;)
tagged: China Unicom Monthly iPhone Plan, iPhone in China, iPhone in Shanghai, moving to China, Unlocking iPhone, XuJiaHuiHow I Use My iPhone in China (and Save $55 USD / Month)
Posted by Mike in China Living
Yes, I’m one of them — an iPhone user. Every potentially wasted moment of my life is on the iPhone and I love it. In the USA, the iPhone was one of the luxuries I was willing to give myself — $65 / month (thanks to a corporate discount) for unlimited internet wherever I was. As ridiculous as it sounds, one of my biggest fears in moving to China was that I wouldn’t be able to have this unlimited internet anymore. Not only was my fear unfounded, but the situation is actually better than in the United States. Using an iPhone in China is easy AND cheap. Let me explain my story of using an iPhone in China.
First, I had to cancel my plan with AT&T in the United States. With my plan nearing expiration (within about 6 month), I was charged a $85 early termination fee. However, once I get a new address in China, I can send a utility bill in my name to AT&T to get this fee refunded (since AT&T doesn’t offer service in China).
Second, I had to unlock my iPhone to allow me to use a Chinese phone service. I went to the first “iPhone expert” I found in XuJiaHui to negotiate a fee to unlock and jailbreak my iphone. The asking price is 100 RMB for each. You can likely negotiate down to around 150 RMB for both services combined. You can also do these tasks yourself, but I am not a technical expert and this guy looked like he knew what he was doing. I will post an article later on using a jailbroken phone in China.
Finally, I had to get a China Unicom iPhone monthly plan. This plan, like the one from AT&T offers a 3G network and is needed if you want to properly use your iPhone. Plans start as cheap as 66 RMB / month (roughly $10 USD) and go as high as 286 RMB / month (over $40 USD). Check out the listing of plans here (get a Chinese internet translator to be able to read this): China Unicom 3G Plans. You also need to put down a 380 RMB deposit that places 100 RMB in your account and takes away 15 RMB from your monthly plan each month that you are on the plan (simulating a 2 year contract). With this being the case, you get this full deposit back in some way after 19 months. NOTE: Some locations have different deals (such as the Shanghai South Railway Station). Shop around.
China Unicom Monthly Service
The basic plan at 66 RMB is what I have now. It includes 300 MB of 3G/E network downloads, 50 minutes of talk and 240 text messages. Additional calls will cost 0.2 RMB / minute, additional 3G MB downloads will cost 0.3 RMB while an additional text will cost 0.9 RMB. After a month, I may upgrade to the 96 RMB plan that offers 240 minutes of calls and not much else different. When you sign up for the monthly plan, you get a SIM card with your phone number. They will set everything up for you. However, after an hour, you need to call customer service (dial 10010, press 6 and then press 1 to connect to an English speaking representative) to activate the monthly plan (otherwise, you are charged for each action individually). You can also use this 10010 number to check your monthly balance.
So far, using an iPhone in Shanghai hasn’t been problematic. My service is strong and the 3G network is fairly fast. This may change once I get out of a major city, but for now I’m happy to have my iPhone fully working. Also, having my iPhone unlocked, I can now use it in other countries. Also, the major benefit is that my plan in the United States cost me about $65 USD/ month (after a nice corporate discount). Now it is costing roughly $10 USD / month!
The only downside is that using my iPhone in China is a major battery drain vs. using it in the United States. Once I get into the habit of charging my battery every day, this shouldn’t be a major issue. Also, I purchased a portable iPhone battery from the Science and Technology metro station fake market yesterday (40 RMB) in case of emergencies.
Any questions on using an iPhone in China? Let me know in the comment section and I’ll do my best to answer.
Hello,
I’m living up in Dalian right now and I brought a cracked phone with me and so far it has worked like a charm. I am on China Mobile and have Edge. They tell me I signed up for 3G but – I haven’t. You know how that goes ;) Anyway, I have started having some issues with my phone, the latest being that I can no longer sync and I am really hoping I don’t have to go through the process of cracking it again and how that will affect my iphone account. There is just no legit way to use it huh? I’m looking forward to your entry on using a jailbroken phone in china… I’m wondering what I’m missing!!
Sara
[Reply]
I am quite surprised by the success of using a cracked iphone in China. Funny to hear your comment about Edge, glad you’re just laughing it off. I don’t believe there is any way to legitimately use the iphone anymore once cracked. I’ve had to reason to sync my phone, but the concern has crossed my mind. If Apple releases an update worth pursuing, I may have to simply upgrade and then unlock my phone once again.
I’ll look to get the jailbreak guide going in the next couple of weeks.
Thanks for reading!
Mike
[Reply]
Any updates on using your phone on Edge (E)? Are the charges different?
Also, I just switched to Unicom from China Mobile today, after reading your post (I just got a Nexus One) — and had a few questions:
- Can you text China Unicom to see minutes balance, data plan usage, etc?
- You said that I can call after an hour to activate my monthly plan? Who do I call?
Thanks!
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:09 am
John,
Let me look into this for you. I will respond to you on this board (for others to see) and by e-mail.
Best regards,
Mike
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
June 6th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Hi John,
Per my promise…
Dial 10010 to contact China Unicom. Then press 6, then press 1 to get English service. They will be able to answer your questions about balance and data usage. You will also use this number to activate your monthly account.
I hope this all works out for you. May your Nexus One phone work out as well as my iPhone!
Best regards,
Mike
[Reply]
Mike :
Quick comment here. The reason that your iPhone is draining more quickly is because of the Jailbreak, not because of China Unicom. You’ve likely added OpenSSH (an open source, strong encryption package for communication), which is constantly listening for signals and draws power from your iPhone.
Download SBSettings in order to get a toggle switch to turn that on and off.
Good luck! And I’ll be in Shanghai in 48 hours …
Peripatetic Entrepreneur
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
June 18th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Thanks Ed, I’m looking into SBSettings now.
[Reply]
openssh does not drain your battery (it once did, not anymore). it may be other apps you’ve installed via cydia that’s draining your battery. mine doesn’t drain anymore than it does in the USA, Taiwan, Hong Kong or China. The reason you only have edge with China Mobile is because you can ONLY access their 3G network when you use one of their supported phones, purchased from China Mobile
i’m signing up for China Unicom tomorrow. no more roaming! btw i’m in songgang, shenzhen
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
July 25th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Thanks for the information! Best of luck with signing up, let me know if you have issues. I’ve loved my China Unicom plan ever since writing this article — using an iPhone in China is cheap and really is as fast as it was in the USA. I simply recharge my phone daily, so I haven’t really had issues there either.
[Reply]
I have a iphone 3g on firmware version 3.1.2. I recently moved back to Nanjing and bought a 3g sim card from china unicom and put it in my phone and… nothing. No signal, just zero bars and nothing happens. I went to China mobile, put one of their sims in and once again….nothing. Does anyone have any knowledge of why this is happening? I have been using the iphone all summer in america, I jailbroke it and unlocked, i used it with t-mobile this summer. I can not go back to my shitty nokia brick phone, i want my iphone to work.
any help greatly appreciated,
ryan
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
September 13th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Ryan,
I’m sure you’ve thought of this already, but you might want to have everything done by a China Unicom employee. I’d have no idea how to do this myself and relied on the employee to walk me through the steps. Also, the workers at CU were all surprisingly helpful and knowledgeable. My guess is that there is one more step that you need to take to activate it.
Are you on the monthly China Unicom iPhone plan?
[Reply]
You can cause China Unicom to send you a text message with your balance.
Go to Setings->Phone->SIM Applications and there are options there. I’m in Taiwan now and don’t have my Unicom SIM in, so I can’t say exactly. But I think it was the first option, then the first option. The one with the 业 character in it.
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
February 5th, 2011 at 5:58 am
Awesome, thank you for this information!
[Reply]
Since you had your service with AT&T in the US, which uses GSM network, how can you use your phone in China with Unicom which uses CDMA network?
I am confused.
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
March 8th, 2011 at 9:41 pm
I really don’t know the technology behind using my iPhone in China, but I do know that it works. My iPhone was once an AT&T phone and now, with a switch of a SIM card and an unlock, is a China Unicom phone. It works just as well now as it did in the States.
[Reply]
If I acquire a relatives iphone from the U.S. that is no longer on a plan, I can bring it to China and have it unlocked/jailbroken and use it in China with a China mobile sim card, correct? Will I still be able to download new apps. from the apps store after it is unlocked in China?
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
March 15th, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Don,
Yes. I brought my iPhone from the US. It was no longer on a plan. I had it unlocked/jailbroken in China with a China Unicom sim card (3g plan). You can download new apps, but you will not be able to upgrade your software. This is a potential issue as most of the newest apps require me to upgrade my software before I can download them. However, it is worth the tradeoff. If you wish, you can upgrade and then get your iPhone unlocked / jailbroken again. Just make sure that the software that you upgrade to is able to be unlocked.
Hope this helps.
Mike
[Reply]
I know a China Mobile store down the block from where I’ll be staying in Beijing, but the English spoken there is as bad as my Chinese. I wanted to take my phone and get the cheapest SIM card installed that one can get for a one month plan (that will allow GPS, data, and voice). What is the cheapest prepaid plan you can get with China Mobile or China Unicom that works for the monthly traveler? And any place you can purchase this SIM online so I could put it in once I arrive in China?
Thanks again for your research on this, Mike.
Dom
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
April 30th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Hi Dom,
My plan listed in this blog is about as cheap as you can get. However, it doesn’t include voice. Also, it isn’t exactly a 1 month plan.
I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to your question off the top of my head. Maybe a future reader can help?
[Reply]
Thank you for you article. I just came from US to Shanghai for 1 month. I unlocked and jailbreak my iphone before I left US in order for it to work in Shanghai. But switching my AT&T sim card out with a China Mobile sim card doesn’t work for my phone. I had to get a another thing call Ka Tie and they had to set it up in my phone. They told me that I can’t turn my phone off because if I do so, I have to set it up again. So after this long process, my iphone finally worked in Shanghai, but I had to turn on data roaming in order to use internet. I’m worried if I will get charged by AT&T for this and if my phone will work again when I go back to the States.
Thank you
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
July 19th, 2011 at 10:50 pm
Simeng,
I would suggest you restore it back to factory settings when you return to the USA, but I’m not exactly sure what the best strategy is for you. Hopefully a reader who better understands iphone software can help.
[Reply]
iphoneseller Reply:
August 14th, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Simeng & others looking for an answer,
I know that there are 2 different unlocking system. You might able to unlock your iphone and make it work in some regions but not certain countries that require a different kind of unlocking. I found out this info few months ago on apple website, I wish I can post it here but I don’t want to go through the hassle going through them. I am googling up info on iphone 4 myself.
whether it’s factory locked or not, you can try gevey sim or turbo sim, it should be easily available, either in stores or online. I know there are plenty on ebay. The process of unlocking can be bothersome (you need to go through a few minutes of unlocking process each time your phone is turned off) but it will help until the hackers come out with a way to crack the newer software.
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
August 17th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Thanks!
[Reply]
iphoneseller Reply:
August 14th, 2011 at 11:32 pm
oh and about whether you get charged by AT&T, if you did not terminate the contract with AT&T, yes, they will charge you. But if you did, you shouldn’t face that problem. Regardless, AT&T bill can be a little tricky, I suggest to check every month or two to be sure you still have zero amount owed (happened to few of my friends even after their rep confirmed it’s terminated with zero balance and went to collections)
also, to avoid misleading, I need to add to my last paragraph to clarify that you CAN unlock iphone 3, 3G, and even iphone 4 IF THEY ARE STILL RUNNING ON OLDER SOFTWARE and also jail breaking them, and they will work everywhere in the world.
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
August 17th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Thanks again for more information. Agreed, please make sure you terminate your contract with AT&T before moving to China to avoid hefty iPhone bills.
[Reply]
I had heard not to take your iphone to China as they might confiscate it. Apparently this is not true judging by all the questions/comments on your post. Have you heard this? I’m only going to be there for a week so won’t need to use it but will need to have it going and coming.
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
August 17th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
No, this is not true. You can bring any phone you want to China.
[Reply]
If you take out your AT&T SIM card, they can’t charge you in ANY way including data roamings. Your phone has nothing to do with AT&T SIM card, they just had your phone locked to their factory setting (widthband maybe?). Once you unlock that factory setting (again, currently only older version software, not sure but I think 4.0 or older) your iphone should be just like ANY unlocked phone you buy overseas. Once you take that same iphone back to US, your phone should function as it was before you switch to China SIM card and will still be unlocked, unless you update its software using itunes. Syncing isn’t going to lock your phone back.
[Reply]
*they can’t charge you in anyway as in minute, data, & txting usage. Your monthly will still be there, ofcourse, unless you also work out a plan with them or terminate your contract.
[Reply]
Hi I have a question. I understand that iphone and ipad is using mini sim card. My friend told me that China dont have mini sim card right? then how to get the internet?
I am located in Singapore
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:05 am
You will need to get a China Unicom 3g monthly plan.
[Reply]
I’m living in Shanghai and want to buy an iPhone in the US to use here.
If I buy a phone that is “unlocked”, can I still sync it with iTunes every day? Does it make a difference if I buy a phone that was unlocked from the factory versus one that was unlocked afterwards by someone else? I’d prefer to get a used phone to save the cash.
Not being able to sync is a deal-breaker because I like to listen to podcasts for daily news etc.
Any help is appreciated.
[Reply]
Are there any apps beside YouTube & Facebook that would not work in China with my Iphone? Does anyone have a list of apps prohibited or not working in China?
[Reply]
I’ll be going to Beijing soon for one month and would love to find a way to use my iPhone 4s there. I realize I do need to have it unlocked first.
There’s a chance I’ll be staying in the city and sometimes more remote areas. Do you have any idea what provider/plan I should go with for a one month plan that would give me plenty of data, that could be accessible in a more remote area? Or is that wishful thinking? Even better would be something that allows for international text messaging!
Thank you very much for any insight you could provide me!
[Reply]
hello,my name is vicky. I’m gonna move to China this summer. And I have this Iphone which I just bought last christmas. It is like Iphone4 and has 3G network. I’ve been read about what u wrote but still quiet confused. I have an at&t plan right now too. So i was wondering where could u activate a new number for u iphone and change u data plan?
[Reply]
I have a question- my boss is going out there to China for 4 weeks… Mainland I beleieve. We purchased an iPhone directly from the Apple store, it is unlocked and hs not been active on any service providers out here in the US.
My question to you know is, can we set up the network here? (i.e. have the sim card mailed out us?)
My boss does frequent trips to China so maybe setting up somethng beforehand and establishing a service provider for long term services will be good idea right?
Please help…
[Reply]