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Any way of getting unlimited data on AT&T iPad?

S

SDub90

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 9, 2009
685
3
Long Island
Is there any way of getting unlimited data on the iPad? Kind of like how to get unlimited data on the iPhone 4? I know I'm going to be going over 2GB (somewhere between 4 and 6) since I plan on using this to replacing my iPhone.

I was thinking of maybe adding a new line to my family plan for $10 then putting that sim in my old iPhone 3G to get the unlimited data, then putting that sim in my iPad, so for $40 (before my dad's government discount) I can have unlimited data for less than the price of 4GB.

Would this work? Or would AT&T change the data plan once they detect the IMEI of the iPad?

I know I'm being super cheap with this, but it just sucks knowing that I'll be going over the data plan. I use about 1GB/week on my iPhone and that's only because the battery dies half way through the day.

Thanks.
 
The sim wouldn't matter. The unlimited plan is tied to your iPad account.

You're better off signing up for AT&T's new DataConnect plan. It charges you $10 and allots you 1GB if you go over your 2GB plan.
 
You can buy an iPad SIM that has the unlimited plan that was offered with the iPad1. It can be transfered. Pricey, but they are selling on ebay.
 
gigaguy said:
You can buy an iPad SIM that has the unlimited plan that was offered with the iPad1. It can be transfered. Pricey, but they are selling on ebay.
Click to expand...

I've heard the mechanism for transfer is:
  • Buyer provides Seller a prepaid debit/credit card number and an email address (possibly a throwaway)
  • Seller changes account to those, sends SIM
  • Buyer then changes account to reflect the card and email he or she will use on an ongoing basis.

Emphasis on this being what I've heard works, YMMV.
 
SDub90 said:
Is there any way of getting unlimited data on the iPad? Kind of like how to get unlimited data on the iPhone 4? I know I'm going to be going over 2GB (somewhere between 4 and 6) since I plan on using this to replacing my iPhone.

I was thinking of maybe adding a new line to my family plan for $10 then putting that sim in my old iPhone 3G to get the unlimited data, then putting that sim in my iPad, so for $40 (before my dad's government discount) I can have unlimited data for less than the price of 4GB.

Would this work? Or would AT&T change the data plan once they detect the IMEI of the iPad?

I know I'm being super cheap with this, but it just sucks knowing that I'll be going over the data plan. I use about 1GB/week on my iPhone and that's only because the battery dies half way through the day.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...3155&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_1138wt_1139
 
Assuming you pay for 12 months of unlimited data:

iPad unlimited sim (ebay): ~$350
plan: ~360

Total: $710

Compared to another unlimited option:

Clear Spot 4g+

Device: $225
Plan: $600 (50/month unlimited 3g and 4g)

$825.


So, $710 for unlimited 3g, $825 for unlimited 3g and 4g.

Guess it depends where you live, but for the absolute cheapest way to get unlimited data on your iPad (outside of tethering), it seems that ebay isn't a bad route to go.
 
Unlimitted isn't worth it. I had it on my ipad 64gb 3g when it first came out, but quickly figured my jail broken iphone was the best way to go. $300 in savings later I haven't looked back, and judging by by usage I would say 95% of the time I'm on wifi and hardly ever connect to my iphone.

By the way I am justifying buying and putting the savings you see above towards the purchase:D This time I'm getting a 16gb wifi model.
 
Biff... said:
Unlimitted isn't worth it. I had it on my ipad 64gb 3g when it first came out, but quickly figured my jail broken iphone was the best way to go. $300 in savings later I haven't looked back, and judging by by usage I would say 95% of the time I'm on wifi and hardly ever connect to my iphone.

By the way I am justifying buying and putting the savings you see above towards the purchase:D This time I'm getting a 16gb wifi model.
Click to expand...

Yep. There really doesn't seem to be much reason at all to get a 3g model, imo.

I'm going 32 GB Wifi, and if I decide I need more roamability, I'll pick up a Clear Spot 4g+ down the road and get 3g and 4g unlimited on the iPad. No reason to pay for the 3g up front without knowing if you need it.
 
Cutwolf said:
Yep. There really doesn't seem to be much reason at all to get a 3g model, imo.

I'm going 32 GB Wifi, and if I decide I need more roamability, I'll pick up a Clear Spot 4g+ down the road and get 3g and 4g unlimited on the iPad. No reason to pay for the 3g up front without knowing if you need it.
Click to expand...
True. But the Clear Spot's battery life is at best five hours, compared to the 10+ battery life of iPad 2. Also, you wouldn't have to worry about forgetting your iPad 2; there's a good chance you might forget the Clear Spot once in a while.

Also, the data plan for Clear Spot is $50/month (unlimited) as compared to the $25/month (2GB) plan for AT&T. And with the new postpaid plans $10 more for overages. That's still less than $50. It's awfully difficult to use 3GB/month, especially when 3G isn't your main means to internet.

Those are some reasons to opt for the 3G iPad 2 over the wifi-only version.
 
iSingandiDance said:
Also, the data plan for Clear Spot is $50/month (unlimited) as compared to the $25/month (2GB) plan for AT&T. And with the new postpaid plans $10 more for overages. That's still less than $50. It's awfully difficult to use 3GB/month, especially when 3G isn't your main means to internet.
Click to expand...

An additional thought -- some employers or schools have FAN discounts with AT&T. Mine gives a 20% service discount, which applies to my iphone4 unlimited data.

It should also apply to the post-paid AT&T ipad 3g data if associated with my main account; which brings the data cost to $20/mo for 2GB, and $8 per additional GB. I emphasize the "should" here as I've not checked into it.

Downside being it's unclear that a postpaid account can enabled/suspended as easily as the prepaid data plan.
 
deeddawg said:
I've heard the mechanism for transfer is:
  • Buyer provides Seller a prepaid debit/credit card number and an email address (possibly a throwaway)
  • Seller changes account to those, sends SIM
  • Buyer then changes account to reflect the card and email he or she will use on an ongoing basis.

Emphasis on this being what I've heard works, YMMV.
Click to expand...

If the person who is receiving the unlimited sim card already had a 2gb cap account, would the receiving person need to give a new email or the one already being used in the 2gb account? Would it matter?
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Thanks everyone. Looks like I'll just be using the standard 2GB plan and paying the overdraw every month. Hopefully the government employee discount can go with the iPad.
 
You will only get the FAN data service discount if you switch to the recent postpaid version of the iPad data plan and your FAN supports data plan service discounts.

You might want to call and ask if your Government employee discount covers the iPad postpaid data plan.

Dave
 
I have the unlimited plan and I believe its worth the extra $5 per month. I never think twice about streaming Netflix or movies from my home computer via 3g. What I really want to know is whether AT&T will allow the unlimited plan to work with a future 4g capable iPad. Unlimited 4g data for $30 per month would be great.
 
Hate to bring this up again, but I have to ask since I can't seem to find any answer when googling.

If I buy a GSM straight talk phone from Walmart, will I be able to put the SIM in an iPad? They have an unlimited plan for $45/mo and it piggy backs off AT&T's network.

If no one knows, I'll be stopping at a Walmart in a few weeks to try it out - I'm willing to take a chance if I don't get a definite answer.
 
Interesting thought, but be aware you'll need to modify the SIM to turn it into a micro SIM to fit the ipad.

I'd be curious if it'd be riding on AT&T or T-Mobile network, and if AT&T would it allow GSM? iPads on T-Mobile only get Edge speeds as TMO's 3G is on a different frequency.
 
The memo that AT&T sent to their stores about people tethering without a valid plan also included new steps AT&T is taking about people moving SIM cards around to try to get unlimited data. SIM card moving on an unlimited plan will not trigger an alert for AT&T at least on iphones and likely on iPads as well.

I think the days of unlimited are about over.
 
Just an update: the steps to setup straight talk sims with an iPhone work for the iPad: just insert an unlocked sim (from the expensive nokia phones, I was able to get one cheap on craigslist), go to unlockit.co.nz, custom apn, and enter att.mvno as the apn and leaving everything blank. Restarting my iPad after installing the profile gave me 3G service.

Very happy now :) $45/month is great when I know I'm going to exceed 4gb every month.
 
SDub90 said:
Just an update: the steps to setup straight talk sims with an iPhone work for the iPad: just insert an unlocked sim (from the expensive nokia phones, I was able to get one cheap on craigslist), go to unlockit.co.nz, custom apn, and enter att.mvno as the apn and leaving everything blank. Restarting my iPad after installing the profile gave me 3G service.

Very happy now :) $45/month is great when I know I'm going to exceed 4gb every month.
Click to expand...

That's great to hear! I'm still not sure if $45/month plus the one time price of the phone is worth it for me for unlimited data though. Still debating. May I ask what you use the iPad for that makes it worth it?
 
twotwo11 said:
That's great to hear! I'm still not sure if $45/month plus the one time price of the phone is worth it for me for unlimited data though. Still debating. May I ask what you use the iPad for that makes it worth it?
Click to expand...

I'm often in an areas without wifi and I always need an Internet connection to access remote servers (own a small web hosting company that hosts mostly for small businesses and I manage ~1000 computer lab machines and servers for a school). I also receive a TON of emails with attachments, several hundred per day now averaging 4-5 mb, that makes up about 500mb of my 3g usage when im not at home or school. My iphone was my primary portal to the internet, but i plan on getting rid of it since it was unreliable as a phone and the ipad will take its place for everything. I've been doing everything with an iPhone for a few years, but the size can be a bit of a hassle-this iPad has already spoiled me a bit.

Check craigslist for one of the phones, after buying the nokia e71 at walmart I was able to get one on craigslist for $25. Now I don't HAVE to pay for service every month to keep unlimited data - I can get it again whenever I want, unlike if I bought an att sim, I'd have to pay every month in order to keep it, and I'm afraid they'll get rid of it completely some day. I also plan on popping in the AT&T sim when I know I'll rarely need the 3G for a few weeks, that'll save me $25 every few months.

If you know you're going to use it every month or willing to pay when you don't need it, getting an AT&T sim on eBay would be the cheaper route in the long run. The extra $100 up front is made up for in a year.
 
iSingandiDance said:
True. But the Clear Spot's battery life is at best five hours, compared to the 10+ battery life of iPad 2. Also, you wouldn't have to worry about forgetting your iPad 2; there's a good chance you might forget the Clear Spot once in a while.

Also, the data plan for Clear Spot is $50/month (unlimited) as compared to the $25/month (2GB) plan for AT&T. And with the new postpaid plans $10 more for overages. That's still less than $50. It's awfully difficult to use 3GB/month, especially when 3G isn't your main means to internet.

Those are some reasons to opt for the 3G iPad 2 over the wifi-only version.
Click to expand...

I agree. I love the 3G service on my iPad 2!
 
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