hankster Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 I know this has probably been addressed, but i need a quick assurance.James leaves for china Wednesday and will take his iphone.I've heard horror stories about charges on these once they're used there.He says he's unlocked it and will remove it's Sim card once he leaves chicago and will buy a Sim when he gets to China.My Question is: Am I safe from the thousands of dollars of charges some people have incurred while using an iphone in China?I haven't kept up with Cell phone technology and he assures me it's safe.Anyone try this with an iphone in China?thanks,Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnoblett Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Should be fine if he uses a sim-card that is associated with a Chinese phone company. The phone service should then be domestic rather than a US carrier. You will be paying a domestic (China) phone bill instead of international service for a US carrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 It's a pre-paid phone card - you pay the charges in advance. Data service is available Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob and WeiLing Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 The SIM card is what ties the phone to the account. When he removes it, the phone will not be able to identify with a carrier until he inserts a new one. Something to be aware of: Some phones will wipe all user data when the SIM card changes: Phone book, call/message history, etc. (For example, my Motorola RAZR v3xx did this.) I'm believe the assumption to be that a regular user will not change the SIM card, and the wipe will protect privacy. I don't know if the iPhone does this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 The SIM card is what ties the phone to the account. When he removes it, the phone will not be able to identify with a carrier until he inserts a new one. Something to be aware of: Some phones will wipe all user data when the SIM card changes: Phone book, call/message history, etc. (For example, my Motorola RAZR v3xx did this.) I'm believe the assumption to be that a regular user will not change the SIM card, and the wipe will protect privacy. I don't know if the iPhone does this. My guess is that that would happen when the phone is setup to store information on the SIM. If so, it would be restored when you re-insert that SIM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelloWorld08 Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 it's safe, don't worry, as long as he buys a pre-paid sim when he arrives to China, the cost of a sim is probably $100 RMB and spend another $50RMB for phone mins... Sim card and talking mins can be purcahsed at the airport or local phone shops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bokiwen Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I've done this before with my unlocked BlackBerry, and it worked fine. If his Iphone is truly unlocked, then adding a SIM (I used China Mobile) can give you access. Not sure what the data services cost in China (I turned mine off and only used WiFi), but that is probably something you want to turn off to keep from getting things on your Iphone which will eat away at your prepaid balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob and WeiLing Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 My guess is that that would happen when the phone is setup to store information on the SIM. If so, it would be restored when you re-insert that SIMActually, I was testing out the Chinese SIM card to see if it'd work in the US. I was lucky in that I thought to copy all my contacts to the SIM card before trying it out (and phonebook subsequently showed duplicated entries: one set for phone, one set for SIM). Of course, Chinese SIM didn't work in US. When I put US SIM card back in, all my text messages and phone-memory contacts were gone. Whoops! it's safe, don't worry, as long as he buys a pre-paid sim when he arrives to China, the cost of a sim is probably $100 RMB and spend another $50RMB for phone mins... Sim card and talking mins can be purcahsed at the airport or local phone shops.When I first visited China in January, I purchased a phone, sim card, and recharge card. The SIM cost only 20 RMB, but the shop didn't sell recharge cards. I found recharge cards at a little newspaper stand on the side of the road, and accidentally purchased a recharge for the wrong company. Whoops again! I guess this is my long winded way of saying: Back up your phone contacts, and make sure you buy a SIM and recharge card from the same cell provider! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 That's usually not a commercially-viable feature in a cell phone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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