Unlocking an iPhone for Travel????

[sunkmail]

Thanks for all the info and advice!

As I already have a phone, I wasn't interested in getting another 'new' one just for travel.

Still thinking between the $75 unlock and jailbreak. Also, I'll be looking into talkatone more. I've still got about a month to sort everything out.

 

[sunkmail]

I Have an update ...

After looking into Talkatone, it is not something I can use to call land lines. According to their website, to call a land line, it uses a google voice account. We still cannot get one in Canada.

I decided to give the unlock a try myself. I made sure to read every warning and several different walk-through and video demos.

It did take a little while - not too long though. Maybe 45 min total. That could probably be reduced a fair amount, but I was going slow on purpose.


It worked!

After completing the process, I was able to use my Wife's SIM card (from Telus) and it worked fine. So far I haven't noticed any downside to the procedure.

Yes, I'll have to be cautious when doing any iOS updates, but since my trip is only a month away, I'm not too worried if I lose the unlock after my return.

 

[Sevenrider860]

Apple provides every carrier a mechanism to unlock the iPhones they sell. This is not a Jailbreak or non-Apple approved method. When told that the unlock is completed, you connect the phones to iTunes and sync. You do need an Internet connection as the unlock information comes from Apple during the sync. Upon completion the iPhone will no longer be restricted to your carrier. It does not void the Apple warranty in anyway.

Many providers won't provide this option until you are past the contract date if you received the phone at a discounted price (2 years for AT&T in the US).

 

[eelnoraa]

Gavey sim doesn't work. If you look into how Gavey is supposed to work online, you will understand why it won't work.

Jailbreaking then install Redsnow/Ultrasnow will work, but result can be inconsistant. By that I mean if it gets pre-apd carrier signal, it will work. But once you lose signal, say you are in subway, or need to turn of cellular antena on a flight, ... it will take a while to get the signal back after. Overall, it is a quick and free solution to "unlock", it is OK if you are traveling for short time. But if you are intend to use the phone for longer period, this kind of thing becomes very inconvinient.

The best way is to official unlock through iTune.