The General iPhone Thread and FAQ

[Castro]

	Quote:	Gastro Gnome
	Does anyone know if it's possible to stick an O2 Pay As You Go SIM in a Swiss Orange iPhone to use while in the UK? The main reason would be to avoid hefty data roaming charges. I'm guessing not as it's locked to Orange. So . . . a follow on question, is it possible to unlock it for use with O2 but then revert on returning to Switzerland? In fact, is it just possible to use an unlocked phone with an Orange SIM? i.e. keep it unlocked all the time but use it with Orange and O2 SIMs?

So many questions, all the same answer. Just jailbreak and unlock it and you can then do whatever you like with your phone. Take a look at the iclarified site for a clear, step-by-step guide on how to do it.

[Gastro Gnome]

	Quote:	Castro
	So many questions, all the same answer. Just jailbreak and unlock it and you can then do whatever you like with your phone. Take a look at the iclarified site for a clear, step-by-step guide on how to do it.

Thanks . . . this is a question about the usability of the O2 PAYG too . . . it seems generous that you could just stick in a PAYG card and get unlimited 3G data use. That's what you get if you buy a PAYG iPhone fro O2 though . . .

I'm slightly nervous about jailbreaking my iPhone, most of the compelling reasons for doing it have faded as Apple have improved the OS, it's a pain in the arse when it comes to each firmware upgrade and it also breaks some apps (e.g. the new notification service is failing on a lot of apps on jailbroken phones).

[Castro]

	Quote:	Gastro Gnome
	Thanks . . . this is a question about the usability of the O2 PAYG too . . . it seems generous that you could just stick in a PAYG card and get unlimited 3G data use. That's what you get if you buy a PAYG iPhone fro O2 though . . . I'm slightly nervous about jailbreaking my iPhone, most of the compelling reasons for doing it have faded as Apple have improved the OS, it's a pain in the arse when it comes to each firmware upgrade and it also breaks some apps (e.g. the new notification service is failing on a lot of apps on jailbroken phones).

When I'm in blighty I use a T-mobile PAYG sim card with an unlimited data add-on, not sure if O2 offer the same. As for jailbroken phones being less stable, I've not seen much in the way of evidence, or certainly nothing that swings the benefit-risk ratio towards keeping it all standard. In any case if you don't like it you can always do a restore in iTunes and voila, your phone is back to its original state. I did a restore before taking mine to the Apple Store and had no issues (he ran a full diagnostic check on it).

I unlocked and jailbroke both my and my wife's iPhone 3G (3.0) last night and they are working perfectly on all networks and with iTunes.

[Ed Pummelon]

I did it on the 3GS a while ago and have had no issues. It opens up a whole new world on the phone, and I won't be going back. Having to wait a little while before upgrading to the latest Apple software release is a small price to pay.

By the way, if any 3GS owners are thinking of doing this I'd recommend going the purplera1n route rather than via ultrasn0w - the latter gave me a few problems on the 3GS, but the former has been perfect. If you've no idea what I'm talking about, have a look at the iClarified site that Castro linked to.

[cchi]

Great to see these are easy to jailbreak. Does anyone know where I can get an iphone without a contract? As in a previous post, I have a phone from my work (swisscom) and I would like just to put the SIM of that phone into an iphone, and off I go. I dont mind paying "full price" (whatever that is) but I cant find anyone who will sell me one without a contract...

Please, can anyone help?

Edit: Hmm.. just found out that I have to pay 1199 CHF for a new one without a contract at Swisscom.. Im not prepared to pay *that* full price... Oh well, I guess the Nokia lives on..

	Quote:	cchi
	I dont mind paying "full price" (whatever that is) but I cant find anyone who will sell me one without a contract... Please, can anyone help? Edit: Hmm.. just found out that I have to pay 1199 CHF for a new one without a contract at Swisscom.. Im not prepared to pay *that* full price... Oh well, I guess the Nokia lives on..

There's a couple of second hand iPhones available in the For Sale/Wanted area of the forum, try searching there.

http://www.englishforum.ch/sale-wanted/

http://www.englishforum.ch/search.php

[robogobo]

	Quote:	cchi
	Great to see these are easy to jailbreak. Does anyone know where I can get an iphone without a contract? As in a previous post, I have a phone from my work (swisscom) and I would like just to put the SIM of that phone into an iphone, and off I go. I dont mind paying "full price" (whatever that is) but I cant find anyone who will sell me one without a contract... Please, can anyone help? Edit: Hmm.. just found out that I have to pay 1199 CHF for a new one without a contract at Swisscom.. Im not prepared to pay *that* full price... Oh well, I guess the Nokia lives on..

Ricardo. I got a brand new unopened 3GS last week for CHF650.

	Quote:	robogobo
	Ricardo. I got a brand new unopened 3GS last week for CHF650.

Where from?

	Quote:	porsch1909
	Where from?

From Ricardo (Swiss style of Ebay).

http://www.ricardo.ch/search/search....TitleAndDesc=0

	Quote:	vwild1
	From Ricardo (Swiss style of Ebay). http://www.ricardo.ch/search/search....TitleAndDesc=0

haha the lack of English won't help me! Is that unlocked then?

[Verbier]

Well I finally decided to join the iPhone crowd (no one can say that I am an "early adopter" or a "Luddite" - must be someplace in-between).

Since I was with Sunrise, the decision was between Orange and Swisscom. Since I didn't want to tie myself into a two year contract. I was leaning towards Orange.

Based on my needs, I went for the Optima Pro Surf 100 minutes. The idea with this program is that you can phone all fixed numbers for free (7:00 to 19:00). 100 minutes talk time. You have the 1GB of data per month as well.

Where things get interesting are the special offers that Orange is running at the moment. You may not be aware of these.

For ONE year (which is my contract period):

• Free calls to fixed numbers from 19:00 to 7:00 and weekends (see how this matches with the free daytime calling above).
• 30 free SMS per month.

So in effect, my 100 minutes are being used only to call mobile phones.

They also have a program where if you transfer a number (076 077 079) they give you CHF 150 of credit on your account.

If a current Orange customer sponsors you (they just sign a form and give their details), they get CHF 200 of credit on their account.

The cost of the phone is of course dependent on the 12 vs. 24 months and the size of the package you take. Details on their website.

[robogobo]

	Quote:	porsch1909
	haha the lack of English won't help me! Is that unlocked then?

Here's a link one step deeper for the 3GS.
http://www.ricardo.ch/search/search....TitleAndDesc=0
On the left you can see "mit (with) simlock" and "ohne (without) simlock". To me it's all the same because the 3GS can be unlocked, but the "ohne simlock" seem to be a bit more pricey. Go crazy and goodluck!

btw, I focused on the "sofort kaufen" (Buy It Now in eBay speak), kept my eyes peeled for a low price and jumped on it immediately. The ones that go to auction tend to go upwards of CHF900. I was mistaken in my previous post though, as I paid CHF750, not 650. They're not cheap. But to me the unopened phone plus the speed boost of the 3GS was worth the premium over the 3G. And I got lucky because the 3G is still going for around CHF600 at auction. You just have to put a little work into searching.

Oh, one more thing, the registration process with Ricardo takes a few days because they send you a verification in the mail with a code so they can be sure you are who you say you are. That's why the Swiss trust it more than eBay- it's safe and secure!

[Gastro Gnome]

Pay as you go Iphones are currently available from O2 in the UK at the following prices:

iPhone 3G 8GB - £342.50
iPhone 3GS 16GB - £440.40
iPhone 3GS 32GB - £538.30

With the current GBP/CHF exchange rate that makes it as cheap as Ricardo.

	Quote:	Gastro Gnome
	Pay as you go Iphones are currently available from O2 in the UK at the following prices: iPhone 3G 8GB - £342.50 iPhone 3GS 16GB - £440.40 iPhone 3GS 32GB - £538.30 With the current GBP/CHF exchange rate that makes it as cheap as Ricardo.

So how expensive is pay as you go in Switzelrnad? Would i be able to get mobile internet etc as well?

[Gastro Gnome]

	Quote:	porsch1909
	So how expensive is pay as you go in Switzelrnad? Would i be able to get mobile internet etc as well?

I'm not suggesting using a UK pay as you go SIM here. By the UK phone, unlock it and then find a cheap contract or combination of contracts here (Sunrise?).

I'm entirely unsure about the financial benefit of any of this as I haven't bothered to properly cost it out.

	Quote:	Gastro Gnome
	I'm not suggesting using a UK pay as you go SIM here. By the UK phone, unlock it and then find a cheap contract or combination of contracts here (Sunrise?). I'm entirely unsure about the financial benefit of any of this as I haven't bothered to properly cost it out.

Yeh I meant was PAYG expensive in Switzerland using a Swiss carrier or would a sim only contract (if they exist there) be more beneficial?

Only if vodafone would extend their free summer roaming till....forever....then I'd be sorted

Paying for a contract I'm not going to be using won't be fun

[dragonblu]

I'm bringing to CH my unlocked iphone 3G and hubby has got us SIM cards from Swisscom. But I am unable to set up MMS. Something about Swisscom not supporting unlocked iphones. Is this true? Besides jailbreaking it, are there any other solutions?

[DFH]

Try synching with itunes with the Swisscom simcard in it. Then it should update the carrier/handset settings.

Obviously you need to be running software 3.0 too.

[Castro]

Damn! I've just realised that its been more than a year since I got my iPhone on Orange, and even though I paid extra for a one year contract they've now signed me up for a second year How can they get away with auto-renewing contracts???