Will iPhone 4S Unlocked purchased in US work on Three UK mobile network?

[jermur87]

Hi all

First time user & avid Apple fan. Sadly I lost my iPhone 4 a couple of months back and decided to hang on for (what everybody believed would) the iPhone 5 release in Sept 11 instead of replacing my iPhone 4. Well now that we have the iPhone 4S which I am suitably impressed with, I need Siri in my life, I am wondering about getting a good deal on it. Can you please review this detail and let me know if my "plan" will work:

Purchase an Unlocked iPhone 4S from a store in New Hampshire in November, take it back to the UK where I will be inserting a "Three" mobile network microsim. I note the following technical specs from the website:

"The unlocked iPhone includes all the features of iPhone but without a contract commitment. You can activate and use it on the supported GSM wireless network of your choice, such as AT&T in the United States.* The unlocked iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S will not work with CDMA-based carriers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint.
If you don’t want a multiyear service contract or if you prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad, the unlocked iPhone is the best choice. It arrives without a micro-SIM card, so you’ll need an active micro-SIM card from any supported GSM carrier worldwide. To start using it, simply insert the micro-SIM card into the slot on your iPhone and turn it on by pressing and holding the On/Off button for a few seconds. Then follow the onscreen instructions to set up your iPhone."

Theoretically this should mean the Unlocked iPhone 4S should still support UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) - just not CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)4, is that correct?

So I go to the "Three" mobile website and check its a GSM operator and I can see that they are a UMTS provider not GSM. Is this a problem?

Will the "Three" mobile microsim work ok? My assumption is that it will but I know there are ppl on here that will know for sure so your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
JerMur87

PS I know I can buy it in the UK for £499 but I save £85 on todays exchanges rates if I buy it on my trip to the US in November (any idea on date for its release? I'm not there until the 27th so I assume it will be in the stores by then?)

 

[f.qureshi]

Hi mate, it's absolutely fine and it will work definitely

Hi all

First time user & avid Apple fan. Sadly I lost my iPhone 4 a couple of months back and decided to hang on for (what everybody believed would) the iPhone 5 release in Sept 11 instead of replacing my iPhone 4. Well now that we have the iPhone 4S which I am suitably impressed with, I need Siri in my life, I am wondering about getting a good deal on it. Can you please review this detail and let me know if my "plan" will work:

Purchase an Unlocked iPhone 4S from a store in New Hampshire in November, take it back to the UK where I will be inserting a "Three" mobile network microsim. I note the following technical specs from the website:

"The unlocked iPhone includes all the features of iPhone but without a contract commitment. You can activate and use it on the supported GSM wireless network of your choice, such as AT&T in the United States.* The unlocked iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S will not work with CDMA-based carriers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint.
If you don’t want a multiyear service contract or if you prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad, the unlocked iPhone is the best choice. It arrives without a micro-SIM card, so you’ll need an active micro-SIM card from any supported GSM carrier worldwide. To start using it, simply insert the micro-SIM card into the slot on your iPhone and turn it on by pressing and holding the On/Off button for a few seconds. Then follow the onscreen instructions to set up your iPhone."

Theoretically this should mean the Unlocked iPhone 4S should still support UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) - just not CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)4, is that correct?

So I go to the "Three" mobile website and check its a GSM operator and I can see that they are a UMTS provider not GSM. Is this a problem?

Will the "Three" mobile microsim work ok? My assumption is that it will but I know there are ppl on here that will know for sure so your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
JerMur87

PS I know I can buy it in the UK for £499 but I save £85 on todays exchanges rates if I buy it on my trip to the US in November (any idea on date for its release? I'm not there until the 27th so I assume it will be in the stores by then?)

Hello mate

I am from London and have unlocked iPhone 4 and on three (3G) one plan. UMTS is fine, it shows that the internet speed is great (third generation, video calling features etc).

What it states is, let's suppose you buy iPhone 4S from US, you can get microsim from AT&T or any other GSM operator, i.e vodafone, three, orange etc but it won't work on CDMA networks, that's Sprint in US. None of UK operator is CDMA based but GSM. So it's all fine.

I was also planning to get my wife buy iphone 4S from US but to be honest iPhone 4S doesn't attract me, waste of money. I will wait for re-engineered phone by Apple or may be Samsung in future.

Cheers!
Farhan