AT&T to Introduce $5 Per Day 250MB iPad Data Passes, $25 3-Month 1GB Data Plan

[phrehdd]

got me wondering if Apple will eliminate WiFi only models with new IPads. At some point this will actually reduce costs.

It is cheaper to put it all in and then cripple the unit. This was done time and time again by Intel on some of their older PCs. If anyone remembers the days of the 386 and 486 computers and the SX and DX designation. (The former were crippled DX machines and processed slower. We said the SX stood for sucks.)

 

[GadgetDon]

If you have a data plan with a carrier already, why should you have to pay again just to use a separate device? You are already paying for connection to the carriers' network. Can you imagine if you had to pay your ISP for each device at home? One fee for your desktop computer, another for your laptop, another for your game console, another for your streaming puck, another for your wifi-iPad, etc......

Except all your devices on your home network go through one router and it's just one connection. If you had two apartments, both in the same ISP's area, you'd pay twice.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Except all your devices on your home network go through one router and it's just one connection. If you had two apartments, both in the same ISP's area, you'd pay twice.

two apartments does not equate to two devices....????

I don't get your point.

 

[trip1ex]

I like the $25 for 1 gig data over 3 months plan. This is definitely ATT's crack dealer plan. Give away a little for next to nothing. Get us hooked and soon we'll be snorting that cellular data every chance we get and be on a $50/mo data plan before we know it.

 

[AnTaR3s]

Lol! I live in Austria and have an unlimited data plan with a ~15Mbit connection for 18 Euros per month...

 

[cire]

At the expense of sales. The iPad is all but worthless w/o internet & it would be insane to force people to pay for wireless when @ home.

It wouldn't drop WiFi...just wifi only!

 

[thetruest]

Oh, I get it. You want everything for nothing.

I think you don't get the idea why they are offering it. It's for an occasional user, who may just need access for a day. It's not designed for a heavy user, it's for someone who only needs access now and again and doesn't need a hefty plan with GBs of data they don't use. If you want that, you get the share plan and include your iPad.

----------



It's not for someone who wants to be streaming movies.

If you want more data, get the mobile share plan, add your iPad and done. Not making you pay twice for anything.

You just dont get it.

AT&T ****in sucks.

 

[AndyfromTucson]

I work from home, so I only activate cellular data on my iPad when I am traveling because that is the only time it is worth the cost. This new plan of 1 gig over 3 months for $25 might just make it worth it for me to keep cellular data active all the time.

 

[elgrecomac]

Well..

careful now, they will detect you are tethering and change your plan without your consent.

If they do, well, its been a good 3+ year run on my jailbroken iphones 4 and 5.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Have Verizon iPad Mini. Bought an AT&T sim, put it in, tried to activate the $25/3 month plan but you can't do that on a Verizon iPad: "this device is not supported".

Wasted way too much time on the AT&T website trying to "activate the sim" only to learn one has to call an 800 number for activation.

Wasted way too much time on the New Zealand site trying different APN settings to see if that might bring the thing to life.

Called the AT&T number and was told by an AT&T rep that they can't activate the sim for any Verizon devices, yes they are aware that people are doing the same and that a team is assigned to go through all of them and cut them off.

So, I guess there's 2 observations here:

• It appears the only way to get this working is if you have some AT&T device around to activate the sim there and then transfer it to a Verizon iDevice
• If what she said was true, the special team will cut you off at any time

Then, I put the Verizon sim back in and now I get a "Invalid Sim Card": "the sim card you are using has already been associated to another account and is no longer supported. Please visit a Verizon store for a new SIM card"

So then, I thought maybe the New Zealand fun had just overwritten or deleted a Verizon APN, so I went into iTunes to do an iPad restore. It had already backed up the latest so the restore didn't change anything. So then I had to figure out in Time Machine where an older iPad backup file was located and restore that so that I could get the iPad back to how it was before I tried the AT&T SIM. Much hassle but got there. Same error message from Verizon.

So now it's a trip to a Verizon store to get a new SIM.

Bottom Line: tried very hard to give AT&T a new customer. Much, MUCH too hard to activate a sim for this particular objective. Then, much trouble getting back to how things were before the attempt. Those trying to do it too: be careful. I suspect that if you don't have another AT&T device on which to activate the SIM, it probably can't be done. If someone knows a way to make this go without having to have a AT&T device for SIM activation, please post.

 

[Johnchapin]

ATT tablets only??

@ HobeSoundDarryl

AT&T senior vice president Chris Penrose in the initial post here was quoted speaking of tablets in general, not just ATT tablets. Did ATT warn you that this plan wasn't available for non ATT tablets?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

@ HobeSoundDarryl

AT&T senior vice president Chris Penrose in the initial post here was quoted speaking of tablets in general, not just ATT tablets. Did ATT warn you that this plan wasn't available for non ATT tablets?

No. But I gave it best try to get it going on my Verizon iPad (without having to use a secondary AT&T device) and couldn't make it happen. AT&T did say they are aware of people on non-AT&T devices like Verizon iPads trying to switch to this service and that they had "assigned a team to go through all users, recognize those devices and cut them off". Whether they'll follow through or not is questionable (they would just be taking money out of their own pockets) but I was explicitly told they could not activate the SIM for my Verizon iPad. Since I could not activate my SIM either, it seemed to be a stalemate.

So, I still think the only way to go if you want this plan is to use another device- like another iPad that is AT&T-oriented- to activate the sim and then transfer it to a Verizon iPad. If someone knows of another way to make this happen (without an AT&T secondary device), please post the way. Personally, I'd prefer 1GB with a 3-month window for $25 vs. Verizon's 1GB with a 1-month window for $20.

So, yes the Verizon model is set up for both Verizon and GSM networks like AT&T. Yes, if one world travels, they can plug in a GSM SIM somewhere else and have access to data networks. Apparently, if one buys a Verizon-like iPad outside the US and then travels into the US and wants to buy an AT&T SIM for use while in America, that's OK too. But, if you buy the Verizon model in America and then want to use the AT&T network, the behind-the-scenes deals between the companies are such that they will not accept your business. Capitalism is supposed to balance the greed driver by companies with the competitive pressure that generally benefits consumers. Where the companies want to maximize profits, competitive forces pressure them to keep that greed in check. I wish it worked as it is supposed to work. What should happen here is that AT&T should be rewarded for rolling out a modestly more appealing deal for consumers and Verizon should feel some pressure to at least match- if not beat- that deal. Instead, the companies apparently have behind-the-scenes arrangements to protect their profits in some form of "we're competitors… but collaborative competitors" arrangement. I doubt Verizon will crumble if they don't get my $20 from time-to-time.

 

[Getintothegame]

Bottom Line: tried very hard to give AT&T a new customer. Much, MUCH too hard to activate a sim for this particular objective. Then, much trouble getting back to how things were before the attempt. Those trying to do it too: be careful. I suspect that if you don't have another AT&T device on which to activate the SIM, it probably can't be done. If someone knows a way to make this go without having to have a AT&T device for SIM activation, please post.

I have read in other posts that you may be able to go to an Apple Store and get an AT&T SIM for free and go that way.

 

[HouseOfCards]

Bottom Line: tried very hard to give AT&T a new customer. Much, MUCH too hard to activate a sim for this particular objective. Then, much trouble getting back to how things were before the attempt. Those trying to do it too: be careful. I suspect that if you don't have another AT&T device on which to activate the SIM, it probably can't be done. If someone knows a way to make this go without having to have a AT&T device for SIM activation, please post.

AT&T seems to have had a policy of not allowing on-device activation for CDMA-capable iPads (those with IMEI 99XX range). On a side note, they do allow on-device activation for any iPad Air or retina iPad mini. However, there are a few ways to get your Verizon iPad mini activated on an AT&T prepaid plan.

1) As you said, if you have an AT&T iPad around, you can activate service on that device and then move the SIM card to your Verizon iPad. This will work fine.

2) Here’s a more straightforward option. AT&T has a separate prepaid data pass portal intended for all other (non-iPad) data devices. You will have a choice of the same data tiers and pricing you would have on an AT&T iPad. Go to http://www.att.com/buyasession and select “Establish New Prepaid Account.” Enter your Verizon iPad’s IMEI and your AT&T SIM’s ICCID, then select your plan and enter your billing information. You can go back to this site and login to manage your account at any time.

Of course, you won't be able to access AT&T's LTE with your current hardware but their HSPA+ speeds tend to be pretty decent.

Hope this helps.

 

[Solomani]

These carrier plans are getting more bizarre with each passing day.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Here’s a more straightforward option. AT&T has a separate prepaid data pass portal intended for all other (non-iPad) data devices. You will have a choice of the same data tiers and pricing you would have on an AT&T iPad. Go to http://www.att.com/buyasession and select “Establish New Prepaid Account.” Enter your Verizon iPad’s IMEI and your AT&T SIM’s ICCID, then select your plan and enter your billing information. You can go back to this site and login to manage your account at any time.

Do you or anyone know that this will work? And that I would be able to buy the new 1GB for 3 months for $25 this way? I'm looking for solid confirmation that this will work.

 

[JackieInCo]

Do you or anyone know that this will work? And that I would be able to buy the new 1GB for 3 months for $25 this way? I'm looking for solid confirmation that this will work.

I have to use that site for my Nexus 7 and yes it will work. The only time that the buyasession site didn't have the same pricing as the iPad site was when they offered the $.99 for 1GB for a week deal last summer for iPads only.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

So you or someone has seen the $25 1GB for 3 months option among the options available for sale there?

 

[JackieInCo]

So you or someone has seen the $25 1GB for 3 months option among the options available for sale there?

All the same plans are there that are offered for iPads.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

All the same plans are there that are offered for iPads.

That's fantastic. As soon as I finish with this month's Verizon 1GB plan, I'll try the switch again using that option.

Here’s a more straightforward option. AT&T has a separate prepaid data pass portal intended for all other (non-iPad) data devices. You will have a choice of the same data tiers and pricing you would have on an AT&T iPad. Go to http://www.att.com/buyasession and select “Establish New Prepaid Account.” Enter your Verizon iPad’s IMEI and your AT&T SIM’s ICCID, then select your plan and enter your billing information. You can go back to this site and login to manage your account at any time.

HouseOfCards, thanks for sharing this solution! I much appreciate it.

 

[DollaTwentyFive]

Do you or anyone know that this will work? And that I would be able to buy the new 1GB for 3 months for $25 this way? I'm looking for solid confirmation that this will work.

I'm doing it on the iPad air which, granted, let's you do it right from your device. However previously I used att prepaid in my Verizon iPad 3 and 4.

I went here to set it up.

https://dcp2.att.com/OEPNDClient/

It seems really silly to me that att would have a team to boot these people off. They are making money each month. Device manufactures are forcing the industry into consolidation as we see with a single ipad now. Hopefully the carriers will get with the times.

For a light cellular user, tmobiles "free" plan and the att $25 for 1GB for 3 months are great options. Verizon is really lacking as their best deal is $20/1GB for 1 month.

 

[JackieInCo]

That's fantastic. As soon as I finish with this months Verizon 1GB plan, I'll try the switch again using that option.

Screen cap:

 

[HouseOfCards]

So you or someone has seen the $25 1GB for 3 months option among the options available for sale there?

The 1GB for 3 months option is there. You will see it right after you put in your IMEI and ICCID. I have activated data on my Verizon iPad in this manner before and never encountered any issues.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Again, much thanks to all who identified a way that doesn't require us to also own a dedicated AT&T device too. I prefer the Verizon models for the max flexibility (as long as I can actually capitalize on that conceptual flexibility).

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

As a bit of an update, I finally got to give this a try and IT WORKED! Verizon mini running on AT&T $25 1GB plan. Didn't need to hit the New Zealand site for a APN, it "just worked" as soon as I subbed in the AT&T SIM card. 4G is fast enough for my needs.

Again, thanks to those who showed the way! I'll probably have year-round cellular now for only $100/yr.

Update: it worked well for 1 day and then suddenly, right in the middle of use, it stopped working. I tried various things and then concluded that it would need a replacement APN. The working guess was that the Verizon data plan was still active (last day) and the AT&T sim could somehow do it's thing through that APN until Verizon turned it off. Then, nothing.

So, off to the New Zealand site for a replacement APN. There's about 7 of them for AT&T but the one that fixed the problem was "AT&T (Broadband)" I tried most of them but that was the one that worked.