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My liberated iPhone
12
Want to see a video of my iPhone being successfully unlocked? It’s over on Engadget. So far so good; I’m pretty sure I threatened Ryan with bodily harm if something happened to it! I’m keeping it on the AT&T network for now (because hell, I paid for it) but it’s nice to know that I can switch it if I want to. Personally, I think $99 is steep for unlocking, but it’ll be worth it for some people.
And no, I do not regret having switched from T-Mobile when I did (just like I don’t regret paying the $200 more than people are now) even though I knew that it would only be a matter of time before the phone was unlocked.
Maybe I can find a Japanese SIM for my trip next week.
DL.TV today! Also, hot dragon-on-dragon action
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I was thrilled to co-host DL.TV today with Roger Chang (Robet Heron was out at CEDIA), and we had a really good time. Roger is a riot, and I’ve been on his and Tom Merritt’s podcast East Meets West a few times, so I knew it would be a lot of fun. I’d love to do it again some time (hint, hint). We talked about Apple, Terminal hacks (they’re not really hacks, just some fun tips) and dragons. Lots and lots of dragons. So basically, it was my perfect afternoon.
Also, I was taking a look at my referrers this afternoon after all the iPhone rebate hoohah, and I noticed that I was linked to from the CNET News.com blog! That was exciting to me, anyway.
Want your $200 back?
45My friend Lan Bui, one of the producers of the wonderful podcast NoodleScar, just twittered that he got his $200 back from Apple for buying the (now $399) 8GB iPhone. Yes, I know that they’re giving a 10-day price guarantee, but Lan purchased his phone on July 2nd — more than two months ago.
Lan told me that he spent an hour on the phone with his local Apple store, and they told him that apparently as of tomorrow there will be a company wide policy put in place regarding refunds, and that he should come down immediately if he wanted his $200. I don’t know how many returns they’ll let people get away with for the rest of the day, but it can’t hurt trying!
UPDATE:
For the record, I’m happy with the $600 I paid- I’ve had the phone for 2 months, and I love it. As many have said, that’s the price of being an early adopter, and you have to understand that sometimes things are going to change (sometimes faster than you’d expect) after you purchase a device early. So no, I’m not trying to get any money back, but I was sharing the story of someone who felt it wasn’t fair (or hell, someone who thought they might as well try and get some dough back from Apple, which isn’t a terrible thing either!).
iPhone problems in Puerto Rico
16Many people had trouble activating their iPhones, but for the most part those issues were resolved fairly quickly (including my own). However, I received an email yesterday from someone who has a problem, and I’m not entirely sure where the fault lies or how it can be resolved. I’m reposting parts of the email with the writer’s permission:
Having a trip planned to the states within the week, I called AT&T multiple times, from multiple numbers, using multiple accents, and asked whether or not I’d be able to use an iPhone in Puerto Rico. The FOUR different AT&T people I spoke to assured me that it would work just fine.
I went to NYC, and purchased my 8GIG, from the Glass Bastion of Evil known as the Apple Store on 5th Ave. Then, I went to an AT&T Corporate store and purchased a brand new account, in the states, suited for the iPhone. The sales rep, convinced my mom to purchase a cheap backup phone, in case I visit a location where an expensive iPhone would not be ideal (this is something I do often). So we did, and he told me to wait three days before activating the iPhone. He knew we were the day after the purchase.
So, I waited three days (Saturday -> Today) and went to activate my iPhone and I recieved this message “We’re sorry, AT&T has determined that your current account cannot be used with the iPhone.”
W
T
F
I specifically purchased the iPhone plan, how could it not be used with the iPhone? I called them up, and the smarmy AT&T man informed me that the iPhone will not work in Puerto Rico.THATS RIGHT! I was lied to, to my face, by four different AT&T reps and two people in the Apple Store. So, now I’m left with a really expensive paper weight, and a burning anger that’s telling me to do something.
My mind flashes through many possibilities, from account relocation (using an address of one of my family members in the states), to a lawsuit (though I don’t know anything about the law besides what I watch on Law and Order). I suppose I could keep my crappy phone and just upgrade it with some money that I’ll find from who knows where. But now I get to the crux of the email, what should I do?
A quick Google search for iPhone in Puerto Rico brings back some results showing that the iPhone doesn’t work there, which I expected anyway. So then why was he told by so many people that it would work? Were they misinformed? Was there a miscommunication? On top of that, I find it vaguely suspicious that the AT&T employee had him purchase a cheaper phone as well, as though he had a feeling it wouldn’t work.
Maybe a better question would be: How can he hack it to make it work?
UPDATE: The author emailed me this morning from his iPhone! He had it activated by using his uncle’s address in the States. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions!