hi everybody, a complete newbie to Iphone (and smartphone as well)

kenyy1999 · Oct 13, 2012

hi I am a complete newbie to Iphone (and smartphone as well)

i am going to buy either iphone4S or iphone 5

but I've got a few questions in mind.

1. what is "lock" and what is "unlock"? If I buy the phone , together with a SIM card, signing contract with the service provider. will they lock my phone to the SIM card? If my phone is "lock" , does it mean that I can only use one SIM card

If I travel to other countries / constituents and I have to buy a temporary SIM card, will I expereince difficult time using Iphone in other countries.

2. What do I have to check about / pay attention to the phone when I first get the phone in front of the salesperson, to ensure that it worths my money

(Since I sign contract with a service provider and they will give me the phone. but they are not official. I doubt their integrity so I can only trust myself, so I want to ask here about first)

Thanks

ripipemender · Oct 13, 2012

Phone choice has a lot to do with carrier choice and their coverage in your area. Study the carriers coverage map for your home area and places you frequent. The a choice can be made. Some cautions. Many carriers have data caps or quotas. I use Sprint Probabily one the least expensive carrier, but service can be problematic , and their 4g LTE coverage is sparce at best. They are changing from WiMAX to LTE. But that is another story long and boring. S the bottom line check coverage and your needs before you choose. Good luck

willerz2 · Oct 13, 2012

1) Lock means that you're literally locked to a single network. Unlock means you can use different networks. Almost all SIMs are locked to a specific network, so yeah, you can only use 1 "type" of SIM if you will. To use an iPhone in different countries, you would need to unlock your iPhone. Apple or your network provider does offer an unlock for a fee, and there are other methods of unlocking that you can find under the unlocking section of iPF (will provide link below)

2) Really the fact that it's brand new. If you're going to unlock your device yourself, you would want to check the modem (a.k.a. baseband) on the device. But other than that, nothing much really. Just make sure that you're activated and functioning before you walk out because some reps or branches can give 0 f***s about your problems and would just tell you "Go to Apple, can't fix it here". If they're an unofficial provider, check to see that there are actual characters next to your Serial, Model, Wifi, Bluetooth and your Modem under Settings -> About. I know of a place near me that sells the fake iPhones (myPhones I believe) that lacks all of these and looks and feels very similar to the legitimate iPhones. Also match the serial in the settings to the bottom of the side of the box.

If what you mean is that you're signing a contract with an actual phone company like AT&T or Verizon, check your network provider account to make sure that you're registered with that phone, normally the serial/ECID/IMEI last several digits will be displayed.

And of course, welcome to iPF, the realm of wonders.

Pinkpoison · Oct 13, 2012

kenyy1999 said:
hi I am a complete newbie to Iphone (and smartphone as well)

i am going to buy either iphone4S or iphone 5

but I've got a few questions in mind.

1. what is "lock" and what is "unlock"? If I buy the phone , together with a SIM card, signing contract with the service provider. will they lock my phone to the SIM card? If my phone is "lock" , does it mean that I can only use one SIM card

If I travel to other countries / constituents and I have to buy a temporary SIM card, will I expereince difficult time using Iphone in other countries.

2. What do I have to check about / pay attention to the phone when I first get the phone in front of the salesperson, to ensure that it worths my money

(Since I sign contract with a service provider and they will give me the phone. but they are not official. I doubt their integrity so I can only trust myself, so I want to ask here about first)

Thanks