Again and always : home-base of Apple Korean competitor has NOT been included in the first NOR second tier of countries for their latest iPhone 6S and PLUS to be released . in considering to purchase one for use in South Korea : you have to keep two things in mind :
- whether it’s frequency will be compatible with South Korea
- and will Official Apple Warranty be valid
as a rule of thumb : fully paid iPhones 6’s, later and unLocked SIM-free versions from T-Mobile and Verizon will work, but those sold at Apple Stores in neighboring Japan, Hong Kong and Australia should be fully Warrantied in South Korea as well . what you are looking for here is Official model number A1688 for iPhone 6S and A1687 for PLUS .
[ Unites States America ]
iPhone 6, 6S and PLUS full-payment and carrier-unLocked SIM-free versions purchased in the States will be usable . but note full-payment does is NOT the same as carrier-unLocked nor SIM-free . you are likely to get confusing replies from Official Apple HotLine or clerks at nation-wide Apple Stores, but will be easier for you if you keep in mind : this is all to avoid people buying tons to ship-our for use in india //
if you have a choice : T-Mobile has been compatible and Verizon from iPhone 6 and PLUS .
valid carriers in South Korea has been SKT and KT, plus LGT has been added from iPhone 6 and PLUS .
even though the same model numbers : they aren’t /exactly/ the same . for what it’s worth to you : due to personal security laws US iPhones do NOT make a “click” when taking photos, while Japanese and Korean models do make quite a noisy sound when taking pictures //
( Supplementary ) from October 8 Thursday, a new option of “SIM-free” has appeared when purchasing at the Official Apple WebSite . this is around the middle on your Right column after choosing the model name, color, capacity, then carrier . but be careful as they are model numbers A1633 for iPhone 6S and A1634 for PLUS, thus NOT compatible in South Korea – instead : stick to full-paid either Verizon or T-Mobile .
a relatively small Apple Store on Japan’s Northern-most island of Hokkaido, in the city of Sapporo getting ready on the eve of iPhone 6S release – Thursday September 24 2015
[ Japan ]
as surprising for a country although mere gathering of islands, whose 30% of cellular users carry iPhones : there are only 7 Official Apple Stores in all of Japans . and all iPhones sold here are unLocked SIM-free version whose model numbers are identical to those to be sold in South Korea, thus fully Warrantied but after they begin selling in South Korea – expected to be end of October 2015 .
- iPhone 6S model number A1688
- iPhone 6S PLUS model number A1687
One More Thing : while we are on the subject of Warranty . Apple Care Plus is non-existent in South Korea as there is NO Official Apple Store except one On-Line, still offering a generous (by Korean standards) 30-day Refund policy . instead only bare-bone Apple Care . the difference is that the former offers to exchange your watch or phone to a new one twice at extra cost, while the latter is a simple extension of another year .
[ iPhone 6S and PLUS LiNKS ]
- 15.9.20 UnLocked SIM-free iPhone 6S Plus ≫LiNK≪
- 15.9.30 Verify SamSung OR TSMC A9 Processor ON iPhone 6S PLUS ≫LiNK≪
- 15.10.1 Apple iPhone 6S PLUS AND The Existence of God ≫LiNK≪
- 15.10.1 iPhone 6S PLUS 128GB Rose Gold Availability ≫LiNK≪
- 15.10.1 iPhone 6S PLUS Release Korea ≫LiNK≪
- 15.10.1 Rasta Banana TuneWear Semi-Hard Case for iPhone 6S PLUS ≫LiNK≪
- 15.10.8 apple-iphone-6s-plus-reservation-system ≫LiNK≪
– Korea Tech BLog –
Hey there!
I bought two Iphone 6s (A1688, tmobile unlocked from the apple store, not the tmobile store) here in the states when it was released a week ago. I plan on going to korea soon and give one to my niece who lives in korea and is on carrier KT. Do you know if it will work for her? Does KT have regular size simcards that fit into Iphone 6s?
Lucky You AND Your Niece ! however
“full-paid T-Mobile iPhone 6S” purchased at an Official Apple Store last Week
would still be locked into T-Mobile,
but is compatible with the two major S.Korean carriers SKT and KT, and hopefully LGT too .
more-over Apple model number A1688 ensures its Warranty will be effective in here (NOT yet, but after it has been released in S.Korea) 😉
Hi there,
I’m currently living in Korea and I waiting to buy the iPhone 6s sometime in December. I wanted to know if the iPhone 6s will be sold unlocked in Korea and would I be able to use it when I get back home in the U.S.? I’m currently under Olleh and my carrier back home is T-Mobile. Would it work? Please let me know. Thanks!
1.S.Korean release is previewed early November, so even the most hard-to-get combination (PLUS 128GB Rose-Gold) should be available by December . deducting from the way Apple released 6S States-side and in neighboring Japan : they will probably instigate a manic OnLine reservation system here . meaning, you reserve a pick-up time and place first – will look into this on a separate Post .
2./UnLocked/ version will be sold at the ONLY Official Apple Store in S.Korea which is OnLine, and most Official ReSeller Shops – which will be fully usable in the States . of all U.S.carriers : T-Mobile version works best in S.Korea too .