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Can a brand new, out of the box original iPhone be activated? ::YES!:: Last Post

braddick

braddick

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 28, 2009
3,954
1,076
Encinitas, CA
Fresh out of the box, built the 52'd week of 2007 iPhone 2G. Can it still be activated with AT&T and if so, how?

I don't want to start a process and find myself stuck and unable to go back.
I remember back in the day you definitely needed iTunes but am fearful the newly installed iTunes may not recognize this iDevice any longer.

Anyone with experience or know-how have a method that will get this iPhone activated?

Edited to change the title of the thread with an update.
 
Last edited:
It won't activate. You have to either hacktivate it or call AT&T to have it activated. Apple/AT&T no longer have the original iPhone activation servers online.
 
Ah, jeez. I was afraid of this.
I don't know as I want the hassle, but if I proceed and get it up and running I'll post whatever procedure was required here.
 
braddick said:
Ah, jeez. I was afraid of this.
I don't know as I want the hassle, but if I proceed and get it up and running I'll post whatever procedure was required here.
Click to expand...

If you are with att you can always ask for an imei unlock or get unlockfuzion to do it. After that u will be able to activate it with any sim carriers. I still have 2 brand new iphone 2G that are already unlocked thru att.
 
Good advice with the unlock yet don't want to update!

Looking forward to running on the older 1. firmware.
(I know... I know. . . sounds kind of lame but after all the 7.0 talk it got me in the mood to throwback 2007 style.)
 
Updating it to iOS 3.1.3 won't help. iTunes still won't be able to activate it because of the down activation servers. I don't think it'll activate on any carrier other than the few official ones that carried the iPhone 2G. If you unlock it, you'll have to hacktivate it or have it already activated. Best thing to do it to call up AT&T and have them make an exception to have it activated.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
Please post the battery level. Wonder what it'd be like after 6 years of sitting in the box.
Click to expand...

seriously? i will be dead. i can leave my old nokia 6590 fully charged and off and it will still have some charge left a few months down the road. but 6 years? no way. batteries are always discharging when unplugged whether being used or not.
 
^
As far as the battery, yes- sure, it was barely a sliver of red after being plugged in for 15 minutes, but did charge up completely. It's been a few days since the 'unboxing' and the battery is better than my iPhone5, but to be fair, I haven't really used it much- just in standby (for now).
 
Intell said:
Updating it to iOS 3.1.3 won't help. iTunes still won't be able to activate it because of the down activation servers. I don't think it'll activate on any carrier other than the few official ones that carried the iPhone 2G. If you unlock it, you'll have to hacktivate it or have it already activated. Best thing to do it to call up AT&T and have them make an exception to have it activated.
Click to expand...

I thhink you have not read what i wrote previously! If thhe iphone 2G is official unlocked you can always activate it thru itunes since the imei will be in their white list. No matter how old the device is. I know because I still have 2 and i restore it after I use it from overseas where I don't need to bring my fancy iphone 5.
 
iPhoneI_zps2b1ae5f2.jpg

iPhoneII_zps400f87d3.jpg
 
aziatiklover said:
I thhink you have not read what i wrote previously! If thhe iphone 2G is official unlocked you can always activate it thru itunes since the imei will be in their white list. No matter how old the device is. I know because I still have 2 and i restore it after I use it from overseas where I don't need to bring my fancy iphone 5.
Click to expand...

I did read that. But the iPhone 2G gets activated in a different way than other iPhones. An unlocked one still has problems becoming activated. If the OP did unlock it, he'd still be unable to activate it on AT&T.

JoshGlzBrk said:
When did they shut them down?
Click to expand...

They went off line a few years ago. Sometime in 2011 I think.
 
Intell said:
They went off line a few years ago. Sometime in 2011 I think.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's about right. The last two lines that I activated using an original iPhone was three years ago this month. I tried to activate another one several months later and iTunes no longer brought up the sign up screens like it used to.
 
braddick said:
Good advice with the unlock yet don't want to update!

Looking forward to running on the older 1. firmware.
(I know... I know. . . sounds kind of lame but after all the 7.0 talk it got me in the mood to throwback 2007 style.)
Click to expand...

the phone certainly looks cool, but can you bare the super slow EDGE data?...
 
Barely need it on my iPhone.
My iPad has LTE and if I need it on the iPhone can switch back to the iP5.

Phone calls and texting takes up 90%+ of my need and usage.
When it comes to those two needs, there is very little in the way of improvements over the iPhone 2G and the new model.
 
am i the only one thinking that it is a better idea to leave it untouched in the box?
 
rockitdog said:
And wait about 10-15 years...
Click to expand...

And then be lucky to get a couple hundred dollars for it because of the novelty? People who think these things are going to be worth thousands of dollars are just dumb. They sold 6.1 million of them (according to wikipedia), and I'm sure a lot more than a few people socked them away thinking they would get some huge payday some day like it's an Apple I (about 200 were made) or something.
 
tardman91 said:
And then be lucky to get a couple hundred dollars for it because of the novelty? People who think these things are going to be worth thousands of dollars are just dumb. They sold 6.1 million of them (according to wikipedia), and I'm sure a lot more than a few people socked them away thinking they would get some huge payday some day like it's an Apple I (about 200 were made) or something.
Click to expand...

idk, how much do Apple I and II cost these days?
 
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