Filed under: Retail, iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage
Will Canada's iPhone be unlocked?
The iPhone is slowly making it's way around the world. In Canada, there are now four major carriers that support the device: Rogers, Fido, Telus and Bell. So how will Apple continue to stock and support the iPhone with that many carriers? That's where the story get's interesting. According to iPhoneInCanada.ca, to make stocking and inventory easier, the iPhones in Apple's Canadian retail stores will arrive completely unlocked without any SIM card. Once a carrier is chosen and a SIM card is placed in the device, it will then be locked to that carrier. So what happens if you put in a SIM card from a carrier other than the four in Canada? The simple answer: we have no idea!
While we're not entirely sure what this means, it does present some interesting ideas. The Canadian iPhones could only recognize the four possible carrier's SIM cards, but may also be entirely unlocked. It'll be interesting to see how people that want to use the iPhone on unsupported carriers will take this news.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ender said 3:14PM on 11-02-2009
iphoneincanada are very unreliable and they edit their posts afterward without making *edit comments* to make it seem like they are always right. In fact, Apple Canada has been doing this for a long time now. When I bought my 3GS and asked if I could activate at home, they told me to make sure I use the sim card I want to use with the phone because it will lock the phone to that carrier. It's not something new.
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John Burke said 3:16PM on 11-02-2009
Good point. Even here in the US, the iPhone is "technically" unlocked, until activated with the SIM. The addition of more carriers in Canada makes this a little more complicated and this post kind of just points out the possiblity of Apple having a harder time controlling the amount of unlocked phones that are around. Consider this general interest as opposed to hard-set facts.
Jason Litka said 5:46PM on 11-02-2009
@John Burke,
The locked/unlocked status is determined by the IMEI of the phone (at least, right now anyway). My assumption is that some numbers are flagged as "unlocked", some for "lock to any carrier on activate", and some for "only activate to certain carriers and then lock". This is probably a case of the second or third.
For example, phones sold through AT&T (or at apple stores in the US) can only be activated with an AT&T SIM and are locked immediately after being activated.
I, on the other hand, have a completely unlocked phone that stayed unlocked after I added my AT&T SIM (the only SIM that has ever been in the phone) and activated, In fact, it even gave me a nice "your phone is now unlocked" message when it was activated in iTunes.
Tom Keddie said 3:36PM on 11-02-2009
I don't think there are any other carriers in Canada. There are a few rogers resellers but Rogers/Fido and Bell/Telus have the only GSM networks AFAIK.
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Gazoobee said 3:43PM on 11-02-2009
As Tom already said,... I'm pretty sure those four carriers represent all the carriers in Canada.
Also, there is no indication at all that you could get an unlocked iPhone. You still have to buy one from Apple and they are still not going to let you walk out of the store with it without picking a carrier and the phone will be locked to that carrier. If you buy one from fido et al. then it would similarly be locked.
This is a total non-story.
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stuck said 4:27PM on 11-02-2009
Actually there were at least two providers who bought canadian licenses in 2008 which are not yet up and running: http://www.macnn.com/news/55409.
It would be interesting if you could slip a $50 or $100 to an Apple employee "for more freedom".
joe said 4:20PM on 11-02-2009
it probably works like it does in any apple retail store that offers multiple carriers like mine in my country.
when the phone gets processed through the system, the specialist checks the carrier options that allow them to either give you a discount on the iphone (if you sign up with a plan) or make you pay the full price (as it is available unlocked here). the imei number is then registered with itunes, and when you first activate it, the device is locked/unlocked depending on your agreement.
the specialist should activate the phone for you before you leave the store if you sign up to a contract to make sure that the sim card is activated and paired with your phone. if they don't, you can activate the phone yourself but only in your local country with a local sim card eg. buy in canada, activate in canada on canadian itunes with canadian sim card OR buy in canada, activate in US on US itunes with US sim card.
if your imei number is registered with itunes as locked, then the phone will be locked to the first sim card you activate with.
all iphones distributed to retailers other than apple are locked.
thats how i understood it to work anyway...
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William Shipley said 4:38PM on 11-02-2009
"its"
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MSM said 4:38PM on 11-02-2009
I got my iPhone 3G S from ROGERS and I am not having any problems since I live in Montreal, but sometimes I leave for a few weeks and I am required to install Cydia/Yellowsn0w to have the "freedom" to use my iPhone without paying an arm and a leg... I think this will be very nice if we could use iPhones anywhere in the world, on any sim...
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a486490 said 9:05PM on 11-02-2009
Hopefully Canada can follow Australia's lead in iPhone deployments.
Here the iPhone is available on all 4 of our major carriers (Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, Three), and one MVNO carrier (Virgin Mobile, uses Optus network).
The iPhone is available locked on these carriers on various pricing plans and contracts, as well as outright (but still locked). They offer unlock for a fee or free as part of a contract.
But the best thing is the iPhone is also available outright and unlocked from the Apple Online Store and Retail Stores.
This is how it should be in every country.
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Digaos said 10:35PM on 11-02-2009
I don't know why they offer the unlock in Australia, but I know that in Brazil it the carriers are obligated by law to unlock any cell phone (and for free, I believe). Also, the maximum length for a cell phone contract there is 1 year.
Too bad here in Canada we have the lame CRTC, which main responsibility is to help communication companies to keep screwing with Canadian consumers.
leftnotracks said 12:44AM on 11-03-2009
17˝ or even 15˝ MBP can be a little tight on a plane or a bus. Keep it under your chair or tuck it into the seat pocket in front and use the Mimo to watch videos.
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leftnotracks said 10:08AM on 11-04-2009
[Apparently 1 Password remembered my comment, too.]
Fido is owned by Rogers, so it's really only three cariers. I wouldn't call this cabal of thugs "competition" though.
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