Is MetroPCS "flashed" iPHONE going to be different than the regular iPhone features/apps?

[Elyza]

I used to have AT&T service on my iphone and now I am wanting to switch my service to MetroPCS. I was told by a MetroPCS agent that they can unlock and "flash" my iPhone by putting in a new Sim card to make it work with Metro pcs service. (I hope this method is not the same as what people call "jail hacking" because I heard jail hacking is bad and can make phones vulnerable to Malware, mess up the battery, etc).

Q) I just want to know, if I do that, will there be any difference in the Apps which I can download on the phone (can I still use apps like Instagram, twitter, Tumblr, skype, facebook, and games, etc) ?
..... and will I be able to download more app's from apple store just as I would if i had my AT&T service.. OR will the app's on Metropcs be restricted and I would have to use an alternate Metro app store to get those apps ( in which case, would they even be available)?


* If anyone has flashed their iphone from ATT to Metropcs, can you please advise any differences there may be, any Cons associated with this change? *

The last thing I'd want is to risk damaging my iphone by making it susceptible to any malware and such.

[proudfield686]

You've got some things mixed up - but the simple answer is doing this won't change the features or apps of the phone and won't make it work worse or be at risk of malware. The App Store will still be the Apple App Store, etc.

As far as what you mixed up - first of all if you modify a phone that uses a SIM card so that it is able to work with other phone company's SIM cards, that's not "flashing", that's "unlocking". Flashing is only needed on phones that don't use SIM cards, but it does a similar thing - it allows a phone that only worked with one phone company to work with a different one.

Not all phones can be unlocked and not all phones can be flashed.

Secondly, it's not "jail hacking" it's "jailbreaking" but you are basically right about what the risks are. Jailbreaking is not the same as unlocking, and if you do one you aren't doing the other.

So really, if you unlock your iPhone and put a MetroPCS SIM card in it, the only difference will be that you'll be paying your phone bill to MetroPCS. Nothing about the phone itself will change.

[William]

Metro pcs is the same service as t mobile. So check with people in your area if they have good signal with tmobile. Which here in toledo OH they suck!