3Gs activation when in other country

[mlijfu]

hello everyone
i live in india
my brother lives in usa
he has a iphone 3G with at&t he bought a upgrade from 3G to 3Gs-16gb
and he has send the 3gs to me so that i can Unlock & Jailbreak it and use it india
but the problem is that
he just got a mail from them that

"We appreciate your recent iPhone 3G purchase at the Apple Online Store.
Our records indicate you have not completed activating your iPhone .
If you do not connect your iPhone to your computer within the next 5 days, we will automatically complete your activation and your AT&T wireless account will upgraded to the iPhone plan you selected when you purchased your iPhone. We encourage you to complete activation at your earliest convenience, as this has the potential to disrupt your existing phone service"

i wanted to know
how to get around this that he can continue to use is 3g iphone there(in usa) even if his account get updated
and i can Unlock & Jailbreak and use the 3gs here in india?

 

[flyingember]

you might be better off asking this in the jailbreak/unlock section
http://forum.theiphoneblog.com/iphone-jailbreak-unlock/

but it sounds like he bought the subsidized upgrade and moved his service to the new model. This killed the service on the 3G model. To move it back will cost him an early termination fee or require returning the new phone.

if he wanted to use one phone in India and the other in the US I suggest he should have bought the 3gs in India. Why unlock when you can get one locally with less hassle?
Apple (India) - iPhone

 

[mlijfu]

first of all 3Gs is not avilable in india
even 3G is for 34,000rs = 723$
so why not get a 3Gs from usa which is 400$
and even if i cant use the 3Gs then i can always use the old 3G

there is no way out

 

[Loganbro]

Not exactly what you're dealing with, but might have some relevance; I know nothing about your cel service(s), but you may run into this-

I have an ATT (US) account and jailbroke/unlocked my phone so I could use it with my Telcel sim card while in Mexico (Telcel is also the official carrier of the iPhone in Mexico). As a phone it works fine, and with wifi I can access the internet, however I could not access Telcel's 3G network for internet access.

I went to one of their bigger stores to see what could be done, i.e., upgrade my account, new sim card, etc. I was told that the only way I could have an iPhone work fully with a Telcel sim, was to purchase an iPhone from them. That the sim cards that were to be used in iPhones were inventoried along with the phones; neither was sold without the other.

 

[flyingember]

Not exactly what you're dealing with, but might have some relevance; I know nothing about your cel service(s), but you may run into this-

I have an ATT (US) account and jailbroke/unlocked my phone so I could use it with my Telcel sim card while in Mexico (Telcel is also the official carrier of the iPhone in Mexico). As a phone it works fine, and with wifi I can access the internet, however I could not access Telcel's 3G network for internet access.

I went to one of their bigger stores to see what could be done, i.e., upgrade my account, new sim card, etc. I was told that the only way I could have an iPhone work fully with a Telcel sim, was to purchase an iPhone from them. That the sim cards that were to be used in iPhones were inventoried along with the phones; neither was sold without the other.

this is the best example I've seen of why you contact the carrier in a foreign country before assuming you can unlock a phone to use on it.

 

[sesaru]

Not exactly what you're dealing with, but might have some relevance; I know nothing about your cel service(s), but you may run into this-

I have an ATT (US) account and jailbroke/unlocked my phone so I could use it with my Telcel sim card while in Mexico (Telcel is also the official carrier of the iPhone in Mexico). As a phone it works fine, and with wifi I can access the internet, however I could not access Telcel's 3G network for internet access.

I went to one of their bigger stores to see what could be done, i.e., upgrade my account, new sim card, etc. I was told that the only way I could have an iPhone work fully with a Telcel sim, was to purchase an iPhone from them. That the sim cards that were to be used in iPhones were inventoried along with the phones; neither was sold without the other.

Please, can you explain how you did it?

 

[sesaru]

Please, can you explain how you did it?

Sorry ... I mean how did u activate in Mexico. Maybe you bought an AT&T card through Internet and then use it for the iPhone? I want to activate one in Spain (and the use UltraSn0w with it), and I'm investigating how to do it ...

 

[Ipheuria]

I would say send the 3Gs back to your brother so he can activate it and use it. He can send you the 3G which will be deactivated, then you can try to JB and unlock that.

 

[Greg Orlando]

Your home network has a "home location register" or HLR. This stores your SIM details against your mobile number, as well as other detalis such as which cellsite you are connected to at any point in time. So I don't think that its going to be possible to activate your phone staying in India.

 

[Ipheuria]

Your home network has a "home location register" or HLR. This stores your SIM details against your mobile number, as well as other detalis such as which cellsite you are connected to at any point in time. So I don't think that its going to be possible to activate your phone staying in India.

I don't get this, if he gets the 3G and then JB, unlocks and puts a SIM from the Indian telecom it wouldn't work? I'm asking because I'm not as advanced and curious.

Forgot to add, your brother must really love you because I don't know of anyone that would have sent you the 3Gs and kept the 3G