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FYI: iPhone 4 users w/first time activating

swoosh0217

swoosh0217

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 20, 2007
579
0
NW
If you bought an iPhone 4 and will be your first time activating, here's a thing you might to read:


There are 2 kinds of Iphone 4's in the USA, one that is bought through Apple and one that is bought through another party like AT&T or Bestbuy. The iPhone 4's that come direct from any Apple store are locked to the original account holders ID (SS# etc), the other kind are not locked in the same way.

So if you bought an iPhone 4 that was purchased from ATT or Bestbuy it would be easier to activate and can be use with any ATT sim card.

If your iPhone was purchased through Apple, you might want to consider buying a special "phonebook sim card" called "DITS".

Here's a thread I started regarding this issue: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/971636/

Sorry for reposting.
 
I just read through the OP's linked thread above, and I think people tried using Go Prepaid AT&T micro sims and they did not work. Repeat did not work. But this OP says any AT&T sims work. So which is it, I'm confused?

If I buy an unactivated Go prepaid AT&T micro sim on ebay, then use it to do an INITIAL activation of my iPhone 4 (bought from AT&T), will it work?

I'm currently living in South Korea and I bought an iPhone 4 on ebay. The seller said it was new and sealed but apparently it wasn't. They bought it at AT&T and "activated" it there. However, I think the seller is a nub, and all they did was activate the sim card. Apparently they didn't actually activate the phone because now it says "No SIM card installed" when I turn it on with the connect to iTunes picture in the back and I can't do anything. I can't do absolutely anything...it's not even an iPod...it's just a piece of metal and glass. So I'm frustrated whew.

I tried cutting down a Korean uSIM and the iPhone accepts the card, but iTunes says it's not a supported SIM card. I also just tried cutting down an old AT&T card from last year to micro sim size, and the iPhone doesn't even recognize the sim - it says "No SIM card installed" just as if I didn't even have a sim in the phone.

So, how can I activate my iPhone 4 for the first time?

THANKS!~
 
You have to buy one of those DITS phonebook sim card in order to activate. If the seller lied to you the first time, I doubt this was ATT phone. It must have been bought at an apple store and was never activated.
Read my other post and you will have an idea where to get it. eBay is also a good source of information to look for phonebook sim card. Goodluck!
 
thanks for the response.

i honestly dont feel like the seller lied to me, but was just ignorant. like i said, i believe they activated just the sim card, but didnt actually hook up the iphone itself, connect to itunes, and activate the phone. so i still have to do the initial activation. that's a possible scenario, right?

if the above scenario is true, then how am i able to activate my iphone 4? just through dits phonebook sim, or could i do it with the original at&t sim that the seller used? or another way? i'm curious about this specific example, if the phone came from the at&t store and the sim was activated, but the phone wasn't yet activated via itunes.

thanks!
 
/bump

If I have the original SIM card am I able to activate? Will I need to enter the person's SSN etc too? If I restore at a later point in time, do I need the original SIM or at that time could I use any SIM?
 
@Swoosh

Did the DITS card work for you? If so, which card did you use exactly? I saw you bought several different ones. Also, was your phone already activated once with AT&T, and then the service canceled? I just want to check that our situations are identical. If our situations are the same, and it worked for you, then I will buy a DITS card ASAP.

I finally figured some things out about my situation. She bought the phone from an AT&T store and activated it with her SIM card and her service. Then she restored the phone, removed the SIM, and canceled the service.

She's now sending me the original SIM, but from what I understand that won't work either, right?

Hah by the way, now I'm teaching English in South Korea but I moved from Oregon. I see you're from Oregon too lol.
 
So you mean for the first time activation you needed to purchase an account with AT&T or use an existing AT&T account?
 
Ok to confirm with everyone. I got my DITS phonebook sim card in the mail today. I cut it and popped it in my iPhone 4 and followed his video. IT DID NOT WORK. I tried it a few times and still wouldn't work. All I could see if a blank iTunes page with the iPhone connected. I believe if you scroll through the user comments on his video link, there's a few of us that have this problem.

Unfortunately, I will have to sell this phone. Fortunately, I bought another iPhone 4 last night that is already activated. So, less problem for me. Now all I have to worry is the JB and unlock. I
 
thanks for the update

ill let you know how it goes when the original sim gets here.

i may have to try to sell the phone too...just out of curiosity, how were you able to sell a phone thats locked lol?
 
tSygna said:
thanks for the update

ill let you know how it goes when the original sim gets here.

i may have to try to sell the phone too...just out of curiosity, how were you able to sell a phone thats locked lol?
Click to expand...

Anyone can buy as long as they can sign up for a new ATT plan. Then ATT will get rid of that activation locked and will add a new carrier name with the phone.
 
I got the original AT&T micro-SIM card from the original owner and my phone activated without a problem.

I also called AT&T and they said all you need is any AT&T compatible SIM. They said it also doesn't matter if the SIM is activated or not, or if it was activated and has since been activated. I'm assuming the SIM could even be another compatible SIM, even if it's not a micro-SIM, as long as it's AT&T and a compatible type...you'd just have to cut it down. However, I'm not sure about that since I actually got the original micro-SIM that the phone was initially activated with. So I'm not positive about the above.

At any rate, I got the original AT&T micro-SIM that the phone was initially activated with, and my phone activated no problem. The AT&T store rep said any AT&T micro-SIM should work regardless if the card is or has been activated or not.

I hope my findings help others.
 
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