www.CostaRicaTicas.com

OK, guys. What do I have to do to use my phone there longterm? Unlock and new sim?
Thx

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I am NOT a Cien Boy!!

You can get the SIM down there as long as it is unlocked, but you will need to cut it precisely to fit the smaller sized slot in iPhone 4 as regular sized SIM will not fit. Of course once you cut it, you cannot use it for any other phones. I also had problems using SMS down there. I can receive a text, but couldn't send a text for some reason.

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Yo-Eleven!!
Pura Vida!

Here is what might help.

http://www.microsimcutter.com/

So an unlocked iPhone 4 with a cut sim will work there? That's what it sounds like.

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I am NOT a Cien Boy!!

you need to setup the phone so you can do SMS and internet. the setting are real simple..

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"THE TRUTH IS' EVERYBODY IS GOING TO HURT YOU. YOU JUST GOTTA FIND THE ONE WORTH SUFFERING FOR"
Robert Nesta Marley

My unlocked iphone 4 works in Costa Rica.

Using a Noosy SIM card cutter, I have cut several cards and they all work.

If you want to go back to a larger SIM, there are several adapters, but it is best to buy some tape and use the piece of your old card. I would not recommend either as it is easy for the microsim to come out. This could damage an iphone 3gs.

For the Cellular Data's APN I type in "icecelular." A prepaid APN is different...something like "Kolbiice."

I recommend the app "ispeak es" and iblacklist.

My texting works fine and I use it with these two apps.

iPhone 4 is available from I.C.E. for free!

You just have to sign away your first born Ch*ld, show certified proof of income, and sign up for a data package for 24 months, and it is free. After all the paperwork is ready the attendant then goes to the back room to get your new phone (and no you cannot keep your old number, you have to get a new one... and they don't care if you have had the same number for many years of living in Costa Rica). The attendant them comes back and says thank you for waiting in line for three hours and now that you have filled out all the paperwork, I am sorry we are out of phones.... come back in 22 days.

Happened to me on Wednesday morning!

I imagine the monthly charges (data, etc.) are exorbitant. I wonder if they have several pricing 'tiers' for data, as they do in the States?
I imagine that if you ever see a chica in the Del Rey with one, it's a sign she is doing quite well for herself (business must be good)

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"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Most of the iPhone 4 models from the US can NOT be unlocked via software from the Dev Team. However, they can be unlocked using the Gevey Sim device. I used it recently in CR and it worked out well. The guy I bought the Gevey from cut my sim using a sim cutter and I just made the necessary alterations for the Gevey.

Yes, three pricing tiers for data packages.... and no it is not expensive when you consider my phone bills each month. About $80 a month for unlimited data, 750 minutes and some amount of messages that I do not remember. But when you consider the cost per text message over the package amount is 1 Colones (yes One!) and the cost per minute over the plan is something like 5 Colones per minute it is fairly cheap in relation to U.S. cell carriers. The two other tiers are 15,000 Colones per month for something like 500 mb of data a month and 30,000 colones for either 750 mb or 1 gm, i cannot remember. I also do not remember the minutes included in the plans.

The international calls are what add up quickly. I had about 100,000 Colones of calls to the U.S. and Canada last month.

Plus I BELIEVE the iPhone to be the first phone from I.C.E. to have international roaming. I will find out in a few weeks on a business trip to Panama.... that is if they get more inventory before my trip.

I also considered getting one of the cutters for the sim card. However, I have sims for several countries and not all sim cards can be cut. The electronic lead layout layout is very important for it to be compatible with the iphone. Therefore, I opted for what I consider a much easier solution. I converted my iphone to handle dual sims which is an extremely easy modification.

http://www.usbfever.com/index_eproduct_view.php?products_id=2004 (This is the one I bought however there are now others on the market).

Both sims *cannot* be active at the same time however, it is just a menu selection to switch between them.

While I have the local sim connected I did rely heavily on wifi spots to make calls outside the region. Skype among many others do this quite well.

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--==xpatriot==--

You DO NOT need to do this.... The iPhone 4 is available from I.C.E..... If you have a iPhone 4 and you want to use it while in Costa Rica, bring your receipt of purchase and they can even give you a pre-paid Kolbi sim card for the iPhone 4. You will not be able to do this at the airport but you can do it at the I.C.E. office near Mall San Pedro.

Why make that type of modification to your iPhone 4 and void the warranty when you don't have to. You can also have a sim card copied onto the smaller sim card used in the iPhone 4... it costs $40, if you can't afford that, I advise not using the phone because doing what you are suggesting voids the warranty which could cost you $800 if the phone breaks and you have to replace it. Consider the $40 investment in a copied sim card as a insurance payment against your $800 phone.

Kinda annoys me when people give false information as if they are experts. Especially since I have read the warranty. You get experts who do not read the details and just hand out false advice. Even the folks that work in the Apple store have this modification. It is no different that changing the sim card. Except you activate a piece of code "WRITTEN BY APPLE FOR THIS EXACT MODIFICATION" which enables you to use two sim cards. CRGolfer is simply full of crap.

What does void the warranty is if you use a jailbreak to run apps from a different source that the app store. However, this is still debatable since the Federal Government has now made jailbreaking legal.

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--==xpatriot==--

Does this device also unlock the iPhone 4? Do you need an unlocked iPhone to use it? My iPhone is a US version which is obviously locked to AT&T. I had to unlock mine with a Gevey Sim. I understand you not being able to cut some SIMs as the cutter doesn't appear to be adjustable. Luckily, the Kolbi ICE sim was able to be cut for my iPhone.

No it does not circumvent security of any type. The solution assumes that the phone is already unlocked.

I ran the Redsn0w jailbreak on my phone to unlock it. However, there are some major drawbacks.

First you Apple claims that this will violate the warranty. However, you can always reset your phone via itunes. But, if this is not an option you might have issues with AT&T or Verizon. I suspect you will have less resitance in the Apple Store with their typical can do attitude but it still is a risk.

Second is when a new version of IOS software is released for the phone you need to wait before upgrading. Upgrading will always set the new IOS operating system without the unlock or the jailbreak. You need to wait until the jailbreak exists before upgrading again.

While 10% of iPhones do have a jailbreak it does require some savvy. In my opinion the benefits far out weigh the risks. My phone does everything I would want it to do that apple or AT&T would block for financial gain. I recommend research.

I use to travel with an iPhone 4 clone. But, as others pointed out I already paid a lot of money for the original. The original with a jailbreak provides huge benefits while traveling. One small example is that for around $3.00 USD per month ti skype gives me unlimited calling to the United States over WiFi (I think the vonage app may do the same for free). For a few dollars more per month I also get a US phone number to receive calls and takes a message when I am not available.

With the dual sim modification I am locally available before my luggage is on the belt in Costa Rica.

One other tip I will give you is that once you have a sim card (for any phone) it expires in 60 days unless you put money on it. If you travel to SJO regularly then I would PM Orange for instructions to renew it online for pennies a month. Unless he has already posted it. Orange knows a lot more than he posts about SJO for the tourist.

I could go on and on about the benefits but, I think everyone needs to evaluate that for themselves. It is not for everyone.

=xp=

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--==xpatriot==--