Simcards for iPhones now available in VN

The accessory to attach to the main simcard that will turn locked iPhones into international versions is now available in Vietnam. It costs VND200,000 and is sourced from China.



The product is advertised as ‘next-generation associated super-simcard' which fixes existing problems of locked iPhone versions.

Associated simcard is the small circuit board attached to the main simcard that helps locked iPhones receive signals in Vietnam.

A salesman of a privately run phone shop in Hanoi said the associated simcard has been selling very well as it is ‘dirt-cheap’ and ‘useful’.

It is advertised as having a strong advantage that it can fix all common flaws regularly seen in locked iPhones, and there is no need to intervene in the software.

Users, for example, can check their account with USUD commands such as *101#. It is also easy to activate features such as FaceTime calling or iMessage messaging on locked iPhones just by installing the associated simcard.

When accessing 3G and 4G to connect to the internet, it is not necessary to turn on the roaming data regime in the setting as required previously.

iPhone shop owners said that that the next-generation simcard is compatible with both the locked iPhones versions sourced from the US and Japan, which are popular in Vietnam, and the more rarely seen versions from Europe or South America. The simcard can also work well with the latest version of iOS such as 10.3.

This type of SIM card is compatible with both US and Japan network key chains which are popular in the Vietnamese mobile market to rare models such as European or South American carriers. New Sims also work well with the latest version of iOS as 10.3.

However, Cong Huy, a veteran iPhone user, said users need to think carefully before buying next-generation associated simcards.

The simcard has many different brands, VF Sim, Heicard, ClubGSM and GPPLite, which have different features and effects.

The simcard is advertised as enabling locked iPhones to work as international iPhone versions. However, it is still unclear if the associated simcard is compatible with Apple’s next operating system updates.

On iPhone fans’ forums, some users commented that the next-generation simcard will help make the iPhone cheaper as users now have more choices.

Apple Inc’s legal representative in Vietnam recently sent documents to Vietnamese phone stores on their illegal use of the brand’s trademark without Apple’s permission.

The Apple legal representatives mentioned stores using the logo, trademarks ‘Apple’, ‘iPhone’, which are protected in Vietnam.

Thanh Lich / vietnamnet