Used iPhone with no AT&T contract.

[GhostToMost]

Hello All,

This is my first post here and thanks for listening.

My bestfriend from out of state just recently upgraded to the iPhone 3g. He was able to snag 16GB white of Friday! He mailed me his old iPhone 1st get in the mail. So I received it yesterday and want to activate today.

The phone has been upgraded to 2.0 firmware and has never been unlocked.

As I am not a AT&T customer what is my best route in getting a service plan onto this phone?

If I go into AT&T for a SIM card would I have to commit to a two year contract? If so is there anyway around this without unlocking?

Thanks in advance.

[Tallest Skil]

If I go into AT&T for a SIM card would I have to commit to a two year contract? If so is there anyway around this without unlocking?

Yes. No.

[Bridge51]

You will have to do several things to get your phone to work on another GSM carrier, like T-mobile. Since your iPhone is updated to 2.0, there are additional steps that need to be taken to downgrade to 1.1.4, until they release the jailbreak for 2.0, and i'd have someone who is somewhat computer savvy help you with it.

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=648863&pid=589557150&st=15&#entry589557150

Here is a link with instructions. You will also need to Jailbreak and unlock your iPhone. I'd suggest using iLiberty+, it's very simple.

If you are going to switch to AT&T, then none of this is necessary, just go to an AT&T store and they'll get you a new contract and a SIM card.

[GhostToMost]

You will have to do several things to get your phone to work on another GSM carrier, like T-mobile. Since your iPhone is updated to 2.0, there are additional steps that need to be taken to downgrade to 1.1.4, until they release the jailbreak for 2.0, and i'd have someone who is somewhat computer savvy help you with it.

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=648863&pid=589557150&st=15&#entry589557150

Here is a link with instructions. You will also need to Jailbreak and unlock your iPhone. I'd suggest using iLiberty+, it's very simple.

If you are going to switch to AT&T, then none of this is necessary, just go to an AT&T store and they'll get you a new contract and a SIM card.

If I went the downgrade > jailbreak/unlock path how would I obtain a sim card or would I need to?

If I do activate through AT&T would I be able to obtain a 3G model say six months down the road for the 2 year contract price $199/$299?