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mlody

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 11, 2012
1,587
1,216
Windy City
My 10 years old daughter's Nokia X2 is on its last leg and before it hits the dust, I would like to check my options regarding a replacement phone for her.

Since we all have iPad's and I already have iPhone, I am only considering an iPhone, in particular 3GS model (mainly due to cost); however, I am not sure if it will work on T-mobile network without constant hassle of resettings/rebooting/hacking etc.

I do not care about 3g/4g/LTE speeds as 99% of time she would be connected to wi-fi networks. All I care is that she has ability to use SMS/MMS/iMessage and occasional phone call.

With that said, can I just pick up an unlocked ATT iPhone 3GS and put her t-mobile sim card in, or this process is more complicated? Is jailbreaking required (would hate to do that) ? I appreciate any information.

Thank you
 

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,448
1,228
Charlotte, NC
Yes you can use an unlocked 3GS with no problem on Tmobile. Currently you have to manually input the mms settings for Tmobile but sometime next week Apple will be rolling out the Tmobile carrier update for the iPhone and the settings will be there automatically.
 

andyx3x

macrumors 65816
Mar 1, 2011
1,349
137
I lost my iPhone 5 a few weeks ago and bought a 3GS off Craigslist just to tide me over over until the 5S comes out this summer. I am using it on the $30 prepaid plan and it is working perfectly.

So yes, go for it. As has been said, you will need to adjust some settings for MMS messages but I don't worry about it because most I send are on iMessage and that works without any adjustment.

----------

With that said, can I just pick up an unlocked ATT iPhone 3GS and put her t-mobile sim card in, or this process is more complicated? Is jailbreaking required (would hate to do that) ? I appreciate any information.Thank you

Just stick the sim card in and you're good to go.
 

hexonxonx

macrumors 601
Jul 4, 2007
4,610
1
Denver Colorado
I am using a 3GS as well as a 4S on T-Mobile, each with their own $30 100 minute plan.

For the 3GS, I just copied the APN settings that I had already in the 4S and I took an old AT&T full size sim and cut out a hole for the micro sim to fit into and held it in place with a piece of tape. Works great and I can then use the micro sim in any other phone when I want.

I get about .50Mbps to 6Mbps depending on how I face the phone.
 

mlody

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 11, 2012
1,587
1,216
Windy City
Thank you for all the replays. I am confident now that iPhone 3GS will be a great choice for my daughter. Now, shopping time :)
 

mlody

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 11, 2012
1,587
1,216
Windy City
I finally got theiphone 3gs for my daugher. It is 8gb black, unlocked and runs the latest OS 6.1.3. The phone runs great and even picks up 3g service in some areas :)
 

lanzzue

macrumors newbie
Apr 15, 2013
2
0
yeah,think so,I am confident now that iPhone 3GS will be a great choice for my daughter. Now, shopping time
eh
 
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