iPhone 3GS 8GB Black Unlocked On T-Mobile

[Jim1348]

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC637LL/A

I am giving some thought to an Unlocked iPhone 3GS 8GB Black On T-Mobile. Does this still accept a regular T-Mobile SIM card or does this require some sort of smaller SIM card now? Also, if the T-Mobile SIM card has no data plan, will this essentially be an iPod Touch, that requires wifi for data, with a phone? Is there anything else I should be aware of? I assume that if data were added that this would only work on T-Mobile EDGE because this does not have the correct frequencies for T-Mobile 3G, or am I mis-reading this?

[fabricatedhero]

As far as i understand you would be stuck on edge because of the frequency issues so your right.

Sent from my LG-P999 using HowardForums

[dakotam0813]

Edge isn't as bad as I thought it would be, it's not great like 3G, but at least I get stable data on my iphone as opposed to my OV on VM -.-

[Mr.Mischief]

Edge is pretty slow, I've been using an iPhone on T-Mobile for a few months now. Don't expect to watch videos or play multi-player games. Now, I'm switching to Straight Talk, which has 3G for the iPhone:

http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...ot-a-Loophole)

[DRNewcomb]

I recently purchased a locked iPhone 3GS for my son to use with StraightTalk. That's an easy enough process. Since these phones can be had for about $100 and T-Mobile is refarming some PCS spectrum to UMTS, I was thinking about buying one for myself to play with on T-Mobile. I've been reading some on unlocking and jailbreaking the iPhone and it's sort of like drinking through a fire hose. I don't understand a lot of the terminology (e.g. baseband). I'd like to chat with someone who has done this to understand the process a little better and get a handle on the dos and don'ts.

[JohnVi]

I just bought an iPhone 3GS a few days ago and unlocked it for use on tmobile. I bought my phone at a local large electronics place. They told me they couldn't sell unlocked phones, so mine was locked to AT&T. When I got home with the phone I checked the Howard forums marketplace and found a company that would unlock the phone. I filled out their web form, including the imei from the phone, what company it was currently locked to, payment info, etc. Then noon the next day I got the email saying my phone was now factory unlocked... And it works beautifully now with tmobile! I didn't even have to connect it to iTunes to get the unlock through. It was on my wifi, and I had connected it to iTunes before it was unlocked, so somehow they were able to see my phone over my wifi and unlock it.

Only thing I would avoid are either jail breaking, or any type of "software" unlocks. Pay a little money and get the "factory unlock" (what I did above). Reasons: jail breaking can sometimes mess up the phone, permanently (I had a previous iPhone that the wifi permanently quit working because of the jailbreak). And as far as software unlocks, they are a problem because if you update your phone to a new iOS, you might lose your unlock.

[Jim1348]

Are you getting 2G or 3G speeds on the iPhone through T-Mobile?

[JohnVi]

My iPhone 3GS is connecting at 3G, but the 3G coverage is still spotty around Portland, Oregon. Tmobile is apparently in the process of upgrading to support the iPhone 3G 1900mhz band. In a 3G area that I was in today it easily was doing 5Mbps downloads.

[Joplin T-Mobile]

I just bought a used iPhone 3GS 8GB on Craigslist for $40 and it works great with TMO's $30 Walmart prepaid plan. Mostly bought it to keep an eye on TMO's refarming efforts around my region which haven't occurred yet. Fairly impressive little phone that is compatible with Apple's current iOS.

Various folks on Ebay offer iPhone unlocking services for 5 to 10 bucks.

The 3GS does support 1900mhz 7.4 mbps HSPA... so it's a fine candidate for TMO's refarming "on the cheap".

Jailbreaking an iPhone... and factory unlocking an iPhone... are totally different things and independent of each other. Jailbreaking allows root access so non Apple certified apps can be installed. Unlocking allows the phone to be used on other carriers. Jailbreaking an iPhone is a cinch with very little chance of "bricking" it.