is it possible to have iPhone prepaid??

[backinblack875]

I've heard you can get an iPhone prepaid...so how?? lol

also how would you get an iPhone without the regular plans/contract?? would you have to pay full price unlocked for like 600$???

how EXACTLY does it work??

thanks

 

[cshearer]

I wouldn't exactly call myself an authority on the subject, however, as far as my knowledge goes, your first step would indeed be purchasing an unlocked iPhone. Apple does sell them now, if I remember the macrumors article correctly. You could also possibly find it on second-hand websites like eBay for less, but there's no guarantee of finding a better deal. From that point, it's finding a carrier that will support it.

 

[Dandrews524]

I wouldn't exactly call myself an authority on the subject, however, as far as my knowledge goes, your first step would indeed be purchasing an unlocked iPhone. Apple does sell them now, if I remember the macrumors article correctly. You could also possibly find it on second-hand websites like eBay for less, but there's no guarantee of finding a better deal. From that point, it's finding a carrier that will support it.

im not authority either but from my understanding the "unlocked" phone that are purchased directly from apple are still tied to at&t, they just come without a plan. your best best would be to go on CL or ebay and buy a real unlocked iphone then getting a pre-paid sim card. like i said im not an expert, im on a plan and always have been

 

[backinblack875]

I wouldn't exactly call myself an authority on the subject, however, as far as my knowledge goes, your first step would indeed be purchasing an unlocked iPhone. Apple does sell them now, if I remember the macrumors article correctly. You could also possibly find it on second-hand websites like eBay for less, but there's no guarantee of finding a better deal. From that point, it's finding a carrier that will support it.

im not authority either but from my understanding the "unlocked" phone that are purchased directly from apple are still tied to at&t, they just come without a plan. your best best would be to go on CL or ebay and buy a real unlocked iphone then getting a pre-paid sim card. like i said im not an expert, im on a plan and always have been

would if i got an iPhone, say the 5 with the usual 2 yr contract, could i do it AFTER the contract is up?? get a prepaid sim??

 

[Dandrews524]

would if i got an iPhone, say the 5 with the usual 2 yr contract, could i do it AFTER the contract is up?? get a prepaid sim??

i mean yea you COULD do that, but thats after you spend at least $1,000 a year or two year contract. so its kind of a double edged sword

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i stand corrected, i just looked on the apple site and apparently they are selling completely unlocked iphone 4s for $649. it says they come without a mini sim so you can use which ever GSM carrier youd like.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC603LL/A?mco=MjI4NTM2NTM

 

[wordoflife]

im not authority either but from my understanding the "unlocked" phone that are purchased directly from apple are still tied to at&t, they just come without a plan.

unlocked iPhones are no way associated to AT&T. there are two types of phones you can buy without a contract

AT&T GSM: 599/699 (these are associated with AT&T)
unlocked GSM: 649/749

 

[unlimitedx]

check out h2o wireless that is a MVNO using at&t's network. no unlocked needed. unlimited talking and text, and 250mb data for $50. they recently increase data from 100mb to 250mb. once my contract is up i think i will switch to h2o

 

[mpossoff]

check out h2o wireless that is a MVNO using at&t's network. no unlocked needed. unlimited talking and text, and 250mb data for $50. they recently increase data from 100mb to 250mb. once my contract is up i think i will switch to h2o

250mb isn't enough, shame they don't have more.

 

[twitt3r]

would if i got an iPhone, say the 5 with the usual 2 yr contract, could i do it AFTER the contract is up?? get a prepaid sim??

If that's your plan, I would (if you can afford to) pay up-front for the phone unlocked directly from Apple, then you can choose whatever SIM deal you want, and are free to sell/upgrade the phone whenever you want. Like I said, it just means laying out a chunk of cash up-front. Personally, I'd rather do that and have the flexibility. Gone are the days when PAYG/Pay Monthly deals are inferior to contracts. Contracts only exist now to help people get a phone who don't want to part with their cash, but you always do in the long run, so...

 

[jeans94621]

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (iPhone; Opera Mini/6.1.15738/25.729; U; en) Presto/2.5.25 Version/10.54)

I have an unlocked iphone 4 on tmobile prepaid right now unlimited talk text and web for fifty dollars. I have great service with tmobile in my area. Better than ATT. The only drawback no 3g just edge but for surfing the web email and the data for some of your apps it good. I use opera mini and that is really fast. If you do a lot of video watching than you need to be in wifi. I look at it like I have an ipod touch with phone service.

 

[awadeee]

I wouldn't exactly call myself an authority on the subject, however, as far as my knowledge goes, your first step would indeed be purchasing an unlocked iPhone. Apple does sell them now, if I remember the macrumors article correctly. You could also possibly find it on second-hand websites like eBay for less, but there's no guarantee of finding a better deal. From that point, it's finding a carrier that will support it.

If the iPhone is locked to AT&T, it can be used on AT&T prepaid. If you want to use T-Mobile prepaid, you would then have to be unlocked.

im not authority either but from my understanding the "unlocked" phone that are purchased directly from apple are still tied to at&t, they just come without a plan. your best best would be to go on CL or ebay and buy a real unlocked iphone then getting a pre-paid sim card. like i said im not an expert, im on a plan and always have been

Incorrect. Unlocked is unlocked.

If you buy the iPhone outright from AT&T, it's 50 bucks cheaper (like wordoflife said) than buying it outright from Apple. However, if you get it from AT&T, it will be locked to AT&T. If you get it outright from Apple, it will be unlocked.

 

[Dandrews524]

If the iPhone is locked to AT&T, it can be used on AT&T prepaid. If you want to use T-Mobile prepaid, you would then have to be unlocked.



Incorrect. Unlocked is unlocked.

If you buy the iPhone outright from AT&T, it's 50 bucks cheaper (like wordoflife said) than buying it outright from Apple. However, if you get it from AT&T, it will be locked to AT&T. If you get it outright from Apple, it will be unlocked.

if you read down further you would see that i corrected myself and provided the link to the unlocked phone on the apple site

 

[unlimitedx]

250mb isn't enough, shame they don't have more.

agreed, they should definitely have a higher data plan offering.

however, h20's offering of 250mb is currently the most competitive amount of data available for prepaid iphones that can access the 3g network, while costing only $50 (in addition to unlimited talk and text, and $20 monthly to use for international calls).

if you come across another prepaid plan that costs $50 or less with higher data offering, do share!!

 

[eastercat]

You can also buy a used phone. You don't have to unlock it if you use if with AT&T's pre-paid. However, if you want to use it with t-mobile's pre-paid then you should make sure that you can unlock the phone.
Don't assume that all the phones can be easily software unlocked. You'd be better off buying a factory unlocked model.

 

[macingman]

im not authority either but from my understanding the "unlocked" phone that are purchased directly from apple are still tied to at&t, they just come without a plan. your best best would be to go on CL or ebay and buy a real unlocked iphone then getting a pre-paid sim card. like i said im not an expert, im on a plan and always have been

No they are not pay an extra $50 at the Apple Store (at purchase only) and you can get unlocked for use on any carrier in the world (GSM).

 

[unlimitedx]

250mb isn't enough, shame they don't have more.

They now offer unlimited everything (including data) for $60. I believe this makes H2O the best prepaid plan for the iPhone, because no unlock is needed to use it on H2O wireless, and unlimited 3G data.

 

[RRmalvado]

They now offer unlimited everything (including data) for $60. I believe this makes H2O the best prepaid plan for the iPhone, because no unlock is needed to use it on H2O wireless, and unlimited 3G data.

Sounds like a great deal. Some questions though:

How fast is this unlimited data?
Is MMS included?