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No commitment iPhone 4 and activation

I

imkingofjungle

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 4, 2010
72
0
Does anyone here have experience with buying an iPhone without a contract?
How did you activate the phone so you would have access to the iPod and Safari features?
Is it the ATT sim card?
Does it have to be an activated ATT sim card?
Is it iTunes?

I called Apple and they said iTunes would activate it.
But im doubting that because some people on here told me the ATT sim card activates it?

can someone who actually HAVE had experience with a no commitment iPhone shed me some light?
I dont want to spend $700, just to find out I have to sign a contract with ATT to activate the iPhone for the ipod, safari, gps, apps and the rest of the features.
Thanks.
 
imkingofjungle said:
Does anyone here have experience with buying an iPhone without a contract?
How did you activate the phone so you would have access to the iPod and Safari features?
Is it the ATT sim card?
Does it have to be an activated ATT sim card?
Is it iTunes?

I called Apple and they said iTunes would activate it.
But im doubting that because some people on here told me the ATT sim card activates it?

can someone who actually HAVE had experience with a no commitment iPhone shed me some light?
I dont want to spend $700, just to find out I have to sign a contract with ATT to activate the iPhone for the phone's features.
Thanks.
Click to expand...


If you buy it in the US then you will need to have an AT&T plan to activate the iPhone unless you use a jailbreak technique.
 
Revelation78 said:
If you buy it in the US then you will need to have an AT&T plan to activate the iPhone unless you use a jailbreak technique.
Click to expand...
have you ever bought a no contract iphone before?
so what happens when I buy the no contract phone? the phone is unusable?

how come the apple customer service people told me i can just plug it into itunes and i will have functions to the ipod/safari/photo/camera features?

im not understanding, what exactly happens when i unbox the phone from the box? will I be able to unlock the phone and start using all the features minus the phone?
 
imkingofjungle said:
have you ever bought a no contract iphone before?
so what happens when I buy the no contract phone? the phone is unusable?

how come the apple customer service people told me i can just plug it into itunes and i will have functions to the ipod/safari/photo/camera features?

im not understanding, what exactly happens when i unbox the phone from the box? will I be able to unlock the phone and start using all the features minus the phone?
Click to expand...

Because the Apple person was wrong. ALL iPhones sold in the US are locked to AT&T and you have to have an AT&T plan to activate it to use. Wait until a jailbreak is released and you'll be able to "hactivate" it to use it as you mentioned.
 
Revelation78 said:
Because the Apple person was wrong. ALL iPhones sold in the US are locked to AT&T and you have to have an AT&T plan to activate it to use. Wait until a jailbreak is released and you'll be able to "hactivate" it to use it as you mentioned.
Click to expand...
i just got off the phone with an ATT rep, and she said the same thing.
could they be all wrong?
im just trying to purchase an iphone 4, without signing any contracts with ATT and to use the iPhone as an iPod, Camera, Web browser through wifi, and use a payed sim card, and unlock when the dev team releases.

when i purchase an iPhone 4, and i take it out of the box, i plug it into itunes, shouldnt that grant me access to all the features of the iphone except the phone? i dont get it, will the phone not turn turn on if i dont activate through ATT?
what exactly does ATT activate?
 
I bought a 3GS in October for full price at an Apple retail store without an AT&T service plan or contract. I had to sign an agreement saying that I wouldn't use it with any carrier other than AT&T, but then the sales rep gave me the sealed, boxed phone with no problems.

Since I'm in the US, it came with an AT&T SIM card installed. When I turned it on, it wanted to be connected to iTunes and wouldn't let me use it, so I connected it up. iTunes talked to some Apple server and then my phone became activated and then I could use it for all of the non-cellular functions just fine. (Even the GPS worked!) The two or three times I restored the phone after that I needed the SIM card back in just to activate it, but apart from that, I left the SIM card out of the phone (though it works just fine with it in as well; it says "No Service").

So, unless they've changed something since the 3GS, you'll be good to go.
 
spicyj said:
I bought a 3GS in October for full price at an Apple retail store without an AT&T service plan or contract. I had to sign an agreement saying that I wouldn't use it with any carrier other than AT&T, but then the sales rep gave me the sealed, boxed phone with no problems.

Since I'm in the US, it came with an AT&T SIM card installed. When I turned it on, it wanted to be connected to iTunes and wouldn't let me use it, so I connected it up. iTunes talked to some Apple server and then my phone became activated and then I could use it for all of the non-cellular functions just fine. (Even the GPS worked!) The two or three times I restored the phone after that I needed the SIM card back in just to activate it, but apart from that, I left the SIM card out of the phone (though it works just fine with it in as well; it says "No Service").

So, unless they've changed something since the 3GS, you'll be good to go.
Click to expand...

First I've heard of it, I could be wrong.
 
I think the OP is trying to say if he spends $700 on a new phone how does he get the service? Will he eventually have to sign a contract for mins/data? And also can you cancel as you service as you please with no ETF? That's what I would think personally since you didn't get it at the subsidized price.
 
I think he wants to know if he can buy the new iPhone 4 for $600 (16GB) or $700 (32GB) and use it like a fancy iPod touch, and the answer to that is yes.
 
yes, im trying to buy it for $700, then when the unlock is released, i plan to unlock it so i can use it for another carrier. but while waiting for the unlock, i want to be able to use WiFi, GPS, iPod and the rest of the iPhone features.

okay, so i am hearing a lot of mixed answers, some are saying they are able to use the iphone features MINUS the phone when buying it with no contract, but some are saying i wont be able to use the iphone features at all without activating the phone through ATT.

i still need some clarifications. i dont know who or what to believe.
but i think spicy is telling me the real deal, thanks.

if anyone wants to add anything or share their experience please feel free.
 
imkingofjungle said:
yes, im trying to buy it for $700, then when the unlock is released, i plan to unlock it so i can use it for another carrier. but while waiting for the unlock, i want to be able to use WiFi, GPS, iPod and the rest of the iPhone features.

okay, so i am hearing a lot of mixed answers, some are saying they are able to use the iphone features MINUS the phone when buying it with no contract, but some are saying i wont be able to use the iphone features at all without activating the phone through ATT.

i still need some clarifications. i dont know who or what to believe.
but i think spicy is telling me the real deal, thanks.

if anyone wants to add anything or share their experience please feel free.
Click to expand...

Ignore my previous ramblings, I believe spicy is right as well.
 
So what's the advantage of buying a phone at retail price? I thought if you did that you could avoid the ETF?
 
so when u buy an iphone new it will have a microsim pre installed thenu plug into itunes and it will unbrick meaning u will be able to use it as an ipod..as long as it reads a sim it will work it just wont be activated..u can use it on att on a month to month basis until u unlock it..just be sure to say month to month and no contract since u bought it outright alot of att employees dont even know this is an option.:eek::cool:
 
imkingofjungle said:
but some are saying i wont be able to use the iphone features at all without activating the phone through ATT.
Click to expand...
That part is still technically true. The iPhone needs to communicate with AT&T in order to be "activated". Until it's activated (or hacktivated), the only thing you can do with it is make emergency calls.

What appears to be new is that AT&T will (for phones purchased with the no commitment price) activate the iPhone, even if the iPhone isn't associated with an AT&T account. Well, based on spicyj's experience.

If you're not an AT&T customer, you might want to verify that AT&T/Apple will let you buy an iPhone at the "no commitment" price. That used to be a requirement. I know it was dropped a month or two ago (presumable to clear out the remaining 3GS inventory), but it may be reapplied when the iPhone 4 goes on sale.

imkingofjungle said:
because i have another sim card i will be using that is much cheaper than att.
Click to expand...
Is it a micro-sim, or can you whittle it down to fit in the iPhone 4's micro-sim card slot?
 
If I were you, I'd trust me because I'm the only person on this thread that actually tried this. ;)

But anyway, it worked great for me and I used my phone without any service or contract for several weeks. (But the phone is still not unlocked so you will need to wait for an unlock from the iPhone Dev Team or geohot or someone else to use it on T-Mobile.)

If you're nervous, you should ask the sales rep and make sure you'll be able to use it without service and then open the phone at the store and make sure it gets activated okay. That way, you should be able to return it if it doesn't work like they claimed. Also, I'm not sure that the phones will be available for full price the first day because I don't think they were in the past (but I hope they are because I'm planning to get one too!).
 
UngratefulNinja said:
I don't think that's true. You still have to have an at&t contract, it's just that buying it doesn't EXTEND your contract. This is what at&t themselves say about it:

Any customer who wants to purchase iPhone 4 without signing a new 2-year agreement may do so at the no commitment price. An eligible voice and data plan are required.

http://www.att.com/Common/about_us/files/iphone/pricing_fact_sheet_ip4.pdf
Click to expand...

if u want it to work with att..have u ever done this?..i just did this with a 3gs
 
UngratefulNinja said:
I don't think that's true. You still have to have an at&t contract, it's just that buying it doesn't EXTEND your contract. This is what at&t themselves say about it:

Any customer who wants to purchase iPhone 4 without signing a new 2-year agreement may do so at the no commitment price. An eligible voice and data plan are required.

http://www.att.com/Common/about_us/files/iphone/pricing_fact_sheet_ip4.pdf
Click to expand...
damn, i dont know what to believe now.
i wish there was someone who can clarify for me 100% accurate.
 
aristobrat said:
That part is still technically true. The iPhone needs to communicate with AT&T in order to be "activated". Until it's activated (or hacktivated), the only thing you can do with it is make emergency calls.

What appears to be new is that AT&T will (for phones purchased with the no commitment price) activate the iPhone, even if the iPhone isn't associated with an AT&T account. Well, based on spicyj's experience.

If you're not an AT&T customer, you might want to verify that AT&T/Apple will let you buy an iPhone at the "no commitment" price. That used to be a requirement. I know it was dropped a month or two ago (presumable to clear out the remaining 3GS inventory), but it may be reapplied when the iPhone 4 goes on sale.


Is it a micro-sim, or can you whittle it down to fit in the iPhone 4's micro-sim card slot?
Click to expand...
yes, i am going to cut it down to fit the micro sim tray.
 
spicyj said:
If I were you, I'd trust me because I'm the only person on this thread that actually tried this. ;)

But anyway, it worked great for me and I used my phone without any service or contract for several weeks. (But the phone is still not unlocked so you will need to wait for an unlock from the iPhone Dev Team or geohot or someone else to use it on T-Mobile.)

If you're nervous, you should ask the sales rep and make sure you'll be able to use it without service and then open the phone at the store and make sure it gets activated okay. That way, you should be able to return it if it doesn't work like they claimed. Also, I'm not sure that the phones will be available for full price the first day because I don't think they were in the past (but I hope they are because I'm planning to get one too!).
Click to expand...
yeah, thats why i believed you more, because you actually have had experience with it. =)
i think i will go for the no contract iphone 4, and double check with the apple reps when i purchase to make sure.
 
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