Thursday, November 14, 2013

China

Turns out I am invited to travel along on a business trip to China in 2 weeks!  Yes, unless it falls apart for other reasons, I have 2 weeks to plan, get a visa, anddddddd host 18 for Thanksgiving the weekend I leave! EEK!

The issue is that I will have to travel on my own for a good portion of this or not see all that I want to see while there!  I choose the first option and will have to do a lot of research on how to do that safely!  Stay in safe places and take tours instead of doing things on my own I think.

Beijing, Xian are really my top 2. I havent been in Hong Kong since it was part of the UK... so I would love to go there.  Tibit and the Sichuan areas would be sooooooo cool (and ironically probably literally so in Dec! lol).  Tripadvisor.com here I come!  I need cheap air carriers (do they have the equivalent of Ryan Air or Easy Jet?)  Better to fly into HK or Beijing? All sorts of decisions to make! =] Not that I am complaining!



New Iphone 5S in,Old Iphone 4 Unlocked!

For traveling internationally, having an unlocked phone is priceless! I just upgraded to the Iphone 5S and was told that ATT will unlock phones that have completed their contract with them for free!
In the USA you call 1800-335-4685.  Speak with a human and they will look up your account to see if you meet the criteria.  They help you find your IMEI #, (its under General in Settings) text you a web address and have you process it there.  I instantly got an email back giving me directions (see below).  Here is the important thing. I had a Iphone 4 and didnt want to do the ISO7 update which would make my phone really really slow but upon trying to 'restore' as directed, it makes you do both. I didnt restore and it turns out my phone is unlocked anyway!!!!!  Found this site to verify the status for free http://www.wikihow.com/Check-if-Your-iPhone-Is-Unlocked.  Not traveling for 2 weeks but I will try it out then and give you an update!!

Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2013 8:14 AM
Subject: ATT MOBILE DEVICE UNLOCK REQUEST RECEIVED


Request number: 639487
Thank you for contacting AT&T Customer Care about unlocking your AT&T Mobile device.
We have reviewed your request and confirmed that the device may be unlocked.
Please allow 24 hours upon receipt of this notification to complete the unlock process.
To complete the unlock, simply
1. Open iTunes on your Mac or PC and verify that you have Internet connectivity.
2. Ensure a SIM card is inserted into your iPhone.
3. Connect your iPhone using the dock connector to USB cable that came with your iPhone.
4. Backup and restore your iPhone using iTunes. For information on backup and restore, please visit http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414.
5. After restoring, your iPhone will be unlocked.
Additional information on unlocking can be found at http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3198
For questions regarding AT&T Mobile device, please visit the Phone/Device Learning Center.
Thank you for your business. For other questions about our AT&T wireless service or other Mobile devices, please visit att.com.

Sincerely, 

AT&T Customer Care Team 

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