask an AT&T representative to see if you can use it with another carrier in case you need to travel, some companies do that as a service, after all you payed for the phone and will keep paying for the contract. Some companies doesn't lock their phones at all. It is too soon to think about that.

Trust me, AT&T/Cingular lock their phones.

I'll have to agree with Baggss. But in the same time I can say if u give it about a month or so and then take it to Canal Street in NYC, there will be a million people unlocking the heck out of the iPhone for a mere $20-40 the most.

My uncle was here from Egypt a few years back when the Rzr first came out and he wanted to one to take back to Egypt, and that what he did. Bought the Rzr from Verizon Wireless with no contract and took it to Canal Street, in a matter of 10 mins he was able to find a store to do the job and that was it.

[offtopic] Why would your uncle buy a Verizon phone? Wouldn't it make more sense to get a GSM phone to use internationally? [/offtopic]

The iPhone will eventually be able to be unlocked, most likely within a few weeks. Heck, you may even be able to plug it into your computer and use a free unlocking utility, much like the ones for Windows Mobile phones (I unlocked my 8125 within a matter of minutes and for free).

kevin-h said:

I've just received flight details this morning for me to travel to the US on 30th June for one week for work.

Luckily for me just after the release of the iPhone.... So I figure I could pick one up whilst over there.

How easy will it be to unlock a US bought iPhone for use in Europe?

Thanks in advance for any ideas you guys may have.

Click to expand...

There have been rumors that the stock will likely be low at launch time due to some problems with production, so it might be pretty difficult to find one right after launch.

I've read that the Battery and SIM for these phones will be sealed - if so then it's going to be impossible/useless to unlock it as you'll be unable to replace the SIM with one from your network of choice.

RNDdave said:

I've read that the Battery and SIM for these phones will be sealed - if so then it's going to be impossible/useless to unlock it as you'll be unable to replace the SIM with one from your network of choice.

Click to expand...

If that's the case, it would put a damper on getting the phone unlocked. Though perhaps it would be silly to seal the SIM card as sometimes customers change numbers or plans and require new SIM cards. Then there's the possibility of a SIM card upgrade, as was done last year with the upgrade to 64kb cards

It won't be sealed. Apple specified in the keynote. SIM tray.

Either way, it would be stupid to seal a SIM. They are designed to be removed and removable. Agree?

Kash said:

If that's the case, it would put a damper on getting the phone unlocked. Though perhaps it would be silly to seal the SIM card as sometimes customers change numbers or plans and require new SIM cards. Then there's the possibility of a SIM card upgrade, as was done last year with the upgrade to 64kb cards

Click to expand...

iRye said:

It won't be sealed. Apple specified in the keynote. SIM tray.

Either way, it would be stupid to seal a SIM. They are designed to be removed and removable. Agree?

Click to expand...

Yup I agree it would be stupid. I don't remember anything being mentioned either way about this in the keynote. To be honest I read this from a page that was on the front page of Digg a few days back so at the end of the day it was a blog from someone that is no doubt guessing or possibly out right lying.

Now going back to the idea of doing something that is stupid - why create a phone that does not take advantage of the latest technology in the cellular market (3g for example)? Why sell iPods with 'sealed' batteries? Why sell MacBooks with covers that discolour (granted this has since being dealt with). Why does Apple TV not allow you to buy things from iTunes? Why does Apple TV not allow you to use it as a PVR?

There are lots of things that Apple do amazingly well - yet there are many things that they don't seem to really think about, or perhaps they do - perhaps they want you to buy the next version?

My name's Dave and this post was created on a MacBook - I'm not an Apple 'hater' - I love my MacBook and OS X - the MacBook is my favourite purchase - I just think that Apple products are not always perfect...