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  • Author unknown

    Using the iPhone in Canada to its full potential

    http://blog.ryan.kononoff.com/2008/04/using-iphone-in-canada...
    102 days ago in 2 ons, 1 off · Authority: 1

    I have an iPhone and I live in canada.  It's definitely not a commodity here and I've probably been asked 100 times (literally) the following question: "are iPhones available in Canada yet?".  The answer to that question is of course no.  So I thought I'd write an article explaining how I got one here and how it's working in Canada.   So first of all you have two options with regards to using the iPhone in Canada.  Fido and Rogers.  You have a few options for purchasing an iPhone.  If you are looking for one brand new you must purchase directly from the Apple store.  Believe it or not this is your least expensive route.  The other option is to purchase used from somewhere like eBay or Craigslist.   I chose to drive down to the Apple store in Lynnwood, WA for my iPhone.  It was worth my while since work was reimbursing me for the phone and I brought a few extras back to flip.  If you choose to acquire a used iPhone I'd urge you to unlock and jailbreak it yourself.  More on this later. So the first step once you acquire your device is to jailbreak and unlock it.  Jailbreaking is the act of hacking the device to allow for the installation of unauthorized software applications.  Unlocking allows you to use your Fido or Rogers SIM card in the phone.  To reiterate, jailbreaking allows you to install software on your device while unlocking allows you to actually use it on the Canadian wireless networks.   There are a number of methods for jailbreaking and unlocking all which achieve the same end goal of using your phone in Canada.  Here are some options:  ZiPhone  - Mac and WindowsPwnage  - Mac only (though a Windows version is in the works)Liberty+  - Mac and Windows I would suggest ZiPhone for any first-timers out there.  I've used a number of tools over the past month and ZiPhone definitely was the most intuitive.  It worked well on both Windows and Leopard as well. I'm not going to go into detail about unlocking your phone in this article.  There are plenty of them out there:  YouTube - Unlock ANY iPhone, ZiPhone tutorial + jailbreak (1.1.4) iClarified - iPhone - How to Unlock a 1.1.4 iPhone (ZiPhone + ... IPhone: Unlock iPhone 1.1.3 with ZiPhone for Windows How to Unlock Your iPhone and fix Wifi, Youtube using iLiberty ... So once you've unlocked and jailbroken your iPhone the next step is putting your Rogers or Fido SIM card into the phone.  For this you'll need a thin paper clip.  If you look at the top of your iPhone you'll notice a small hole, simply put the paper clip in the hole and press down on the catch.  It should pop out.  Here is a quick video tutorial from YouTube: The next step is to configure the APN settings for your network.  This is only applicable if you have a data plan.  WiFi is a free alternative however I need Internet access on the go so this isn't an option for me.  Go into Settings, General, Network, and finally EDGE.  Here you will see three fields: APN, Username, and Password.   On rogers the settings are as follows: APN: Internet.comUsername: wapPassword: wapuser1 On Fido the settings are as follows: APN: internet.fido.caUsername: fidoPassword: fido You should now be able to browse the internet and send/receive email over the EDGE network. There are a few options with regards to data packages on the Canadian networks.  Some have stated that they were successful in setting up the $7/month unlimited browsing package on the iPhone however I'd be cautious here.  You can read more about this on howard forums Rogers or Fido.  One thing to keep in mind is that the iPhone does use a lot of data.  With regular e-mail checks and even small amounts of web browsing you'll find you blow through the standard data packages pretty quickly.  I opted for the Flex Rate PC Card plan which starts at $65/month and includes 1GB of transfer.  The great things about this particular plan is that if you go over 1GB it automatically bumps you up to the 2GB package which is only $15/month more.  This mostly eliminates concern for overage charges of say $85,000 :) Previously I mentioned that you should unlock and jailbreak the phone yourself and here's why.  Apple releases new software upgrades (called Firmware) periodically for both the iPhone and the iPod Touch.  Since the products release there have been 4 releases most of which include new functionality or bug fixes.  If you purchase an iPhone that's already been unlocked you'll be stuck with the firmware they originally provided you with.  It's really a simple process and it takes under 5 minutes to complete.   Finally I'd like to talk about reception.  I think it's important to mention that the iPhone has provided me with better cell reception on the Rogers network than any device I've used.  I'm able to drive through spots that were dead-zones with my Blackberry Pearl which was definitely not a poor performer with regards to reception.