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Ipad 2 - 4 use Overseas

betaneko

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May 12, 2011
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Thinking of buying the iPad-2 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G.


I live overseas (its almost 2x the price of the US, here), however, and am not sure if I will have the same issues as my iPhone (I bought my 3gs in UK 1 1/2 yr ago, and had to JB it. Easily done, but a pain the A$$, and updates are chancey).


So, does anyone know if the iPad 3G will work or i have to find a JB?
Is there a JB the iPad2?
 
Welcome to the forum.

You probably bought a locked iPhone and needed to jailbreak it, in order to install a baseband unlock. For the iPad 3G, this is not required, as it comes unlocked. However, you should make sure to buy the AT&T (GSM) iPad 3G and not the Verizon (CDMA) iPad 3G, as GSM is the technology used by most providers. CDMA is only popular in the US and will not work outside the US, there are of course a few exceptions. Anyway, as long as you buy an AT&T 3G iPad, can you use it with any 3G sim card. Verizon 3G iPad's are usually only sold in the US, so if you buy it from anywhere else, will it be the AT&T 3G iPad, which is the one you want. ;)
 
Last edited:
Tried my foreign sim card on ipad 2 3g, says sim is locked...

so I bought the ipad 2 3g with at&t yesteday, and i tried to turn it on with a foreign sim card, and it says sim is locked. it gives me 3 trial attempts to unlock it with 4 digits pin. any input on that?
 
so I bought the ipad 2 3g with at&t yesteday, and i tried to turn it on with a foreign sim card, and it says sim is locked. it gives me 3 trial attempts to unlock it with 4 digits pin. any input on that?

My understanding is that a U.S.-purchased iPad has to be activated at least once on the U.S. micro-SIM card in the U.S., before you can use it with a non-U.S. micro-SIM card. So essentially, you need to buy one month of AT&T's data plan first, on your AT&T iPad, then switch to a non-U.S. micro-SIM card.

That sucks for visitors who bought iPads in the U.S. and then took them home without ever activating their iPads in the U.S. From what I've read, those people discovered on returning home that they couldn't get their iPads to connect to any 3G. The situation might have changed since I read about the problem, or Apple might have offered a work-around, or others might have figured out one. So maybe someone will come along with a better answer on the thread.
 
Kaykaykay is 100% correct - a US purchased AT&T iPad needs to be activated first of all on an AT&T account. After that, a foreign SIM card will work just fine.

Tim
 
Kaykaykay is 100% correct - a US purchased AT&T iPad needs to be activated first of all on an AT&T account. After that, a foreign SIM card will work just fine.

Tim

Not true I am from india and I got a US AT&T iPad and it worked fine in india for me without activating it on AT&T, iPad are not locked you can use any gsm sim with it, if you don't have micro sim just cut it with a cutter



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Kaykaykay is 100% correct - a US purchased AT&T iPad needs to be activated first of all on an AT&T account. After that, a foreign SIM card will work just fine.

Tim

Not true I am from india and I got a US AT&T iPad and it worked fine in india for me without activating it on AT&T, iPad are not locked you can use any gsm sim with it, if you don't have micro sim just cut it with a cutter



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'd be interested in more details as you're only the second post that we've had that suggest that an AT&T 'phone can be used without first activating it in the US. How do you navigate through the AT&T registration process in the iPad's 'Settings' menu? Your insight would be very helpful, as we have several members who have iPads (in India even) who are not able to use the 3G function. So it would be great if you could post here, in detail, how you managed to do this.

Many thanks

Tim
 
iPad 3G is not locked, you can use it with any frequency-compatible carrier. I brought my iPad 2 to Brazil and simply inserted a local carrier microSIM card and it worked perfectly well. No configuration is needed.
 
OK - the following article from Apple shows how to set up 3G on your AT&T iPad. Could you post step-by-step instructions on how you went through this process? Most Members have found it impossible to get through this activation process without an AT&T card in, so it would be great to see how you managed this - I know there are many Members out there who are very anxious to find out how to do this because, at present, they can't use 3G on their iPads.

AT&T: How to set up a new Cellular Data account on iPad Wi-Fi + 3G

Many thanks, I appreciate the time and trouble you're going to - there will be very many grateful Members if you can tell them how you managed this.

Much appreciated.

Tim
 
In Brazil, I bought from 2 different providers, Oi and TIM, because they have complementary coverage. I went to each store and asked for a microSIM for tablets. Didn't mention it was an iPad. I selected a data plan and provided them the billing information (my name, address and credit card number). They entered all this information and the SIM card number into their computers. Then I got the microSIM, inserted it in my iPad and voilá, it worked.

It seems that my SIM cards were activated by the store staff, so when I inserted them, there was no need for further activation. I don't know if in other countries it's possible to buy pre-activated cards.
 
Kaykaykay is 100% correct - a US purchased AT&T iPad needs to be activated first of all on an AT&T account. After that, a foreign SIM card will work just fine.

Tim

Not true I am from india and I got a US AT&T iPad and it worked fine in india for me without activating it on AT&T, iPad are not locked you can use any gsm sim with it, if you don't have micro sim just cut it with a cutter



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'd be interested in more details as you're only the second post that we've had that suggest that an AT&T 'phone can be used without first activating it in the US. How do you navigate through the AT&T registration process in the iPad's 'Settings' menu? Your insight would be very helpful, as we have several members who have iPads (in India even) who are not able to use the 3G function. So it would be great if you could post here, in detail, how you managed to do this.

Many thanks

Tim

You cant activate at&t phone, but iPad is not a phone, it comes unlocked from apple, though before you can start using it you need to activate ir once using iTunes. You can just insert any gsm sim card in it start iPad, and connect it to your Pc or mac with iTunes installed on it and of course Internet is need for it, as it connects to apple for activation

Regards


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Sorry for asking the same question.
I leave in Indonesia (Asia) and have my brother in USA bought iPad2 3G a couple weeks ago. I am not sure is it verizon or AT & T.
Please kindly advice if the 3G will work well in Indonesia without activate it in USA.

Your reply is higly appreciated ...
 
i live in indonesia...
i bought my iPad 2 in singapore...

as long as they have 3g connection in the country you lived in, i don't think it's gonna be a problem.
and now they also have "sim cutters" that can cut your sim to fit a micro sim slot, at least that what i use, :D
 
Sorry for asking the same question.
I leave in Indonesia (Asia) and have my brother in USA bought iPad2 3G a couple weeks ago. I am not sure is it verizon or AT & T.
Please kindly advice if the 3G will work well in Indonesia without activate it in USA.

Your reply is higly appreciated ...

it will definately worked well..
i still have my at&t micro sim.
but when i first open the box, i replaced it directly with a local sim card.
i use Telkomsel Flash...
 
Sorry for asking the same question.
I leave in Indonesia (Asia) and have my brother in USA bought iPad2 3G a couple weeks ago. I am not sure is it verizon or AT & T.
Please kindly advice if the 3G will work well in Indonesia without activate it in USA.

Your reply is higly appreciated ...

The Verizon iPad will not work in Indonesia. Verizon uses the CDMA protocol that only works in the US and a very few other countries. AT&T use the GSM protocol that works almost anywhere - including Indonesia.

Tim
 

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