Below is our complete guide on how to purchase an iPhone in Malaysia and how to keep away yourself from unethical seller in Malaysia. We do provide as detail as we can on how you purchase an iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4 in Malaysia.

Year Production of the iPhone:
2007 > iPhone 2G
2008 > iPhone 3G
2009 > iPhone 3GS
2010 > iPhone 4

Before purchasing an 3G/3GS/4 iPhone from any stores, please read this page. Most of the iMalaysian.com Customers here have been tricked by iPhone sellers stating that they sell unlock units (Singtel) but in return, they sold a LOCK iPhone 3G/3GS/4 units (US, UK etc) to them. Highly recommended that you print the pdf or kindly save it in your phone for reference.

iPhone 3GS Part/Model Number:-

Offically Unlock iPhone 3GS:

Australia: MC133X, MC134X
New Zealand: MC134X/A
Singapore: MC131ZA, MC133ZA
Malaysia: MC134MY, MC133MY, MC131MY, MC132MY/A, MC132MY
Hong Kong: MC134ZP/A

iPhone 4 Part/Model Number:-

LOCK set iPhone 4:

United States -
AT&T
MC608LL/A – 16GB Black
MC610LL/A – 32GB Black
Apple
MC318LL/A – 16GB Black
MC319LL/A – 32GB Black

Offically Unlock iPhone 4:
Australia
MC603X/A – 16GB Black
MC605X/A – 32GB Black

Canada
MC603C/A – 16GB Black
MC605C/A – 32GB Black

France
MC603FB/A – 16GB Black
MC605FB/A – 32GB Black

Hong Kong
MC605ZP/A – 32GB Black
MC603ZP/A – 16GB Black

Italy
MC603IP/A – 16GB Black
MC605IP/A – 32GB Black

New Zealand
MC603X/A – 16GB Black
MC605X/A – 32GB Black

Singapore
MC603ZA/A – 16GB Black
MC605ZA/A – 32GB Black

United Kingdom
MC603B/A – 16GB Black
MC605B/A – 32GB Black

Thinking of getting yourself an iPhone but don’t know where to start? Well you’ve come to right place. This guide has been written for Malaysian buyers in mind. Here, you will be shown a step-by-step process on how to purchase your own iPhone using the ways available today. The breakdown of this guide is as follows:

Part A : iPhone Basics & The Difference Between Unlocked Vs Locked Units
Part B : Identifying An Unlocked & Locked Unit
Part C : Where & How To Purchase
Part D : Required Testing When Purchasing & Warranty
Part E : Additional Tips To Keep In Mind
Part F : What Next?

This guide will be updated to reflect new ways to purchase but as guides go, there will inevitably be some shortcomings where certain questions need further clarification. If you find yourself stuck and wanting to find out just that little bit more of information, you can discuss it here in this page. Please keep discussions as relevant as possible.

Your co-operation in making the iMalaysian.com a better place is highly appreciated.

Part ‘A’ : iPhone Basics & The Difference Between Unlocked Vs Locked Units:

1) iPhone Basics

Apple has to date launched two generations of the iPhone which is the iPhone aka iPhone 2G (2007) and the iPhone 3G (2008):

iPhone generation model starts with:

MAxxx are 2G iPhones
MBxxx are 3G iPhones
MCxxx are 3GS iPhones

The iPhone 2G is no longer offered by Apple but can still be purchased in the open market. Available in:
*All 2G iPhones comes LOCKED as it was made for US only which tied to telco contract. To enable 2G iPhone usage to work with any telco, Jailbreak and Unlock is needed – We do provide jailbreak and unlocking services.

- 4GB (Silver) – no longer in production
– 8GB (Silver) – no longer in production
– 16GB (Silver) – no longer in production

The iPhone 3G is still being offered by Apple and is available in:

- 8GB (Black)
– 16GB (Black) – no longer in production
– 16GB (White) — no longer in production

The new iPhone 3GS are available in:

- 16GB (Black)
– 16GB (White)
– 32GB (Black)
– 32GB (White)

The new iPhone 4 are available in:

- 16GB (Black)
– 16GB (White)
– 32GB (Black)
– 32GB (White)

What are the differences between the 2G and the 3G asides from the price?
In a nutshell, the iPhone 3G remains largely the same phone as the iPhone 2G but has a number of new main features which are:

- Added 3G Functionality
– Added GPS Funtionality
– Improved Design Features (rounded edges, curved back surface, different back surface styling)

Initially when the iPhone 3G launched, it also had the advantage of better software but with recent developments, the newest software is also fully available for the iPhone 2G.

We have done a very in-depth review on the iPhone 3G which also compares it to its predecessor, the iPhone 2G. Keep in mind when reading this review that issues such as battery and software should not be taken into account as there have been numerous advancements in this area since the iPhone 3G was first launched which you can update yourself by doing further reading in the iMalaysian.com . Official details of the iPhone 3G are available at the Apple Website here.

What are the differences between the 3G and the 3GS?

A: The biggest difference is in the speed.
Refer to the comparison chart: http://www.apple.com/iphone/compare-iphones/

What are the differences between the 3GS and the iPhone 4?

A: The biggest difference is in everything.
Refer to the comparison chart: http://www.apple.com/iphone/compare-iphones/

2) The Difference Between Unlocked Vs Locked Units

Official Lock iPhone

iPhones units from USA, UK or other countries offers iPhones which are locked to their telcos (AT&T etc) hence you will not be able to use it locally here with our simcards.

Any benefit of buying lock iPhones? There’s NO benefit of buying a lock unit iPhone as you will not be able to claim warranty locally (no international warranty) . You need to go back to the country from where you purchased the iPhone.

Don’t waste your money buying a LOCK unit. Trust us on this as we have seen many having to upgrade their firmware (without reading this thread or do a search before upgrading) and get their iPhone lock for good 3-6 months or so. That’s pretty dumb and stupid.

For firmware upgrades, you need to wait for a hardware or software solution to enable you to upgrade the latest firmware and unlock the iPhone to use with our telcos (Maxis,DIGI, Celcom).

The first thing you must know is that there are ways to unlock all the iPhones. HOWEVER, different methods of unlocking produce different results. Now take this seriously as the method of unlocking used will determine the quality of the iPhone you will purchase. We do provide unlocking services: unlock iPhone 3GS 4.0.1 and also unlock iPhone 4 ios 4.0.1

3) The benefit of getting an Official Unlock iPhone

You’re able to use various GSM simcard based carriers around the world and use the phone immediately. Meaning(for those who read and still don’t understand), you can use your iPhone with any simcard around the world and is FULLY unlock.

You should now have gotten the gist that the ONLY type of iPhone that you should even consider buying is either an Officially unlocked iPhone 3GS or an officially unlocked iPhone 4. Absolutely no exceptions unless you want to freely waste your money and have a lot of headaches to boot.

Section ‘B’ : Identifying An Unlocked & Locked Unit:

1. How To Determine Which is Which?

Identifying an iPhone 2G is simple. Just spot the unique silver+black design of the back casing from the following photo:

Determining an officially unlocked iPhone 3G requires a bit more work but is no rocket science. You just have to figure out which country the iPhone is from. Refer to iPhone Part Number.

The iPhones which do not have a tick under ‘Locked to carrier’ are the ones you are looking for. You will be shown how to cross reference and verify the part numbers in Part 4 of this guide.

For your reference, the list of officially unlocked 3G iPhones are available from the following countries:

Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Macau, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, Taiwan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Malaysia.

For your reference, the list of officially unlocked iPhone 3GS are available from the following countries:

Belgium(Mobistar), Czech Republic(O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone), Greece(Vodafone, Cosmote), Italy(TIM, Vodafone), Luxembourg (Vox, LUXGSM), Russia(Megafon, MTS, Beeline), Turkey(Turkcell), Hong Kong(3), Macau(3), Malaysia(Maxis), New Zealand(Vodafone), Singapore(SingTel), Taiwan(Chunghwa Telecom), Thailand(Truecom), Saudi Arabia(Mobily), UAE(Etisalat), South Africa(Vodacom)

2. Quick Trivia – Why US iPhones are $199/299?

Quick trivia for you. Being the typical Malaysian, you must have already done some quick calculations. US$199/299 ONLY?!

Well hang on a minute. US$199 sounds like a sweet deal but it doesn’t factor in the carrier costs. One main reason why the iPhone 3G/3GS is locked in the first place is because it is meant to be bound to a (usually 2 year minimum) network carrier contract. If you add up all the costs of the contract, the iPhone itself as well as the transportation, processing and markup charges, you will end up with the average prices found in the market for an unofficially unlocked iPhone 3G/3GS/4. I’ll leave it to you to do the math.

3. FAQ on justifying your iPhone purchase: http://imalaysian.com/2010/08/09/faq-on-justifying-your-iphone-purchase/

Part ‘C’ : Where & How To Purchase:

As mentioned earlier in Part B, officially unlocked 3G iPhones can be purchased from the following countries:

Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Macau, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Malaysia.

*Does a Singtel, NZ, Maxis, DiGi Malaysia or an official unlock 3G iPhones work with our local telco Maxis, Celcom, DiGi and UMobile? Yes, just insert your current simcard.

The list of officially unlocked iPhone 3GS are available from the following countries:

Belgium(Mobistar), Czech Republic(O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone), Greece(Vodafone, Cosmote), Italy(TIM, Vodafone), Luxembourg (Vox, LUXGSM), Russia(Megafon, MTS, Beeline), Turkey(Turkcell), Hong Kong(3), Macau(3), Malaysia(Maxis), New Zealand(Vodafone), Singapore(SingTel), Taiwan(Chunghwa Telecom), Thailand(Truecom), Saudi Arabia(Mobily), UAE(Etisalat), South Africa(Vodacom)

*Official unlock iPhone 3G/3GS/4 work with our local telco Maxis, Celcom, DiGi and UMobile? Yes, just insert your current simcard.

The easiest way to purchase an officially unlocked iPhone 3G/3GS/4 from these countries are to look for them locally. You can purchase right here in iMalaysian.com. There is of course a markup to the prices of these iPhones for the service of ease provided to you but it is no doubt the safest and quickest way to go about it.

The markup prices are in most cases quite reasonable. It might also be useful for you to know that local sellers commonly get their stock from Canada, US and Europe. All these countries are LOCK SET. PLEASE DON’T IF YOU DON’T NEED TROUBLEs.

Part ‘D’ : Required Testing When Purchasing & Warranty:

If you’re going to shell out a few thousand ringgit for a phone, it is sincerely hoped that you have the sensibility to conduct a COD transaction.
The steps outlined here is to help you ensure that you are not being scammed over by your seller. You should run through the following before making payment:

1) Physically inspect the phone and its package
It doesn’t really matter whether the box your iPhone comes in is still in plastic shrink wrap or not as it is normal for the package to be opened for inspection/activation by the telco carriers when your seller collects it from them. Your package should consist of the following items:

iPhone 2G:
– iPhone
– Sync Dock
– Charger Adapter (charger design may vary from region to region)
– USB to iPhone Cable
– Earphones (with mic built in)
– Microfibre Cloth
– Documentation Pack

iPhone 3G:

- iPhone
– Charger Adapter (charger design may vary from region to region)
– USB to iPhone Cable
– Earphones (with mic built in)
– Microfibre Cloth
– Documentation Pack (with a fancy SIM eject tool attached)

iPhone 3GS:

- iPhone
– Charger Adapter (charger design may vary from region to region)
– USB to iPhone Cable
– Earphones (with mic built in and remote with volume control)
– Microfibre Cloth
– Documentation Pack (with a fancy SIM eject tool attached)

iPhone 4:
- iPhone
– Charger Adapter (charger design may vary from region to region)
– USB to iPhone Cable
– Earphones (with mic built in and remote with volume control)
– Microfibre Cloth
– Documentation Pack (with a fancy SIM eject tool attached)

Make sure you check the phone itself to see whether there are any physical deformities.

2) Cross reference the 3G iPhone part number

You need to figure out where your phone is from first from your seller. Once you identify that, take down the ‘iPhone 3G Part Numbers’. Cross reference the number you’ve taken down with the part number on the box as well as the phone itself. This step (and actually all the following steps) is not necessary for the iPhone 2G as it doesn’t really matter where your phone is from since it can be unlocked with DevTeam tools regardless.

On the box:

On the iPhone: (via Settings> General> About> Model)

3) Verify that your iPhone is genuinely unlocked

To check if your iPhone 3G, 3GS or iPhone 4 are legit and is not a fake factory unlock look up on the iPhone under (Settings). The items list you should have there is Airplane Mode, WiFi, Carrier and Fetch New Data. As for the fake unlock iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4 units, the ‘Carrier’ item is missing. If it is missing, you have been conned and if for some reason you already paid for it and there is no turning back, do not proceed to upgrade your iPhone firmware to FW4.0.1 as it will render your phone useless.

4) Make sure it is a new unit

If you are indeed paying for a new unit, you can get a rough idea whether if it really is new by looking it up on the iPhone (Settings> General> Usage). Note that the statistics shown there can be reset though.

5) Test your iPhone

Test the phone out! Give it a run through making sure the touchscreen and buttons are working, the software is in order, earphones can be used, etc. You will also want to pop in your SIM and do a test call. Take note that it may for some reason take a few minutes for the SIM to register with the network. There have been cases where it has even taken up to 10 minutes for the phone to start connecting to a network but that is quite rare.

6) Warranty

Claim warranty from the country that you bought the 3G/3GS/4 iPhone from if there’s defect or hardware related issues.

Online Service Assistance Warranty Check: https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do

If you bought your iPhone 3G from non Maxis or Digi dealers: To claim warranty you need the person who bought the iPhone which is under his name to be present. Most probably the person you bought the iPhone from purchased the iphone from a non-maxis or digi dealer.

*For those who have jailbreak your iPhone, warranty will be void. Do a Restore to the default settings before sending back for warranty.

Part ‘E’ : Additional Tips To Keep In Mind:

1. Firmware Upgrades

- 2G iPhones can only upgrade it’s firmware when able to unlock and jailbreak the iPhone. (Now maximum firmware is 3.1.3)

- Officially unlock 3G, 3GS, 4 iPhones will be able to upgrade regardless of the firmware version when it’s available on the day Apple seeds the firmware.

- Lock 3GS iPhones and iPhone 4 will not be able to upgrade it’s firmware till we can unlock the iPhone. This goes for every firmware upgrades. A never ending cycle of cat and mouse game.

2. AppleCare For iPhone

There’s not AppleCare For iPhone according to Apple Malaysia. AppleCare for iPhone only applies to certain countries.

http://www.apple.com/legal/applecare/appforiphone.html

http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/service/faq/

http://www.apple.com/asia/support/products/

Part ‘F’ : What Next?:

1) Explore your iPhone…

… and realise its full potential. There is sooo much to discover about your iPhone. Step on over to the ???? New to iPhone? Where to begin? ???? Here is the >> Completely iPhone For Dummies Guide <<

2) Accessorise baby!

You just paid a lot of cash for your new iPhone. What better way to celebrate than to spend more! At the very least, get a screen protector, a decent casing and pimp it up with lots of apps/games.

2G/3G/3GS/4 iPhone Case Reviews: ( Coming soon… )

Recommended iTunes AppStore Applications: ( Coming soon..)
Recommended iTunes AppStore Games: (Coming soon…)
iMalaysian.com Review on Downloaded Apps: ( Coming soon… )

Lots of iPhone Accessories in iMalaysian.com for Sales: ( Coming soon… )