# Buying my iPhone tomorrow!



## aaron (Jul 17, 2003)

Okay! I'm going for it. Tomorrow I'll be going to Buffalo to purchase my iPhone! Woohoo! But I have some questions to make sure this thing goes smoothly:

1. When I pay, they only take credit card. Am I going to have a problem with a CDN card? Do I have to supply a zip code? Will they accept a postal code?

2. Should I declare it when I cross the border? I know the official line, yadda yadda. But what have you done?

3. I have just downloaded iJailbreak to unlock and jailbreak the phone. Do I need any of those SIM card solutions, or is this sufficient?

4. I'm currently a Fido customer (Hiptop) and I'm planning to use my current Fido SIM. My Dad is joining me, and he's a Bell customer. How does he do the migration to Rogers? Call them up and get a SIM card, or what?

Thanks! 
Aaron.


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## aaron (Jul 17, 2003)

On question 4, at least, I have an answer: 

iPhone activation using Rogers in Canada - Mac Forums



> I just walked into the Rogers store and asked for a new account. Told them I had a phone and they gave me a sim (well, for $30) and activated the account.


That's great news.


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## newbieted (Dec 20, 2007)

Let me know how you make out in buffalo because I keep hearing they won't sell to Canadians.
Ted


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## bytemonger (Dec 11, 2006)

1. I bought my iPhone before all the kerfuffle but I was not asked any questions etc.

2. I personally would declare it. Remember that it is made in China. I declared mine and another after a short holiday and they never looked twice at me. Let me through without even the GST.

3. I upgrades and broke mine using iJailbreak and have not had a problem with anything on it. Once that is done you just insert your Fido sim and you should be done. No extra card etc. Keep your AT&T card just in case it may have to be used again in the future.

4. Just walk into a Rogers store and sign up as there is now number transportabilty he should be able to keep his old phone number.


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## Patchfoo (Oct 3, 2007)

1. They do not take cash. I tried to pay cash for my iPhone in Grand Rapids Michigan (over two hours from the Canadian border) and they wouldn't sell it to me as cash so I sheepishly walked out and got my girlfriend's sister to buy it for me. They asked her for ID and she had to use a credit card (she lives in the US).

I'm not sure if they'll take your credit card, though I pretty much doubt it.

2. I visited the states for a weekend so I just declared total amount of purchases ($600 for two people, within the limits). Though I never said iPhone, but they obviously don't ask.

3. don't know

4. I just walked up to Rogers and told them I had a phone and wanted a SIM card and they sold me one for $30 or so. They asked about my phone (because they have to explain a bunch of stuff about it generally) so I said it was an iPhone and they said "cool" and said I probably know more about it than they would. They didn't care at all.


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## JayEyes (Nov 15, 2007)

I was at the Walden Galleria Apple Store on Family Day Monday. There was a Canadian ahead of me buying an iPhone. I heard the guy at the cash say "oh...you're from Canada" when he pulled out his credit card (after trying cash first). The only thing they did was give him a bit of a lecture on the phone not being supported in Canada and that if he did "anything" to make it work he voided the warranty.

If his credit card hadn't been declined  , he would have walked out with one no problem.


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## Visnaut (Jul 22, 2004)

My girlfriend and I bought ours at the Walden without a problem using two different Canadian credit cards. This was late September, of course, but I doubt that policy has changed much.

If anything, just say you are purchasing the phone as a gift for an American family member or business associate.


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## RunTheWorldOnMac (Apr 23, 2006)

Visnaut, the policy has changed drastically, some stores are denying purchase to Canadians and not taking Canadian credit cards...apparenlty some places are allowing purchases....


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## Visnaut (Jul 22, 2004)

Duly noted, Scott.

However, I still doubt that the _official_ policy is to deny foreign customers the ability to purchase iPhones. Otherwise, that would have hit the Apple news sites, much like the purchase quantity limit and no-cash policy that was enacted about a month before Christmas, and subsequently relaxed after the holidays. 

The fact that there are accounts of some places allowing purchases by Canadians, while others do not, is indicative that there is no official policy.

The problem with these accounts, however, is that we do not know under what circumstances the purchases were denied. Did they try to purchase a huge quantity? Did they max their credit cards? Did they act smug or rude towards Apple Store employees? The fact is, there are many reasons a customer could be turned down, and the resulting frustration may lead one to claim that they were denied service on the sole basis of them being Canadian, when in fact, the reason may be a lot more complicated.

To each his own, but I believe that in Apple Stores that are used to a higher than normal volume of cross-border shoppers (like Walden) if you are polite, direct, honest, and aware of the policies (no returns, don't pay with anything but a valid credit card), then you will more than likely be treated with prompt, friendly service from the staff, and be able walk out with one or two iPhones. Otherwise, don't expect much.


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## pelayoh (Feb 10, 2008)

* sigh * no matter how many people report actually succeeding in buying iPhones in Buffalo, some people chime in with the hand-me-down urban legend about how it won't be allowed.

My experience was exactly as the one JayEyes witnessed (except my card wasn't declined!) -- you get the polite mini-lecture, you have to show id, and then you walk out with your beautiful iPhone.


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## joshj09 (Feb 18, 2008)

I just travelled to Buffalo today to purchase an iPhone from the Apple store at the Walden Galleria. I wanted to purchase a 16gb but they were sold out, I had to settle for an 8gb. Purchased it without a hitch, no questions.

On the other hand, I went to the ATT store at Walden because they had 16gb iPhones in stock, but they refused to sell me an iPhone because I didn't have a US drivers license. Somewhat ridiculous, considering a person can walk on down to the Apple store and walk in and out with an iPhone.


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## aaron (Jul 17, 2003)

Purchase complete! I was hoping to get the 16GB version, but Walden didn't have them in stock. I was fine with the 8. 

I purchased with a credit card, and had zero problems. The sales guy rang it in on the floor, and asked for my "zip or postal code". I told him I was from Canada, he asked from where (out of politeness) and the transaction was concluded.

I declared the phone at the border, and paid ~$60 in taxes. The worst part was the dreadful wait at the customs office! They have the worst system in the world for processing these things, so it took us about 30 minutes to get out of there. Stupid!

I used iJailbreak to unlock my phone, and it was flawless. My phone was running 1.1.2, and my Dad's was running 1.1.3. For some reason, the jailbreak failed on my Dad's phone, but after a hard reset, it worked fine.

I upgraded my phone to 1.1.3, and ran the jailbreak again, no problems.

This thing is freakin' awesome!


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## newbieted (Dec 20, 2007)

Sounds good I'm going to buffalo next weekend, I hope they have the 16gb if not I will settle for the 8 gb. Thanks for the update.
Ted


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## newbieted (Dec 20, 2007)

I just got off the phone with my cousin in New York City, he said that if I can't get the 16 GB Iphone this weekend in Buffalo he could get it for me and send it to me. So now I have 2 ways to get one, I hope I don't need to ask him but at least I have a back-up plan. 
Ted


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## dazednconfused (Feb 25, 2008)

2. Declare it! You don't need the hassle if you get caught. I just bought 2 from Portland over the weekend (No Sales Tax) and declared it. Luckily for me, the border guard just let us pass. No Duty!


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## newbieted (Dec 20, 2007)

I just picked up my iphone from walden galleria 8 gb. No probs at all decalred it at the border, came home ran the program and in 2 minutes it was working fine with no worries. I just love this thing, my wife was fiddling with it and within seconds she said hey this is cool why didn't you tell me to get one!. (she thought the whole"IPHONE THING" was just hype...... now she wants one. oh well if her job doesn't give her a new phone I guess we will be taking a trip to the border sooner than expected LOL.
Ted
BTW I want to personally thank everyone for their help in this whole process:clap: :clap:


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## kgeorge78 (Sep 8, 2003)

what is jailbreak? Is it necessary? Does it "unlock" the phone or just open it up to 3rd party apps?

So If I buy a iphone from Detroit, I can take it home, update it to 1.1.4, "jailbreak" it if necessary, then take it to a rogers store and activate it buy getting a sim card?

Will internet work on it? Ive been holding out but really the wait is killing me.

Im currently with telus and want to keep my phone number. How do I do this. Do I have to cancel telus first or keep it until I activate my iphone. How does this work??

I'll be selling my touch this week and saving up for the iphone so any help is great.


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## kgeorge78 (Sep 8, 2003)

p.s. Which rogers plans offer the best price / performace. The website is unclear.


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## Corvillus (Nov 15, 2007)

kgeorge78 said:


> what is jailbreak? Is it necessary? Does it "unlock" the phone or just open it up to 3rd party apps?
> 
> So If I buy a iphone from Detroit, I can take it home, update it to 1.1.4, "jailbreak" it if necessary, then take it to a rogers store and activate it buy getting a sim card?
> 
> ...


You should be able to, assuming Apple hasn't done anything with 1.1.4 OTB in terms of bootloaders (if those are even in stores yet). I live in Windsor, so I may be able to help you out, drop me a PM.

EDIT: You will need to hack the phone (both jailbreak and unlock), Rogers cannot and will not activate the phone itself for you, but you can obtain an already activated SIM card from either them or Fido. You will need to tell them that you're transferring your number as well, and you will have a $35 activation fee for the SIM plus whatever Telus is going to charge you to buy out the remainder of your contract (if you're still in one). Also, tell Rogers / Fido about the number you want transferred first, they will contact Telus and have your contract cancelled and number transferred at the time of SIM card activation. If you cancel Telus yourself, you stand the chance of losing your number.

As for the current Rogers / Fido data plans, they're all crap, and I would recommend just not bothering with one, disabling EDGE, and using Wi-Fi exclusively for internet connectivity. If you need mobile data, right at the moment only viable plan for the iPhone is the PC card plan, and I've heard that they're going to start IMEI tracking their aircards, so that may not even be an option anymore.


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

I have a question:

Are the software jailbreaks considered "altering" the phone sufficient enough to void warranty. Can you not unlock the phone and then when something breaks just restore it to factory settings?

Is there anyway for them to know you have "altered" the phone?


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## Corvillus (Nov 15, 2007)

Yes they are definitely considered a warranty voiding modification, however if you do them properly they are reversible to the point where it is possible to conceal that the modification was done.


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

How much does the whole process cost?

the phone (16gb) w/ new york taxes and all the unlocking?


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## dazednconfused (Feb 25, 2008)

Just unlock it yourself, it is not very difficult. There is a lot of people here or Google that can walk you through it.


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## d0n0van05 (Mar 3, 2008)

*how much are the iphones @ waldens?*

prices on the 8 gig and the 16 gig


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

same as the Apple site...399 and 499...


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## newbieted (Dec 20, 2007)

If you really want a 16 Gb I would phone ahead to waldens galleria. if not you will not have a choice and get a 8 Gb.


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