iphone 3GS stopped working in Thailand

[bwnrnr]

Been using an unlocked iphone 3GS model purchased in Australia and it worked fine on my first 3 trips.  The last time it worked was Sept 2013.  I returned in Dec 2013 and it didn't work with a DTS Happy Sim (always use the same carrier because they are at Bangkok airport).  Didn't think much of it at the time.  On this trip I bought 2 Iphone 3GS models and guess what, they both don't want to play.  So has anyone else experienced this ?  Maybe an IOS upgrade ?  The phone is getting rather old now as we are up to Iphone 5 now

[ProudAussie]

What IOS you running?

Apple discontinued the 3GS so yeah might be too old now

[bwnrnr]

6.5 ios,  yeah the others all use a much higher version but I can't go any further with this old phone.  Maybe time to upgrade !

[ProudAussie]

6.5 ios,  yeah the others all use a much higher version but I can't go any further with this old phone.  Maybe time to upgrade !

Yeah time for a new one mate, read on the net that the Iphone 5 when it came out made the 3GS obsolete 

[Daddee]

that sucks, I just secured my family's oldest iphone for my thailand phone... an iphone 3...

 

I have the worst luck with cell phones and thailand, I should do a thread, haha... actually I did one, when the ladyboy stole my phone while walking home to my April Suites room from Soi 6 late one night...  it titled "anyone want to call a ladyboy thief and say hi?"

 

that was my first thai phone from my first trip...

 

after 6 trips now, I have had several, and all have ended up a mess one way or another...

 

thought this old iphone was gonna do the trick... but nooooooooooooooooooo!

 

haha

[Gobby]

Shit ! Now I need to get a new phone ... So u can't make calls or get wifi from it at all ?

[Woofiee]

It should work - that doesn't change. What changes is access to new iOS versions and their new apps. 

 

Was it jailbroken or unlocked? If you can have it unlocked instead of jailbroken, it's better. If jailbroken, might it be you updated the phone and removed the jailbreak?

[Little Evil]

Wonder if it has to do with HSDPA bands. Thailand (which actually has excellent mobile service in heavily populated areas) has seen some drastic cell broadcast infrastructure changes in the past 5 years. I'm pretty sure DTAC went from the 2100 HSDPA band to 850, where the transition was from 2010 to 2012. That could coincide with your phone working and not working. Maybe the 3Gs doesn't like 850gHZ, Still though, you should still have Edge if that were the case.

[bwnrnr]

It was a legit iphone 3GS, not jailbroken or anything strange like that.  Definitely unlocked,  checked it with several aussie sims like Optus, Telstra, vodaphone before I left, all worked.  As I say it used to work in Thailand but has stopped now.  I also suspect it has something to do with the fact that the phone is very old and Thailand is using better technology bands than this phone can handle.   Wifi works on it,  just not cellular.

[LTGTR]

My 3GS worked back in the Fall....Crap.I bought it specifically for int'l travel.

[tlcwaterfall]

I have still got an Iphone 3Gs and it works fine in Thailand.

 

Would suggest you take it to Tukcom and get someone there to take a look at it.

 

I am on the 12 call network.

[Woofiee]

It was a legit iphone 3GS, not jailbroken or anything strange like that.  Definitely unlocked,  checked it with several aussie sims like Optus, Telstra, vodaphone before I left, all worked.  As I say it used to work in Thailand but has stopped now.  I also suspect it has something to do with the fact that the phone is very old and Thailand is using better technology bands than this phone can handle.   Wifi works on it,  just not cellular.

 

Like any computer, there could be cruft in the network connections settings. 

 

First, connect the iPhone to your computer (Mac or PC) and manually back it up with iTunes. You want to save the current settings and application data. 

 

(I'm assuming you're using iOS 6.x - probably 6.1.4 or 6.1.5? I think that's the last version the 3GS could comfortably use.) 

 

Once backed up, reset your Network Settings 

• Keep the phone attached to the computer - you'll want USB power to make sure it doesn't die in the update process
• On your iPhone, Go to Settings > General
• Scroll all the way to the bottom
• Hit Reset to go to the Reset menu, where you'll see 6 different settings:

 

!! WARNING !!

DO NOT touch either of the first two settings. The 1st option will erase ALL of your current settings and the 2nd option will erase your entire phone, back to it's factory settings. We might still have to resort to that, but for now let the Angel of Data Death pass you by.

• Choose Reset Network Settings

Your phone will run through it's restart cycle which takes anywhere from one to 3 minutes. Once it's reset, see if it can find the network. 

 

If it still can't find a network, then try erasing the entire phone by clicking the second button Erase All Content and Settings. Keep it connected and let it do it's thing.

 

Once the system reboots and iOS discovers a reset phone, iTunes should launch and ask if you want to Manually Restore your phone... do this and let the system put all the data back on. If you have an iCloud account, you might be able to restore over iCloud wirelessly, but I prefer the computer. 

 

If that doesn't work, then let's restore iOS on the phone and make sure the base operating system isn't hosed in any way. 

 

 

 

(yeah, yeah - ios 7, but it's essentially the same thing on 6.1.x)

 

This will erase everything again and restore the base subsystem and os (admittedly, you could just skip to this part and not bother trying to diagnose it in the previous steps, but I enjoy a pedantic afternoon as much as the next person).

 

Once it's restored the system firmware, then manually restore the phone from the backup as before. 

 

If it STILL doesn't work, then there's a hardware problem...see a genuine Apple store if possible. Tell them all the rigamarole you just did to get to this point - Apple can sometimes take pity on a user and if the store has them, they might let you replace it for a small fee. I brought in a 3GS that was having a hardware problem and it was replaced with a refurb'd 32GB 3GS for €75...a great deal. 

 

Let me know how it works out or if you have any questions…

[bwnrnr]

Thanks all but I am back in Aus now (and the phone is working !)  Will try that reset and or go to Tukcom next time I am in Thailand (May).  tlcwaterfall it is good to know the phone still works in Thailand,  Woofiee - yes I think you are right a good reset will do the trick next time I am there.  Again thanks to all