What is the best U.S. prepaid carrier i can use for an iPhone 3G? I currently can't use my plan so i have to use prepaid for a few months at the max. I don't need data. (although data would be nice 
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Best prepaid plan for iPhone 3G
- Thread starter 11colmil
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Any AT&T prepaid sim will work.
You will have to unlock it if you want to use Tmobile prepaid.
Up to you.
Check out their websites for pricing details.
You will have to unlock it if you want to use Tmobile prepaid.
Up to you.
Check out their websites for pricing details.
I was reading around, supposedly you used to be able to use the dollar a day plan with t-mobile. Is there any way to still use it?
I'd use an AT&T gophone sim, then get the $19 data plan and you will get tethering, facetime, mms, 3g data and voice. What a deal. I just did this with one of my iphone 4s. Why go to tmo and be stuck on edge if you don't have to be?
Can you tell me more about how your doing the gophone plans on the iphone 4. So basically you can get the 60 dollars unlimited talk and text to work with an iphone 4? Face time works? Is there a better data plan than then 100MB for 19.99?
Thanks
I don't know if my gophone sim was expired, but it shows up on my iPhone as "No Service" I bought it about a month and a half ago. I could of sworn that I had some money left on it.
Anyone know whats wrong with it?
Anyone know whats wrong with it?
The new GoPhone SIMs are locked to the device the SIM was activated on/with for the first SIX months. (Basically any retail offering with "Free Credit" attached to it.)
Yep, the way around this, as others have posted and I can also verify from personal experience (last month) that works... Get your hands on an AT&T sim card (no, doesn't have to say go-phone, can be an unactivated postpaid sim)... the apple store has them but they're pretty strict with them, or go to the AT&T store and tell them you lost your phone and ordered a replacement on ebay and they'll give you the sim to take and "use when your new phone arrives"... or just buy a sim on ebay... whatever method is easier. Then go on the goPhone website or call them and swap sims, and then transfer the number to the new SIM... this is really no big deal and works like a charm.
However, be careful because 100mb data plan on prepaid is all AT&T currently offers. You can stack them (aka when u use 100gb for $20 u can buy another 100gb for $20), but it goes really quick. Many people complain about how expensive prepaid is, but it's $15 for 250mb just like the "new and improved" postpaid plan, haha... dohh. We're screwed any way we look at it if AT&T's involved.
Solution: Move to the UK... $15 a month gets you 100 SMS and unlimited 3G data for a month... course the same $3.50 starbucks coffee will cost ya $8 there, haha, so I guess it's all relative ;-)
You buy a gophone, you put the sim from the gophone into the iphone and activate it from the iphone. That sim is now bonded to that iphone and won't work in another iphone.
I don't care about text, can't help you there. If you go to the att site you'll see there data plans for gophones. No there isn't a better one. Minutes are for sale in several denominations.
Wrong.
You never use the sim that came with the GoPhone because that sim will not work in another phone for about six months. The trick is to use another sim to activate the phone.
In all reality though, you don't even need the GoPhone to activate the sim, all you need is the phones IMEI # and a sim. You activate the sim on the GoPhone site and then place the sim in the iPhone. Never use the iPhones IMEI # to activate the sim on the GoPhone site as the site will tell you that you can not use an iPhone on a GoPhone plan.
You also say that the sim is now bonded to the iPhone and will not work in any other iPhone. That is also wrong. It will work in any iPhone and any cell phone. I used to switch my GoPhone sim into three different iPhones all the time with no problems.
I did this. I don't care if you believe this is how this process works or not. I have an iphone 4 running on a gophone sim with a data plan. It was a freshly restored iphone activated with the as yet unactivated gophone sim.
I could care less about some six month bonding issue. I guess if you are that concerned about the portability of your sim, then use another sim to activate with. There is no reason to make someone think they need two different sims to do this.
Yes I've done it. This is why i know you are wrong. These forums are full of my posts stating this going back from last summer. I had two iPhones, one running a GoPhone sim and the other on an iPhone plan. I would swap the sims between three different phones all the time. The GoPhone sim was never locked to just one phone.
Its not that difficult to get a go phone SIM that is not locked to any particular phone. What i did was go to an ATT shop to buy the SIM, they asked me for the IMEI for the phone and I said the phone was at home and I needed them to activate the SIM which they did. I used the SIM in my Iphone for six months and also in an unlocked Samsung phone and an unlocked Motorola phone without any problems. I no longer use it in the iphone but tried it as recently as a couple weeks ago when i did a restore and it works in the iphone still.
Hmm...I just logged in to try to find a tutorial on how to set up a now dormant iPhone 3g with prepaid service. Looks like I'm almost in the right place. Anybody got a link for how-to on the physical end of that? And obviously for the final step, I'll be interested in hearing which prepaid service would be best to use.
i'm a student in europe but will be in dallas, tx for 10 weeks
i won't need many minutes but i really need 3g on my hacktivated iphone 3g
so the best move would be to go to at&t, get a gophone $.25 Simple Plan + data plan (anybody have a link?), tell them my phone is at home, have them activate the sim and that's it?
i see there are really no alternatives to at&t in the US when it comes to using your hacktivated iPhone, right?
thanks for your help guys
i won't need many minutes but i really need 3g on my hacktivated iphone 3g
so the best move would be to go to at&t, get a gophone $.25 Simple Plan + data plan (anybody have a link?), tell them my phone is at home, have them activate the sim and that's it?
i see there are really no alternatives to at&t in the US when it comes to using your hacktivated iPhone, right?
thanks for your help guys
http://www.unlockit.co.nz/unlockit/ will walk you through the choice of carriers and then install the APN profile on your phone so when you use prepaid it'll work like a charm.
Be careful when using data after using the site mentioned above. The iPhone can use up allot of data in a few minutes. AT&Ts data plans are 1MB for $4.99 or 100MB for $19.99. You can buy up to three 100MB packages in one month and stack them and so that you have 300MB to use all at once. After they run out, it's about .01 cent per Kb.
+1 Agree in his comment. One way to slow the flow is turn off 3G and just use EDGE. Not ideal but then it makes the 300MB go a lot further.
Once you go through the 300MB ($60), you'll go through cash faster than at a Las Vegas strip club and won't even get a lap dance. Tho you'll still have gotten screwed... ;-)
There are alternatives.
T-Mobile
My Simple Mobile
H2O
Truphone
All of these sim cards should work in a JB and UL iPhone, ymmv
At least for voice and text.
There are alternatives.
T-Mobile
My Simple Mobile
H2O
Truphone
All of these sim cards should work in a JB and UL iPhone, ymmv
At least for voice and text.
Did you even read his post? He DOES NOT need voice or text he wants data. None of te carriers you listed are viable solutions.
If you're coming for 10 weeks it's going to be tough as att will only do 300 mb per month for $60.
An alternative u may want to consider is if you know someone with ATT have them add a sim only no commitment line to their account for 2 months.