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I am planning to ask my brother to pick up the iPhone 15 pro from the USA. Couple of questions:
1. Which variant to buy - I assume that one that says "Connect with any carrier after you get your new iPhone" ?
2. Will warranty work in India?
3. Will the Airtel e-sim work out of box if i just buy the "not tied to any carrier" variant from apple.com (USA website) ?
4. Lastly, does my brother have to remove the phone from box and only get the phone and charger to India?

1) I guess you mean unlocked phone here, that’s what you have to get. Locked ones won’t work.

2) No, warranty is valid only in the country where it was bought.

3) Yes, any e-sim would work. But as far as I remember the iPhones (14 and above) sold in US doesn’t have a physical tray for sims.

4) I guess that query is for custom duty. Personally I have carried many times the packed iPhone while traveling to INDIA. But I’m not sure what are the exact rules for custom “duty free” allowance.

Cheers

1. Choose the unlocked version as there is no price difference between that vs. carrier option.

2. Apple Warranty in same country of purchase. But, why do you worry about warranty? I have never seen anyone claim one. Their products are rock solid.

3. It will work on Airtel e-Sim.

4. Simple- Take out of the box. Keep the box in one bag and phone in another. Not sure which airport your brother will land. Customs in general don't shake up a passenger for these small things. My last trip to India earlier this year, I had lot of small to medium priced electronic stuff and I just walked through the green channel and nobody stopped me.

My wife had a US-bought iPhone, which had some issues a week before the warranty expired. She took it to an Apple store in my locality and they just replaced it after investigating the problem for a day. Hence surprised to see comments that warranty is only applicable in the country of purchase. This was a couple of years back. May be things have changed now.

Wrong info. You can claim warranty in India for a phone bought in the US.

Have been using multiple Apple products which have been brought in Germany, India and USA and have claimed warranty in India and Germany. I have brought apple care in India for two phones that were purchased in USA. Never once has anyone asked me where the phone was purchased from. I am surprised to hear the warranty is local to country of purchase.

My iPhone 8+ was brought from USA and I bent it after a fall. It was taken back and replaced for a cost with an Indian phone and yet no questions asked.

Glad to know things have changed and Apple warranty is global as I was not aware about it. But, it does come with limitations.

As per Apple website :



I have used every single model from iPhone 6 till iPhone 14 Promax.

Never had any issues till date. In fact, I stopped taking Apple Care ($10 bucks/month) many years ago as it was good money down the drain.

Well, everyone's use case is different. Touchwood, my experience has been flawless till date. :)

How long do you use each version? From your posts following each iPhone release seeking the fresh out of oven toy, seems like max 1 year? I could be wrong.

Mod Note : No SMS language please. Request you to go through Posting Etiquette.
Thanks.

Yup. I upgrade every year so my usage is typically 12-15 months for each new iPhone. But, some folks have issues even in this short period.

My 13 Promax is now almost 2 years old (Longest I held on to an iPhone) and My 14 Promax is 2-months old.

13 Promax will be replaced with a 15 Promax in November 2023.

Seems there’s some caveat to it.

My interpretation is, it doesn’t mean you won’t get service, but you could be denied or could have to get the device back to the country of purchase on your dime to get the service. It's at the discretion of the people/policy at the service center.

And as far as I remember apple care+ has to be bought from the same country where the gadget was sold.

Thanks esteemed members. So, basically if my brother picks up the unlocked phone from the US and gets the phone and box in two seperate bags, it should be good. He will land either in delhi/mumbai so hopefully customs isn't an issue as the phone will be out of box.

Make sure to remove all indications of it being new. Like factory screen protector, charger in plastic etc. Box is of no use to me, so never carried them. I've done this 3 times so far, went through smooth.

Better take the phone in pocket instead of bag, and fold the boxes flat and keep it inside zipper.

There is never a problem in bringing a phone through customs. To be on the safer side I keep the phone in my pocket (More so because I already start using it while abroad).

At the same time I know many people who have brought 2-3 phones in their baggage for someone and they have had no checks. Of course this is a risk one has to take.

By the way, you cannot fold an iPhone box flat lol: Just throw it somewhere in between stuff in your checked in baggage.

A friend carried an iphone, 2 x chargers & 2x lightning cables - all sealed packed for me from US to Delhi last year. No problem