Art Of Geek

96 Comments Add your own

• 1. Rick Rudge  |  September 12th, 2007 at 5:07 pm

  Great article. Thanks for sharing.

• 2. lemmings  |  September 13th, 2007 at 2:52 pm

  My current rogers plan does not include data and I don’t want to switch to one that does. If I get an iphone, do the unlock thing, can I only use wifi? Ie will having a iphone alert rogers and have them start charging me for data..

• 3. madgunde  |  September 13th, 2007 at 5:50 pm

  @lemmings

  Yes you can. In fact, the iPhone will always use Wifi by default and fall back on EDGE if no Wifi is available. But to ensure you aren’t using EDGE for data ever, just don’t input the APN settings in your phone.

• 4. DataGridDotRedraw  |  September 15th, 2007 at 10:20 am

  The better value dataplans are the ones over $60. See here…
  http://www.shoprogers.com/business/wireless/plans_services/business_plans.asp?plan=dataservice&cat=2&typ=2

• 5. ohenri  |  September 15th, 2007 at 11:18 am

  Nice.

  As much as I would to promote commerce, I used the same reseller as you did. Not the same experience or results were had. after being on the receiving end of so many emails about the s/w release *any day now*, the day the s/w was posted online for free, all communications ended. I received no emails and went form 2 a day to none. I waited a full week before I decided to take the solo plunge. And, it was easy as pie.

  I personally was against taking on the role of God aka using the termial and tampering w/ f/w and reprogramming, but it was a cake walk. I’ll warn against resellers and would push for anyone to handle this themselves. My issue was that there were so many tutorials out, and all had slight differences, but I eventually found a great one (I feel the best one) here:

  http://modmyiphone.com/wiki/index.php/IPhone_unlock_OS_X_Part_1

  In any case, my iPhone works like a charm. Hooray! Great set of posts btw.

• 6. madgunde  |  September 15th, 2007 at 10:59 pm

  @DataGridDotRedraw
  Thanks for the link. I’ve updated the article to include the $100 and $210 data plans. I’d love to have that much data to use with the iPhone, but can’t justify the monthly cost.

  @ohenri
  There certainly is a lot of differing information on the internet on the topic of hacking and unlocking the iPhone, and it’s a moving target with thinks changing on a daily basis. Chances are if you’re reading a forum or blog post that’s more then a couple days old, there’s already a better solution out there. For instance, Just yesterday I followed a tutorial for getting YouTube to work, and then today I find out there’s a new version of iNdependence out that enables YouTube when you activate your iPhone. Good thing too since the original hack I applied broke iTunes syncing. iNdependence 1.2.1 seems to enable YouTube without breaking anything.

• 7. lemmings  |  September 18th, 2007 at 12:33 pm

  Thanks for the first reply. Did you pay $25 for the SIM upgrade?

• 8. madgunde  |  September 18th, 2007 at 1:46 pm

  “Thanks for the first reply. Did you pay $25 for the SIM upgrade?”
  @lemmings

  Yup, but I’m not convinced I needed it. Try it with your SIM card first making sure to input the APN settings as I detailed in the article. If it doesn’t work, then check the version of your SIM and upgrade as a last resort if you still can’t get EDGE data to work. FYI, I think all plans have data capability, only if you don’t have a data plan, you’ll pay through the nose for ever KB you use. The $5 and $10 plans I updated the article with are good for occasional use or just email.

• 9. Roger  |  October 1st, 2007 at 9:54 am

  I currently use a Treo 650 with Rogers and am thinking of getting an iPhone. Would I still use MyMail with the iPhone? I want to make sure it is a push system and that I don’t have to dial out and request email downloads. What about attachments and the like, do they work fine? How do people find the lack of a keyboard on the iPhone?

  ..Roger

• 10. Mike  |  October 2nd, 2007 at 10:34 pm

  Hey guys, love the forum…the settings for the EDGE network work great but I was wondering if anyone knew whether or not I would have to pay for it through Rogers or is it a free service?

• 11. Lemmings  |  October 4th, 2007 at 9:39 am

  @Mike - if I am understanding your question correctly -> Yes Rogers is going to charge you for using their network and if you don’t have one of their very expensive data plans you are going to be charged insanely crazy amount.

  See this thread and the pic of the guy’s $567 data charge in the first post.
  http://www.hackint0sh.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7143&highlight=rogers+bill

• 12. madgunde  |  October 4th, 2007 at 10:06 pm

  “Would I still use MyMail with the iPhone?”

  @Roger
  You can use whatever POP3 or IMAP email service you want. It won’t be push though. Yahoo! supposedly provides a free push IMAP email account to iPhone users, but it may only work on the AT&T network. I suggest IMAP mail because it works as good as a Blackberry with respect to keeping your inbox in sync with your other computers. Delete or file a message on your iPhone and it’s automatically deleted or filed on your computer. Read a message on your computer and it’s marked as read on your iPhone. I use Apple’s .mac service for my IMAP email. 10GB of storage so you can file all your messages without worrying about running out of space. Apple’s mail application on my Mac then syncs all my mail folders to the hard drive so I have access to all my saved mail when I’m not connected to the internet, but I can browse the same folders from my iPhone stored on the server. Works really well. The only thing it doesn’t have is push, but you can set the iPhone to automatically check for mail regularly so it’s almost push.

  As for the lack of keyboard, I have a Blackberry Curve from work and I find I can type nearly as fast on the iPhone keyboard. It’s really a non-issue for me. In some ways I actually prefer the onscreen keyboard. It’s more intuitively laid out. On the Blackberry, I often have to struggle with finding certain symbols or typing mixed numbers and letters because you need to hold modifier keys to switch back and forth. On the iPhone, you never type a letter when you meant to type a number because the keys change to reflect what character will be typed.

  “Hey guys, love the forum…the settings for the EDGE network work great but I was wondering if anyone knew whether or not I would have to pay for it through Rogers or is it a free service?”

  @MIke
  Unfortunately as Lemmings stated, Rogers will bill you by the kilobyte for any EDGE data usage if you don’t have a data plan. Signing up for a data plan is the only logical thing to do if you plan on using data at all. I understand Rogers often offers people 3 months unlimited data if they sign up for a data plan. If I were you, I’d call Rogers and ask if they could start the 3 months retroactive to the first day you started using EDGE data to avoid paying the additional charges you may have incurred. Just be aware that you may have to sign a long term contract to be eligible for the 3 month unlimited promo.

• 13. Mike  |  October 5th, 2007 at 9:59 pm

  I finally decided to get my iPhone unlocked and use it as my primary phone on Rogers and I must say I am impressed. I sabotaged my EDGE settings because ROGERS’ data rates are criminal so I use free WiFi to complement my phone and use an iPhone optimized site to locate hotspots close by.
  http://iphone.jiwire.com/

  Enjoy!

• 14. Chris  |  October 12th, 2007 at 5:05 pm

  So good news. I can confirm the $10.00 for 10MB plan does work. Which is funny because its $10.00 for 10 mb, and the “windows mobile” plan is $40 for 7mb! Go figure!

  Anyhow, keeping in mind that the email viewer downloads full emails this can get really dangerous. Im looking for an alternative email viewer program to use over this one, this way I can view only the headers and download say 1-2KB per email instead of a full email w/ attachments (AHHH).

  Thanks for this site. The EDGE username and password settings worked great!

  Chris

• 15. madgunde  |  October 13th, 2007 at 8:14 am

  @Chris
  I’m pretty sure the iPhone mail client only downloads the headers and part of the mail body until you open an email, then it downloads the full email and any embedded images. Full attachments only get downloaded when you tap on them. So it’s somewhat more efficient on bandwidth than a standard desktop client which downloads everything when it checks mail.

• 16. Tiffany  |  October 13th, 2007 at 8:03 pm

  Hi have several questions,
  Anyone who could answer these, I would be ever so grateful!

  I just read through all these posts really great by the way!

  I got a iPhone, love it, but was wondering:

  1. How to you delete edge on the phone? and. if i do not use egde will rogers charge me for wifi??? For example if i am at home or dtown on campus and i connect to my linksys router or my u of t campus and check my email or use safari etc, do i get charged for that?

  2. When I got my iPhone and used itunes to connect mail i had like 2,000 emails dated back to Arpil 07, and I had to delete these one by one? IS there a quicker way or setting that i should change so i don’t have to do this? and.. If i did this while i was at home is that considered wifi? and.. would i be charged for it through rogers?

  3. Why would someone want to pay for rogers egde if they could use wifi? what are the benefits, and what is the difference?

  4. How come you cannot make folders in mail for all your messages, and they have to alll stay in your inbox? Or, maybe someone can direct me if you can.

  5. Since my phone is unlocked and they are saying rogers is going to be getting the iphone, well when it comes to Canada will i be able to do uptates etc? Like update itunes or my iphone?

  Thanks

  Tiffany

• 17. Tiffany  |  October 13th, 2007 at 8:05 pm

  Sorry one more question:

  Rogers doesn’t have a imap email account, only pop, what would be the benefit of me getting a .mac account so i can have imap?

• 18. madgunde  |  October 14th, 2007 at 11:30 am

  @Tiffany

  1. If you don’t enter any APN settings under Settings–>General–>Network–>EDGE, then you won’t be able to connect to the EDGE network and won’t incur any Rogers data charges. WiFi is free unless you specifically connect to a pay-for-use WiFi service, such as at many café’s, hotels and airports. You’ll know if you’re paying though because you’ll be prompted to provide a credit card number or will require a password to connect. But you can often find open free WiFi networks, especially in dense urban areas. Just be aware that accessing an unknown WiFi network without permission may be illegal in some jurisdictions, so if you want to play it safe, check with the business or establishment where you’re trying to get access.

  2. You should set your PC or Mac’s mail program to delete messages on the server. If you have webmail access to your email (both Rogers and Bell Sympatico offer this), you could delete the old messages from the webmail interface on a computer. IMAP email accounts, like the one Apple offers with their .mac service, don’t have this problem. I highly recommend .mac email or other IMAP email service for the best iPhone email experience.

  3. Because WiFi has limited range, EDGE is available almost anywhere you have cell phone reception.

  4. IMAP mail services, such as .mac mail, do allow you to have folders which are syncronized between your iPhone, the webmail interface and any computers. This is the main reason I recommended it before.

  5. We can only speculate. Hopefully, yes, but we’ll have to wait and see. It depends on if the iPhones sold in Canada are in any way different from the ones sold in the US or if the firmware can tell the difference, say by IMEI or serial number. We’ll probably know once the iPhone is shipping in the UK and Germany, since people with unlocked iPhones in those countries will be in the same boat.

  As for your last question, I provided some of the benefits of IMAP and .mac email in my response to points 2 and 4, but in addition to deleted and filed email being synchronized between all devices, you also get syncing of read status. Read an email on your iPhone and it will be marked as read on your computer and vice versa. Delete and email on your computer and it will be deleted from your iPhone. You have access to all your email folders on your iPhone because all email is stored on the server, but it will also be sync’d to your PC or Mac’s email client so it’s available when you aren’t connected to the internet, but the iPhone accesses the folders from the server so you don’t have to worry about filling up your iPhone’s memory with years worth of email. Best thing is, .mac now provides 10GB of storage which should be enough for many years of email. It’s like always having your email backed up, so if your computer dies, you don’t have to worry about losing all your email as it will automatically sync back to your new computer or hard disk the first time you connect..

• 19. chrissy  |  October 31st, 2007 at 1:10 pm

  Hi,

  If I wanted to buy an iphone in the states, do I have to go to an Apple store specifically or can I go to an AT&T retailer and get one?

• 20. madgunde  |  November 1st, 2007 at 9:00 am

  @chrissy
  You should be able to buy an iPhone at an AT&T store as well, but from what I’ve read, people’s purchase experience was really hit and miss. If you can get to an Apple Store, you’ll probably be better off. For example, I’m not sure an AT&T would have replaced my iPhone twice while I was purchasing it in-store, as Apple did. If you want details, just read my September 10 blog post entitled We Caved.

• 21. Tom  |  November 1st, 2007 at 9:51 am

  Tip - to see how much data you have used go to general –> usage. it will tell u exactly how much data you have used. That way if your close to your max (say 10MB) then you know to slow down. Cause once you go over your plan the rates are NUTS.

  Then re-set the data usage count on your billing day (say the 15th - not when u get ur bill but on your billing date).

  Also dont even input the APN seetings if u dont have a plan or u dont want to pay big $ for it. Because e-mails will still come in (esp under yahoo) and be charged on your data plan 24 hours a day (even if your not touching your iphone).

• 22. Rick  |  November 1st, 2007 at 2:31 pm

  Just a few comments I’d like to add. First, you’re browsing full websites on the iPhone, not just mobile ones, you can go through 1MB of bandwidth just from doing a search on google, which without a plan, would cost you 50$. Now even if you have a 50MB plan, thats still like 20 minutes usage on your phone…..be realistic, thats not enough.

  And to the author of the article: I’ve already looked into it, you can’t have a voice plan on a pc card plan…..its not doable. Your only option there would be to:

  A. Get a pc card plan for 65$/mo and pay 1$/minute for phone calls

  or

  B. Get a pc card plan for 65$/mo and a seperate voice plan on a different sim card, and hotswap the sim cards when you want to have edge access when you’re out and about.

• 23. madgunde  |  November 2nd, 2007 at 11:02 am

  “And to the author of the article: I’ve already looked into it, you can’t have a voice plan on a pc card plan…..its not doable.”
  @Rick
  There was some discussion about that in the thread I linked to on ehMac, and some people have posted information that seems to indicate it might be possible to get the $65 1GB PC Card plan tethered to a voice plan, but it almost amounts to trying to trick the right rep to do it for you. So it certainly seems to be a policy issue, and not a technical one. In any case, it’s good to point, thanks.

• 24. jonathan  |  November 2nd, 2007 at 10:57 pm

  Hey guys. Love the forum. In any case, got a question. Would love it if someone can help me out. Finally got my internet settings to work. Thanks for saving me all the headaches. In any case, at home i’ve got a wireless router running from my home laptop which is connected to the iphone via wifi. If i use this feature, will i be billed for data usage at all? Thanks.

• 25. madgunde  |  November 3rd, 2007 at 11:17 am

  @jonathan
  As long as you aren’t using EDGE to connect to the internet (the capital “E” in the top left corner of your iPhone’s screen), then you will not be billed for data usage from Rogers. If you see the 3 little arcs showing the WiFi signal strength, then you’re using WiFi, which is free unless you’re specifically connected to a commercial WiFi hotspot, in which case you will have provided your credit card number, or made other arrangements for payment (i.e. with the hotel you’re staying at). If you’re using your home WiFi, then there won’t be any data charges whatsoever.

• 26. Mark  |  November 3rd, 2007 at 2:29 pm

  great info!!

  I did notice that my iphone would default to “edge” (capital E top left hand corner) even with my wifi enabled… also after I removed the apn settings it still used edge? not sure how but I think its something worth keeping an eye on. The data usage adds up very quickly

• 27. nick  |  November 3rd, 2007 at 2:52 pm

  wow you guys pay outrageous amounts for data plans. i pay 5.99 a month for unlimited data usage on my iphone under tmobile

• 28. Arthur  |  November 3rd, 2007 at 5:33 pm

  Hi guys, also love the forum. Just a question regarding usability abroad..

  If I was to buy an Iphone from the US in an Apple Retail store without a plan (for 399+tax!), bring it back to the UK to unlock+activate it with a UK simcard - would I have full functions, considering I did the activation/unlocking and whatnot correctly?

  Also, with the same phone, will I be able to then bring it anywhere in the world, and just pop a sim in and use it? Or will I need to activate/unlock again?

• 29. madgunde  |  November 3rd, 2007 at 5:44 pm

  @Mark
  I have heard that some service providers don’t require APN settings to be entered in order to function, so proceed with caution. If you can connect to anything via EDGE with no APN settings set, then it’s a sure bet you’ll be charged for it.

  @Arthur
  Given that the UK is getting the iPhone legitimately in about a week, do yourself a favor and just buy it legit, you’ll probably save yourself a lot of headache in the future. But to answer your question, theoretically, you should have full functionality, but we can’t be certain about the visual voicemail. As for swapping out different SIM cards, you probably have to re-activate every time you put a different SIM card in. So if you plan to do that, be sure you have a notebook with you or access to a computer that you can install the appropriate software on where you’re going.

• 30. Arthur  |  November 4th, 2007 at 10:19 am

  thanks a lot madgunde! that clears up a lot. I have a feeling the UK firmware will be different though, and the hacks which are being used on US iphones may not work on the UK firmware.

  I also know that anysim will only work ONCE, as if you use it more than once, it changes the baseband - and you’ll have to restore and re-virginize your phone. is there any way I can unlock the iphone for use with 2 different SIMs ie one for the US and one for the UK - so i dont have to reactivate it everytime i put the other SIM in? Otherwise, how will i reactivate it each time - since anySIM can only be used once?

  Thanks again.

• 31. madgunde  |  November 4th, 2007 at 1:52 pm

  “I also know that anysim will only work ONCE, as if you use it more than once, it changes the baseband - and you’ll have to restore and re-virginize your phone. is there any way I can unlock the iphone for use with 2 different SIMs ie one for the US and one for the UK - so i dont have to reactivate it everytime i put the other SIM in? Otherwise, how will i reactivate it each time - since anySIM can only be used once?”

  @Arthur
  Activating and unlocking are two different things. AnySim is an unlock. You should only hve to unlock your iPhone once, and then it is forever unlocked. Once unlocked, the iPhone will simply need to be activated for each sim card you put in it. Activation is accomplished using tools like iNdependence. The only thing I’m not sure of is whether once an iPhone is activated for a SIM, if you have to reactivate it again if you activate on a different SIM and then switch back to the first one. I haven’t tried or read anywhere about anyone’s experiences, so I can’t tell you.

• 32. Arthur  |  November 4th, 2007 at 4:43 pm

  Once again, thank you VERY much madgunde! You have been very patient with me and answered all my questions! Thank you, that clears most things up!

• 33. Jonathan Zabala  |  November 5th, 2007 at 3:15 pm

  Thanks for the feedback on my question. However I have one more. Before purchasing the iphone, i was using a blackberry. I have a thousand plus contacts that I need to transfer over to my new device. Any tips on how to get this done? Also, fyi, I’ve never used itunes before and don’t have any programs linked with ipods and such. So, as much info as possible would be greatly appreciated.

• 34. madgunde  |  November 5th, 2007 at 8:42 pm

  @Jonathan Zabala

  “I have a thousand plus contacts that I need to transfer over to my new device. Any tips on how to get this done?”

  If your contacts are in MS Outlook on Windows or AddressBook on Mac OS X, then they should sync automatically via iTunes if you choose to. If they aren’t in either program, your first step will be to get them into one or the other.

  “Also, fyi, I’ve never used itunes before and don’t have any programs linked with ipods and such. So, as much info as possible would be greatly appreciated.”

  iTunes is a free download. Why not download it and get acquainted?

• 35. Chad  |  November 6th, 2007 at 11:44 am

  I’m about to go to the U.S and purchase an iphone, my biggest question is if the google maps runs off the internet or the voice line.
  Also does the maps feature give you step by step turn by turn instructions on the map or is it a list of instructions?

• 36. madgunde  |  November 6th, 2007 at 1:10 pm

  @Chad
  The iPhone Google Maps client can use either WiFi or the cell phone EDGE data network to retrieve maps and directions, just as every other data app on the iPhone does (YouTube, iTunes, Weather, Stocks, Mail and Safari). The directions feature is indeed turn by turn. You tap the forward or back buttons to jump to the next or previous step in the directions. It works very well. It is not however a GPS device, so it won’t show you where you are on the map.

• 37. vanni  |  November 6th, 2007 at 5:47 pm

  with an unlocked iPhone and with a Fido or Rogers sim card, can i use free wif-fi in a cafe to place free skype / jajah long distance calls? if so i am getting an iPhone this weekend. I will NEVER sign up for EDGE at ANY price.

• 38. madgunde  |  November 8th, 2007 at 10:18 am

  @vanni
  If a Skype or Jajah client ever gets developed for iPhone, then certainly. There were some reports back in September about a Skype solution for iPhone in development.

• 39. Steele  |  November 10th, 2007 at 5:36 pm

  Question for anyone who can help.

  I have an unlocked Iphone currently working with Rogers.

  Can I go to Apple Itunes, purchase and download music but not the firmware update and be able to sync the songs with my Iphone? (currently terrified to have my phone locked by downloading anything from Apples website and/or even conecting the Iphone to my computer which has apple itunes software on it which was downloaded for my Apple I-touch.

  How do I get my contacts from Microsoft Outlook onto my unlocked Rogers activated Iphone?

• 40. madgunde  |  November 11th, 2007 at 8:20 am

  @Steele
  iTunes won’t install any firmware updates on your iPhone without asking you first. Simply decline to do so when prompted. Otherwise you can feel free to use iTunes as it was intended. If you’re really paranoid, you can always uncheck “Check for updates automatically” in iTunes General preferences.

  I don’t use Outlook (or Windows for that matter), but I assume you sync contacts the same way as you do on the Mac. Select your iPhone in the iTunes source list, then in the Info tab on the right side, there should be an option to “Sync Outlook contacts” or something similar. Just enable it there, then click the Apply or Sync button to start syncing.

• 41. sweaser  |  November 13th, 2007 at 10:24 pm

  madgunde,

  thanks so much for all the info. just to confirm. i have purchased an iphone and everything works on it….except EDGE. I know its expensive but really need this feature for work email. i have entered the info in the setttings section and it still doesnt work. im on Rogers so i cant figure out whats wrong. the guy who unlocked it had no idea. your post about the sim card # was the only thing else i can think of. should i bite the bullet and get a new sim card. also, you seem to talk as if you speak openly to rogers reps about having an iphone, is this correct. thanks!

• 42. madgunde  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:01 pm

  @sweaser

  If you have an older SIM card, that might be your problem. Unfortunately, I can’t make any guarantees. A Rogers dealer may be able to help by testing your SIM card in another phone to see if EDGE works or not.

  As for being open with Rogers, I have used unlocked phones with them for years and never felt they frowned upon doing so. Same goes for the iPhone. I think they’re just happy to get our money and know we’re more likely to use their expensive EDGE service than other customers.

• 43. sweaser  |  November 14th, 2007 at 10:19 pm

  madgunde,

  thanks for the advise….switched the sim card and EDGE is all good now. thanks again.

  sweaser

• 44. TM  |  November 15th, 2007 at 4:09 pm

  So, just to be clear, it should be possible to use an unlocked iPhone on the Roger’s network with a current voice plan and not have to sign up for their exorbitant data plans? In other words, I can just put my Rogers SIM—from a voice plan—into an unlocked iPhone and continue to use my voice plan to make calls on the iPhone without having to sign up for an expensive Rogers data plan and just use Wi-Fi when available by not inputting the APN? Now just have to get an iPhone.

  Great job on the article and reply to questions. Thanks madgunde.

• 45. madgunde  |  November 15th, 2007 at 4:19 pm

  @TM

  Correct.

• 46. katrina  |  November 16th, 2007 at 12:24 am

  Do iPhones that you buy on ebay that claim to be unlocked actually work? A friend of mine told me that unlocking the phone causes the software to fry.

• 47. madgunde  |  November 16th, 2007 at 12:32 am

  @katrina
  I’m sure many if not most of the unlocked iPhones sold on eBay do work, the problem is knowing for sure which ones. If done correctly, unlocking an iPhone most certainly does NOT fry the software. If you’re going to buy one off eBay, be sure to buy from a trusted seller that has lots of positive feedback. If you’re not wiling to take the risk, then buy from a local seller or go across the border, buy one yourself and either unlock it yourself, get a friend to do it for you or pay a local reseller to do it for you. If you don’t feel comfortable doing any of those things, then just be patient and wait for Rogers to start selling the iPhone in Canada.

• 48. katrina  |  November 16th, 2007 at 12:57 am

  Thank you! I feel a little better about buying an unlocked phone now

• 49. brandon  |  November 18th, 2007 at 5:59 pm

  I’m stoked that Canada will have iPhone’s in January (hopefully…i haven’t heard a confirmed answer yet). My bell contract is ending this month and I’m deciding whether to stay with them (because i have a good plan) or switch to rogers to have the option of an iPhone. If i switch to rogers, should I buy the iPhone when i sign a contract, or should I get a regular phone when I sign the contract and buy an iphone separately and switch the SIM cards?

• 50. saul  |  November 18th, 2007 at 6:32 pm

  Thanks for the great article. I am just going to be using my iPhone when wifi is available but I do think my SIM card is older then 8930 2720 4000. Am I going to have any problems using the phones features or does this just effect the EDGE network which I don’t want to use anyway.

• 51. madgunde  |  November 19th, 2007 at 10:12 am

  @brandon
  I think the January rumor has been confirmed as fake, unfortunately. The waiting continues! If you’re getting an iPhone, I’d forego signing any contract, and just buy the SIM card on it’s own. It’ll cost you $25, but you may be able to get them to throw it in for free when you sign up for a new phone number. If you have a family member who is looking for a cheap free replacement phone and you’re willing to help them out by signing a contract, then go that route and give them the phone.

  @saul
  You should be fine. Worst case scenario, you find out something doesn’t work like your voicemail notification or something, and you just take a quick trick to a Rogers dealer and get a new SIM card for $25. Not worth stressing over.

• 52. saul  |  November 19th, 2007 at 10:36 am

  Thanks!

• 53. Brian  |  November 19th, 2007 at 10:15 pm

  I hv an unlocked iPhone running 1.0.2. I am really anxious to upgrade to at least 1.1.1 since the upgrade improved the ringing and volume. However I don’t know what software was used to unlock my phone. Would you hv any recommendation as to whether I should take the risk to upgrade? I am afraid it might brick the phone! Any comment is appreciated.

• 54. madgunde  |  November 20th, 2007 at 6:16 pm

  @Brian
  You might want to try installing iPhoneSimFree (the commercial software unlock) and try to run it. If your iPhone was originally unlocked using this method, it should run since your IMEI number will already be registered with their servers as having a license to use the software. If your IMEI gets rejected, then this means your iPhone was most likely NOT unlocked using iPhoneSimFree, in which case, it was one of the free unlock solutions that had a problem with the 1.1.1 update. In this case, the hacker community has from recollection released a virginizing tool that will repair the damage that the original unlock did. Alternatively, purchase a license for iPhoneSimFree and use it to re-unlock your phone. Their website says

  “6. iPhoneSimFree can FIX all phones that anySim and iUnlock bricked with the 1.1.1 update”

  At least this way you’d know going forward which unlock solution your iPhone has. It will cost you a bit of money, probably $60-$70, but that’s small change for the peace of mind and an easier solution. Good luck, and please post back with your results!

• 55. Brian  |  November 20th, 2007 at 9:17 pm

  Hi Madgunde:

  Appreciate yr quick response and the advice. Will certainly consider trying iphonesimfree and advise the outcome. Thanks again!

• 56. Manny  |  November 21st, 2007 at 6:53 pm

  Hi,great page.
  I’m thinking about buying an iphone in the US. But, what happens with the supposed contract with at&t?
  Thanks

• 57. Brian  |  November 21st, 2007 at 8:45 pm

  Hi there, as Apple has now released f/w 1.1.2, my only option now is to upgrade from 1.0.2 to 1.1.2. and not 1.1.1 Do you know if iphonesimfree would still work on 1.1.2? Thanks again!

• 58. madgunde  |  November 21st, 2007 at 9:55 pm

  @Manny
  The contract is only signed (electronically) when you try to activate the iPhone on a new AT&T contract with iTunes. That’s why we need to use an activation crack to bypass this, otherwise the iPhone won’t work. See my latest article entitled A glossary of terms for iPhone hacking newbies for more about activation.

  @Brian
  I’ve updated my iPhone to firmware 1.1.2 and it’s working fine. You can read about it in my article titled (Somewhat) easy iPhone firmware 1.1.2 unlock/activation finally available

• 59. meowmeow  |  December 4th, 2007 at 8:44 pm

  I have my unlocked iphone from HK. I can use everything except the EDGE. I have data plan with Rogers and I just called Rogers and was confirmed that the internet.com was blocked and I can only use EDGE with my blackberry pearl phone. Can you help?

• 60. ctann  |  December 4th, 2007 at 11:24 pm

  I just bought 2 iphones, one I want to use to replace my work blackberry and the other I would like to give to my wife on a basic plan. I’m concerned about the phone’s compatibility with coworkers blackberry’s phones, email, and SMS. Will I have any problems if I unlock the phones?

• 61. madgunde  |  December 5th, 2007 at 11:05 am

  @meowmeow
  If Rogers is putting some sort of block on the internet.com APN, then it’s something you have to fight with them to remove. One thing you could do is try using another unlocked phone of any brand (say a friend’s), to see if you can connect with it. If you can, then it should work for the iPhone. If it doesn’t, then it’s an issue with the iPhone. You might try restoring and re-activating it to see if that solves the problem.

  @ctann
  The iPhone will not be able to connect to the Blackberry server to send/receive email, contacts and calendars. You’ll have to set up an IMAP or POP3 email account (with a different email address) to send/receive mail on the iPhone, which will your coworkers will receive just fine since sent email is standardized. SMS will also work fine. You will not be able to do PIN to PIN messaging however.

• 62. Brian  |  December 7th, 2007 at 9:01 pm

  @meowmeow

  I also have an unlocked iphone from Hong Kong. I’ve tried connecting with Rogers’ Edge network and it worked fine, at the expense of my wallet as it cost me xtra $50 testing it with a few minutes of using the browser!! (the data rates Rogers charges is outrageous!).

• 63. RC  |  December 12th, 2007 at 6:33 pm

  Has anyone been able to unlock 1.1.2 yet?

• 64. trina  |  December 14th, 2007 at 10:20 pm

  I know you havent talked about this in the article, but I was just wondering if you knew what my options are if I have a new iPhone with preloaded firmware 1.1.2 out of the box since there is no successful unlock for it at this point.
  Thanks!

• 65. jaxmom  |  December 15th, 2007 at 12:25 pm

  I have an unlocked iphone 1.1.1 - can I download any updates, without it relocking? Also, every once in a while, it jumps out of the ipod function - any idea why it would do that, or how to prevent it?

• 66. meowmeow  |  December 17th, 2007 at 10:40 pm

  @ Brian

  Hello Brian, do you have data plan with rogers now? I also have a blackberry pearl from Rogers and it works fine with EDGE but of course I want to use iphone with EDGE if I can.

• 67. Farhad  |  February 1st, 2008 at 12:49 pm

  Out of the Box 1.1.2 cannot be unlocked as of yet. I purchased one and ended up returning it 2 weeks ago.

• 68. Sivak  |  February 2nd, 2008 at 12:43 am

  I will be getting my EBay purchased iphone next week. It was unlock and running 1.1.3. Hope it works.

  Thanks to all for the excellent information, up to now, the best site I have found on explaining all about connacting to Rogers Canada.

• 69. ed  |  February 23rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm

  There is a vision plan in rogers that offers unlimited internet access, does it apply to the iphone?

• 70. madgunde  |  February 23rd, 2008 at 9:40 pm

  @ed
  I don’t believe the Rogers Vision plan would apply because according to the Rogers website:

  “Important: This plan includes unlimited on-device mobile browsing only. Plan is available on select phones only (PDAs such as Blackberry or Windows Mobile devices, PC cards and non-Rogers certified devices are not eligible). Data usage incurred on ineligible devices, incurred while tethering (using device as wireless modem for laptop) or incurred using non-Rogers (3rd party) applications downloaded to your device will be subject to pay-per-use charges of 5 cents/KB.”

• 71. babe meister  |  February 27th, 2008 at 2:28 pm

  FYI, out of the box (OTB) iPhones can be unlocked now. Ziphone can jailbreak and unlock v1.1.2 and 1.1.3 OTB phones.

  The 1.1.4 firmware just came out, but I wouldn’t expect to see them on store shelves for at least a week or two.

• 72. Jonathan Zabala  |  March 15th, 2008 at 1:56 pm

  Hi madgunde,

  I desperately need your help again. I was using my installer application on my Iphone and installed a bunch of apps. After resuming to the menu screen where the icons appear, I find that my installer 3 icon is gone! Please help! Thanks.

  Jonathan

• 73. madgunde  |  March 16th, 2008 at 9:34 pm

  @Jonathan Zabala

  This installer program for Mac should be able to reinstall it for you. Alternatively, you can use iNdependence to copy the Installer.app program to your iPhone’s Application folder.

• 74. Luon  |  March 19th, 2008 at 7:18 pm

  Does it cost more if I text message? I text message alot. I have a rogers plan that is $10/mon unlimited text messaging.

• 75. madgunde  |  March 19th, 2008 at 8:15 pm

  @Luon
  How much you pay for text messaging or how many text messages you get for free is dictated by your Rogers calling plan and is no different for the iPhone than for any other phone.

• 76. Mike  |  March 21st, 2008 at 4:53 am

  Still curious if the rogers vision will work without detecting iphone as 3rd party device.

• 77. Pio!!  |  March 30th, 2008 at 4:37 am

  @ Mike
  I would really like to get an answer to that issue of the Rogers vision plan working on the iphone myself. If I could get an iphone to work with that Rogers Vision plan I would definitely purchase one right now!

• 78. madgunde  |  March 30th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

  @Mike & Pio!!

  The problem is, it might work now, but there’s no guarantee that Rogers won’t wake up and start billing at some point in the future, and it could be rather expensive by the time you finally figure it out, so unless you’re prepared to take a chance and can afford the potential hundreds or thousands of dollars that your bill might add up to if they do start billing by the KB, you’re best to just avoid going over your plan’s ‘tethered’ data limit.

• 79. Heather  |  April 1st, 2008 at 1:19 am

  Love this site. Excellent info. My question is do you have to pay for the google maps or how does that work exactly? I just bought an iphone off of ebay and i am trying to get educated before it arrives, so is there any other first steps i should be taking since i am a virgin to all this iphone stuff.

• 80. jOHN  |  April 1st, 2008 at 10:19 am

  Hi guys. If anyone knows or has any idea on how to get the Iphone to work with Exchange. I will be more than happy.

  Question? Must the smtp be Rogers? or my internal network?

  Help

• 81. madgunde  |  April 1st, 2008 at 7:44 pm

  @Heather

  Thanks! To answer your question, you have to pay extra for any and all internet data that you use over the EDGE network that isn’t included in your data plan and that includes Google Maps, email, Stocks, Weather, YouTube, web browsing and iTunes. You can avoid incurring charges by connecting to the Internet using a WiFi connection like you might have at home or many hotels and cafes offer.

  @ jOHN

  Apple just announced Exchange support was coming in the 2.0 firmware coming out in June. If your Exchange provider has enabled IMAP access, you can use that to send/receive your Exchange mail, but it won’t be push email and won’t give you calendar and contact support. For full support, you’ll have to wait until June. Regarding the SMTP server, you should be able to use any SMTP server that you are permissioned to use.

• 82. Judd  |  April 18th, 2008 at 6:21 pm

  Great article, thanks.

  I can’t seem to find the $10/10MB plan on rogers.com anymore. Does it still exist, and if not, is there a current plan that’s comparable?

  Thanks again,

  - Judd

• 83. madgunde  |  April 18th, 2008 at 6:44 pm

  “I can’t seem to find the $10/10MB plan on rogers.com anymore. Does it still exist, and if not, is there a current plan that’s comparable?”

  @Judd
  See my Feb. 5 article:
  Rogers new $20 unlimited mobile browsing plan an error?

  In short, no, the $10/10MB plan is no longer available.

• 84. TooTall  |  May 1st, 2008 at 1:50 am

  I’m still not clear about the WiFi.

  When you unlock your iphone is the wifi free when you do not have a data plan.

  or are you charged as if you were using the internet on your other phones.
  Cause i don’t want a nice surprise come time my next phone bill. I’m with Fido by the way which is owned by Rogers

• 85. madgunde  |  May 3rd, 2008 at 10:11 am

  @TooTall
  A WiFi network is not utilizing the Rogers cellular network in any way shape or form, so it has nothing to do with Rogers and Rogers can’t charge you for it. WiFi is simply someone’s wireless internet connection like one might have at home to use with their laptop. It might also be wireless internet offered by a coffee shop for customers. If you have your own wireless internet connection at home, it won’t cost you a cent to use your iPhone on it. Likewise for public free WiFi networks.

  Of course, not every WiFi network is open or free. Your first clue will be if the network asks you for a password when you try to connect to it. Some open WiFi networks are offered as a pay-for service. With those, you’ll be able to connect without a password, but the second you try to surf the web, you will be taken to a web page which will either ask for your credit card number or for you to enter a username and password if you have a pre-arranged paid subscription.

  In no case will you ever be charged for using WiFi without your express permission or knowledge since there’s no way for them to know who to charge.

• 86. Tenz  |  May 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 am

  nice article… explains a lot to me….so as long as u have Wi Fi around u internet is FREE?

• 87. bhleong  |  May 25th, 2008 at 8:45 pm

  I am happy to report that I just took the plunge to upgrade my unlocked iPhone firmware from 1.0.2 to 1.1.4 using ziPhone 3.0 by zibri. The upgrade went without a hitch, and it proves that zibri’s software does work very well indeed! I had always hesitated to do an upgrade since I was not sure whether any software would work on an unlocked iPhone with firmware as old as 1.0.2. But after reading many comments about zibri and his Ziphone, and the considerable no. of downloads since it was launched, I knew his software would work. Now, I am so happy being able to use so many bells and whistles that are so iPhone unique. What’s more, it’s free!!

• 88. DaNa  |  June 11th, 2008 at 11:25 am

  These are great posts. I have an unlocked iphone that works fine with my sim Card from my old phone (Rogers) but my plan is up and I wanted to upgrade it. Can anyone give me advice on a “data plan” that will work with my iPhone or should i wait till the plans for the Canadian iPhone comes out - realizing there is no guarantee they will work with my unlocked iPhone - so confusing. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

• 89. madgunde  |  June 11th, 2008 at 2:31 pm

  @DaNa
  You might as well wait until July 11 when the iPhone 3G is launched in Canada before upgrading your plan. Rogers will no doubt bring out iPhone specific plans which may be better than what they have on offer right now, maybe even an affordable unlimited plan (fingers crossed). Your existing plan will continue to function as it did previously.

• 90. slow  |  June 21st, 2008 at 2:58 am

  This page is great! Just received/purchased an unlocked iphone online (version 1.1.4) - the first thing i read as i opened the box was: “upgrading the software on your phone will relock it permanently. please do not upgrade the software as reunlock is not covered in warranty” - this topic (things that will bugger up ur phone, eg. firmware upgrades) has been covered rather well on this page…i’m still ??muddled?? about the fun looking items within the INSTALLER ICON & the updated installer version 3.11….(scared to tap on those icons)…should i assume installing any of these items falls under “upgrades” that might mess up my unlocked iphone? :-/ (newbie)

• 91. madgunde  |  June 21st, 2008 at 9:54 pm

  @slow
  No, things you install via Installer.app will not re-lock your iPhone. Just be wary about what you install though, as that doesn’t mean that you can’t mess up your iPhone if you do something you shouldn’t with one of the programs you install. If you want to play it safe, stick to installing simpler programs that don’t hack/modify the built-in functionality of the iPhone. Games and useful programs should be safe though. I think the instruction sheet the seller included with your iPhone was referring to Firmware updates from Apple when saying not to update.

• 92. JoJo  |  July 18th, 2008 at 7:36 pm

  I understand that the Rogers Iphone Wifi works ONLY on Rogers or Fido hotspots, and will NOT work in a private wifi environment.

  Anybody know about this?

• 93. madgunde  |  July 18th, 2008 at 7:59 pm

  @JoJo
  You are mistaken. I can confirm that both the unlocked original iPhone and a Rogers bought iPhone 3G works on any standard WiFi network that you have access/permission to. Not sure where you got this misconception. Obviously you can’t use a WiFi network that is protected with a password if you don’t know the password.

• 94. JoJo  |  July 22nd, 2008 at 12:27 pm

  Thanks madgunde.

  A Rogers representative told me this - albeit at a phone kiosk at Costco… I guess they need some training.

• 95. tiffany  |  July 23rd, 2008 at 7:37 pm

  Hi I just got the new 3G data plan from rogers for my first generation i phone, but i was reading somewhere that I should not put under the edge network the WAP settings because I will be charged huge!

  ex

  APN: internet.com
  Username: wapuser1
  Password: wap

  these are wap settings right?
  so what do i put then?

  thanks

• 96. madgunde  |  July 23rd, 2008 at 9:59 pm

  @tiffany

  Try leaving your WAP settings blank, it should work, but I really don’t think it makes a difference if you have it entered or not, you should be covered by your plan either way. But I suggest you don’t take my word for it, or anyone else’s except Rogers. Give them a call and ask them to confirm for you what the correct settings are and whether it makes a difference for billing purposes.

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