Update – Use Your iPhone in Korea Now (Not Just WIFI)

Monday, November 2, 2009

By admin

Functioning iPhone in Korea

You Can Have An iPhone In Korea – For about $1,000 USD Upfront

If you can believe it, you can now actually use your iPhone in Korea with phone capability without Skype. The iPhone screen-shot you see above is of what is claimed as the first working iPhone in Korea. I just received a barrage of information concerning this. With the lifting of the WIPI requirement in April earlier this year, it cleared the road for a possible iPhone in Korea. It is only recent development however, with the offering of individual phone radio testing, that has made it possible for a functional iPhone in Korea.

The authentication process is done at the Radio Research Agency of Korea. The actual certificate is called “Certification for Broadcasting and Communications Equipment.” The testing takes about 5 days, and once completed, merits a certificate like the one below.

iPhone in Korea Radio Broadcast Equipment Certificate

From the select few that have had the privilege of using their iPhone in Korea, reviews of operating the iPhone on KT or SK Telecom’s network is bad. Poor reception, dropped calls, and lost text messages. Battery drains quickly. Certain phones cannot ever send text messages to iPhone properly. These are some of the complaints thus far. I will update this blog regarding this as soon as I get more info. There is speculation that many of this is due to hardware that is not tuned for their networks, and lack of a proper antenna.

Currently, about 10-20 people apply daily for the “Certification of Broadcasting and Communication Equipment.” The price is for the testing, licensing, and certificate costs a total of 360,190 won. This process is necessary so the radio in the phone is “authenticated.” This price does not include the price of an iPhone (anywhere from $300 for a 1st gen iPhone to $800 for a new 32 gig iPhone 3GS) without contract.

Registering Your iPhone with KTF and SK Telecom

You can actually register your iPhone in Korea with both SK Telecom and KTF. However, if you look in the advertisement below, you’ll notice some advantages with KTF. In the advertisement below (hat tip to one of our readers Joseph Kim), there’s a few bonuses in registering your certified Korean iPhone with KTF.

-KT offer’s MMS with their current iPhone service (SK does not offer this with their service)

-Free iPhone Case-Mate case

-Free portable iPhone recharger

-No need to register your phone in-store (you can register through the phone or internet)

-Cheap internet options

-Any calling option is offered with the iPhone in Korea

KT iPhone Promotion

Is It Worth It?

Am I in a rush to register my iPhone at the moment? No. I have substantial fees for canceling my contract with LG Telecom, plus another 400,000 won to apply for my iPhone to be certified, plus dealing with all the issues current iPhone users in Korea have. I really miss using my iPhone as an actual phone rather than just another device, but the costs and the potential headaches associated with the switch just don’t make sense. Hopefully the iPhone will finally officially arrive in Korea next month, but I’m not holding my breath any longer.

Do Korean SIM cards work in the iPhone in Korea?

Why is the iPhone not in Korea?

iPhone 3G vs the 3GS

아이폰 나는 나의 iPhone 을 정말 좋아한다

Who are the major mobile carriers in Korea?

10 reasons why Korea needs the iPhone

Tags: Certification for Broadcasting and Communications Equipment, How To Use My iPhone in Korea, KTF, MMS, Radio Research Agency, SK Telecom, WIPI

This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 7:55 am and is filed under 3G vs 3GS, Korea, News, Release in Korea, 아이폰. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

jk38 Says:
November 2nd, 2009 at 6:01 pm

not worth the trouble, the empty wallet, and the discontent i will be served afterwards.

but thanks for the update!

How To Use Your iPhone in Korea | iPhone in Korea Says:
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:32 am

[...] How To Use Your iPhone in Korea Without Skype (Full Mobile Phone Capability) [...]

Do Korean SIM Cards Work in iPhones? | iPhone in Korea Says:
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:42 am

[...] How to use your iPhone in Korea WITHOUT Skype for phone capability [...]

Woobly Says:
November 8th, 2009 at 10:53 am

Thanks for the update! Excellent information as always!

I actually heard that the certificate cost 500,000 won and takes almost a month to process. This was second/third-hand information from an SK employee. So not too sure.

360,000 won sounds way more reasonable (since I may have to put that down for a smartphone here), but my concern would be what the people touching my iPhone would do to it. Is there any information regarding what EXACTLY happens to your iPhone? Do they remove anything important? Will I be able to use it other countries or does the “new” iPhone become a Korea-only iPhone?

At this point, if they was a guarantee that they would not tamper with the iPhone to the point of oblivion, I think I would pay the 360,000 won.

The other issue of course would be the data packet plans, which if I recall correctly, are abysmal (SK or KT) compared to U.S., Canada, and Japan, since there’s no “unlimited” data plan.

I remember getting a bill in Japan that showed me just how much data I used on my iPhone with that company. It claimed if I was charged per mb, I would’ve had a bill of 2000 dollars U.S. This was the company’s way of showing me that paying 40 bucks a month for unlimited data transfer was well worth it.

Jon Says:
November 17th, 2009 at 12:38 am

So there’s no way this would work with a Canadian jailbroken/unlocked phone? Do they re-image the phone with a fresh Apple firmware before testing it out?

Jeremy Says:
November 17th, 2009 at 7:58 pm

this is the correct info. i assure you.
ok, it costs 500,000 won if you want the certification in about 2 weeks. it costs 360,000 if you can wait a month. and when iphone is officially released in korea, you CANNOT use your old iphone with KT (Show)… if you’re a foreigner living in korea and want to use an iphone, i suggest you just get the iphone from Show… spending 360 000 – 500 000 won and waiting 2 – 4 weeks isn’t that great. ALSO, if you do wanna get the certification, the phone HAS to be either FACTORY UNLOCKED or jailbroken. besides, who wants to go thru all the BS as a foreigner? im sure it will be a total pain in the ass dealing with non english speakin koreans… so, just wait a LITTLE more and get an iphone from Show… 500MB data for 45 000won, 1GB for 65000 won… not too bad compared to US.

Jeremy Says:
November 17th, 2009 at 8:00 pm

o and when they do the “testing” they dont do anything to ur phone. no data or #s erased. nothing to worry about.

admin Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 12:05 am

Jeremy,
Everyone has different needs in Korea. The certification process is cost-prohibitive, and the other option of waiting further for an official release of the iPhone in Korea is excruciating. What’s worse? How bad do you want your iPhone in Korea?
iPhoneinKorea.com

admin Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 12:06 am

Jeremy,
Good to know. I’m sure there’s many of us who were wondering about this.
iPhoneinKorea.com

Dave Says:
November 19th, 2009 at 10:56 am

I have a question for you. I bought an iphone for a friend and she has moved back to Korea. So she already has an iphone which she uses as an ipod touch. If this is true she would be able to use her iphone on SK/KT for 360,000 if she waits a month? When the iphone is offically released will she still be able to use her iphone? I’m curious about the speed issue as well. I know 2G models support EDGE while 3G is only available on the 3g iphone.

admin Says:
November 19th, 2009 at 11:08 am

Dave,

EDGE is a network used by AT&T and T-Mobile in the US. Korea uses different data networks. 3G is only (and coincidently) the name of the iPhone, and has nothing to do with 3G capability. She will be able to “certify” her iPhone for use in Korea as mentioned in the article. Yes, she should be able to use your unlocked US iPhone in Korea after completing the certification process.

iPhoneinKorea.com

Dave Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 8:30 am

Thanks iPhoneinKorea.com,

Will she be able to still use the Internet on her Iphone from SK or KT service? I’m not really sure about all this Edge, 3G, 4G terminology and how different it is for Korean dat networks. Thanks alot for your help.

Dave

Shawn Says:
December 7th, 2009 at 4:46 am

Hi, So if i were to register through KT or SK, I don’t not need to pay certification anymore?

Roger Says:
December 11th, 2009 at 7:33 pm

Will this process work for blackberries?

jeremy Says:
December 22nd, 2009 at 11:05 pm

@shawn, u always gotta pay for it.
@roger, probably. but blackberries are available through SK.

Paul Says:
January 8th, 2010 at 11:56 am

So what i’m trying to understand is that I have in iPhone 3G S that was bought in U.S and is carrier locked to AT&T. If I take this iphone to Korea and I want to use my iphone in Korea, I do have a regular phone in Korea, so it’s possible that I can keep the number instead of getting a new number. So if I do the following step, will it actually work?

My mom’s cousin works at KT office, my cousin who lives in U.S as well also have an iphone 3G S, and he asked my mom’s cousin if it was possible. He said it was possible but the process of it was complicated.

So i’m wondering if it’s even worth doing.

iPhone for CDMA networks *POSSIBLE* - Hackint0sh Says:
January 30th, 2010 at 2:49 pm

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