Okay, so here's the story. Back in August, my wife's iPhone got stolen. She went to the AT&T store to replace it, and they were running a "buy a smartphone, receive $250 towards an LTE tablet" deal. She called me from the store, and swore that it was a wifi only model. I agreed, but wondered why the AT&T store would be selling wifi only iPads, as there's obviously no benefit in it for them.
Needless to say, when I got home, I discovered that it was an LTE ipad. Wondering if there was a monthly contract tied to the new ipad, I headed to the store to see what I had gotten myself into. The store employee explained that the $250 credit deal was a no contract offer, but pulled the details on our account just to be sure. He scrunched his nose, looked confused and explained that their records showed that we did purchase an ipad, but the computer did not show a serial number or SIM card attached to the device. I explained that I had been riding in my wife's car, surfing the web, and assured him that the 3G was working just fine (at that time, we did not yet have AT&T LTE in our area). He proceeded to explain that (again, on the freeway, at 70mph) I was probably just picking up unsecured wireless networks, and said that without the serial and SIM being tied to an account the 3G would not function. He then asked if I had the device on me, and that he would really like to see it, so he could "update my file".
I have continued using the device, enjoying 3G service, but scrutinizing my monthly bill and bank statements for a charge from AT&T. So far, I have yet to see anything. In December, LTE went live in my town, and I noticed that the device does not receive LTE. Yes, I am positive that it is a 3rd gen ipad.
So my questions are as follows. Has anyone here heard of anything like this happening before? I've tried accessing my account details from the settings menu, but I receive a "H5006" error. Can anyone tell me if this fortuitous error is tied to the SIM card? Will this "magic" SIM allow ANY ipad to have free 3G (it's actually displayed as 4G, but speedtest reveals HSPA+ speeds), or would it have to be my specific combination of ipad and SIM? Either way, I'm thinking of trying to trade this "free 3G ipad for a new iPhone 5, if I can find someone willing to do so.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Needless to say, when I got home, I discovered that it was an LTE ipad. Wondering if there was a monthly contract tied to the new ipad, I headed to the store to see what I had gotten myself into. The store employee explained that the $250 credit deal was a no contract offer, but pulled the details on our account just to be sure. He scrunched his nose, looked confused and explained that their records showed that we did purchase an ipad, but the computer did not show a serial number or SIM card attached to the device. I explained that I had been riding in my wife's car, surfing the web, and assured him that the 3G was working just fine (at that time, we did not yet have AT&T LTE in our area). He proceeded to explain that (again, on the freeway, at 70mph) I was probably just picking up unsecured wireless networks, and said that without the serial and SIM being tied to an account the 3G would not function. He then asked if I had the device on me, and that he would really like to see it, so he could "update my file".
I have continued using the device, enjoying 3G service, but scrutinizing my monthly bill and bank statements for a charge from AT&T. So far, I have yet to see anything. In December, LTE went live in my town, and I noticed that the device does not receive LTE. Yes, I am positive that it is a 3rd gen ipad.
So my questions are as follows. Has anyone here heard of anything like this happening before? I've tried accessing my account details from the settings menu, but I receive a "H5006" error. Can anyone tell me if this fortuitous error is tied to the SIM card? Will this "magic" SIM allow ANY ipad to have free 3G (it's actually displayed as 4G, but speedtest reveals HSPA+ speeds), or would it have to be my specific combination of ipad and SIM? Either way, I'm thinking of trying to trade this "free 3G ipad for a new iPhone 5, if I can find someone willing to do so.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.