Live in the US, moving to Canada next year - should I buy an iPhone?

October 20, 2014 1:11 PM

I live in the US but will be returning to Canada in just under a year and I want a new iPhone. Is this a good idea? I've never owned a smartphone and so I have no idea how any of this works.

I use a work Blackberry and have finally decided that I need to get real and get an iPhone. I'm perfectly fine to buy one outright without a contract, but I wonder what kind of pitfalls I could encounter when I move home. If I buy one can I get it unlocked and then continue to use it when I move north? The easiest thing would be to just wait until I get home, but I'm pretty sick and tired of the blackberry right now and would prefer not to wait 10 months.

Help me - I'm so woefully dumb when it comes to this stuff.

posted by fso to Technology (6 answers total)

Yes, you can just buy an unlocked one, but do some research on what carrier you want to be on when you get to Canada before you do this. If you want to be on Rogers (say) then you need to make sure you can have a compatible iphone noe (ie an AT&T one).

I got an unlocked iphone, have a PAYG AT&T tariff/Sim card when in the US and live in Canada with a Rogers contract. I swap sims over as I come over the border. Dead simple.

Not all carriers in the US are compatible with all carriers in Canada - there are some matches based on style and frequency of their method of communication.
posted by Brockles at 1:28 PM on October 20, 2014

The unlocked models are what you are after, either:

• A1549/iPhone 6; or:
• A1522/iPhone 6 Plus

More specific and technical detail on unlocked models is available here.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 1:37 PM on October 20, 2014

In general, your plan sounds fine. When I cross the border, I do the same SIM swap as Brockles (between T-Mobile and Fido) and it's pretty easy.

One thing to note, though, is this clause in the iPhone warranty: "Apple may restrict warranty service for iPhone and iPad to the country where Apple or its Authorized Distributors originally sold the device." So if something goes wrong, a Canadian Apple Store could decline to service your phone for free. I don't know if they actually would (I get my phone serviced in the same country where I bought it), but it's possible.
posted by Banknote of the year at 1:38 PM on October 20, 2014

Think about what carrier you will use in Canada. Bell, Rogers, Telus can be quite expensive. I use Wind Mobile (which might not be in your future city anyway) and I don't think iPhones work on their network.

When I moved from the US to Canada five years ago I was astonished at how expensive the plans are for such poor service (long distance- not even province wide!- is not included in most basic plans).
posted by betsybetsy at 10:08 AM on October 21, 2014

Apple Care+ does provide international repair and replacement. I regularly use my factory unlocked Iphone 5 in 4 different countries with local SIMS. As noted--just make sure there are compatible providers in Canada--I am "sure" there are.
posted by rmhsinc at 11:38 AM on October 21, 2014

These are very helpful answers, thanks so much, everyone.
posted by fso at 10:51 AM on October 23, 2014