I recently purchased an At&t iPhone 4S from a friend. I currently have a non-smartphone from At&t and I just upgraded my plan to unlimited data (for non-smartphones). I know that I will have to cut down my sim card, but other than that, what do I have to do to get my new iPhone working with this plan. Do I have to unlock it? Can I just switch the sims and be set? If neither of those, what about grandfathering in an unlimited data plan (I know people who have unlimited data on their iPhones this way). I want to keep unlimited data on my iPhone. Thanks!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone on AT&T Non-smartphone Data Plan
- Thread starter sbarbie
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Is already an AT&T phone so no need to unlock anything to continue to work for AT&T.
I think all you have to do is to put in your SIM and ur good to go.
Somewhere around here says when AT&T *eventually* finds out you got a smartphone, they will compel you to pay more but until then u got a free ride.
Oh for data to work, I believe u have to configure the APN setting, maybe.
I think all you have to do is to put in your SIM and ur good to go.
Somewhere around here says when AT&T *eventually* finds out you got a smartphone, they will compel you to pay more but until then u got a free ride.
Oh for data to work, I believe u have to configure the APN setting, maybe.
They'll catch on pretty quick and change your plan whether you want them to or not and you'll be on a tiered plan.
You can disable cellular data so its WiFi only and it will work as a normal phone just fine.
Your trick of trying to get unlimited data just isn't gonna cut it
You can disable cellular data so its WiFi only and it will work as a normal phone just fine.
Your trick of trying to get unlimited data just isn't gonna cut it
Your plan doesn't work either. AT&T does not allow an iPhone on the network as voice only with no data plan.
And yet my sister, daughter and grandmother are all doing just as I said. Turn off cellular data, insert your sim, use as just a phone.
They say they don't allow it, but the trigger seems to be when your phone tries to connect to the data network, so either they can't tell, or they don't care.
I finally bought a Galaxy S4 on contract and pay for data now. Theoretically any smartphone MUST have data (if you ask AT&T) but....
I used a Nexus One on AT&T for 3.5 years up until a couple of months ago on a dumb phone plan. I have wifi at work, blanketing my entire university campus, my home, my parents house, my in laws, the restaurants I go to and even church. So I really didn't want to spend that extra $30/month for data as a poor college student when I really don't get much out of it. In other words, over 3.5 years I saved $1260 not buying data! That basically covered my semi annual Macbook Pro upgrade.
It's a great way to go if you can manage it. I still was able to make phone calls, had unlimited texting, voice mail, etc. etc. I could still use the internet just like any phone. Still download and update my apps, play games online, whatever - as long as I had wifi, which was always unless I was driving.
The way I did it was I put in a fake APN. I am pretty sure this is the only way to never get caught. Theoretically they can find out which phone you are using via the IMEI, but for some reason they never checked it when I never used an ounce of data (not even the occasional MMS text because with a fake APN, it's not allowed). I even forced my phone to only use 2G bands for phone calls just to be sure.
I'm not sure if there's a way to do it with iPhones. I jailbroke my wife's iPhone 3GS and turned off mobile data and we put in her sim card from her dumb phone in it. However, she still used MMS - and I think that's what got her caught because after about 6-12 months (don't remember, it's been a while) they told us they were forcing her to get a data plan. That was a really a sad day for me as she doesn't use data at ALL. She just uses it for texting and hardly even plays games on it. It's literally money flushed down the toilet (ok not actually literally), but oh well, that's the fascist oligopoly of carriers we have here in the US until the government tells them they can't charge people for stuff just because of the device they own (it's like Dish/DirectTV forcing you to get the expensive HD package because you own an HD TV).
If you can find a way to put in a fake APN in your iPhone, you might have a shot. But they seem to really be on top of iPhones IMEIs. Theoretically there is a central database of IMEI numbers that should've included my Nexus One, but all I know is I never got caught and I think it's because I didn't use any 3G ever, whatsoever from before I even put in my SIM card my phone was locked out of the 3G network.
I'm not 100% certain, but my Nexus One wasn't purchased from AT&T, even though it was the AT&T 3G version, I got it directly from Google unlocked, uncontracted. That might be why they weren't able to figure it out. I've never heard of anyone else able to successfully circumvent the forced data plan as well as me, but most people don't try since they want to buy subsidized phones anyway.
I used a Nexus One on AT&T for 3.5 years up until a couple of months ago on a dumb phone plan. I have wifi at work, blanketing my entire university campus, my home, my parents house, my in laws, the restaurants I go to and even church. So I really didn't want to spend that extra $30/month for data as a poor college student when I really don't get much out of it. In other words, over 3.5 years I saved $1260 not buying data! That basically covered my semi annual Macbook Pro upgrade.
It's a great way to go if you can manage it. I still was able to make phone calls, had unlimited texting, voice mail, etc. etc. I could still use the internet just like any phone. Still download and update my apps, play games online, whatever - as long as I had wifi, which was always unless I was driving.
The way I did it was I put in a fake APN. I am pretty sure this is the only way to never get caught. Theoretically they can find out which phone you are using via the IMEI, but for some reason they never checked it when I never used an ounce of data (not even the occasional MMS text because with a fake APN, it's not allowed). I even forced my phone to only use 2G bands for phone calls just to be sure.
I'm not sure if there's a way to do it with iPhones. I jailbroke my wife's iPhone 3GS and turned off mobile data and we put in her sim card from her dumb phone in it. However, she still used MMS - and I think that's what got her caught because after about 6-12 months (don't remember, it's been a while) they told us they were forcing her to get a data plan. That was a really a sad day for me as she doesn't use data at ALL. She just uses it for texting and hardly even plays games on it. It's literally money flushed down the toilet (ok not actually literally), but oh well, that's the fascist oligopoly of carriers we have here in the US until the government tells them they can't charge people for stuff just because of the device they own (it's like Dish/DirectTV forcing you to get the expensive HD package because you own an HD TV).
If you can find a way to put in a fake APN in your iPhone, you might have a shot. But they seem to really be on top of iPhones IMEIs. Theoretically there is a central database of IMEI numbers that should've included my Nexus One, but all I know is I never got caught and I think it's because I didn't use any 3G ever, whatsoever from before I even put in my SIM card my phone was locked out of the 3G network.
I'm not 100% certain, but my Nexus One wasn't purchased from AT&T, even though it was the AT&T 3G version, I got it directly from Google unlocked, uncontracted. That might be why they weren't able to figure it out. I've never heard of anyone else able to successfully circumvent the forced data plan as well as me, but most people don't try since they want to buy subsidized phones anyway.
Last edited:
Used an iPhone with a dumb phone's SIM card without any data plan. AT&T discovered it a couple months later and automatically added the new data plan. Saved a couple months worth of data fees.