Buying an iPhone 4 from a Canadian carrier? It's locked
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Jul 30th 2010 11:44AM
posted Jul 30th 2010 11:44AM
[Thanks, Chris]
Update: We've now confirmed that the lock is happening at the time the phone is activated -- in other words, it begins life carrier-agnostic. Pretty wild stuff.
Update 2: Tipster Mika G. tells us that unlocked phones purchased directly from Apple do not lock upon carrier activation, which jibes with Apple's wording that "you can change carriers at any time." Carrier-purchased phones, however, definitely do lock.
Welcome to America.
@txphisher
Capitalism to the extreme!
@txphisher
..........or Canada
@GenericMessage: Canada is in America.
The USA stole the "America" moniker.
Why is there an article on this? Of course the carrier is going to sell it locked to their network. It's just stupid because you can buy it unlocked from the Apple store.
@txphisher Carrier phones are always locked even if you buy it from them contract free for $599 or $699. If you sign on with an unlocked iPhone they won't give you a data plan with out a contract. So one way or another they get you.
@Ruben
Yeah, because we're more influential and more talked about than other places :P And America is in our countries name anyways. xD
@MrPacMan36
By "other" places, I mean anywhere North or South.
@Ruben Wrong. Canadians are "North American", but those from the United States of "America" are "American" (signifying their country) as well as North American (signifying their region).
It's called "context", you should look it up.
@txphisher
So Apple exercised deceptive advertising and lying?
I'm shocked and awed.
@Ruben
Amen to that.
Canada and 33 other countries make up the continent of America, in addition to the United states OF America.
@tikigawd
Err... no. Did you expect a carrier to offer an unlocked phone? That's why Apple offers it.
@JayMS
Uh, no.
The only people who are arrogant enough to think of themselves as the only Americans, and defend that misconception against the rest of the Americans in the remainder of the continent, are United Statans, ie people who live in the United States OF America.
North America is comprised of:
Bermuda
Canada
Greenland
Mexico
Saint Pierre
USA
and also all the Caribbean Islands of
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba
The Bahamas
Barbados
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Haiti
Jamaica
Martinique
Montserrat
Navassa Island (USA)
Netherlands Antilles
Puerto Rico
St Barthélemy
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Martin
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islands
US Virgin Islands
Educate yourself.
@Canucker
And then when you activate it it locks to a carrier, making it impossible to "change carriers at any time," like the advert states.
At least that's what I understood from what was written.
@tikigawd
Itt, people arguing over one word
1. Get them from Apple Store (from Canada) by bulk
2. Bring them to US
3. ?????????
4. Profit
That's what I've been doing, it works!
[=
@Itami
One word can communicate quite a lot.
This one word is one of those.
@tikigawd
The phones (only direct from Apple) remain unlocked when a network SIM is introduced. That does occur if you buy full price from a carrier (which is a total rip-off - playing on ignorance). The Apple bought iPhones can be used with SIMs from other carriers from other countries (like the Nexus One). Canada isn't the only jurisdiction that enables purchase of unlocked phones although 98% of phones are bought locked here.
@Canucker
Come to think of it, the reason for the locking when buying from a carrier at full price is likely that the buyer still has a contract with that carrier. Hence, the carrier is carrying over the contract. That's what happens if you have a subsidised phone except there you need to buy a full contract (3 years in Canada). Most people paying full price likely still have at least a year or two left in their previous contract. If they buy from Apple and still have a contract left, to transfer that contract will lock it to the carrier. They need a new account with a carrier to remain unlocked or pay the ETF. If so, that blows but may be part of the answer.
@Canucker
But users are able to switch over to different SIM cards whenever they feel like it?
I understand that they can be bound to a contract with a particular carrier. My question is about the freedom they have to use an alternate carrier at any point, even though they still have to pay the carrier they have a contract with.
@tikigawd
So you consider every nation with a spit of dirt in North America to be "Americans"? I find it odd that you're abasing for being arrogant and closed-minded when your liberal definition of "American" excludes those from central or south America.
@tikigawd
I hate to argue semantics on the net, but this is one fallacy I see too often.
There is no such continent as "America".
As you yourself pointed out, all of those places are in "North America" the rest of the hemisphere is in "South America".
Collectively known as "The Americas"
Using the word "America" to include Canada, or any of the places you mentioned is incorrect.
It needs a "North" at the begining or an "s" at the end.
@jon
You are right about the "American" issue however, anyone from either continent is an American, no need for north of south.
@jon So, when people outside of the US complain about "Americans", they might be talking about people from Brazil, Quebec, or Argentina? I'm dubious.
@tikigawd "American" has become synonymous with a U.S. citizen.
Just like Xeroxing is to make a copy of something even if you don't use a Xerox copier.
Canadian: Just follow the road.
Kyle: Which road?
Canadian: This is Canada! We only have one road!
Canadians: Follow the only road, follow the only road, follow follow follow follow follow the only road
@jon
What is called "The Americas" by people who speak English in the USA is simply called América by everyone else who speaks Spanish in the rest of the country.
So yes, there is such a thing as the continent of America or América.
That continent has three or four subdivisions:
North America
Central America
South America
and the Caribbean, which is usually grouped with "mainland" North America
This is basic geography that is usually learned in grade school if you live in a Latin American country. This is not taught in the USA, and hence the ingrained misconception that its citizens are the only "Americans."
Referring to someone as an "American," and meaning is as a nationality is a convention used by people almost exclusively used by people from the USA
You could argue that it's just a convention used differently by different people from one country vs 34 other countries. But don't tell me that the convention used by those other 34 countries is wrong, especially when the people who live in them outnumber the people in the one country.
This whole situation is akin to people from, say, Germany calling themselves European, while telling everyone else in the rest of the countries comprising Europe that they are not European.
@rumanchu
No, you're right.
When any normal person uses the word "American", they're referring to someone form the US.
However, technically, "American" describes anyone from the Americas.
That said, I've never met anyone who wasn't from the US, and wasn't trying to win an argument on the net, who calls to themselves an "American"
@rumanchu
No, they are probably referring to people in the USA, because the influence of the USA is worldwide. And its conventions are spread around the world by that influence accordingly.
So yes, "American" is used by a lot of people to refer to someone who holds US citizenship, especially if the communication happens in English. There is no other common word to refer to such a person in English. The closest attempt is to say "United Statesian," or"United Statan," but no one uses that.
Nevertheless, when you talk to someone from a Latin American (that includes some in North, some in Central and some in South America) country you might hear "estadounidense" (what United Statesian attemts to convey) or "americano" (American) interchangeably. It might also depend on how much resentment the person you are talking to feels towards the USA regarding the subject. Imagine yourself growing up thinking about yourself as one thing, and then one day coming up to you and telling you "no, you're not that; I'm that and you're this."
Nevertheless, America is geographically a whole continent that is referred to as both "América" and "The Americas."
@tikigawd
"Nevertheless, America is geographically a whole continent that is referred to as both "América" and "The Americas.""
The Americas are a single continent in one model.
Considering that that model often ignores Antarctica, because it has no permanent inhabitants, and most of the world, including the US, China and India separate the two, that is the model I, and most other people, choose to use.
@abedinthehouse
Quick question. I'm planning to buy one iphone online from the Apple Store (Canada) and have it sent to a friend address in Canada. He will then send it to my address in Miami.
My question is: will I have to pay something at customs? How should I sent it? What should I declare?
Please help me with this as I'm desperate for a factory unlocked phone.
Best regards,
Fercho.
@tikigawd
If they have no existing contract/obligations to transfer, have an Apple unlocked iPhone and buy a monthly plan (usually set to auto-renew but can be cancelled at any time), yes, they can use any other microSIM from other carriers.
is the white iPhone 4 really that big a deal? Blog here http://www.hedgefundlive.com/notes
@gotreef
I never excluded Central and South Americans. I just wrote what North America is comprised of since the person said Canadians are referred to as North Americans while US persons are the actual Americans.
@tikigawd
ha ha. The one thing you can always believe from apple is the price.
@txphisher wazza mean by "life carrier-agnostic". Too fancy words for me. Hmmp!
@fais I think she's so ugly - maybe it has to do with the terrible smile/shirt/lanyard...
@tikigawd but south America is filled with shit shingles...
Wow.
@Darkroom,
I just picked mine up from Rogers. I tried to hold it in that spot, and I didn't see any bars disappear.
I held it that way for my first 10 minute phone call, and it seems fine.
I have no doubt that there's an issue with it, but I dont think it affects everyone/every phone.
@Darkroom
Hmmm so doing the math that means 3 million dumb Americans bought the iPhone 4.0 since it was initially released in the US?
You are an idiot!
@iantolee
Is that what a canadian genius looks like?
Did anyone really think they would be unlocked.
@FuriousB
They are unlocked from the AppleStore - just not the carrier stores. You need to buy a plan but that does not lock the phone if you bought it from the AppleStore. This is the same as any unlocked phone bought direct from the retailer (not the network). I had an unlocked SE T68i with a Rogers plan. It was unlocked. If you are travelling to Canada (or the US) with an unlocked phone, you can buy a local SIM and avoid roaming charges. The carriers don't advertise this because they want to sucker you into a locked phone.
@FuriousB Yeah I'd be a little worried when the ad says "or something" like there not sure if it will be unlocked or not.
@Nn4458 The "ad" (http://store.apple.com/ca/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone?mco=OTY2ODA2OQ) doesn't have the words "or something". That's a photoshop.
"It just works!". Yeah, the way we tell you to work it.
@Dank Dillweed You sir fail.
@MoonWalkerCTE
yeah... just too much confusion for the average buyer
@Dank Dillweed No, you're just activating it wrong.
Why does that chick turn me on every time I see her?