Hi Nic, Dónal, and Others,
Although I, too, have never had problems using an Apple laptop with a
wireless connection while in Europe, I should point out this recent
article reporting that Israel's customs officials are confiscating
wireless iPads brought in from the U.S. until their ministry
determines compatibility with Israeli wireless standards. Here's the
link and abstracted summary from iLounge, who picked this up from John
Gruber's Daring Fireball blog:
"Israel bans iPad imports" by Jesse David Hollington, April 14, 2010:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/mobile/news/israel-bans-ipad-imports/
<begin quote>
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that the Communications Ministry in
Israel has blocked the import of iPads to that country, directing
customs officers to confiscate any iPads that are brought in from the
U.S. According to ministry officials the iPad has not received the
approval required for wireless devices to operate in Israel, the
problem being that its wireless technology is “not compatible with
Israeli standards.” Specifically, FCC regulations allow Wi-Fi devices
sold in the U.S. to broadcast at higher power levels than are
permitted in Europe and Israel, potentially preventing U.S. iPads from
being approved for use in Israel. The ministry has requested
information from Apple’s Israeli distributor, iDigital, to determine
whether it will be able to approve importing iPads under Israeli
communications regulations.
<end quote>
Cheers,
Esther
Dónal Fitzpatrick wrote:
Ah no Nick purchasing over there is not out of the question. I have
to say
I've been using my US-purchased machine since January with no
problems.
However, I can envisage a situation where I'm on a network which I
don't
control and where I can't change the broadcast channel. Raising it is
probably me just being picky but I'd prefer if there was some kind of
setting I could adjust to change the locale of the card or something.
Cheers
Dónal
-----Original Message-----
From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
[mailto:macvisionar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Nicolai Svendsen
Sent: 15 April 2010 14:14
To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Non-US people buying a Mac in the US: Warning.
Hi,
Man, I was thinking of doing the same thing. The exchange rate is
excellent,
and we pay a fortune just to get the Macbooks. Not the Pro ones, but
just
the regular ones. I guess that plan is out of the question.
Regards,
Nic
Skype: Kvalme
MSN Messenger: nico...@home3.gvdnet.dk
AIM: cincinster
yahoo Messenger: cin368
Facebook Profile
My Twitter
On Apr 15, 2010, at 1:20 PM, Dónal Fitzpatrick wrote:
Hi all,
I intended to post this months ago and forgot. On a trip to the
States back in January I decided to take advantage of the excellent
exchange rate and buy a 13" MBP. I saved a fortune I assure you.
However, on returning home I discovered something I wasn't previously
aware of. The wireless card in the US models is actually configured
differently from those sold in Europe. The reason is this. FCC
regulations in the States means that wireless routers only broadcast
on channels 1-11. In Europe, we can broadcast on channels 1-13. So,
wireless cards on Mac machines purchased in the US are only set up to
operate on channels 1-11.
All of my routers were configured to broadcast on channel 13, so my
nice shiny new machine purchased in the US didn't see any of my
routers.
It was a very simple fix to adjust the channels downwards, and all is
now fine. However if you go to, say a public WIFI area, or are using
your machine on a network where you can't control the channel on
which
the wireless signal is broadcast, it might, just might, be a problem
for you to purchase your machine in the US. As an aside, for anyone
travelling to Europe (or Japan) with a US machine, if you can't pick
up a wireless signal that others can, this could be a reason.
This may, and probably will, affect only a few people but I pass it
on
for what it's worth.
Cheers
Dónal
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