Unlocked iPhones actually kinda sorta locked?

Remember the unlocked iPhones Apple was forced to sell—for legal reasons—in France? Turns out that all may not be quite as rosy with them as was previously thought. According to the folks over at iPhone Atlas, while the phones do not have a SIM card lock, meaning that you can use them with any mobile service provider, they do have a “country lock,” which restricts the phone to being used by a provider from the country of purchase—namely, in this case, La France.

To clarify: you can use your French-activated phone in other countries, just as you can use your US iPhone in other countries, as long as you don’t mind paying roaming charges. While we haven’t personally confirmed this, good old Wikipedia says that it’s possible, and I can’t say I’m surprised, given the extent to which Apple has gone to prevent the rampant unlocking of the phone.

So if you were considering spending the extra cash to snag a legit unlocked phone from France to use elsewhere, you may want to rethink that plan.

Category: News

Posted by Dan Moren on Dec 13 2007, 3:56 PM ET

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