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Family plan with iPhone 3GS

iPhonemaster5S

iPhonemaster5S

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 10, 2011
356
67
Colorado
My brother just turned 12 and my dad decided to give him his old iPhone 3gs. My dad doesn't want to give him a data plan so is it possible to get everything except the data. I know most smartphones need a data plan but I thought that was only if you are buying the phone new. This would be his first phone on a family plan with AT&T. Thanks in advance!
 
You will have to get a data plan for the 3GS, if AT&T catches you without a plan they'll automatically add a data plan to your account.

Note: an AT&T rep told me one way to use the phone without a plan was to use it but with data turned off (disable cell data in settings) but you will not be able to receive texts that way. YMMV.
 
clockworkorange said:
You will have to get a data plan for the 3GS, if AT&T catches you without a plan they'll automatically add a data plan to your account.

Note: an AT&T rep told me one way to use the phone without a plan was to use it but with data turned off (disable cell data in settings) but you will not be able to receive texts that way. YMMV.
Click to expand...

Is that really true? I send and receive texts just fine, with data turned on or off.

And how the h*ll people put up with AT&T is a real mystery to me. You HAVE to have a data plan with an iPhone? Wtf? They must have a monopoly or something :confused:
 
Well I have the data pro plan with tethering but that's only because buying a new iphone means a data plan. My question was basically can you not get a data plan with a iphone you already bought.
 
iPhonemaster5S said:
Well I have the data pro plan with tethering but that's only because buying a new iphone means a data plan. My question was basically can you not get a data plan with a iphone you already bought.
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why don't you jus put him on Straight Talk....its going to be cheaper and he will get data....its quiet simple:rolleyes:
 
Yea call AT&T or Verizon

Have them unlock your 3GS

Let the kid use it as a prepaid ,tmobile , straight talk

He can pay for it
 
Che Castro said:
Yea call AT&T or Verizon

Have them unlock your 3GS

Let the kid use it as a prepaid ,tmobile , straight talk

He can pay for it
Click to expand...

the kid is 12. how is he going to pay for a cell phone bill? WTF people? Were you paying bills at 12? he's lucky hes getting a phone at all at that age much less a smartphone or iphone.:eek:
 
Globug said:
the kid is 12. how is he going to pay for a cell phone bill? WTF people? Were you paying bills at 12? he's lucky hes getting a phone at all at that age much less a smartphone or iphone.:eek:
Click to expand...

His parents can pay
 
Thanks guys and yes my parents were going to pay for it I don't think my brother would have been very happy if he had to pay for it. ;)
 
As soon as he turns the phone on, AT&T's network will recognize it as a smartphone and automatically add a data plan to the account without notice.

I speak from first hand experience.
 
chambone said:
And how the h*ll people put up with AT&T is a real mystery to me. You HAVE to have a data plan with an iPhone? Wtf? They must have a monopoly or something :confused:
Click to expand...

It's not just AT&T. Verizon and Sprint also require a data plan, from what I've heard.

OP, the easiest (and cheapest) thing to do might be to get the phone unlocked and use it with a prepaid plan. That way he won't have data service, and your dad can keep his phone usage under control without having to worry about overages or anything like that.
 
Just call AT&T and have them block all data. I did that on AT&T back when I upgraded from the original iPhone to the iPhone 3G. Worked great. I passed the original iPhone to someone else on my family plan and they could use the voice portion but no data.
 
rsvrfactory said:
As soon as he turns the phone on, AT&T's network will recognize it as a smartphone and automatically add a data plan to the account without notice.

I speak from first hand experience.
Click to expand...

They don't usually add it immediately. It could take weeks to months if you have data block
 
Globug said:
the kid is 12. how is he going to pay for a cell phone bill? WTF people? Were you paying bills at 12? he's lucky hes getting a phone at all at that age much less a smartphone or iphone.:eek:
Click to expand...

I mowed yards, shoveled drive ways, raked leaves & had a newspaper route when I was 12. At 15, I got a work permit & worked 15 hours a week at a pizza place in addition to the rest.

The work ethic today is despicable. No wonder we have a youth obesity problem in the US these days. It's $30/month. That's only a few hours of babysitting money if the kid refuses to do manual labor and just wants to sit in front of a television.
 
First of all, ATT starting requiring all ATT recognized smartphones (meaning ATT branded PLUS any iPhone 3G and beyond). ATT starting requiring data plans in September 2009.

ATT let people "slide" by (those who had data blocks or "dumb phone" $10/$15 data plans) for about a year.

Than near end of 2010, ATT starting enforcing data plans on ATT branded smartphones and all iphone 3g, 3gs etc. iPhone 2007 could still get by without a data plan.

So lets get back to the OP. It's not cost-effective for OP to pay $45 a month to get the 12 year old on a another phone line with a prepay. It's not cost-effective to have a $30 prepaid plan with T-mobile's Walmart prepaid either. The OP only wants to spend $10 "add a line" to the family plan without any data plan so they can piggy back and have voice minutes along with unlimited texting.

That's the whole point of his question.

With the way ATT, Sprint, Verizon works.....they all require a data plan on their smartphones. ATT is a little bit more lenient IF you use a non-branded or non-ATT smartphone. You can use a T-mobile unlocked smartphone on ATT and not have a data plan.

But any iPhone (regardless of country) must have a data plan on ATT's network (or Verizon or Sprint).
 
What is the business model that supports forcing a data plan on someone who doesn't want one simply because their phone is capable (i.e. a smartphone)? I doubt most people will pay $240/yr to have data service they don't need, just because it's their policy.

It's just hard for me to believe that if I want voice service on my out-of-contract, unsubsidized, iPhone and I go to AT&T, they will tell me to take my business elsewhere because I don't want a data plan.

iPhones without cellular data service are quite useful. What other carriers allow service without data plans for old GSM iPhones, and what carriers for CDMA?
 
astrorider said:
What is the business model that supports forcing a data plan on someone who doesn't want one simply because their phone is capable (i.e. a smartphone)? I doubt most people will pay $240/yr to have data service they don't need, just because it's their policy.

It's just hard for me to believe that if I want voice service on my out-of-contract, unsubsidized, iPhone and I go to AT&T, they will tell me to take my business elsewhere because I don't want a data plan.

iPhones without cellular data service are quite useful. What other carriers allow service without data plans for old GSM iPhones, and what carriers for CDMA?
Click to expand...

Hey it's even worst with sprint. They require data $20 extra per month per line on dump phones if part of family plan that has data. Imagine that. Requiring data on dumb phones on sprint everything now plans.
 
astrorider said:
What is the business model that supports forcing a data plan on someone who doesn't want one simply because their phone is capable (i.e. a smartphone)? I doubt most people will pay $240/yr to have data service they don't need, just because it's their policy.

It's just hard for me to believe that if I want voice service on my out-of-contract, unsubsidized, iPhone and I go to AT&T, they will tell me to take my business elsewhere because I don't want a data plan.
Click to expand...
They really don't care. That's the terms they offer. Just like Verizon and Sprint.

astrorider said:
What other carriers allow service without data plans for old GSM iPhones, and what carriers for CDMA?
Click to expand...
Only prepaid carriers offer plans without data... even AT&T will let you do prepaid without a data plan.
T-Mobile is the only one that I'm aware of that will let you go on contract with an iPhone and not require data.

Not sure about CDMA carriers since they typically don't let you use a phone from another carrier.
 
aneftp said:
So lets get back to the OP. It's not cost-effective for OP to pay $45 a month to get the 12 year old on a another phone line with a prepay. It's not cost-effective to have a $30 prepaid plan with T-mobile's Walmart prepaid either. The OP only wants to spend $10 "add a line" to the family plan without any data plan so they can piggy back and have voice minutes along with unlimited texting.

That's the whole point of his question.
Click to expand...

I think we all understand the question, and understand that they only want to pay $10 to add a voice line. But since that won't work, we were making other suggestions that might be helpful. The options are to add the iPhone to the family plan and pay the data fee, or to get prepaid service from somewhere else.

Whether you agree with it or not, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon all require a data plan, whether or not your iPhone is under contract. You might get away with not having one at first, but they will find out that you have an iPhone and they will charge you for a data plan. That's just how it works.
 
Globug said:
the kid is 12. how is he going to pay for a cell phone bill? WTF people? Were you paying bills at 12? he's lucky hes getting a phone at all at that age much less a smartphone or iphone.:eek:
Click to expand...

I had a thing called chores that I vividly remember. :mad: I could easily afford the price of a data plan ($15-$30 a month) if I needed to. Don't most kids have chores these days too?
 
lordofthereef said:
I had a thing called chores that I vividly remember. :mad: I could easily afford the price of a data plan ($15-$30 a month) if I needed to. Don't most kids have chores these days too?
Click to expand...

i had chores too.. if you thought my parents were going to pay me for it...HA! If i didn't do said chores, i got beat, so yeah i did the chores... :mad:
 
Nope!

rsvrfactory said:
As soon as he turns the phone on, AT&T's network will recognize it as a smartphone and automatically add a data plan to the account without notice.

I speak from first hand experience.
Click to expand...

You must have had a unique experience then! I recently gave my oldest son my Iphone 2g to replace his pos phone. All I did was swap the sim, restore in iTunes for him and off he went. That was 5 months ago. All he uses the phone for is phone calls and texts. I have yet to see an additional data charge on my bill from AT&T.
So hell, give it a go, and see what happens.
 
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