Used iPhone?

[bRadO808]

So I've searched through the forums and on other sites and haven't seen an answer to this question...

My friend is currently living in Tokyo and has an iPhone 4 on Softbank. She is moving back to the US at the same time that I'll be moving to Japan so I was wondering if I could use her phone with a plan of my own. This is not an unlocked or jailbroken phone. It is a paid-in-full legitimate Japanese Softbank iPhone 4. Will I be able to use this phone with a new plan of my own? I know lots of people have issues with Softbank when trying to get a SIM-only plan for phones that they bring from home, but this is a phone purchased from Softbank...

Please, anyone with actual first-hand knowledge (not what you think or guess), let me know!

[Gezora]

Why doesn't your friend go to the Softbank store and just ask?

[bRadO808]

@Gezora - GP. I honestly didn't even think of that. But at the same time, we all know that what she gets told in Tokyo, and what I get told in the nearest Softbank shop to my inaka placement after paying her for the phone may not be the same story...

[Tarquin]

Potentially. I know that people in the past have bought Japanese handsets and gotten SIM cards, however I bet that iPhones are different. It would be best to ask them in person...

[michi]

I have noticed on Tokyo Craigslist from time to time that people will sell their phone and contract. They stipulate that you will have to go to Softbank to transfer the plan. I'm not sure if this can still be done if you both aren't present. I hope this helps.

[mteacher80]

you can sign a contract over from one person to another on softbank. been done plenty of times. I know people who do that with their successors so they dont have to pay the cancelation fee if they are in the middle of a contract and the newbi gets a phone straight away!