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Etisalat iPhone Locked or Unlocked? Seems Unlocked to Me!

iphone3g_unlocked1Before today there was no word from Etisalat or Mobily whether their iPhones would be locked or not. Then earlier this morning we noticed on Apple’s site that they’re listed as not locked to service provider in both countries. After a long wait we managed to get a couple of Etisalat iPhones with new SIM cards and we got to try a few different cards in them to see whether they were locked or not, here’s the quick result:

  • Etisalat SIM card used in software unlocked iPhone: voice and data ok.
  • Du prepaid SIM card: voice and data ok.
  • ATT SIM card for First Gen iPhone: “no service” as could be expected as that card is not active.

So what’s your conclusion? Mine is definitely that the Etisalat iPhone is indeed unlocked.

آي فون اتصالات مغلق ام غير مغلق؟ أعتقد انه غير مغلق!

لم تصرح اتصالات او موبايلي قبل اليوم إذا ما هاتف آي فون الذي سوف يطلقانه مغلق ام غير مغلق. صباح اليوم لاحظنا على موقع أبل أن كلا الشركتين تم إدراجهما في المكان المخصص للبلدان التي اطلق فيها هاتف آي فون غير مغلق. بعد انتظار طويل تمكنا من الحصول على هاتف آي فون من اتصالات بالشريحة الجديدة ثم حاولنا وضع شرائح آخري في الهاتف للتأكد من كون الهاتف مغلق ام لا وها هي النتيجة:

شريحة اتصالات أستُعملت  فى هاتف آي فون غير مغلق: الصوت والبيانات عملا بشكل جيد.

- شريحة دو المدفوعة مقدماً: والصوت والبيانات عملا بشكل جيد.

-  شريحة “ATT” الخاصة بالجيل الأول من آي فون: “لا توجد خدمة”  وهذا متوقع لأن الشريحة غير مفعلة.

الآن ما هو رأيكم؟ انا شخصياً أعتقد أن آي فون اتصالات غير مغلق.

Popularity: 33% [?]

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  2. Etisalat UAE iPhone Details Revealed, Start Selling Sunday February 22
  3. UAE iPhone Could Cost AED3000
  4. Prepaid And Postpaid for UAE iPhone, Unlocked Possible, Not Exclusive
  5. Etisalat iPhone Deal: Some Answers, More Questions

Filed Under: News

  • mo_bay
    I now blieve it is unlocked.

    A friend of mine lent me her iPhone 3Gs recently. She is on Etisalat prepaid. I had two SIM cards. One from du and the other from O2 UK.

    Both Worked !!! Voice and Data
  • khaygie10
    Having some Problems with my iPhone 3G 3.0 04.26.08...

    *This iPhone is from dubai carrier is "ETISALAT"*
    Carrier Version 4.0

    I've done installing redsn0w 3.0(I only install cydia) using windows vista 32bit...
    (using the OFW.ipsw)(haven't tried using CFW.ipsw)
    Trying to unlock it with my Globe sim card attached in it
    The jailbreak was smooth...

    I've done installing ultrasn0w 0.6(I did the repo666.ultrasn0w.com) and Cydia's 2 latest updates(while my Globe sim card is attached)...
    I restarted it...

    After the restart it shows Searching....
    Then No Service...

    I've tried 3 Sim Cards already:
    2 Globe Sim... *the other one is bought yesterday*
    Smart Sim...

    I already did reset the network thing but still No Service...
    I turned off 3G still nothing...
    I did the airplane On/Off thing...
    I turned on and off the Data Roaming...

    I tried restoring it and jailbreaking it and unlocking it again but...

    STILL "NO SERVICE"

    Carrier Version 4.0

    What should I do?
  • Like I said, go to emiratesmac.com, search the forums, if you don't find answer, post your question.
  • khaygie10
    I'm using an etisalat iPhone 3G,

    It's not working after I updated it into version 3.0
  • I'd recommend you check out emiratesmac.com for that and perhaps post a message there.
  • Just an observation:

    When I connected my Etisalat iPhone to iTunes for activation, there was a step in the process that said "Your phone is now unlocked" (or something to that effect, should have taken a screen shot).

    However, there was no such step with the OEM unlocked iPhones from Italy.
    If I were to venture a guess, I would say that these phones IMEI numbers are Whitelisted as "unlock" (similar to if you had your carrier legitimately unlock your previously locked iPhone).

    With the OEM unlocked versions, I am guessing this is a hardware / firmware feature, rather than an IMEI verification.

    This is all just speculation, of course.
  • Appleholic
    Now, my question is....??? has anyone tried purchasing it from lets say iStyle without the contract?!?!?!? could u???
  • We bought from iStyle yesterday (Etisalat really) and they said no you can't buy iPhone without contract.
  • fangpyre
    Apparently, it is unlocked.
    The fact that the Du line worked is evidence enough.
  • in Saudi Arabia STC's card worked as well.
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