Hi Guys!! Ipad 2

Permalink Reply by Doug Lerner on June 28, 2011 at 9:41pm

The good news is that all iPads are factory unlocked to begin with. :)

doug

Permalink Reply by Elvis Mendoza on June 28, 2011 at 11:56pm

Not the Japanese one Doug.

you only can get the 3G from softbank with a contract :)

Permalink Reply by Doug Lerner on June 29, 2011 at 12:05am

The Japanese one is also unlocked. I bought mine last year with a pre-paid contract (i.e. use only when you need it). I used that same iPad in the U.S. with an AT&T microSIM card for the iPhone.

Even now, if you want, you can get the iPad 2 3G without a contract from SoftBank. Just buy the "pre-paid" version instead of the "iPad for everybody" version. http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/ipad_en/price_plan/.

However, SoftBank fully subsidizes the cost of the iPad 2 if you get it with the 2 year contract, so that should be taken into consideration as well.

Regardless of which one you get, the Japanese iPad is not SIM locked. You can use it in other countries with providers for that country.

doug

Permalink Reply by Elvis Mendoza on June 29, 2011 at 3:44pm

I dont want to use in other country, i want to use it here with Docomo.

Permalink Reply by Elvis Mendoza on June 29, 2011 at 3:50pm

WOW!

Doug who in they right mind will pay 4.400 yen/Month on a 1 GB Limit?!?!

i am paying 3.600/Month Unlimited on The Docomo Network that is way faster than Softbank.

Anyway, there are not unlock, you cant use Docomo Sim.

Permalink Reply by Doug Lerner on June 29, 2011 at 4:13pm

The only way 4,400 yen/month is worth it is if you rarely use your iPad outside and are almost always on a wi-fi network. In that case, you might want to pay 4,400 yen one month while taking a trip inside Japan, rather than commit yourself to paying 4,400 yen per month for two years for unlimited packets.

That is what I did with my iPad 1, and I'm glad I did, because I basically never use it outside my house, except when on U.S. travel. So I've saved over 100,000 yen doing it this way. And I can use a cheap AT&T plan with it when in the U.S.

For my iPad 2, my company said they would pay for my data plan. Since Softbank basically subsidizes the cost of the iPad when you sign up for a 2 year unlimited contract, for the same 4,400 yen/month you get the iPad 2 basically for free. So that's what I did for my iPad 2.

So I have several questions regarding your 3,600 yen/month unlimited plan with Docomo:

(1) For 4,400 yen/month you get unlimited Softbank data plus basically a free iPad. I assume in your case the iPad is not free. How much is it? And how much is the total monthly cost: the iPad cost divided by 24 plus 3,600 yen/month?

(2) What DoCoMo plan costs 3,600 yen/month? I was just at the DoCoMo home page and the cheapest flat plan they have for smart phone is 5,460 yen/month.

(3) I called DoCoMo some months ago (perhaps things have changed) and they told me that if they sell SIM cards for anything but DoCoMo devices the monthly charge is actually about 10,000 yen/month. What are you telling DoCoMo when you sign up for a plan with them?

(4) Has anybody actually tried a Japanese iPad 2 with a DoCoMo SIM card (do they make microSIM cards?). I don't think we've ever had a confirmation that they are really "locked" to DoCoMo.

doug

Permalink Reply by Elvis Mendoza on June 30, 2011 at 4:50pm

Well Doug, if you look at it that way you think it's free!!

The Ipad from Softbank you are with then for two years, after the two year finish, guess what?, They will not Unlock the Ipad to be use with Docomo. so in Japan you still have a Ipad that the only thing you can do is use it with wifi or softbank 3G.

The Docomo plan i have is the L-02A USB, after two months of use, i cut the sim card and start using it on the Ipad 2, the APN, i was trying to use, was the mopera.net, but did not work, so i when to Docomo shop, and a very nice girl told me what APN to use, and how to log in, then she told me if i want to change the Sim card for a mini Sim card, i ask her if that was posible, she said yes!, 5 minutes later i have a Mini Simcard for the Ipad 2, with my Flat data plant and the Docomo Hotspot free, no 10.000 yen Doug!.

My Ipad, i got it from eBay new in the box, Unlock from Factory, meaning that it will work with any Sim in the World including Japan, so no contract with anyone!

hope you can understand my English, :0

Permalink Reply by ketahi on June 30, 2011 at 6:50pm

Elvis-

I just checked docomo website regarding your data package. So if I understand it correctly, you signed a 2 year contract, and you get unlimited data for 3780 yen/month.

But you also have to pay a 1000 yen monthly line fee, so that means that you actually pay 4780 yen/month for your docomo service, right?

Here is where I got the info...

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/service/data/foma/bill_plan/standard_val...

Plus, you had to buy your iPad off ebay, so that must have cost 50,000-70,000 yen, right?

So, if you use Softbank for the same 2 years, it is 380 yen/month cheaper than docomo, AND you get the iPad for free.

It seems like Softbank is still the best way to go.

Permalink Reply by Elvis Mendoza on June 30, 2011 at 7:06pm

The Point is, that even if you get the Softbank for free is still Sim lock.

that mean what you have is a Ipad WIFI.

Permalink Reply by Doug Lerner on June 30, 2011 at 7:25pm

If it really is true you can't use the SoftBank iPad with another Japanese carrier (has anybody tried it?) it still doesn't mean you have an iPad wi-fi because you can still use it with a Softbank contract, right?

From what Ketahi wrote, it sounds like that is still less expensive than the DoCoMo monthly cost (because of the line fee) plus much less expensive overall because you get the iPad 2 itself for free.

So the question is - is using the iPad 2 with DoCoMo worth (1) the extra monthly cost and (2) the large cost of paying cash for an iPad?

By the by, my iPad 1 will work on any company's SIM card because even though I originally got it from SoftBank I changed it during my trip to the U.S. last year because of a dead pixel. So it's really a U.S. model.

If you run the SpeedTest app on your iPad using the DoCoMo contract, what kind of down/up speeds do you get?

doug

Permalink Reply by dan reid on March 16, 2012 at 8:46am

Actually.......

Docomo’s unlimited data plans max out at around 5900 yen per month for smartphones, and around 10,300 yen a month for “laptops and other devices.” Because Docomo doesn’t officially support the iPhone 4 or ipad, and therefore hasn’t been able to lock down dirty little features like VOIP and tethering, they treat the phone as an “other device.”

Therefore doug is right.

Just because you are lucky enough to con docomo does not mean your are right.

Docomo could in all legal right check the Imei number and see that its not the right one and start charging you in full for your data usage then you bill will be high!

So for the sake of 3000 yen a mouth its not worth it.

I guess that facetime does not work or imode just mopera which is an ISP that is sub contracted to Docomo

So softbank seems the cheaper and legal option.

Permalink Reply by Kizuki on October 14, 2011 at 7:57am

Hi Elvis,

I am using iPad 1 and wondering if you have a solution for factory unlock for it. Wanted to use bmobile SIM with it for data.

Thanks.

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