Buying an iPhone 4 in the UK and Bringing it back into SA

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PokerKing

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Hey guys

I know someone in the UK that is coming back to SA pretty soon. From what I have read, if the iPhone 4 is purchased directly from an Apple Store in the UK, it will work in SA because it will not be network locked. (Buying from O2 or vodafone etc will not work as they will network lock the phones)..

Can anyone verify this? It is 500 pounds from what I have read so thats around R5500.. Still a lot cheaper than what you can get it for here..

So if anyone can verify this as soon as possible that would be great.

Cheers
 
AFAIK this will work as long as its not Networked locked....

Probelm you will have is that you will not have the local warranty...

For what its worth i would rather buy the phone here either on contract or cash and get peace of mind that the phone is covered.....
 
Yeah thanks Acydebyte.. Just after I posted this thread I read about the warranty issue. I agree, buying it here would probably be a better option.
 
No sweat.. Made sense to buy it in the UK when we didnt have it locally, but now its just not worth it.

Also the VC and MTN packages are quite attractive, i am paying less for my iPhone 4 then i was on the 3GS....
 
Well vodacom only had one package and i certainly wouldnt call it attractive. R925 pm is a bit excessive, especially since its their only deal. Although MTN are offering some nice packages. But I have heard some horror stories about MTN so I think im just going to pay cash for it.
 
Vodacom have a package that's similar to the MTN one - R379 p/m on Top up 275 with 110mb data free. No pay in. It's a good deal.

I also won't touch MTN with a 10 foot pole when it comes to contracts. They are overcharging my mom and my cousin every month. No thanks!
 
Afaik iPhones have a worldwide warranty from apple. That being said when my grey import iPod had an issue the iStore (or more accurately Core) didnt want to fix it because they didn't sell it. It took about a month and a few emails to apple complaining about their accredited dealer before they sorted me out.
 
I agree that some of the VC contracts are overpriced but the R379 offer is definitely worth it...

As for MTN, i agree, apparently they dont have VVM yet and also dont have a dedicated iPhone APN.

Warranty wise, because you didnt buy it in SA you will face a mountain of a battle before anyone will repair it. With enough fighting and screaming you will get it right (i hope) but i personally dont wanna have to go through all that.... (if anything happens)
 
PokerKing said:
Hey guys


I know someone in the UK that is coming back to SA pretty soon. From what I have read, if the iPhone 4 is purchased directly from an Apple Store in the UK, it will work in SA because it will not be network locked. (Buying from O2 or vodafone etc will not work as they will network lock the phones)..

Can anyone verify this? It is 500 pounds from what I have read so thats around R5500.. Still a lot cheaper than what you can get it for here..

So if anyone can verify this as soon as possible that would be great.

Cheers
Click to expand...
O2 were charging 15 pounds to unlock their 32gig 3Gs models, so I guess they would do the same for the iPhone 4.
 
If you read under the iphone Q&A's on the Apple UK website you will see that if you buy from the Apple Store, the phone will be unlocked and can be used anywhere. I would agree though, the TopUp 275 contract from Vodacom is a bargain. You pay R379, get R275 airtime and 110mb data bundle (worth R89). This means the phone itself only costs you R15 per month x 24 = R360. Bargain!
 
The new VC prices are great on the 16gb iPhone 4 but the 24 month contract is my problem. I had a few bad experiences and would rather operate without a "free Phone" contract.
Fortunately my New iPhone4 -32gb was given to me as a present and came from Apple Australia. I received it last Saturday, with IOS 4.1 pre installed. It's a beauty and a natural evolution from the 3Gs.
I am on a VC contract, without the cost of a phone calculated in. So next year I will check out the market well before putting pen to paper again.
The next generation of the iPhone will be out next year so I don't want to end up with 12 months to go on a contract at that stage.
Fan for life.
 
Acydebyte said:
I agree that some of the VC contracts are overpriced but the R379 offer is definitely worth it...

As for MTN, i agree, apparently they dont have VVM yet and also dont have a dedicated iPhone APN.

Warranty wise, because you didnt buy it in SA you will face a mountain of a battle before anyone will repair it. With enough fighting and screaming you will get it right (i hope) but i personally dont wanna have to go through all that.... (if anything happens)
Click to expand...

I just changed to the Vodacom iPhone APN, but am not seeing a difference. What are the advantages?
 
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