Is iPhone 4S in China SIM lock free?

[timeruler]

Hi, planning to buy an iPhone 4S either in Hong Kong or in China. I heard that one could get an iPhone 4S for free by signing up a 3-year contract with China Unicom. Is the iPhone 4S in China (either bought from Apple Store or from China Unicorm) SIM lock free? How is the service of China Unicom? Is it easy to break the contract in case I do not like the service? I heard that in HK, there are lots of problems when foreigners try to break the contract.

[WestTexas]

While I don't know the details, I do know that Iphones in China are generally very expensive. I have not heard of anyone getting a free Iphone for any reason in China. The deal that I have heard being offered is that if you buy the phone (for 5k RMB or so), they will put 5k worth of service on your account. I suppose you could also look at this as paying for 5k of service and getting an Iphone for free.

[timeruler]

I meant this: http://digitaljournal.com/article/317694

As I travel often, one of the most important things is to find out if the iPhone 4S sold/given in China is SIM lock free.

If it is not, I buy the phone in HK. Anybody knows the answer for sure? Thanks.

[keitha]

I bought a grey import HK version of the 4s in Beijing. It's not SIM-locked. I'm not sure if the 4s is avaible in Chinese Apple stores outside of HK. Thats why I bought mine as a grey import a couple of months ago. From what they told me, the US imported one is sim-locked and needs to be unlocked.

Hm, looks like it's avaible on apple.cn now.

[gato]

As I travel often, one of the most important things is to find out if the iPhone 4S sold/given in China is SIM lock free.

If it is not, I buy the phone in HK. Anybody knows the answer for sure? Thanks.

The iPhone sold in Apple stores in HK and mainland China are unlocked. US-sourced iPhones are also sold in the grey market in China. These are locked to AT&T and need to be unlocked.

The iPhone costs about 20% more in mainland China stores due to VAT (sales tax), so buy it in HK if you can.

[timeruler]

Thanks for the info. I heard that in China, one could get the iPhone 4S for free from China Unicom. The contract is 3 years for 32/64GB version. Any experience with their service? Is it still cheaper if I buy the iPhone 4S in Hong Kong and then: a) subscribe to the phone service in China or b) buy the SIM card in China?

[yialanliu]

I don't think you can break contract. I think you pay like 5k up front and like a certain amount is loaded from that amount each month over the 3 years to your account. So if you break your contract, you'd lose that upfront payment.

US-sourced iPhones are also sold in the grey market in China. These are locked to AT&T and need to be unlocked.

US sourced are always unlocked. The 650 USD is unlocked. No one buys from AT&T to sell in China...