iPhone 4 working in India on MTNL & BSNL 3G


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I got my iPhone 4 last week. I ordered a factory unlocked one from the UK apple store and got it delivered to a friend’s address in UK who brought it to India.

As soon as I got my hands on it, I inserted my BSNL 3G sim (which I have been using with my iPad 3G) into the phone and configured the APN. And as seamlessly as apple can be, I was able to browse the web at 3G speed!

I used Google Maps with GPS, downloaded apps and checked my email, all on the move over 3G speed. I downloaded Speedtest.net’s iPhone app to check the 3G speed and found that I consistently get around 150 – 200 KBPS download speed, which is roughly equivalent to 1.2 to 1.6 Mbps. Even though its not 3.6 Mbps as advertised by the operators, its still pretty fast.

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I was also able to surf the web on my laptop via internet tethering. The setup is literally hassle free. Go to Settings –> General –> Network –> Internet Tethering and switch it on. If you have Bluetooth in your laptop, you can tether wirelessly over Bluetooth, otherwise, you can do this by connecting the iPhone 4 to your laptop using the supplied data cable.

I was also able to make FaceTime calls with my relatives in the US over wifi network. The calls were very smooth over a 512 kbps broadband connection.

I also got a new MTNL 3G connection to use with my new iPhone 4. You can have a look at MTNL’s 3G tariff here: http://mtnldelhi.in/dolphin/dolphin_tariff_new.htm.

Since iPhone 4 accepts only micro SIM cards which are not available in India, you need to cut the SIM provided by your carrier. Similar to how I explained the process for iPad 3G, you can easily do this by cutting the supplied SIM using a pair of scissors to the size of a micro SIM. Make sure to match the orientation of the diagonal edge when you cut. Do not worry if you have a SIM card with the big chip (the one similar to old SIMs), as that will work too:

sim

All in all, I have been having an amazing experience with my new iPhone 4. All the touted features like multitasking, folders, multiple inboxes etc. work flawlessly at blazing fast speed, thanks to the A4 chip and 512 MB of RAM.

So if you want to buy an iPhone 4 and use it over 3G networks in India, go ahead and get one. But make sure that you buy the factory unlocked one, otherwise, you will have to jailbreak and unlock it. Factory unlocked iPhone 4 is available in many countries, however, its cheapest in Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore at around INR 30k (for 16GB model). In UK, it will set you back by INR 38k. The other option is to wait for Airtel and Vodafone to officially launch the iPhone 4 in India. The current rumored date is end of October. However, the rumored price is approx INR 36k for 16GB and INR 42k for 32GB, and the phone will be locked to the respective network for 1 year. So, if you can, get an unlocked one from abroad if you have any friend or relative in these countries.

Private operators are expected to start their 3G service soon. Once that is done, we can expect much faster speed and better connectivity from them.

Here are the APN settings for BSNL and MTNL 3G:

BSNL (yes, username and password are blank):

  • APN: bsnlnet
  • username:
  • password:

MTNL (prepaid):

  • APN: pps3g
  • username: mtnl
  • password: mtnl123

MTNL (postpaid):

  • APN: mtnl3g
  • username: mtnl
  • password: mtnl123

Since iPhone 4 is HSDPA compliant, you can also use MTNL’s HSDPA APN as follows. However, I did not notice any difference in speed. Maybe we need to get a separate HSDPA sim card for the same:

MTNL HSDPA (prepaid):

  • APN: ppshsdpa
  • username: mtnl
  • password: mtnl3g

MTNL HSDPA (postpaid):

  • APN: mtnlhsdpa
  • username: mtnl
  • password: mtnl3g

Please restart the iPhone once you enter the APN to save it. Also, once you restart, give it a few minutes to register with the network and get an IP before you start using the internet.


207 responses to “iPhone 4 working in India on MTNL & BSNL 3G”

    • It's a full on GPS. Works everywhere and everytime. Except when you are indoors. It doesn't have turn by turn voice directions built in, but there are a lot of apps which provide that available on the app store (for a price).

  1. Setu,

    I am so pleased to read that someone in India is able to use iPhone 4 with 3G network and finding it worth. Also able to make face time calls successfully. Sounds so gr8! 🙂

    Recently I've also ordered a factory unlocked iPhone 4 from Hong Kong (through my friend in HK). Eagerly waiting to receive it in India.

    Once I'll have it I will definitely look for guidance and support from this forum.

    Woikrrrr 🙂

    Vinni

  2. Nice to hear from you that you are using iphone 4.I have some doubt .

    If u buy unlocked phone for uk or canada then warranty will expire rite?

    so giving so much amount to that ,if it gives problem then wot to do?please reply.

    And also do you know the exact date of realeasing iphone in india?

    • Warranty will not expire. But it will not be available in India. If you need service, you will have to send it to uk to get it repaired.

      The point of paying that much premium is that you get a factory unlocked phone. In India, it will be locked to Airtel or vodafone for the same price for 1 year. But yes, you will get service in India. So if you can wait, wait.

      • hey setu,

        i cant activate facetime on my apple factory unlocked iphone 4 from hong kong n im using a bsnl sim. where the MY NUMBER is there i cant type anything there and i cant switch off my SHOW MY CALLER ID. but the msg gets delivered n its says WAITING FOR ACTIVATION. PLEASE HELP ! PLEASE !

        THANKS A TON

        • hey setu , i just tried to go to SETTINGS> PHONE > N THEN where my number is cant type anything, its blank and i tried typing my number , nothing happens, sorry for the trouble.

          thanks

          • It should. Ideally. Its an editable field.

            If you have another phone, try inserting your sim in it and change the "Own Number" field. It should then reflect correctly in iPhone.

  3. Hi,

    Great post.

    I just got a factory unlocked iPhone 4 too. I used my current Tata Docomo SIM and things work very well. Its not 3G so speed of the GPRS is slow. Bot one major retriction is I am not able to enable Facetime. Would you have any idea on how to do this? Is this not possible with my current connection?

    Thanks.

    • FaceTime is only possible over wifi (unless you jailbreak your iPhone). You will have to first enable FaceTime:
      1. Connect to a wifi network
      2. Go to Settings -> Phone
      3. If My number is blank, enter your number there. Make sure you prefix the country code i.e. +91 before the number.
      4. Turn on FaceTime. You will be prompted that activation SMS might be charged. Click on OK.
      5. Once facetime has been activated, go to any contact who also has an iPhone 4. You should see a FaceTime option alongwith text, call and share options. Tap on FaceTime to initiate.
      6. If the other party is also on wifi, you should be able to FaceTime with them.

      • Does FaceTime requires a mobile number? Or I can give any number. Will FaceTime works without inserting any SIM?

        The reason am asking is to know if FaceTime requires only wifi or needs SIM (mobile no) for identification.

        • It needs both. On an iPhone 4, it registers to the apple's FaceTime server using your phone number. If you give the wrong phone number, you will not receive FaceTime calls. On an iPod touch, it registers using your email address.

          But wifi is needed in both the cases.

          • Hi

            I updated the the number to include a +91 but that has not solved the problem.

            When I go to Settings -> Phone and enable FaceTime, I get the message that "carrier would charge for SMS" then status just remains "Waiting for activation"

            Any other inputs? 🙁

            Thanks

          • Looks like there is some issue with Tata Docomo not being able to send activation SMS.

            Although, even if its stuck on waiting for activation, did you try initiating a FaceTime call with anyone?

      • Thanks a lot for your response. I think I have done everything you have mentioned- except the +91 prefix to the number. I will try this out also.

        Thanks.

      • I can't get Facetime to activate using a BSNL 3G SIM in my iPhone 4. I also bought it unlocked in the UK and brought it to India. But when I switch on Facetime to activate, it pops up 'Your message has been delivered to +447786205094' and then the Facetime switch goes back to OFF position.

        I am able to send/receive local and Intl SMS, I am on WiFi, I have 3G data access, running iOS 4.1.

        Why is iPhone trying to activate facetime using a UK number (+44) instead of an Indian number? Has anyone seen this before?

        I'll Paypal anyone Rs 1,000 if you can help me fix this!

        • There's a post below on October 7 which gives information in a link relating to the UK number used to send the SMS.

          – As far as I remember, 2 people in this group have activated FaceTime on BSNL sims, Setu and Rajiv. Perhaps they can run down possible issues.

          – I will add another, however. Did you happen to successfully register Facetime first with another number in the UK? I wonder whether there is an issue with changing Facetime numbers. Although the people in this forum are reporting similar problems in Dubai (and Dubai has other Facetime issues), there may be (cryptic as the posts are) similar problems reported with Venezuela, Costa Rica and elsewhere where a UK or Canadian factory unlocked SIM is brought elsewhere and a new number is tried :http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2498264&start=15&tstart=0
          – I'm not sure this is your issue, but it might be worth trying with an Airtel or Vodafone sim (both networks confirmed, other than BSNL, in this forum, that FaceTime works) just to check that it can't be done.

          – Alternatively there could theoretically be differences between BSNL in different parts of the country (there are currently between MTNL and BSNL.

          • Thanks for your response. Yes, I did activate it with a UK SIM before I came to India and Facetime was working then.

            I have completely restored, upgraded OS, setup as 'New Phone' instead of restoring data, etc. And yet my phone still sends the SMS to the UK number.

            I do have a Vodafone SIM around, but I'll need to cut it down to micro-size to test it. Will update later.

            I guess I am going to try this jailbreak app MiTime, which supposedly will fix facetime on unsupported carriers. Really sucks it's not a free app though, wtf.

            Any of you guys on BSNL with working Facetime care to chime in ? Did you ever see the 'Your message has been delivered to +44XXXXXXXX" when you switched on Facetime?

      • hey setu,

        hi again , i did what you said and now i can even type my no , but still its showing WAITING FOR ACTIVATION. SO what should i do. please help! thanks a ton.

        take care

        umesh

        • hey setu ,

          i have a iphone 4 factory unlocked from hong kong n im using bsnl 3g sim, earlier i could not type the no in MY NUMBER, but after i got a new same number bsnl sim i can type my no, but still it doesnt work and it shows WAITING FOR ACTIVATION ERROR. so plz tell me what should i do now. i love the iphone and apple but i really want my facetime to work and i do not want to jailbreak my iphone 4 in order to make it work. please please please help me out.

          thanks a ton

          umesh

          • Unfortunately, BSNL is not an official iPhone carrier in India. This is why, you cannot get support on this issue. Sometimes, FaceTime activates, sometimes it does not.

            For now you can try the following:

            1. Make sure that your enter your number with +91 prefixed in the My number field.

            2. Go to Settings -> General -> Reset and tap on "Reset all Settings". Note that doing this will not erase any data but will reset your settings to factory defaults. You will have to do them again.

            3. The iPhone should automatically restart after this and will try to activate FaceTime again. Press OK on the prompt.

          • Merry christmas setu ! thanks for all your help n sorry didnt reply you after your comment but unfortunately my facetime still doesn't work. anyways thanks for everything. take care bro

  4. Good to know MTNL / BSNL works on iPhone4.

    I mean I knew it would work, but I was wondering about Facetime. I have an iPhone 4 with a Tata Docomo connection but Facetime won't activate. It works just fine with my Vodafone card though.

    You are absolutely sure that it works with MTNL/BSNL right ?

    Cause I will take your word for it and go out and buy one right now 🙂

    Also, if you enable 3g in Network settings and use it, how fast does the battery deteriorate compared to regular edge ?

    Thanks in advance for your reply 🙂

    • It surely works with BSNL. After I put MTNL's sim, I restored it from a backup of my iPhone 2G and it is not working ever since :(. I am planning to restore it altogether and set it up as a new phone in a few days after which I can let you know if it works with MTNL 3G.

      But if you want to use BSNL 3G, go ahead. But I hope you do know that FaceTime works only on wifi.

      • Setu you missed one Q..

        "If you enable 3g in Network settings and use it, how fast does the battery deteriorate compared to regular edge ?"

        Well it depends on usage, but if you have done any comparison or have any details that would be helpful.

        Thanks in advance 🙂

      • Thanks for your reply.

        I know Facetime works only on Wifi.

        Using it right now 🙂

        But want to try it with MTNL.

        Can use it over 3g after jailbreak !

        And yes, please shed some light on the 3g battery usage.

      • I keep 3G enabled on my iPhone 4 all the time. And I talk on an average of 2 – 3 hours a day. During day time, the phone switches between 3G and wifi multiple times as I have wifi in my office. And by evening, I still have 30 – 40 % battery left.

        Yes, 3G takes more battery than edge, however, the difference will be a max of 10% in a day.

        And remember, if you switch to MTNL 3G, the battery drain will be more due to weak signals than due to 3G. I am desperately waiting for Airtel to start it's 3G service :(.

        • Excellent. Thanks for the info.

          And yes, you are right about MTNL network. I get very weak signals even in my office.

          Will buy a new mtnl sim today and try it out.

      • Hi Setu,

        I wonder then if you could update us when you or anyone else has more info. Please let us know if you ever get FaceTime to work on MTNL (and if so, is that Mumbai MTNL or Delhi MTNL?) I understand that you were able to get it to work on BSNL.

        I am having trouble getting it to work on MTNL Delhi – it hangs on the "waiting for activation" notification in Settings – Phone – FaceTime, after yes and the SMS cost notification. For more background, the phone is factory unlocked, I've put in the number in My Number (with the country code), I've tried two different MTNL SIMs, have rebooted, have reset network settings, but still no luck.

        I guess I'm looking for confirmation from someone that it actually can work on that network!

      • Chris –

        Its the same thing with me too :(. I am also on MTNL Delhi. I was able to activate it on BSNL, but ever since I put in my MTNL sim, I am unable to activate it. I thought that this was happening because I restored from a backup of my iPhone 2G, but after reading your comment, I believe it has got something to do with MTNL not being able to send the activation message.

        When you activate FaceTime, the iPhone actually sends a SMS (most likely to a US number) containing your phone number and some other stuff. I am assuming that MTNL network is unable to send that message.

        Here is what I am going to try:

        – Insert my BSNL sim in the iPhone

        – Set my number as my MTNL number

        – Activate FaceTime

        – Re insert my MTNL sim in the iPhone

        Now unless Apple's servers match the caller ID of the incoming SMS with the contents of the SMS, I believe I should be able to activate it. Fingers crossed.

        I will update you accordingly. And depending on the results, I will update this article as well.

      • OK. So I did the little experiment and it failed. Once you change the sim, FaceTime is automatically switched off and on. So you cannot fool it with some other number.

        Although I now know why it isn't working on MTNL or Tata Docomo – because they are not even sending the activation SMS.

        When I inserted my BSNL sim, changed my number and switched on FaceTime, immediately after the prompt for carrier charges, I got a service message from BSNL stating that 5 rupees have been debited from my account for the last call. If I am not wrong, 5 rupees is the rate for international SMS.

        I did not get any such message in MTNL. And when I checked my balance, it was unchanged.

        So this simply means that MTNL is not able to send the FaceTime activation SMS. We are doomed :(.

        • Ok, a bit more information.

          -First, the technical details on FaceTime follow. The "silent SMS text" being sent is to the UK for international, and directly to numbers in the US and Canada for those places:

          http://theiphonewiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fac

          – Second, there are a number of countries where one carrier works with FaceTime, while another does not, such as Cyprus

          http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID

          – Third, calling the Apple FaceTime number (+1 888 FACETIME) doesn't help, as they suggest getting in touch with your local Apple Support for assistance (see link above). Strangely, dialing this number directly from MTNL gets a company rather different from Apple, but you can reach Apple by using Skype (although it leads to voicemail, at least on Skype).

          – Fourth, folks in Bangladesh have the same issue: http://kapani.de/sami/blog/?p=397

          – Fifth, if you jailbreak, you do have an option which appears to work worldwide – MiTime: http://www.redmondpie.com/activate-fix-facetime-o

          – Sixth, people have confirmed that the problem is not limited to those whose carrier plan can't send international SMSes.

          – But, without a jailbreak, I have no solution yet. Interestingly, some folks say they can see that the "silent" SMS has been sent by their phone but they get no response back from the UK number.

          – So, from what we know, I guess the activation works with Vodafone and BSNL in India, but not with MTNL or Tata Docomo at this point. Strange about BSNL v. MTNL. Perhaps this problem solves itself eventually?

          • Thanks for the detailed info Chris. Appreciate it.

            So it's an issue with your carrier not being able to send silent text messages. Let's hope we do not have to face such issue with Airtel when they launch their 3G services.

          • Hi Setu!
            I have iPhone 4.0.2 jb with limera1n and unlocked with ultrasn0w. I tried activating facetime but whenever I put the toggle on…no sms is sent and there is message "Waiting for activation". I am on Vodafone post paid in India. Any fix for this?

  5. hey if i buy a factory unlocked phone from uk or singapore ,do i get its warranty cover in india also?????

    please reply if anyone is sure about it.

        • No you will not get official warranty in India. Apple does not offer worldwide warranty, however, they do service iPods purchased abroad just like HP and other retailers service laptops purchased from outside India. But if you go to them with your iPhone, they will ask you to get it serviced from the place you purchased it from (which is Airtel or Vodafone in India).

          The probable reason for this might be that they usually replace the faulty product with a new one. If you take a faulty iPod to them, you will most likely get a new or refurbished one. If you are getting your iPod's battery replaced, you will most likely get a new one (Yes, this means you should have a backup of your songs somewhere before you take your iPod for service). Now this is not possible with the iPhone as the ones which are shipped to India are locked to either Airtel or Vodafone. It wouldn't make sense to replace someone's factory unlocked iPhone with a locked one after service.

  6. hy i m going to new york in few month. So my question is can a citizen of new york will buy locked iphone for me if would give him the money?

    Pls tell pro's and con'

    thank in advance!!

  7. Very nice post by Chris to clear up a lot of doubts on FaceTime activation in India.

    I can confirm that it works on Airtel as well.

    So now, it's Vodafone / Airtel / BSNL.

  8. Thanks for this awesome post.. i am in US and i am coming to india after 3 days… I have purchased Iphone 4 and have jailbroken it and unlocked it.. Now happy to hear that i will be able to use bsnl's 3G network for fast internet…

    • Harit can u please tell me that in us how much it will cost for iphone 4?

      And also can we buy iphone via contract and after that can we cancel it?

      Because in us iphone 4 costs 299$ so i m asking.If anyone knows please reply me.

      • @Dev ,

        I bought the Iphone 4 16 GB version for $599 + Tax = $655/- Without a contract. Also since we dont have SSN number in US we cant purchase Iphone with our name.. However if we purchase on someone else's name the early termination fees and everything else sums nearly upto $655 so its better to purchase an Iphone without contract.

        Hope this helps to resolve your query

      • The contract free iPhone in the US will still be locked to the at&t network and will need to be jailbroken and unlocked for use with any other carrier. If you are spending that much money, I would suggest you to get one from either Singapore, Hong Kong or Canada where you should be able to get a factory unlocked one for close to 30k INR. Or you can also wait for the Indian release towards the end of October.

        The advantage with factory unlocked one is that you don't need to wait for the unlock every-time Apple releases a new firmware update.

        • I agree with Setu. Since i was in US i purchased an iphone from here. If you could buy a factory unlocked iphone nothing can beat that..

    • Hi Harit,

      Could you also tell the price of iphone 4 32GB model in US? with Tax and everything.

      Just want to compare the price from HK.

      I got the factory unlocked for 5888HK dollars, 35K around.

      Thanks,

      Vinamra

  9. The price for Iphone 4 32 GB version without contract is $699 + Tax (9.5% in Washington) which is near about $770 (USD).

  10. Thnx for reply and agree with you setu.But my only concern is that if anything goes wrong with unlocked iphone which we bought from outside then we cant get repaired from there.And also here we should spend more money to get repair.Who knows what happens.Thats why i m still thinking about buying unlocked phone.

  11. You can always remove the unlock and jailbreak by resotring before taking to apple if anything happens to your iphone. so this way you can still keep your warranty intact.

    • Oh. Are you talking about buying the iPhone in India and then unlocking it? Then I suppose you are right. But if you have bought it from some other country, the issue is taking it to a service center in that country. Which is same for both locked and unlocked iPhones.

      • Yes I was talking bout india.. if we have purchased from other country it wont make any sense to send it back as the shipping cost and time taken would be the major concerns.

        • You mean In India if we buy iphone then and unlock it,then eventhough warranty will not expire?

          Hws this possibel?if we unlock it then dont they get to know about that?

          • Warranty will exprie once you unlock it. but you can restore the phone to factory settings before taking to apple, so apple guys wont know that you had unlocked it before.

        • No. I wasnt saying that. Your warranty will expire. But if you buy an iPhone in India, there usually is no need to unlock it as most people stick with their carriers.

          • Setu how about 3G… currently BSNL & MTNL are the only 3G providers..and iphone either comes with vodafone or airtel..if a user wantes to use 3G then it becomes necessary for him to unlock the phone and use a bsnl 3G sim.

          • Yes. You are right. However, I believe, Airtel and Vodafone are planning to launch the iPhone 4 in India with the roll out of their 3G services.

            They have secured the licenses. I believe it will only take a couple of weeks for them to start the 3G services.

    • Wow. Thanks for the tip Vinni.

      Tata Docomo is soon catching up with Airtel and Vodafone to become a premium telecom brand in India. Even though the have cheap services, they still have a solid brand value unlike Reliance and Aircel.

      I guess part of the credit goes to their marketing team and their ad agency.

  12. I will give credit to tata docomo's marketting team and their customer support. I had a docomo card but the network and internet was not working that perfectly.. i launched a compalint and they approched me personallly and kept the contact till the problem was resolved..

  13. Tata Docomo 3g will not be available in Mumbai as they never won the 3g spectrum auction here. Confirmed with their rep today.

  14. Plz answer one more question is it fine to buy an iphone 4 from australia becoz my elder brother is there. Or i wait for iphone 4 to be launched in India ? Which option did u find better plz tell . I will thankfull of u becoz i m little bit of confused !

    • iPhone 4 in India should be launched by end of October or early November. This is based on the launch schedule announced by Steve jobs in his keynote when he announced the phone.

      It's usually better to but a factory unlocked phone as you have the freedom to use it with any network you want anywhere in the world. Thats pretty useful when you travel abroad. But you will loose on the warranty if you buy it from abroad (the warranty will be valid but you will have to send the phone to the country you bought it from for repairs).

      So do the trade off an decide :).

  15. Tell me if i buy iphone 4 locked from apple store and get it unlock from there will it work on any network in india ?

    • Yes it will. But you will loose the unlock if you upgrade to the next firmware upgrade released by Apple as they fix the exploits in every next version.

    • The iPhone4 offered by Airtel or Vodafone will be locked to the network in all probability.

      If it can be jailbroken n unlocked technically – it should be possible to unlock it anywhere in the world.

      You can't blind update to any latest iOS if you unlock it, that might lock/brick an iPhone.

  16. Returned to India yesterday … bought a BSNL 3G sim today , popped it in my Iphone 4 and viola its awesome.. great speed

  17. When docomo is going to launch 3g ? Can its sim be inserted in iphone 4 ? And what will be rates of using internet on iphone 4 ?

  18. Harvi, I have already used a Tata Docomo sim in my iPhone 4. It works fine. But FaceTime can't be activated.

    And about Airtel micr sims, not very sure yet. According to rumors, they are selling them.

    Why don't you check out at the nearest Airtel store ? 🙂

    • Harvi,

      I know that mobiles from Nokia, Micromax and other equialent Chinese mobiles sell more in India. But if you r looking for a Nokia – then go for it.

      An iPhone buyer will always go for an iPhone and is different and better in every aspect.

  19. No i dont like nokia at all it cannot give competition to iphone at all ! I was just asking i have already for iphone 4 from australia !

    • Nokia N8 could be the last Symbian "N Series" phone.

      More on why u shouldn't buy that is here – http://gizmodo.com/5667723/why-were-not-reviewing

      Nokia has been making phones for a gazillion years (sarcasm starts here), but always looted the customers by making different phones for market i.e telling the customer that you can either be a "Enterprise user" or a "Fun lover" – But can't be both.

      The same was with other mobile companies too, but suddenly few years back Apple and Android challenged Nokia and the once so called Smart phones – Blackberry and Windows mobiles at their markets and clearly won.

      Nokia has started investing money into a new platform by the name of Maemo (derived from Linux) and is yet to prove mettle. If you're still interested to give Nokia a chance you'd want to go for a Nokia N900 – available in India for around 25K.

      The other choices you have would be iPhone4 which is to be released soon or buy an Android phone like the HTC Desire/Samsung Galaxy S which are upgradable to Android 2.2 Froyo.

    • Harvi,

      You are asking very basic questions, could you please do some google search before posting here?

      Lets keep this thread to talk related to iPhone only.

      Thanks

        • Swaroop and Setu (Moderators)

          The article is very useful for Indians struggling with iPhone 4.

          So could you guys clean up the unrelated comments from this post. (Just a suggestion)

          Else it would be difficult for people to find the right comment!

          • That's an excellent suggestion Vinni.

            We'll try to do

            1) Update the latest info from the comments in the post too – so that people can find all the summary up there instead of looking into a threaded discussion in the comments.

            2) Clean up the commments as suggested by you too.

  20. 3G Update from Vodafone: "We will go for good coverage and will launch (3G) city by city in the first quarter of the next year. Because we are sure that we don't want to offer a patchy service. Our approach is to give our customers a world-class experience and hence we will launch when a significant part of the cities is covered by our 3G network," Vodafone managing director and chief executive Marten Pieters said.

    Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Vodafone-soft-launc

    • Yes, currently the options are:

      1. FaceTime – iPhone to iPhone (but note registration difficulties users have had here), now also to a Mac as of 20 October.

      2. Yahoo Messenger app – between smartphones, on 3G and to a PC (but not to a Mac!)

      3. Tango app – between smartphones, wifi and on 3G.

      4. Fring app – Smartphone to smartphone, wifi and 3G.

      To come sometime later – Skype, Qik, Nimbuzz

  21. Some Updates Regarding MTNL MUMBAI 3g experience on MTNL Postpaid card with Iphone 4 [factory unlocked]:

    1. It takes weeks for MTNL to activate 3g, they will keep saying 24 hours but will not be able to do it.

    2. Ensure 3g is activated when you buy the card itself, otherwise they take weeks to cancel preactivated GPRS and activate 3g

    3.MTNL 3G works in some places, mostly indoors goes to E – Edge

    4. When 3G is active i get a speed of 380 kbps [download] and 263 kpbs [upload] – someone please let me know if this is the best MTNL speed has. Edge speed is pathetic

    5. the apn that works on the iphone4 for 3g is apn:gprsmtnlmum user:mtnl pass:mtnl123 – NO OTHER SETTINGS WORK

    6. Factime does not work on MTNL – it wont activate

  22. Can anyone tell if we use wifi on iphone will it needed any confirmation from pc . It need any hardware to use wifi ?

  23. Some Updates [Part 2] Regarding MTNL MUMBAI 3g experience on MTNL Postpaid card with Iphone 4 [factory unlocked]:

    1. Iphone drops OUT of 3g and into E[edge] in low network and does not come back to 3g without on/off of airplane mode or reboot. Some one please confirm this as there are a lot people having this problem with other service providers.

    2. 3g speeds i have clocked range from 220 kpbs to 420 kpbs for download and 100 kpdbs to 250 kpbs for upload. 3g speed varies on location south mumbai and Western highway being strongest at this moment

    3. EDGE speed is verryyyyyyyyy bad almost non existent . Some one please confirm this too.

    Please state if the APN: mtnl3g or mtnlhsdpa works for anyone in MUMBAI

    • Switching from 3G to EDGE in low signal areas is expected behavior. No need to panic for that. I am currently in the US and see that happening with at&t as well.

      However, I do agree that it should switch back to 3G once you come back to an area with good signal strength. If its not, I guess its more of a network problem rather than your phone's. However, until we have another wireless carrier with 3G service offering, we cannot verify that. What other operators are you talking about? AFAIK, there are no 3G operators in India apart from MTNL and BSNL yet. Airtel will be launching their 3G service in a few weeks.

      I use MTNL and BSNL 3G in Delhi and UP and it does switch back to 3G there automatically. So I guess its a Mumbai specific issue.

  24. I recently got iPhone 4g 4.0.2 from AT&T USA. This has been jail breaked in India. I use Airtel. When I try to turn on Facetime, it keeps on saying 'Waiting for activation'. I will be upgrading my OS to 4.1 tomorrow. Do anyone know what is the problem? Why I am not able to use Facetime?

    • I do not see any change even when when I upgrade to 4.1 with no change in the baseband. Can someone let me know why facetime does not work?

      • It is pity that neither Airtel nor Apple is able to resolve my issue. My friend who has 4g Factory unlock version uses Facetime on Airtel without any issues. So it seems to me that 4g jailbreak version on Airtel has issues with facetime.

  25. price without any contract liability. got it jailbreaked.
    I cant update and it It's showing as unknown.
    Face time is waiting for activation. I use Air tel. My GPRS also doesnot work.
    I have bought this from US with full

    can any one help

  26. I'm a grave need of ur advice sir
    U said u do face time over ur mtnl 3G sim
    But when eve I switch on FaceTime button on my iPhone 4
    It says ur carrieray charge for the activation message to activate FaceTime
    Eventually it turns off and FaceTime button disappears from contacts
    Pls help me

    • No. I am not able to enable FaceTime over MTNL. Read my comments after the articles.

      I was able to activate it using my BSNL number. And some other users were able to use it on Airtel & Vodafone. It doesn't work with tata docomo either.

      I would suggest waiting for a few days till Airtel rolls out their 3G network. Then we can put all these problems behind us :).

  27. Informative article. I am getting a factory unlocked version from UK around 34k which is not a bad price. My question is will I be able to get it work on EDGE on Airtel and make use of services like push email etc? Currently I am on a BB and for that Airtel sends you service books. Is it the same funda with the iPhone 4? My dad has a 1G Phone and it doesnt support any of the Edge services. Don't want to be stuck on the same boat.

    • Yes, you will be able to use airtel's edge network in India. And pretty soon, once they launch, their 3G network too!

      You should also be able to use your iPhone 1G with edge. I have been doing it since 2007.

  28. Hats off to Setu and Swaroop for providing such valuable information regarding iphone 4…

    it is a very informative blog…

    @Setu: I need ur advice regerding iphone 4.

    i am planning to get an iphone 4 from Canada but i had been waiting for white iphone since a long time…wat should i do now..?? Should i still wait fir the white one or should i get the black one..??

    Also advice me about any things which i should keep in mind before ordering my iphone 4 from Canada…

    Thanks in advance.. 🙂

    • Atul,

      No point in waiting for the White iPhone 4.

      It's been delayed indefinitely. It's even off Apple Store Web sites.

      Get the black one.

      And no additional info to lookout for, while buying from Canada.

      Just that, you need to buy it from the Apple Store and not from any operator, to ensure you get a Factory Unlocked unit.

  29. Thanx Rajiv….

    I am in another dilemma…

    A lot of people told me that android phones are the future of smart phones….and adviced me for Galaxy S which is also quite a decent phone…

    Keeping in mind all the perspectives plz advice which one would be better..??

    • That is totally a personal choice Atul. I had a look at a couple of Android phones and in my opinion, Android is still not as furnished as the iOS. I agree that it gives you more control over your device in terms of what you can and cannot do with it, but it lacks the "wow" factor which the iOS devices provide. Specifically, the iPhone 4. The thing is a piece of art.

      So my suggestion will be to check out an android phone (of some friend) and then figure out how much you are comfortable using it. Then you will be in a better position to decide.

  30. Hey,
    The steps mentioned in the 1st post are not working for me, my the 3g is not working on my iphone. I have entered all the settings as mentioned in the post. I am using the dolphin 3g jadoo sim card in Mumbai. any help will be appreciated.

    • There were rumors that they would launch it over Diwali. But it looks like there are more delays. And surprisingly, this is also contradicting Steve Jobs statement that Apple will roll out the iPhone 4 to all the counties bu Oct end. Currently, there is no ETA for this info.

      • Interestingly, this morning at Lodhi Garden (Delhi), I saw the 3G symbol on my Vodafone connection. A speedtest gave speeds around 250 Kbps. Haven't seen it elsewhere in Delhi yet, Edge elsewhere.

  31. I dont have much knowledge about the iphone's music player…..

    i mean i have heard that we can connect and transfer data(songs and other files) only through one pc….is it true…??

    and can we transfer data like songs and other stuff through the iphone's bluetooth..??

    also plz tell me about how much apps in the apple app store are free(splly in reference to those apps which are relevent and are useful)….??

    • You have an option for that. If you decide to sync your music library in iTunes to your iPhone, if you sync it to another PC's library, you loose your songs. However, there is a manual manage mode where you drag and drop songs from windows explorer to the iPhone's music section in iTunes.

      We do not have specific figures as to how many apps are free. But there are many great apps which are totally free or very cheap (like 0.99$).

    • Yeah it's true..you can transfer songs, videos and other stuff from

      Only one PC. You can't use the same PC for other I-phone unless you sync your PC to the new I-phone: thus erasing all the files from earlier I-phone.

      Most of the apps which have relative use are free or are very cheap(0.99$). If you want to save 0.99$ , then have a "Cydia "installed in your I-phone..!

      • If you check manually manage music and videos for your iPhone on the summary tab in iTunes (scroll down and you will see it), you can transfer songs and videos from any computer without affecting any existing media on it.

        The best time to check that box is when you set up your phone initially. Later on, if you have some media, it will erase it once you check it. From then on, you should be all set.

  32. hi Setu….

    I have 3 questions…..

    plz ans..

    1. Plz tell me when is Airtel and Vodafone going to launch iphone 4 in india..??

    2. I dont have much info bout the iphone's music player in terms of transferring data( through pc)….i have often heard that we can put in songs into our iphone only through one pc and not through any pc other than that…is it true..??

    3. Can we transfer the music files and other data from some other bluetooth device to iphone and vice-versa….

  33. @Setu : Thanx..

    But can we transfer any songs and other data through iphone to other phone and vice-versa through bluetooth..??

  34. isnt dat kind of inconvenient then….i mean if i like some video or may be some song on my frnds phone nd i want to transfer that particular song to my iphone … how would i do dat….??

    nd if m getting an unlocked iphone, wud jailbreaking it make any sense…i mean if somehow i jailbreak my iphone and then update the OS through itunes wont it cause problems….??

    plz throw some light on jailbreaking…what is it exactly ?…is it possible to update ur iphone after jailbreaking ur device?

    is it advisable to do it if u have an unlocked iphone..??

    • jailbreaking is the process to give rot access to users or third party programs on the phone shell. Once a phone is jailbroken, 3rd party programs can be installed.

      As far as your question about bluetooth file transfer is concerned, you cannot do that unless you jailbreak. The reason is because iOS devices use a file system in which every file on the device has an entry in a small database. All the applications access this database to get info about the file and touch the file only when they have to read or write to it. This is why even when you have thousands of music tracks on your iPod, you are able to scroll though them swiftly as the menu system is only reading the database and not the actual file. This database is created and maintained by iTunes.

      And yes, if you jailbreak and then upgrade the device, you will loose your jailbreak. And I agree that jailbreaking actually doesn't make much sense if you have an unlocked iPhone unless you want to install any of the apps which are available in Cydia.

      Read more about jailbreaking here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_jailbreaking

  35. Hi Setu

    Thanks a lot for the above information, was indeed a great help. I am using iphone 4 factory unlocked from Australia on BSNL 3g on my old sim. I activate 3g on the old sim instead of buying the new sim (had to cut it to a micro sim size). I am able to do everything browse internet at awesome 3g speeds but I am not able to activate facetime on my iphone. I switch it on and it sends an sms (i get charged 5INR) and says waiting for activation and keeps displaying that. Due to this, I don't get options for facetime in my contacts. Please let me know a way around if you have any idea about this. Thanks. Would really appreciate it. Free free to send me a text and I will give you a call. Thanks. no. 9452903110

  36. @Setu : Plz answer the above question about jailbreaking….

    i've been waiting to get ur advice on it since a long tym now…

  37. Hey i have iphone 3 gs with old ver 3.1.2 database 5.11.07 but i want to upgrade it to ios 4.1 .… some people r saying if i get it upgrade it will loose its database ang will get unlocked . … Any advice what to do ?

  38. Hi Setu….

    PLEASE ADVISE ME ON THIS ONE ASAP

    i am about to order iphone4 from canada through my friend who lives dere…

    m thinking to get it couriered to India through DHL…

    Is it possible, and Would it be safe…??

    and do u hv some information as to how much taxes are applicable on iphone in canada(on the unlocked one ?). WIll i have to pay any customs or sth if i get it couriered?

    Waiting 4 ur reply… 🙂

    • I ordered iPhone from Hong Kong. And then got it delivered to US through DHL. I find delivery to be safe, it reached to me in 2-3 days. There were no custom charges to US, not sure about India though!

      We got two iphone 4 couriered, and it costs around 2600 INR for both. Just FYI.

      • Please tell me that 2600 INR is a typo. Otherwise I might just kill myself for buying it for 38,000 INR from UK :(.

        At 2600 INR, I could have flown in to HK to get one for myself and it would still have been cheaper than UK :).

    • Its pretty cheap in Canada. Even after taxes, it should not cost you more than 30k INR.

      However, if you get it shipped to India, they carrier might charge you customs which will bring the price close to other places. I do not know the exact customs duty (there is a crappy website for Ministry of Foreign Affairs where you might find the rules), but you might find that out at UPS or FexEx websites in the quote.

      I would rather suggest you to request your friend to carry it for you if that is a possibility :).

      Another (but riskier) way is to get it shipped via regular post from Canada in which case there is a 50 – 50 chance of it being caught at the Customs.

  39. @ Setu, Vinni : m all frustrated up bout gettin iphone from canada….i enquired from the DHL ppl today bout the courier expenses….. nd they told me it'll cost me around 4300 INR . Now thats bullshit….

    $659 = 29411 + 13% tax = 33234 INR + DHL charges(4300) = 37,534….

    After this DHL ppl say that on an amount over 25k there might be some custom duty…

    after calculatin all the costs i thought that it would be better to wait for iphone 4 to launch in India only…

    But no….Steve Job wont let that happen…

    ive already startin hatin apple 4 not launchin iphone in India…. wat shit..??

    • I can understand your frustration.

      Factory unlocked is available in Singapore as well. You can try buying there. And if any of your friend is coming over on Christmas or New year time frame, ask them to bring it over.

      That's one of the option. 🙂

      Waiting to get launched in India would be painful. It would be a locked version and besides god knows when that will happen!

      Apple sucks big time when it comes to India, no vision and unbearable prices!

    • @atul: Customs at india =1.04 % declared value

      In case of iphone4, hence it is not sold in india so they assume price near about 55000 INR(as in my case) so custom duty= 570 INR
      Plus fedex/dhl will charge some fee about 300 INR for custom processing.
      +4300 as u told above.

      This will take 3-5 days depending upon mode of courier and distance.

    • It’s called Google. Use it.

      Singapore Unlocked (SIM-free) iphone prices:

      S$888 – 16 GB iPhone 4 – 651 USD – 30272 INR

      S$1048 – 32 GB iPhone 4 – 769 USD – 35726 INR

      S$748 – 8 GB iPhone 3GS – 549 USD – 25500 INR

  40. hey setu ! MERRY CHRISTMAS ! thanks for the help n support for the iphone 4 but unfortunately my facetime still does not work. anyways thanks for everything. take care n have fun !!!

    • Merry Christmas to you too.

      I understand your pain. I too am facing the facetime activation problem on my iPhone 4. Just wait for Airtel to launch 3G and then we should be all set.

  41. @Setu : Hi Setu.. howr u doin..??

    I have a question bout apps

    The apple apps store has a lot more apps than the android market…. but how many apps in the apple app store are free as compared to android…??

    and do the free apps cover some good apps also or just the lame ones….??

    Waitin 4 ur reply…. 🙂

    • @atul: most of the apps in store have two versions. 1.Free with limited functionality/ time bound/ restricted to few levels of games.
      2. Paid version: fully functional and u dont have to pay again even if u format/ upgrade the ios.

      Few apps like vlc facebook skype nimbuzz are free and fully functional. (good apps)
      Games are the best stuff in ip4.
      U can always head to cydia for more featured apps.
      I think if one can spend 40grands for a32 gig phone, he shudn’t worry abt few hundred bucks for apps.

        • @atul: android market is based on open source platform. So anyone can get licence for free and contribute to app store by submitting his app. Hence no. Of apps in andy market will be more and everybody knows the difference b/w linux n windows. Same scenario applicable here.

  42. Nice article!! Incidentally my relatives are coming from canada to india this summer and if this information turns out to be true then i would surely try to get a new iphone 4 from there. However I have some questions :

    1. Will this factory unlocked iphone work with any sim card in india? I am an existing Airtel user and would I be able to use my sim on this iphone or would i have to buy some other plan?

    2. Would I be able to jailbreak this iphone? Since it is already unlocked the only thing remaining is to jailbreak to get the maximum experience out if it.

    3. The warranty issues and the customer support. Would I be eligible to claim my warraanty privileges in india? Also what about the customer support and after-sale services?

    Eagerly waiting for reply

    • @shubham. If ur phone is factory unlocked, u can use any micro sim or cut down ur existing airtel sim to small size with help of a scissor and template. And iphone requires a lot of data. I came to know seeing my data usage in my bills.
      U can definately jailbreak but loose ur warrenty.

      M not sure abt the warrenty stuff if it will wrk internationally.

  43. HI

    Using a factory unlocked iphone 4G – 4.2.1 (no jailbreak) but not able to tether to my mac or ipad.

    Also face time is not activating from my bsnl sim.

    Any solution?

    Thank you

    Maps

    • Hey maps!!
      Where and at what price did you buy your factory unlocked iphone 4? How has been the experience so far? Would love to hear about it. 😀

    • @maps:make sure ur apn is set correctly to bsnlnet and u r able to surf on cell. For face time activation one my bsnl postpaid it was looking for gprs connectivity and was activated.

  44. Hi Abishek

    Thanks for your reply. My apn is set to bsnlnet only, when I on the tethering it is asking me bluetooth or USB. But the bluetooth pairing with iPad or to a mac from iphone is the issue it think.

    Reg. FaceTime I use post paid Bsnl. When I on FaceTime in settings it says waiting for activation endlessly But browsing and mail is working fine on my 3G service.

    If you get any solution for both the above issues pl let me know

    Mine is a non jail broken factory unlocked iPhone 4g. 4.2.1

    Thank you

    Maps

    • @maps: m not sure if there is anything else to be entered than apn to access net in iphone.

      For facetime try to activate facetime once you reach a wifi zone having access to it. Facetime call requires a cell no. to identify user(not sure abt case in itouch4) and mature a video call. But it wrks on wifi.
      I came to this conclusion as my bsnl is isd barred but still i was able to call two of my frens at AU and canada over wifi. Hence cellular network was not used but my identity to rx was revealed by my IMSI no. i.e. Mobile no.

  45. HI

    my tethering is now working on my mac, but not on my ipad (any suggestions?)

    after adding the bsnlnet in tethering APN and rebooting the device it worked fine.

    But still no luck on face time activation.

    Any ideas any one, pl let me know

    maps

    • As i suggested try activating ftime once u r in cellular as well as wifi network coverage,if fail. Try with some prepaid sim having min balance to send msg to isd number.
      Also try viber app. For vid call.

  46. Activation on iPhone 4

    Before we go on to activate Facetime on iPhone 4 let’s first talk as to how Apple intends Facetime to work on iOS Devices. If you read our Dummies Guide to Facetime you might already have figured that Apple uses two methods for identifying and calling your device which are as follows:

    Phone number – for iPhone 4 devices
    Email address – for iPod Touch devices
    So depending on the device you are calling, you will have to select the corresponding method to make a call.

    Activation on iPhone 4 requires your SIM card to send out an International SMS(for non US users). Now here comes the hitch. This is an automated process and for current firmware available(iOS 4.0.x and iOS 4.1), there is now way you can do it manually. Therefore, you cannot do this on all carriers. Only official carriers are able to do this at the moment.

    For a list of Official Carriers of iPhone go here.

    So for Indian users, you will have to be on Airtel or Vodafone to be able to activate. This is somewhat disappointing as the the factory unlocked iPhone 4 works very well with all other carriers be it making calls or data access.

    To Activate go to Settings > Phone > Facetime > Turn ON. It will show you an alert about SMS charges. Proceed and if you are on an Official carrier, the “Waiting for Activation” message will go away in less than 10 seconds. You can now make a Facetime call.

    I personally spoke to an Apple Support Guy and we discussed this for over thirty minutes. There seems to be no way to activate Facetime with unofficial carriers.

    Also, please note that activation is done on a per SIM basis. So every time you switch your SIM card or turn Facetime OFF and back ON again you will be charges for an international SMS(5 INR for Indian Users).

    Activation on iPod Touch

    Please note that iOS 4.1 is required to receive or make calls to iPod Touch users.

    The process is pretty simple on the 4th Generation iPod Touch as you don’t need a carrier. Facetime identifies you on the basis of your email address. Just go to Settings > Facetime > On. In case your email address is not verified you will receive the instructions via an email from apple. So simple, you see!

    • Are you able to send international SMS? Also check that your my number field under Settings -> Phone should be filled it with your phone number prefixed with +91.

    • @maps
      Mine is a bsnl 2g sim. 32k. Postpaid. And the no. Updated in phone settings are as carrier 9.0 and my number is set as +91 followed by number.
      Maybe this will help. Also fyi bsnl 3g sim has 128k but both old and new sim can make 3g calls from nokia and access network at 3g speed.

  47. Hi folks,
    Iam going get an locked Iphone4 from US.
    my questions are
    1.Is it possible unlock here in india?
    2.If it its unlocked will i able to access all application which iphone
    supports?
    3.Do i get it from USA or not
    Please help me.

    Thanks
    Kishan

    • @maps: No updates 🙁 will post here if i get any info.
      @kish:
      1.unlock yes. Check if it is activated coz maybe u need an att sim to activate.
      2.u can access all apps. But features like facetime, tethering, findmy iphone wont be as easy as sliding a button.
      3.didnt get this ques …..

    • You can unlock it as long as there is an unlock available for the baseband version on the phone. Usually it takes a while before the dev team can release an unlock for the latest version. Check http://blog.iphone-dev.org/ to see if the unlock for your phone’s baseband version is available.

      You can use it anywhere in the world if it’s unlocked. And you should be able to use all the apps in the app store as well as the unofficial cydia store.

      I would always prefer to buy a factory unlocked version if possible. That ways you can always update it to the latest version when it comes out without bothering about loosing the unlock.

  48. Hi Abhishek

    I got international roaming in BSNL, sent nearly 20 SMS and was not activated.

    After jailbreak I tried MiTime and Pushfix it solved the issue, but you have to spend around 15$

    If you buy My3g for 3.99$ you can do FaceTime on 3G it works fine if the 3G network is good

    Maps

    • Thanks maps for this jailbreak info. Will my3g app allow us to make video calls to non- iphones over 3g network?

  49. hey guys,

    i bought iphone 4 locked version i US after coming to india it works like ipod touch.
    i am not sure if I can get it unlocked.
    also I am not able to connect to apps store after coming to india … is there any settings that i need to change?
    please help … i am getting frustated with the idea that even apps are not working.

    thanks

    • App store should work. What is the error you are getting? Make sure you are connected to a wifi network. App store needs wifi.

      Unlock possibilty depends on what iOS version and baseband your phone is on. If it’s 4.1, it should be unlockable.

      • Hi Setu,
        I have wifi and i access the internet through it on iphone but when it comes to opening the app store/itunes store it keeps trying to connect to the app store and then finally gives up saying could not connect

        any settings that i need to modify? i changed my location in itunes to india but that also did not help.

        Also i had version 4.1 but just upgraded to 4.3 yesterday thinking that itunes store might work with that. But no luck

        Thanks
        Pari

        • Have you tried using some other wifi?

          If it still doesn’t work, try resetting your phone under Settings -> General -> Reset. This will reset all settings to factory defaults without deleting any data.

          • In case your iPhone is JB or Unlocked – never try this. You will have to re JB it and even worse brick it if you dont have a way to install older firmware (TinyUmbrella can be used)

        • @pari: hope u might have tried to kill the ‘app store’ from apps in sleep thread. Once u kill the thread and launch app store, it should start without any bug.

          • @Setu – yes I tried another network (looks like an issue with bsnl broadband or my router) and it started installing however it does not finish installing the app – there is a loading bar that comes on the icon after the entire bar is filled if i click on the icon it starts loading all over again.

            So even on another network it does not work completely.

            @Abhishek – I havent tried what you said .. could you please elaborate …

          • What Abhishek is trying to say is to use the Multitasking option (double click home button twice), then long press an icon and then tap cross to close the app store running. The next time you open it, it will start from scratch instead of resuming from the past state.

            You can try that, although, the symptom that you have just mentioned points that this might indeed be a network issue.

          • Thnx setu for explaining. I faced similar issue… The first progress bar was showing download. Then again it started from begining showing installing. But it installed finally after some time.

  50. Thanks Setu and Abhishek. My app j is still showing the blue bar. Nothing happens when I click it. I am going to leave the wifi on for the day n check when I am back.
    Will keep you posted. Thanks again

  51. Hi Setu,

    I have an unlocked iPhone 4 bought in UK and I am using it in UK with Vodafone,O2,t mobile and 3G..I am visiting India in 2 days and wanted to use it here. I managed to get a BSNL 3G prepaid card. Can I use this card with my IPhone 4..I will have to cut it though. I tried using an Airtel sim card which I had with me in UK but it gave the message ‘carrier not supported etc’. Is it because it’s an old deactivated sim card and it’s 2G. Maybe about 1 year old but not activated. Just wanted to try. So what advise would u give regarding this.

    Many thanks

    • You can use either of them.

      If you are gonna be only in metro cities where Airtel has 3G coverage, it’s better than BSNL. If you plan to visit rural areas, then BSNL is the best.

  52. @Amitabh Lakhar: I also have iPhone 4 factory unlocked.Now i m using with airtel sim postpaid and its working fine.Yes you have it cut it and it works fine in India.
    So no need to worry.Just put sim card and enjoy

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