I have been offered a Iphone 5 64gb at a good price, its from a legit source so not worried on that front but the model number is A4128
I’m told that it was used in the states on AT&T for a month then stopped working ( network wise) it was taken into a shop and they were told its a UK phone…From what i can see on the net I cant work it out I’m getting ..its the best iphone they made to it wont work here…..

It is currently on 7.0.4 and will be used on EE , I will be Jailbreaking it so if that makes any difference….

Any ideas anyone

Thanks a lot
Anthony

Story doesn’t ring true to me. I think it’s a US phone locked to AT&T and it’s not going to work here.

If you get the full IMEI number (type *#06#) you can call Apple and they will tell you what the situation is. I suspect the seller won’t want to give you that information. Jailbreaking it won’t make any difference with regard to network locking. If you can get hold of the phone you can just put your SIM in it and see if it works, I doubt it. The seller should get it unlocked and then you should only buy it if you put your SIM in and it works.

With the iPhone 6 coming out in the next 3 months I suspect you’ll be able to get lots of good used iPhone5’s up for sale here in the UK. I just requested the unlock code for my 4S so I’ll be free to use it on any network (hate EE/T-Mobile) or sell it easily.

the phone is with me , well will be by dinner but i have seen the phone the other day, its a girl in the offices friend who lives in the states, she brought it back with her when they returned from a visit last month…I’m currently on a 4s so my sim wont fit…..

OK. Get the PIN code (if there is one) and do the *#06# from the phone keypad and then call Apple with the IMEI number. They will tell you what the unlock-status is and the phone’s origin. If it’s locked you can try a dodgy mobile shop unlock but that will probably cost ££’s. The original owner should have got it unlocked in the US.

I have to admit I don’t know 100% if the phone will work at all in the UK due to network differences – if @wysiwyg comes along he will know much better than I.

It’s quite common for sellers to try and pass off iPhones as unlocked when they are not or if they have been unlocked by a backstreet shop (which can be troublesome). I enquired about getting my daughter’s 4 unlocked (from Vodafone) and guy said it would be £100 and that it may not even work properly on other netowrks. I have just requested my unlock from EE, my provider, this will be a proper unlock provided by Apple. I suggest you do the same with your 4S before you switch so you can resell it.

Indeedy a strange story.
The issue I (other than being unlocked) I’d be worried about, will be if it works with 4G, as our 4G and other country’s 4G differ & are not compatible. M8 got apple to exchange an iphone he was given in Dubia, but it wasn’t something they wanted to do.
No idea if it will work with normal network, though I don’t see why not but long term (Especially if you’ve gone with EE for 4G), unless it really cheap (or is UK 4G compatible – apple will be able to tell you) I’d not bother.

Thanks for the info, I’ll ring apple later, from what i can gather its the 4g thing that might be the problem…..It would be a shame as its like new and 64gb and they only want £200 for it….My 4s was unlocked by O2 when i went to EE so selling shouldnt be a problem….

I think the difference is the mobile network bands that the phone will be able to receive. The A4128 is a north american version so if they use different mobile network bands than the UK then it most likely won’t connect to any UK mobile network. My iphone 5 is the A4129 version.

won’t connect to any UK mobile network

This is my concern too

Looks like you might need to move or get a different mobile if you want to use it long term. page below (and link) is from apple’s LTE support page.

iPhone support

iPhone 5
Model Number2
LTE Band Support3
Country
Supported LTE Networks
iPhone 5
Model A1428
(GSM model)
2 (1900 MHz)
4 (AWS)
5 (850 MHz)
17 (700b MHz)
United States
Aio
Alaska Communications
AT&T
Family Mobile
GCI
T-Mobile
Union Wireless
Aruba
SETAR
Bahamas
BTC
Bolivia
Tigo
Canada
Bell (including Virgin)
MTS
Rogers (including Fido)
SaskTel
Telus (including Koodo)
Cayman Islands
LIME
Colombia
Movistar
Guam
GTA
Mexico
Telcel
Peru
Claro
Movistar
Puerto Rico
Claro
T-Mobile
Uruguay
Antel

Id pass personally.

Does it currently work with a UK sim in it? One would assume its sim locked to AT&T.

If it does make sure it isnt activation locked. See if you can turn off find my iphone. If you cant as no one can give you the password walk away.

If you can, do a full reset and try to activate it via itunes. A: to check the activation lock and B to check once more for any sim lock.

And yes it wont work with 4G, or at all in the USA probably. But IP5 only supports two 4G networks anyway in UK

But IP5 only supports two 4G networks

Nope….

United Kingdom
3
EE
Giffgaff
O2
Vodafone

Thats 5s.
5 does EE and 3

Id pass personally.

Does it currently work with a UK sim in it? One would assume its sim locked to AT&T.

If it does make sure it isnt activation locked. See if you can turn off find my iphone. If you cant as no one can give you the password walk away.

If you can, do a full reset and try to activate it via itunes. A: to check the activation lock and B to check once more for any sim lock.

And yes it wont work with 4G, or at all in the USA probably. But IP5 only supports two 4G networks anyway in UK

5 does EE and 3

OP most of us (certainly me) fit into the “little knowledge can be a dangerous thing” category. @wysiwyg actually knows what he’s talking about.

Taking this slightly off the original topic, do any of you know if it is possible to change out the wifi chip on a 4s, mine got fried with the iOS 7 upgrade and was out of warranty at the time.

Not without a few k of hot air solder station. But you could send it off. Is it worth it. Prob not.

Is the wifi box greyed out? Put it in the freezer for an hr.

wysiwyg

cheers for the reply. I think trail_rat said you were a bit of a guru with these things. Will try the freezer option but yeah it greyed out intermittently then and never came back on after a few days.

Try freezer. If it works for a bit it’s deffo hardware not software. The battery will die so whack it on charge straight away post freezer.

right-o, will do. it is in a sandwich bag in there just now. Will update later.

I do have a digital heat gun and soldering iron.

I have heard of heat guns being successful if you have the kahunas

sounds like a hassle when the price of second hand 5c/5/5s phones must be coming down as they are now good value on a contract which they never used to be.
i usually buy my iPhones outright and run them for as long as possible on a sim only deal which i only pay £12 a month for, wanted to get a new phone and was about to buy an unlocked 5c from apple for £330 but when i checked with EE i could save £100 over the 24months for the phone/contract. maybe they dont want to be left with a load of phones when everyone wants the 6?

Taking this slightly off the original topic, do any of you know if it is possible to change out the wifi chip on a 4s, mine got fried with the iOS 7 upgrade and was out of warranty at the time.

@rusty I had this problem with my 4S. The hairdrier trick worked – heat the phone into the headphone socket, videos on youtube etc. However the problem returned some months later. I replaced the battery and the Wifi was restored. I suspect there was a loose connection which the battery replacement somehow “fixed” I do recall finding a loose screw in there. Just because the WiFi isn’t working isn’t necessarily due to a bad chip. I’ve dropped my phone a few times and as @wysiwyg says connections can be loosened. I count myself as pretty lucky, perhaps you’ll be.

EDIT: Also suggest you turn off OTA updates and only do them via iTunes. I personally think the 4S has some design/component supply issues are older 4 or newer 5C and 5s don’t suffer these problems.

@MrSmith – yes I think that’s right, one the new phone comes out this stock will be hard to shift. They also value getting you signed up for a 12/18/24 month period.

If wifi isn’t greyed out but just no signal that’s the grounding screw at the top middle of the phone loose.

Freezer for the win. Wifi is restored. it may now be worth while changing the battery.

It’ll go again possibly once the contacts sort themselves out again.

hum, yeah, it seems a little glitchy again already. Charging also seems to be an issue now. Plugged into my laptop and it keeps dissconnecting and reconnecting for charging.

Can the chip or anything physically be replace or is the wifi chip integrated into the main PCB?

Integrated. Plenty of YouTube vids on heating up the actual chip and re flowing the solder.

If wifi isn’t greyed out but just no signal that’s the grounding screw at the top middle of the phone loose.

bingo – legend 8)
Right you are that was the one that was loose. I also had greyed out which the hair drier sorted.

@rusty – when I looked into chip replacement Apple don’t do it and other “fixers” just seem to replace the wifi ariel. The battery isn’t that hard to do, just b****y small screws.

I didn’t like the sound of the freezer method, too damp even inside a bag is what I thought. Looking at your posting history timings I would wonder whether you left the phone off to dry out long enough. After the hairdrier I didn’t switch my phone on for 3 or 4 hours.

right, updated the iOS when I got it to work first time, now have done the hair-drier and 10 mins in the freezer trick and it is working again. Think there may be something in the hard reset of the chip with heat.

Lets see how long for this time. If it stays for a few days i’ll see if I can get it unlocked and stick my work sim in it. If i get that far i’ll do the battery. trail_rat is just out the end of the village i am in and he has done his a few times now.

[edit] can any one confirm in iOS 7.0.4 if you get the wifi icon in the top left of the screen? I have the wifi working but no icon hard reset sorted it[/edit]

@rusty – I would avoid the rapid heat/cool you are doing. Heat it up and let it cool down very slowly. I actually took the plunge of changing the battery with the WiFi not working, the battery was less than £10 and admittedly I have the WiFi button working but with no networks found but that could be worth a try, not much to loose. If you have the right screwdriver (they come in little kits) you can check for a loose connection screw even without changing the battery. The back comes off really easily.

@jambalaya with the second time of doing it I let it cool on the counter then pipped it in the fridge in a bag for 5 mins or so and then the freezer to try and minimise the thermal shock to the other components.

I hope to not have to do it frequently as that seems to be it working properly now.

calling wysiwyg

update on the iphone 5 , got it with me and it hasnt got location services turned on, no passwords etc, if i plug it in to itunes it wants me to restore from backup or set up as new phone, dont want to do this as A…its not my phone yet B..dont want to download latest firmware as want to jailbreak….

I have the Imei number etc …what can i check next, not got access to sim card yet but will try to get one later….

Thanks
Anthony

@crazant – as per the posts above I think it’s a US phone which isn’t going to work in the UK. Did you speak to Apple ?

Hi
no not yet will try later , think i’ll let it go , as mentioned above the market should be full of 5’s in the next few months

cheers all