One of the most frustrating things about buying phones in recent years is that even when you buy it on a contract, the phone itself is still generally locked to the carrier you’ve signed with, and to unlock the phone you need to pay the carrier a heap of cash. Telstra has just eased some of that pain for iPhone users, killing off the unlock fee for locked iPhones.
Mind you, it’s not stopping them from locking the phone to the network in the first place, but it is a step forward, and especially helpful if you want to use an international SIM card in your phone while travelling overseas. You can get te full details on how to unlock your Telstra iPhone 3G, 3GS or iPhone 4 on Telstra’s Exchange blog.
[Exchange]
Chris Guerin
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 10:17 AMWill this pave the way for other smartphones to be unlocked from Telstra for free in the future?
Nick
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 11:51 AMCurrently, the iPhone is the only post paid handset locked to Teltra. All pre-paid handsets are locked as the cost of the device is subsidized through future phone credit, but as post paid devices are paid for through the contract, they are unlocked.
I’m still not sure why the iPhone was locked
Travis New
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 10:19 AMWell the locking to the network is a iPhone thing and then it was up to carrier to charge after the fact to unlock. Telstra doesn’t normally lock the postpaid phones with the exception the hiptop and the like
simon
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 10:32 AMcould someone fill me in on this and clarify something for me.
nextg == 850mhz band for hsdpa.
i not owning a iphone, assume the telstra models are 850mhz. optus and co being 900, 2100 etc.
now presume you unlock your telstra phone… how is one to get 3g on other networks that dont support 850mhz?
Johnny
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 12:21 PMiPhone4
Penta-band UMTS/HSDPA (800, 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone
Joel
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 12:36 PMThe iPhone 4 is quad band.. so it will work on all 3g networks in Australia.
Gareth
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 12:45 PMAll the iPhone 4 models that Telstra get should be capable of 850/900/1800/2100mhz. They don’t change the chip’s in them between carriers.
matt
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 10:41 AMhopefully this is due to some regulatory pressure and others will follow
JonBOY26
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 12:19 PMIt’s true!
After reading this article, I went to the blog link, then called the iPhone support number provided. All I had to do was provide my IMEI and BAM…..all done!
Am telling everybody I know that own an iPhone, so far a couple others have also unlocked theirs.
This was a great move by Telstra management, I’m starting think they may actually be ‘for real’ about their new focus on customer support and satisifaction.
Jones
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 12:58 PMWow, Telstra actually did some good??
My mate had an issue with them some time ago, when he purchased an iphone 3g outright from Telstra and they tried to charge him the $160 (I think that was the going rate?)to unlock the phone. A call to the ACCC and with some other advise the phone was unlocked free of charge. It was something to do with the way that the contract with regards to purchasing the phone outright from the carrier was written.
Nads
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 1:41 PMdo you need to be the original purchaser of the phone to do the unlock??
Tony
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 2:11 PMI think companies should actually recall the iPhone 4. How in the world does a company get away with sellign a product that they know it is faulty in the first place. Any seriously guys. People are lining up to buy a phone that is faulty. Come on people, wake up.
Joel
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 2:50 PMYou wake up. The phone is not faulty. Find Australians who actually experience anything worth writing home about. I couldn’t be happier with my iPhone 4 and you’d be hard stretched to find anyone that owns one whinging about the “fault”.
Your loss if you can’t open your eyes to it.
Tony
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 3:16 PMHi Joel
Umm mme to wake up. Why would Apple offer bumber bars to fix a problem? Wrong equation used for the bars. What a joke. I’m a program developer. The software update just makes it show more bars, but the signal is unchanged. Why are there drop outs. I have nothing agaist iPhone at all. But the iPhone 4 is a manufacturaing defect. Haven’t you heard about the class action law suit in the US against iPhone. And you tell me to wake up.
Peter Simpson
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 3:51 PMNo, it’s faulty. They don’t offer free bumpers because they’re nice people.
Simon Reidy
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 7:12 PM+1. I have an HTC Desire and a jailbroken iPhone 4, and the iP4 on Telstra has the best coverage and performance by far. I’ve never had a dropped call or any noticeable signal degradation.
The problems with the iPhone 4 are primarily attributed from weak signals to begin with on the shitty At&T network in the USA. On Telstra’s far superior network, the thing flies.
Harry Rump
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 2:35 PMhello simon im wondering if it is safe to unlock a jailbroken iphone 4 via telstra
Joel
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 8:26 PMThey offered free bumpers because enough people whinged that they wanted free bumpers. The same way a class action lawsuit is just enough people whinging all at once.
Yes the signal can go down if you hold that spot, yes it is hardware not software, the point is in real life it is affecting a very small portion of people.
Own an iPhone 4 for a week and then come back and complain that you’re getting dropped calls. In the meantime the rest of us will enjoy our iPhone’s.
DingoJunior
Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 9:31 AMYou’ve obviously never actually used one. Best reception of any phone I’ve owned. Yes, there is a flaw, and I was all over Apple when it first came to light, and their lame attempts at a cover up, but the fact is it’s not an issue in day-to-day usage, and the otherwise superior reception more than makes up for it.
DingoJunior
Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 9:33 AMOh, and get your facts straight… The software update made it show *fewer* bars for the same signal, not more bars.
Tony
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 2:29 PMI had my 3G, 3GS and 4 with Optus and never get charge when I request to unlock.
Telstra is trying to rip ppl off
Dan Halford
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 7:42 PMNot sure how Telstra are trying to rip people off by charging the grand sum of ZERO dollars to unlock the phone.
Yes – Optus unlock phones for free too. Well, provided your contract’s expired. Oh, and then … as I found out … they say they’ve unlocked it but when you go abroad, you find it’s not actually been done at all.
DingoJunior
Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 9:27 AMOptus have always unlocked iPhones (on post paid contracts) for free, even while under contract. Telstra were ripping people off by charging, but they’re now finally doing the right thing.
lamboman007
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 2:35 PMThis is convenient, just bought a second hand iphone 3g, but it’s locked to telstra. Now i can get it to work with my optus wireless broadband :D
Maverick
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 8:40 PMJust got my iphone unlocked and since then I am unable to connect to my wifi network. It always give APIPA 169.x.x.x
Is there any fix to this???
I have two iphones 4 and both have the same problem now???
Help Anyone?
jimmybav
Friday, October 22, 2010 at 1:12 PMI’d like to know why my outright purchased iphone which came from an apple store and not a Telstra shop cam to be locked onto the telstra network?
Telstra now tell me that this is Apple’s doing, does anyone have the scoop on this?
martin
Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 12:31 AMTony
October 18, 2010 at 2:29 pm
I had my 3G, 3GS and 4 with Optus and never get charge when I request to unlock.
Telstra is trying to rip ppl off
can you help me to unlock my OPTUS / Telstra iPHONES any web link where i can do it FREE
Thanks
Jimmy
Friday, November 11, 2011 at 8:51 PMSo, do they only unlock post-paid plan phones where the plan was with telstra in the first place?
I.e. will they unlock an iphone that was bought in another country and bought here after? I picked up an I phone elsewhere and want to continue with the telstra plan I have been on for a long time, but put my old sim in my new Iphone. Any ideas?