iPhone 2.2 OS reportedly locking Apple-unlocked iPhone 3Gs
By Will Park on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 2:01 PM PST In Apple, Rumors, iPhone, iPhone OS
Aside from SIM piggy-back unlock solutions, the only other way to let your iPhone 3G roam free on any GSM network is to buy an officially Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)-unlocked iPhone 3G in places like Hong Kong and parts of Europe. Unfortunately for those customers that shelled out the big bucks to get their hands on an unlocked iPhone 3G, there are reports that updating to the iPhone 2.2 OS can cause the handset to become locked.
Apparently, if an iPhone 3G is bought legally unlocked and then updated in another country, then officially-unlocked handset may become locked. iPhone Atlas cites user-reports from Apple’s support forums:
“Bought legally unlocked iPhone in Hong Kong. Updated to 2.2 in Germany. No my iPhone seems to be locked.”
“I bought my iPhone 3G legally unlocked from HK, and I just upgraded to iPhone 2.2, but it seems my phone is locked now. On the phone it says emergency calls only and iTunes is saying not supported SIM.”
It’s likely safe to assume that the majority of unlocked iPhone 3G owners out there have already updated to the iPhone 2.2 OS without any problems. But, if you’ve found that your unlocked iPhone 3G is no longer playing nice with your GSM network, it might be that iPhone 2.2 OS update.
[Via: iPhone Atlas]
me and my friend own iphones 3g from hong kong. we updated them to 2.2 and they work normal, still unlock..
My HK unlocked 3G now has no service after upgrade to 2.2. A friend also did the same and has no problems. Hmmmm doesn’t help me though.
If the phone is legitimate and bought legally then upgrading via itunes to any latest update should not render the phone locked….. , i bought a legally unlocked 3G here in Dubai and then updated to 2.2 with the latest Modem ( Baseband ) ver: 02.28.00 without any problems. I have though come across a few dealers here who told me that they use turbo sim to unlock the phone but strangely the turbo sim is embedded inside the phone and they only insert the carrier sim via sim tray now this can give a false look to the customer and the customer might think that OH its purely legally unlocked as i can’t see the turbo sim…..all these people who have a complaint that there legally unlcoked phones got locked should look into the above mentioned matter as well because the phone only gets locked when it has the information from Apple or when there is a non-compatible turbo sim running at the back…..anyways i just wanted to give ya guys a crude idea…APPLE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PAIN IN DA ASS TO DEAL WITH…….THOUGH I LOVE THE PRODUCTS….CHeeeRS.
I can’t believe this, i have supported apple for years and to do something like not let people use there phones in diffrent countries is down right disgraceful. It’s really put me off the iphone. for all when i asked the guy at allpe store in southampton england will i beable to use my South african simcard in south africa. his answer was yes.
I spent so much money on these phone and now i can’t even use them. i’ve even emailed them to ask them to help me with the problem and no one has got back to me.
Hi Umair,
I have recently bought a legally unlocked 3G iphone from sharaf digi.. Is it safe to upgrade to
2.2 kindly advice
My uncle got iphone 3GS from US as a birthday gift for me?I am living in India.Now will this iphone 3GS work for all the networks in india or any restrictions to the networks.I need to know what all this locking means.can i use this iphone 3GS for all the net networks in India? please help me out.