[Update 3] Well, that didn’t take long. Two days after we bought our iPhones, I was able to find an online reseller who was providing the iPhoneSimFree unlock service without any delays. We went with FreeOuriPhones.com, a European reseller who was listed as an iPhoneSimFree authorized reseller. Within minutes of sending off my PayPal payment of $59.99US, including my iPhone’s IMEI number in the PayPal notes, I received an email back with a link to the iPhoneSimFree software and instructions for installing and performing the unlock. The email catered to Windows users, but the reseller was quite helpful when I asked Mac specific questions, responding to my emails within minutes each time.
As stated on many other blogs already, the process requires you to have already jailbreaked (jailbroken?) and activated your iPhone. I recommend using iNdependence version 1.2 (or newer) to accomplish this, as well as updating the firmware of the iPhone to the latest 1.0.2 version. Then you copy the SimFree application to your iPhone’s /Applications folder using whatever method you prefer (iNdependence offers this functionality, but I used SFTP myself), install your new SIM card, run the SimFree app and press the Apple logo that appears on the screen. The actual unlocking process takes 2-3 minutes, and the software keeps you informed of it’s process quite nicely. Once it’s done, it will inform you that your phone was unlocked successfully, but you’ll have to re-activate your new SIM card using iNdependence before you can start using it.
Once you’ve done all of that, you will be able to make and receive calls, send/receive text messages, and even use EDGE internet access, once you’ve entered your carrier’s specific APN server, username and password in the appropriate fields under Settings–>General–>Network–>EDGE. For Rogers, these are:
- APN: internet.com
Username: wapuser1
Password: wap
Also note that you may have to upgrade your SIM card, if it’s an older one. Rogers recommended a SIM card version of 8930 2720 4000 or greater. If you have problems, check to see if your SIM is an older one.
So what doesn’t work? Visual voicemail, which is an AT&T specific feature, but you do get standard voicemail notifications, and tapping the voicemail icon on the Phone screen will automatically call your provider’s voicemail number. The YouTube app also doesn’t work, which is a known issue for which there is apparently a workaround. Otherwise, it’s functioning as one would expect, and functioning well. A word of caution to Rogers customers though: Rogers data rates are VERY expensive. These are the rates I was quoted by Rogers on the phone:
-
Rogers Mobile Internet Data Plans:
$5/month for 5MB combined upload and download, 3¢/KB thereafter
$10/month for 10MB combined upload and download, 3¢/KB thereafter
- Rogers MyMail Email Data Plans:
$15/month for 1.5MB combined upload and download, $21/MB prorated thereafter
$25/month for 3MB combined upload and download, $10/MB prorated thereafter
$40/month for 7MB combined upload and download, $6/MB prorated thereafter
$60/month for 25MB combined upload and download, $7/MB prorated thereafter
$100/month for 200MB combined upload and download, $5/MB prorated thereafter
$210/month for 500MB combined upload and download, $5/MB prorated thereafter
To give you an idea of how much data certain features use, I checked the weather for 4 cities using the Weather widget, and updating the Stocks widget for 5 stocks used up 14KB of combined data (5KB upload and 9KB download). Not too bad, then I loaded two web pages, one from a forum post on ehmac.ca, and then the home page of the Art Of Geek blog. The usage jumped to 347KB (29KB upload and 318KB download). I signed up for the $10/10MB Mobile Internet plan, which appear to be the best value, provided you don’t go over your limit in a month since each extra MB will cost you $30. Ouch! Checking and receiving about 40 emails added another couple hundred KB to the usage, most likely because the iPhone has a full mail client which downloads all the new emails rather than just mail headers like some other smart-phones do. It’s clear that Apple intends users to have an unlimited data plan like that offered by AT&T, as they haven’t gifted iPhone with many features to help the user limit data use such as only downloading headers in Mail, or disabling the loading of images on web pages in Safari. So anyone planning on using an iPhone on Rogers in Canada should be conscious about what features they’re using and whether they are connected to EDGE or a free WiFi network.
I was fully aware of these issues when I decided to buy the iPhone, and had it not had WiFi built-in, this would have been a deal-breaker for me. But all this isn’t new to anyone who has an internet enabled smart-phone in Canada. I had the same issues to contend with on my previous mobile phone, a Nokia E61, which also had WiFi. But the iPhone’s larger, higher resolution screen, and far superior desktop-like web browser, email and Google Maps clients make the iPhone a far more useful and capable mobile internet device than the Nokia E61, which was considerably slower and woefully underpowered, occasionally unable to load certain web pages due to lack of memory. In contrast, the iPhone loads full emails with inline images and browses complex web pages very efficiently, even over the Rogers EDGE network.
I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more iPhones roaming the streets of Canadian cities in the weeks to come. The Rogers rep I spoke to on the phone said I was the third person he had spoken to this morning. This is likely to grow since Apple slashed the price by a third and affordable software unlocking becomes widely publicized. In fact, just today, news broke about a free software unlock solution having been released, available here. I knew it was only a matter of time before this would happen, but certainly didn’t expect it just a day or two after the iPhoneSimFree solution was released. Had I known, I could have saved the $64CDN I paid to have my phone unlocked. Thus is the price of early adoption, and it’s a price that I was not only fully prepared to pay, but in my opinion, was worth every penny.
Update 1 – 9/16/2007, 12:01 am: added the $100 and $210 Rogers data plans to the list of plans. Thanks to DataGridDotRedraw for providing the info.
Update 2 – 9/16/2007, 6:33 pm: added the $5 and $10 Rogers “Mobile Internet” plans to the list and updated the article to indicate I’ve signed up for the $10/10MB plan.
Update 3 – 10/4/2007, 11:10 pm: I’ve been reading on the ehMac forums that Rogers has a $65/1GB data package which was originally intended for PC Card cellular modems but is being offered to iPhone customers. This is the first package that seems somewhat realistic if you want to use the iPhone’s capabilities to it’s fullest. I’m tempted, but just can’t justify spending that much just for mobile data. When added to a voice plan, that would push my monthly cell phone bill over $100. If/when it drops down to below $40, I’ll probably jump all over it.
i use http://iphone-unlocksoft.com for my iphone 3G OS 3.0 unlock. it works
Great article. Thanks for sharing.
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..
@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.
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
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.
@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.
Thanks for the first reply. Did you pay $25 for the SIM upgrade?
“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.
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
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 – 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
“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.
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!
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
@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.
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
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?
@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..
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?
@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.
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).
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.
“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.â€
@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.
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.
@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.
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
wow you guys pay outrageous amounts for data plans. i pay 5.99 a month for unlimited data usage on my iphone under tmobile
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?
@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.
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.
“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.
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!
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.
@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?
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?
@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.
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.
@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.
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?
@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.
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!
@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.
madgunde,
thanks for the advise….switched the sim card and EDGE is all good now. thanks again.
sweaser
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.
@TM
Correct.
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.
@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.
Thank you! I feel a little better about buying an unlocked phone now
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?