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Buying iPhone 3GS/4 No Contract

arthursiew

arthursiew

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 13, 2008
469
3
SF Bay Area
We currently have a contract with AT&T and my uncle wants to buy an iPhone 3GS or 4 from the US and have it taken to a different country. Is it still possible to buy a any of the two iPhones without a contract? If so, do we still need to activate a line of some sort when we buy the phone? How much is the iPhone 3GS without a contract?

Thanks!
 
arthursiew said:
We currently have a contract with AT&T and my uncle wants to buy an iPhone 3GS or 4 from the US and have it taken to a different country. Is it still possible to buy a any of the two iPhones without a contract? If so, do we still need to activate a line of some sort when we buy the phone? How much is the iPhone 3GS without a contract?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yes, you can order it thru att or Apple.
The iphone 4 16GB No-Commitment Price is $599
The iphone 3GS 8GB No-Commitment Price is $499
It will come with a simcard inside that will activate it but you will not be able to use it with another carrier besides AT&T unless you JB and unlock it.
 
Applejuiced said:
Yes, you can order it thru att or Apple.
The iphone 4 16GB No-Commitment Price is $599
The iphone 3GS 8GB No-Commitment Price is $499
It will come with a simcard inside that will activate it but you will not be able to use it with another carrier besides AT&T unless you JB and unlock it.
Click to expand...

Do I have to have the phone activated when I get it?
 
Applejuiced said:
Yes, you can order it thru att or Apple.
The iphone 4 16GB No-Commitment Price is $599
The iphone 3GS 8GB No-Commitment Price is $499
It will come with a simcard inside that will activate it but you will not be able to use it with another carrier besides AT&T unless you JB and unlock it.
Click to expand...

Thought apple stopped selling phones without a contract?
 
arthursiew said:
I guess I can remove the SIM card and unlock it myself without having the phone activated.
Click to expand...

You will have to activate it first in order to go thru to the homescreen and JB and unlock it. You wont be able to get passed the connect to itunes screen untill its activated. And if it comes preinstalled with firmware 4.0.2 you will not be able to JB or unlock it for now.
 
Applejuiced said:
You will have to activate it first in order to go thru to the homescreen and JB and unlock it. You wont be able to get passed the connect to itunes screen untill its activated. And if it comes preinstalled with firmware 4.0.2 you will not be able to JB or unlock it for now.
Click to expand...

I'm not very sure of what's going to happen if I buy it without a contract, but do I still need to have a new line activated with AT&T? I want to buy an iPhone and just give it to my uncle ready to be jailbroken. Should I buy the phone from craigslist/ebay then or is Apple still an option?
 
arthursiew said:
I'm not very sure of what's going to happen if I buy it without a contract, but do I still need to have a new line activated with AT&T? I want to buy an iPhone and just give it to my uncle ready to be jailbroken. Should I buy the phone from craigslist/ebay then or is Apple still an option?
Click to expand...

I'd go with a JB and unlocked iphone 4 thru ebay or CL.
If you get one now most likely it will come with 4.0.2 and you will not be able to JB or unlock it.
And not sure if they'd make you activate it on your account if you got it from AT&T with your own cellphone number.
 
You can purchase an iPhone 4 at an Apple store without any contract for the prices mentioned above. You do not need to be an existing AT&T customer or sign up for any new contract. The standard AT&T microsim, that comes in the iPhone will be able to activate the iPhone once it's plugged into iTunes. (Yes it will activate even though the sim itself isn't activated.) You will not however be able to use it on another carrier besides AT&T unless it is jailbroken and unlocked. Currently *most* iPhones being sold are coming with firmware 4.0.2 out of the box. 4.0.2 is not, and will not be, jailbroken and therefore you will not be able to unlock it. You'll most likely have to wait until 4.1 is released for a new jailbreak and unlock.
 
Canada

If you have any friends in Canada you can get an unlocked iPhone there.

Then you never have to deal with jailbraking and updates.

America, the land of the free.....

Not when it comes to overbearing oligopolies

Unlocked and free from AT&T since September 2007 with my iPhone 2G
 
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