Forced to buy plan if existing customer?

[lu0s3r322]

Under the different plans for the iPhone, existing customers can add unlimited data plans from $20 to $40 onto their existing voice plan.

If I buy an iPhone right now and I'm already an AT&T customer, will I be forced to buy a data plan?

Also, if I'm like halfway in my current 2 yr contract, I just have to extend it for 2 more years right?

 

[Clydefrog]

you pretty much have to have a data plan if you want to use a majority of its features

 

[The General]

What is the point of having an iPhone if you don't have a data plan?

 

[lu0s3r322]

what if i live in like the city and theres a lot of wifi around? plus, the edge network is slow

 

[siurpeeman]

there's no way around it. you have to sign up for data (tacked onto your existing plan) when you activate your phone.

 

[Canuck4]

You'll have to pick a data plan in order to activate it.
And once you activate thru Itunes your brand new 2 year contract starts no matter how much you had on a previous contract. Everything renews from that date.

 

[aneftp]

Activate your iPhone, choose the 20 dollar data plan.

Call up Customer Service a couple of days later, tell them you are returning your iPhone and tell them to switch you to the media max plan 19.99. (you lose visual voicemail)

This way you are not stuck with a 2 year data plan to go alongside your 2 year voice plan.

Be very careful, if you do not wish to use some type of data plan. The iPhone is a data hog, it sometimes automatically downloads/updates itself. You could be stuck with some huge data bill. The only way to prevent this is have your email setup to check for messages manually. If you set up yahoo mail on the iPhone, you are screwed because it's IMAP and it checks it's automatically. I'm not sure if there's a way to disable this feature. I know my AOL email account, I can set up the iPhone to only check messages manually.

 

[Superdrive]

I just want to make this clear before I go ahead and take the plunge. I have a 24 month contract that is set to expire in six months. If I maintain my current plan, but add an iPhone plus data plan, I'll start my 24 months all over again?

It never explicitly says that current ATT customers need a new contract if they keep their plan...right?

 

[Canuck4]

Yes, once you activate the iphone to your cellphone account a 2 year agreement start automaticly weather you were under contract with them already or not.
Theres no way to avoid that. You want an iphone you're locked with AT&T for 2 years.
It doesnt matter what you do about a data plan.
When you activate the phone thru Itunes you have to choose an iphone data plan, it wont allow you to go any further unless you pick one and click next.