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Advice on unlocked iPhone 5 from the US, in Singapore
Advice on unlocked iPhone 5 from the US, in Singapore
Hi folks,
I'll be moving to Singapore from the US at the end of the year, and am trying to figure out how to best do my cell phone set up there. Right now, I'm on an AT&T contract, and have convinced them to sell me a new iPhone 5 for $199. (Which is a funny story, btw).
The catch is, a US-purchased iPhone 5 is of course locked; but my plan is to unlock it before heading to Singapore - either unlock it myself, go through the formal AT&T process, or pay a store here to do it. Either way, I'm hoping to bring an unlocked, AT&T iPhone 5 to Singapore, and sign up for service w/ a local carrier there. Without having to pay that carrier 400 odd Singapore dollars for the phone there, since I can buy it here for just $199, in the US.
That said, my question for the group is whether anyone has successfully unlocked an iPhone 5 in the US, has successfully used it in Singapore?
I called Singtel, who claimed that as long as my iPhone 5 was unlocked, I could waltz into a store, sign up, and start using the phone.
But I wanted to double check here, and in particular, see if there might be any SIM-card related issues (i.e. I unlock the phone, but then have a problem using a Singapore SIM card, if it's at all different).
As well, apparently the AT&T iPhone 5 is an A1428 iphone 5, which is GSM. http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/ That same site says Singapore is also GSM, but model 1429. Might that mean I either can't use the 1428 in Singapore, or that if I can, I won't get faster/LTE speeds?
If anyone has any related experience, tips or advice, I'd definitely appreciate it!
Thanks very much,
Aki
I'll be moving to Singapore from the US at the end of the year, and am trying to figure out how to best do my cell phone set up there. Right now, I'm on an AT&T contract, and have convinced them to sell me a new iPhone 5 for $199. (Which is a funny story, btw).
The catch is, a US-purchased iPhone 5 is of course locked; but my plan is to unlock it before heading to Singapore - either unlock it myself, go through the formal AT&T process, or pay a store here to do it. Either way, I'm hoping to bring an unlocked, AT&T iPhone 5 to Singapore, and sign up for service w/ a local carrier there. Without having to pay that carrier 400 odd Singapore dollars for the phone there, since I can buy it here for just $199, in the US.
That said, my question for the group is whether anyone has successfully unlocked an iPhone 5 in the US, has successfully used it in Singapore?
I called Singtel, who claimed that as long as my iPhone 5 was unlocked, I could waltz into a store, sign up, and start using the phone.
But I wanted to double check here, and in particular, see if there might be any SIM-card related issues (i.e. I unlock the phone, but then have a problem using a Singapore SIM card, if it's at all different).
As well, apparently the AT&T iPhone 5 is an A1428 iphone 5, which is GSM. http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/ That same site says Singapore is also GSM, but model 1429. Might that mean I either can't use the 1428 in Singapore, or that if I can, I won't get faster/LTE speeds?
If anyone has any related experience, tips or advice, I'd definitely appreciate it!
Thanks very much,
Aki
- nakatago
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That is news to me (didn't really look into it nor did it show up on my radar much). So much for a world phone.zzm9980 wrote:Yes, it will work, but no not on LTE. AT&T iPhone5 and local iPhone5 are different models, supporting different LTE bands.

"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."
Yeah. welcome to LTE fragmentation. From what I understand, there isn't really any decent "world" LTE phone yet. I think Note2 might be, but that would be due to it's size allowing more chips and battery.nakatago wrote:That is news to me (didn't really look into it nor did it show up on my radar much). So much for a world phone.zzm9980 wrote:Yes, it will work, but no not on LTE. AT&T iPhone5 and local iPhone5 are different models, supporting different LTE bands.
- nakatago
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- Location: Sister Margaret’s School for Wayward Children
That is why you Americans can't have nice things. Even your GSM is screwy. Also, it's in the news that the Nexus 4's "dormant" LTE chip works...only in AWS (e.g. Canuckistan, aka "not the US"), so no big red for you's.zzm9980 wrote:Yeah. welcome to LTE fragmentation. From what I understand, there isn't really any decent "world" LTE phone yet. I think Note2 might be, but that would be due to it's size allowing more chips and battery.nakatago wrote:That is news to me (didn't really look into it nor did it show up on my radar much). So much for a world phone.zzm9980 wrote:Yes, it will work, but no not on LTE. AT&T iPhone5 and local iPhone5 are different models, supporting different LTE bands.
But you want THE prime example of fragmentation? Why can't the world agree on the shape of their electrical plugs?
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."
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why you so like that. amerikaa #1 okay.nakatago wrote:That is why you Americans can't have nice things. Even your GSM is screwy...
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... e-world-at
- nakatago
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- Location: Sister Margaret’s School for Wayward Children
'murika is the best in the wurld!taxico wrote:why you so like that. amerikaa #1 okay.nakatago wrote:That is why you Americans can't have nice things. Even your GSM is screwy...
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... e-world-at
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."
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Agree with you, America all the way.taxico wrote:why you so like that. amerikaa #1 okay.nakatago wrote:That is why you Americans can't have nice things. Even your GSM is screwy...
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... e-world-at

- sundaymorningstaple
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Very manipulative list.taxico wrote:why you so like that. amerikaa #1 okay.nakatago wrote:That is why you Americans can't have nice things. Even your GSM is screwy...
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... e-world-at
Agreed. Biased and lack of citations with obvious agenda.x9200 wrote:Very manipulative list.taxico wrote:why you so like that. amerikaa #1 okay.nakatago wrote:That is why you Americans can't have nice things. Even your GSM is screwy...
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... e-world-at
I was going to link to a dozen or so "America F-ck Yeah!" jpgs, but im lazy.
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