Getting a free iPhone 3GS...

[CurseTheSky]

A friend of mine is upgrading to the iPhone 4 shortly. He's going to give me his iPhone 3GS rather than trying to sell it.

I currently have a dumb phone on a non-data / smartphone AT&T family contract. What should I expect to pay extra to be able to use the phone on this plan?

Thanks.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

If you jailbreak it you won't have to do anything special, you don't have to pay for data.

 

[GT1999]

If he just pulls the SIM you can use it over WiFi for free as an iPod Touch.

If you want to use it as a phone, on AT&T, unlimited data runs $30 per month, however they recently changed their data plans to be $15 for 200MB or $25 for 2GB and the unlimited is only offered to those that are grandfathered in, those would be what you would pick from.

 

[AMDZen]

If you jailbreak it you won't have to do anything special, you don't have to pay for data.

Bull shit

How are you going to not pay for data unless you are on Wi-Fi? As the person above said it would only be an iPod touch.

AT&T requires every iPhone to have a data plan, whether you use it or not is irrelevant. You can get around this by doing a sim swap on your older phone and doing some social hacking over the phone with a CS rep, but the next time the network does an IMEI scan it will know you're on an iPhone and swap it back.

Any way.

450 anytime, 1000 weekend and night minutes is $39.99 a month
1500 text messages is $15.00 a month
unlimited data plan - which you can only get if you had it previously I believe is $30.00 a month

That would be $84.99 a month

Unless you can't get the unlimited and then you would get the 2GB for $25.00 a month

$79.99 a month

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Let me clarify. If you jailbreak it you can activate it to be used with any AT&T sim card. If you unlock it you can use it on any carrier. What this means is that you can use it without having to pay any data because you won't be using the data, you'd just be using it as a regular phone. And AT&T does know that you are using an iPhone without a data plan but has yet to do anything about it.

 

[TheStu]

Yea, he wasn't saying that you get 3G data for free, jailbreaking can turn off the ability for the phone to get data over 3G or EDGE, meaning that you can use it as an iPod Touch, but still make calls with it.

 

[uli2000]

AT&T tracks iPhones by IMEI. If you use an iPhone on their network, jailbroken or not, heck, even if it comes from another carrier, AT&T can tell and will add an iPhone data plan. Some people have claimed that by not only adding a data block on their line but also adding a program that changes the iphone's APN settings to fake settings they have been able to keep iphones on their lines w/o an iPhone data plan, but this is a gamble at best. Currently, The cheapest iPhone data plan is $15/month for 200mb. This is on top of whatever voice and text charges you currently have.

 

[secretanchitman]

OP, at&t does sweeps of their accounts and automatically adds the "correct" plan for you. in this case, it'll either be $15 for 200MB or $25 for 2GB. congrats on your free 3GS!

 

[CTrain]

Yup, pretty much everyone said.
Put your sim card from the old phone into the 3GS and use it until ATT catches you.
At least now, ATT have a $15 data plan.

BTW, if you are out of contract with ATT and uses an iphone, can ATT still forces you to get a data plan ??

 

[CurseTheSky]

Looks like I'll be shelling out and extra $25 / month then. Considering that my business (computer repair / consulting / etc.) revolves around being able to connect to the 'net, I guess it's worth it.

Then I'll just have to do my own evaluation of AT&T vs. Verizon (since I have both). I already know that AT&T definitely drops more calls, at least in my area, but Verizon isn't perfect either. If AT&T is reliable enough for my needs, I can hopefully drop my Verizon account altogether.

Edit: then again, 2GB / month isn't all that much. 200MB / month is a lot less, of course, but I generally only use data for a quick price check in a B&M store, or to look up some information in a hurry. I rarely (almost never) browse the net on my phone just for fun. Decisions, decisions.

Thanks guys.

 

[thescreensavers]

Bull shit

How are you going to not pay for data unless you are on Wi-Fi? As the person above said it would only be an iPod touch.

AT&T requires every iPhone to have a data plan, whether you use it or not is irrelevant. You can get around this by doing a sim swap on your older phone and doing some social hacking over the phone with a CS rep, but the next time the network does an IMEI scan it will know you're on an iPhone and swap it back.

Any way.

450 anytime, 1000 weekend and night minutes is $39.99 a month
1500 text messages is $15.00 a month
unlimited data plan - which you can only get if you had it previously I believe is $30.00 a month

That would be $84.99 a month

Unless you can't get the unlimited and then you would get the 2GB for $25.00 a month

$79.99 a month

My Friend has been using his iphone data plan free Since November of last year. So yea

 

[basslover1]

As far as I can tell (from personal experience) AT&T can only force you into data if you subsidize the iPhone from them, by singing a contract.

I purchased a 1st gen off eBay a little over a year ago, and popped my sim in and off I went. After about two months I added data to my account, I had to call because I could not do it online my self, the IMEI number they had on record (for my BB Curve) didn't match the iPhone's (obviously) so they needed to do it for me.

Anyway, point is, about 2-3 months later I needed to save some coin so I called up AT&T and had them remove it from my account, and they did so with no issues.

They can't force the data on you, since you didn't sign an iPhone contract where it's required. If you're just using the phone on your old contract you shouldn't have to add anything, unless of course you want to.

 

[mosco]

Looks like I'll be shelling out and extra $25 / month then. Considering that my business (computer repair / consulting / etc.) revolves around being able to connect to the 'net, I guess it's worth it.

Then I'll just have to do my own evaluation of AT&T vs. Verizon (since I have both). I already know that AT&T definitely drops more calls, at least in my area, but Verizon isn't perfect either. If AT&T is reliable enough for my needs, I can hopefully drop my Verizon account altogether.

Edit: then again, 2GB / month isn't all that much. 200MB / month is a lot less, of course, but I generally only use data for a quick price check in a B&M store, or to look up some information in a hurry. I rarely (almost never) browse the net on my phone just for fun. Decisions, decisions.

Thanks guys.

I don't do a ton of streaming like some people, but the most I have used in the last 6 months is like 700MB.

 

[AMDZen]

My Friend has been using his iphone data plan free Since November of last year. So yea

How? Provide more information or I call bullshit

 

[basslover1]

I don't do a ton of streaming like some people, but the most I have used in the last 6 months is like 700MB.

On a normal month's worth of usage I'll use on average about 500MB.

Only twice have I gone over 1GB of usage, and only once have I used more than 2GBs worth. This was with probably two weeks straight of streaming pandora from 12AM until 8AM. Normally I never use that much.

 

[zylander]

How? Provide more information or I call bullshit

If you jailbreak the phone there are apps you can download that will let you prevent the phone from going on the 3G network and prevent the phone from accessing data (you could try to load a web page and nothing would happen, unless you were on WiFi). When setup like this, AT&T will not force you to pay for the iPhone data plan because it is not on the 3G network and it is not transmitting/receiving data. It is just a normal phone making/receiving calls and text messages.

Believe it or just call bullshit again, I dont care.

 

[AMDZen]

If you jailbreak the phone there are apps you can download that will let you prevent the phone from going on the 3G network and prevent the phone from accessing data (you could try to load a web page and nothing would happen, unless you were on WiFi). When setup like this, AT&T will not force you to pay for the iPhone data plan because it is not on the 3G network and it is not transmitting/receiving data. It is just a normal phone making/receiving calls and text messages.

Believe it or just call bullshit again, I dont care.

Oh well yea, of course now that you make that stipulation. It was already noted that you would have to try and only use Wi-fi, but only a retarded person would have an iPhone and set it up that way. How does it make sense to do that rather then just have iPod Touch instead and they just use free apps to make calls or surf the net ONLY when you are connected to Wi-Fi.

 

[thescreensavers]

How? Provide more information or I call bullshit

I dont know he bought his iphone in Germany and came here for college he is on ATT and does not pay data.

 

[zylander]

Oh well yea, of course now that you make that stipulation. It was already noted that you would have to try and only use Wi-fi, but only a retarded person would have an iPhone and set it up that way. How does it make sense to do that rather then just have iPod Touch instead and they just use free apps to make calls or surf the net ONLY when you are connected to Wi-Fi.

Sure makes a lot of sense for someone like the OP who is getting an iPhone for free. If you setup an iPhone like I just explained you basically have an iPod Touch that can make and receive calls and texts and that has a camera all while not having to pay $30/month.

Hell, with a 2 year contract an iPhone is cheaper than an iPod Touch. One can buy an iPhone at a subsidized price, then set it up like I just explained and cancel their data plan. Now they will have a $199 iPod Touch that has a camera and works like a phone.

 

[Childs]

Oh well yea, of course now that you make that stipulation. It was already noted that you would have to try and only use Wi-fi, but only a retarded person would have an iPhone and set it up that way. How does it make sense to do that rather then just have iPod Touch instead and they just use free apps to make calls or surf the net ONLY when you are connected to Wi-Fi.

What are you talking about? A iPod Touch isnt a phone. An iPhone without data is still a phone, with all the iPod/app stuff. You dont need data for an iPhone to still be useful. I have been using my 1st gen iPhone for two years without data, as the speed and reliability of Edge didnt justify the $30/month.

 

[AMDZen]

What are you talking about? A iPod Touch isnt a phone. An iPhone without data is still a phone, with all the iPod/app stuff. You dont need data for an iPhone to still be useful. I have been using my 1st gen iPhone for two years without data, as the speed and reliability of Edge didnt justify the $30/month.

You are full of shit. The only way you could use the iPhone without a data plan, on the AT&T network, would be to use it without the phone functionality AT ALL, and only use apps for TXT and phone calls via Wi-Fi. As soon as you are on AT&T's edge network, as soon as your SIM is entered into the phone and the phone used, a Data plan would be added as the network knows right away that its an iPhone on the AT&T network.

I've seen people try and do SIM swaps and it only works for a few days, or weeks at most.

Sure makes a lot of sense for someone like the OP who is getting an iPhone for free. If you setup an iPhone like I just explained you basically have an iPod Touch that can make and receive calls and texts and that has a camera all while not having to pay $30/month.

Hell, with a 2 year contract an iPhone is cheaper than an iPod Touch. One can buy an iPhone at a subsidized price, then set it up like I just explained and cancel their data plan. Now they will have a $199 iPod Touch that has a camera and works like a phone.

No what would make sense is for the OP to sell the iPhone since he obviously doesn't need it, and he cannot get around the $30 /month for Data so his choice is to pay the 30$ a month, or sell it for an obscene amount of money on eBay and buy something else.

 

[basslover1]

You are full of shit. The only way you could use the iPhone without a data plan, on the AT&T network, would be to use it without the phone functionality AT ALL, and only use apps for TXT and phone calls via Wi-Fi. As soon as you are on AT&T's edge network, as soon as your SIM is entered into the phone and the phone used, a Data plan would be added as the network knows right away that its an iPhone on the AT&T network.

I've seen people try and do SIM swaps and it only works for a few days, or weeks at most.



No what would make sense is for the OP to sell the iPhone since he obviously doesn't need it, and he cannot get around the $30 /month for Data so his choice is to pay the 30$ a month, or sell it for an obscene amount of money on eBay and buy something else.

Did you miss my post from a few days ago? I've used an iPhone on AT&T without data, for months. I also added it on because the phone is useless without it IMO. Hell, I even had AT&T take it off for me a few months later.

 

[gorcorps]

You are full of shit. The only way you could use the iPhone without a data plan, on the AT&T network, would be to use it without the phone functionality AT ALL, and only use apps for TXT and phone calls via Wi-Fi. As soon as you are on AT&T's edge network, as soon as your SIM is entered into the phone and the phone used, a Data plan would be added as the network knows right away that its an iPhone on the AT&T network.

I've seen people try and do SIM swaps and it only works for a few days, or weeks at most.



No what would make sense is for the OP to sell the iPhone since he obviously doesn't need it, and he cannot get around the $30 /month for Data so his choice is to pay the 30$ a month, or sell it for an obscene amount of money on eBay and buy something else.

Only now the data plan comes as low as $15/mo

 

[Childs]

You are full of shit. The only way you could use the iPhone without a data plan, on the AT&T network, would be to use it without the phone functionality AT ALL, and only use apps for TXT and phone calls via Wi-Fi. As soon as you are on AT&T's edge network, as soon as your SIM is entered into the phone and the phone used, a Data plan would be added as the network knows right away that its an iPhone on the AT&T network.

I've seen people try and do SIM swaps and it only works for a few days, or weeks at most.



No what would make sense is for the OP to sell the iPhone since he obviously doesn't need it, and he cannot get around the $30 /month for Data so his choice is to pay the 30$ a month, or sell it for an obscene amount of money on eBay and buy something else.

Seriously, are you mentally challenged? I have the phone. I do not pay for data. It registers as an iPhone on my ATT account page, but I had data disabled on the account. In fact, I used to move my sim between my iPhone and Razr all the time. The only thing that doesnt work is visual voicemail, but the voicemail notification works so thats good enough.

If you dont know what you're talking about why not just STFU? Seriously, this isnt rocket science, and many people do it. You dont need data to use an iPhone. An iPhone without data is still a phone, and works like phones have always worked prior to the iPhone.

 

[AMDZen]

Seriously, are you mentally challenged? I have the phone. I do not pay for data. It registers as an iPhone on my ATT account page, but I had data disabled on the account. In fact, I used to move my sim between my iPhone and Razr all the time. The only thing that doesnt work is visual voicemail, but the voicemail notification works so thats good enough.

If you dont know what you're talking about why not just STFU? Seriously, this isnt rocket science, and many people do it. You dont need data to use an iPhone. An iPhone without data is still a phone, and works like phones have always worked prior to the iPhone.

Maybe you got in on it before Sept 6 of last year and they grandfathered you.

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/08/att_to_require.html

I can post numerous links that show that AT&T made it a mandatory option on the iPhone - and I can post numerous users experiences confirming that its true - others have also said the same thing as me in this thread.

I am helping the OP by letting him know that he cannot do what you have indicated you have done. You are the exception, or like I said - somehow got grandfathered in.

OP will need a data plan to activate his iPhone and he should expect to have to pay for it.