I'm moving to China this summer and I need my new iPhone. I noticed it said that it will be released in Hong Kong in July but there was no mention of China. My question is how I can get it to work on the mainland, specifically Guangzhou.
China - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Apple announced that the iPhone 4 will be available in Hong Kong end of July. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/06/07iphone.html But for now we don't know if it's locked or not. If it's locked you can't use it in China (or pay huge roaming fees). If it's not locked it will work fine in China (GSM) since most HK provider use GSM too. So if it's not locked just put your SIM card in and that's it. Update: you can cut any normal GSM SIM card into a micro-SIM -- here is how: http://www.ihackintosh.com/2010/04/convert-mini-sim-in-to-micro-sim-for-ipad-3g-yourself/
2 :
You may face social reprisals in China for owning an Apple iPhone. Everyone should avoid Apple products. A mass protest and clashes occurred at the Apple store in Hong Kong on June 6. Apple is the focus of an emerging nationwide boycott across China. All of Apple's products are manufactured by the infamous Foxconn Technology Group founded by multi-billionaire Terry Gao. A large number of Foxconn employees in China have recently committed suicide, died from exhaustion, and died under mysterious circumstances. There is a massive anti-Foxconn and anti-Apple movement now sweeping China. Do not buy Apple products. Do not bring Apple products into China.
3 :
Following the release date, it should have open network for Hong Kong. Depending on which sim you use, some sim cards will work in Guangzhou much as a China Mobile sim bought in Guangzhou will work in Hong Kong, but of course the rates will now differ once you cross the border and started to make calls. It should work in mainland China, again, just have to wait and see if they are locked or not.
4 :
iPhone4 in HK only sell by 3HK, Smartone & App Store online. both 3HK + Smartone need contract to tie u up for 2 yrs. if u r using the phone in china. u stil hv to pay 4 the contract in HK. u hv to consider that. n on App Store....yeh.....u hv to Q up. last time the 3GS....i Q there for 2 months. as i dun wanna tie up by contract. anyway, all iPhone4 in HK wil not hv sim lock so u can just stuck in ur china sim card & use it in china. just no 3G network can be use there. as stil not v much popular in china 3G.
5 :
Hi there, I'm living in Guangzhou and using an iPhone 3G which I bought in Hong Kong. Here just some comments: 1) The notion "you shouldn't use an Apple product in China" is bullshit. Apple products are selling like hot cakes in China 2) You can buy the iPhone through Apple's official website in Hong Kong (www.apple.com/hk/en). The price is quite expensive though but you don't need to get a contract 3) SIM lock, very common in the U.S. and Europe is forbidden by law in Hong Kong. All phones sold here (except those on the gray market) are normally without SIM lock. All you need to do is enter the SIM card in your iPhone, done. I used my iPhone in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Germany without any problems. 4) China has different networks. The iPhone's 3G technology only works with China Unicom. China Telecom needs different kind of handsets (that's why the iPhone also doesn't work with Verizon). So you better get a contract with China Unicom. Mine is RMB 188 / month and provides 300MB of data and enough free minutes. If you go for China Telecom you can only use the slow EDGE network. The 3G network is quite good. I used it in different cities. It's very fast and reliable. 5) If you go to Hong Kong, get a 3G prepaid card. They charge you according to traffic, but the maximum charge is HKD 25 / day (that's around USD 3.50 / day). Not a bad deal at all.
