Cheap iPhone prepaid data plan

[Fezwick]

anyone:

just went through this thread.
is it possible to take, lets say the 10c plan and get data and phone via Skype/google voice/whatever or is the speed too slow?

@ Fezwick
i don't know how you end up with 15? for me 25 for data and 10 for text is more?!

You can roll feature packages over every month by spending money on them before they expire. So on the 29th day of my billing cycle, I spend 5 bucks for 10 meg of data and 5 bucks on 200 texts. This way I get to keep all the texts and data I didn't use from the previous month. I very rarely use more than 50 minutes a month. So on average I spend around $15 a month.

As far as using data with Skype and Google Voice, I would assume you'd blow through your data allotment pretty quickly. Speeds depend on where you live, but GoPhone speeds should be acceptable for this to work. Only way to find out is to try it out and see if it works.

 

[AlvinNguyen]

data is crazy expensive on that!

 

[kim222]

need apn change?

I just bought an ip4s, att, device only, got an unlocked message immediately when connected to itune.
My question is, do I still need apn change on this phone for the data package to work even if it is already unlocked? should it matter?
If I once do that and want to use T-mobile later, will the modification to APN affect using the phone on T-mobile sim? do I need another apn change then?
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jlmcclellan]

Ok here's a weird question. I find myself paying for the $25 data plan every month (500 MB) and realize it's basically the same price as the postpaid plan that provides 2GB.

What I'd really love to do then is have postpaid data (this would also serve to unlock visual voicemail for me again right?) but prepaid minutes. Is this possible? My gut tells me no, at least not without two sim cards. Curious if anyone has ever thought to try this before.

 

[Fezwick]

Ok here's a weird question. I find myself paying for the $25 data plan every month (500 MB) and realize it's basically the same price as the postpaid plan that provides 2GB.

What I'd really love to do then is have postpaid data (this would also serve to unlock visual voicemail for me again right?) but prepaid minutes. Is this possible? My gut tells me no, at least not without two sim cards. Curious if anyone has ever thought to try this before.

I don't think you can do this. People have put iPad SIMs in iPhones before, but all you get is data access. If you ported your number to Google Voice and used data for voice it would work.

Personally, I'd just switch providers. Straight Talk is $45 a month unlimited everything. All you have to do is buy an E71 phone from them, activate it and swap the SIM card into your iPhone. Good thing about Straight Talk is they aren't throttled like AT&T prepaid and the rest of their MVNOs. H2O wireless is another possibility. $60 unlimited talk and text and 3GB of data.

There are a bunch of other MVNOs out there, but those are the two popular ones.

 

[BiggAW]

I don't think you can do this. People have put iPad SIMs in iPhones before, but all you get is data access. If you ported your number to Google Voice and used data for voice it would work.

Personally, I'd just switch providers. Straight Talk is $45 a month unlimited everything. All you have to do is buy an E71 phone from them, activate it and swap the SIM card into your iPhone. Good thing about Straight Talk is they aren't throttled like AT&T prepaid and the rest of their MVNOs. H2O wireless is another possibility. $60 unlimited talk and text and 3GB of data.

There are a bunch of other MVNOs out there, but those are the two popular ones.

Once you factor in the device subsidy, you'd save little to nothing doing that...

 

[dehory]

You can roll feature packages over every month by spending money on them before they expire. So on the 29th day of my billing cycle, I spend 5 bucks for 10 meg of data and 5 bucks on 200 texts. This way I get to keep all the texts and data I didn't use from the previous month. I very rarely use more than 50 minutes a month. So on average I spend around $15 a month.

As far as using data with Skype and Google Voice, I would assume you'd blow through your data allotment pretty quickly. Speeds depend on where you live, but GoPhone speeds should be acceptable for this to work. Only way to find out is to try it out and see if it works.

Google Voice VoIP over GoPhone 3G works well for me using Talkatone. As for how much data it uses, Talkatone states bandwidth utilization is ~0.37MB/min. Since the main reason to be on GoPhone is if you spend a minimal amount of voice minutes, that's pretty reasonable. (N.B. At 5 cents per MB ($25/500 MB), that makes calls roughly five times less expensive using VoIP than the 10 cent GoPhone plan.)

I hated wasting money on unused minutes and data when I was on a contract, and FWIW I'm finding that my monthly cost is ~$15 too. Like the TUAW case study, I use mobile data primarily, and more often than not hop on WiFi networks. The outrageous 20 cents that AT&T charges per text message doesn't make me too angry since most often I'm texting other iPhone users with iMessage.

For anyone considering this route, obviously do your own calculations before jumping ship. One factor worth considering is that if your phone gets stolen mid-contract, that's much less painful than losing a full price off-contract device.

Also, when I called to activate the SIM, AT&T's system was able to tell that I was on an iPhone. From my experience, TUAW's note still stands (i.e. the iPhone is not explicitly supported and AT&T won't help you if you run into setup problems, but they will not refuse you service even if they know you're on an iPhone). However, as far as I can tell, there's nothing to stop AT&T from changing their policy in the future if droves of people start following this PAYG method.

My question is, do I still need apn change on this phone for the data package to work even if it is already unlocked? should it matter?

Yes, you'll still need to change the APN.

If I once do that and want to use T-mobile later, will the modification to APN affect using the phone on T-mobile sim? do I need another apn change then?

No, just reset network settings.

Once you factor in the device subsidy, you'd save little to nothing doing [Straight Talk's $45 month plan]...

By my calculations (factoring in my ETF when I broke my contract), you're correct.

 

[Fezwick]

Once you factor in the device subsidy, you'd save little to nothing doing that...

His phone is already paid for. If he were to buy a new phone then I would agree with you.

Google Voice VoIP over GoPhone 3G works well for me using Talkatone. As for how much data it uses, Talkatone states bandwidth utilization is ~0.37MB/min. Since the main reason to be on GoPhone is if you spend a minimal amount of voice minutes, that's pretty reasonable. (N.B. At 5 cents per MB ($25/500 MB), that makes calls roughly five times less expensive using VoIP than the 10 cent GoPhone plan.)

I hated wasting money on unused minutes and data when I was on a contract, and FWIW I'm finding that my monthly cost is ~$15 too. Like the TUAW case study, I use mobile data primarily, and more often than not hop on WiFi networks. The outrageous 20 cents that AT&T charges per text message doesn't make me too angry since most often I'm texting other iPhone users with iMessage.

For anyone considering this route, obviously do your own calculations before jumping ship. One factor worth considering is that if your phone gets stolen mid-contract, that's much less painful than losing a full price off-contract device.

Also, when I called to activate the SIM, AT&T's system was able to tell that I was on an iPhone. From my experience, TUAW's note still stands (i.e. the iPhone is not explicitly supported and AT&T won't help you if you run into setup problems, but they will not refuse you service even if they know you're on an iPhone). However, as far as I can tell, there's nothing to stop AT&T from changing their policy in the future if droves of people start following this PAYG method.

Good to know. I might have to look into this in the future. I'm usually on wifi most of the time, so free phone calls sound pretty good to me.

 

[BiggAW]

His phone is already paid for. If he were to buy a new phone then I would agree with you.

You need to account for the next cycle around though. Even if he keeps the phone for 30-36 months, when it comes time for the next one, it's going to be a lot more...