Would a US-Purchased iPhone Work Overseas?

[Moneer81]

Hello,

I live in the US and my dad lives in Paraguay. I am sending him an iPhone as a gift. If I buy a new iPhone 3gs (that's probably advanced enough for him) and send it to him, will it work with his carrier? All the carriers are GSM down there...

Does the phone need to be unlocked?

Has anyone had experience with this?

Thanks,

 

[Simon Bridge]

It will work in the sense of functioning electronically - but the iPhones purchased in the US usually need to be unlocked when brought to New Zealand so I imagine it will be the same for Paraguay. You should ask the vendor if you can change carriers ... iirc.

Personally I'd do your dad a favor and try for a product from someone who does not, so much, lock you in.

 

[turbo]

@OP, have you thought about contacting the the vendor of the phone to see what markets it might work in? No point in wasting money...

 

[Moneer81]

I don't know how easy it is to contact apple...I'll give it a try. The ebay seller says that the phone is unlocked. I think it'll work. I appreciate the answers!

 

[Moneer81]

This is the phone I'm looking at:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhone-3GS-8GB-Black-Unlocked-ANY-GSM-World-SIM-Smartphone-/110977290767?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item19d6c3120f

 

[r4z0r84]

Cellular Band:

GSM / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS / HSDPA 850/1900/2100

this is what i would be concerned about, if the above bands are not available in your dads country then it will not work.

you should find out the specifications of the iphones from your dads country and see if they are the same (most likely will be)

another thing to take note of is the requirement of a PC to set up the phone initially also requires iTunes installed that is not included with the phone, so he would need to download it.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I'm using my iPhone 4S outside the USA and it works just fine.

 

[Evo]

I'm using my iPhone 4S outside the USA and it works just fine.

You probably have an international plan with a US carrier. That is different from just taking a phone to another country and attempting to get it serviced by a local carrier. Not all phones work with all carriers.