Purchase AT&T iPhone without Activating?

[techiegirl]

A relative asked me if this is possible and I think it is, but I'd like to know for sure. They have a family account with 2 dumb phones and are eligible for upgrade. They would like to get 2 iPhones with their upgrade eligibility, but they would like to stick with their dumb phones. Instead they would give their iPhones to their kids.

If they purchase the iPhones, can they go back to the dumb phones and avoid to pay the monthly data plan?

 

[takeshi74]

You don't activate GSM phones. You activate SIM cards. In short, the answer is yes.

 

[CuppyCake]

Not with AT&T

If you purchase the iPhones with AT&T service, data is mandatory. There is no way around it. I have tried.

 

[techiegirl]

If you purchase the iPhones with AT&T service, data is mandatory. There is no way around it. I have tried.

Even if they are not using the iPhones?

 

[Crystal-RX]

Apple sells unlocked Iphone now, so if you can do that and don't even need to activate it, you can use it with any sim.

 

[netslacker]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

The phones can only be activated to the account / phone numbers they were assigned. Once active they can do whatever they want with them (but only they can activate them). During the activation process you will chose a data plan for each phone which cannot be removed from the plan until the new 2 yr contract expires.

 

[Jordan921]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

The phones can only be activated to the account / phone numbers they were assigned. Once active they can do whatever they want with them (but only they can activate them). During the activation process you will chose a data plan for each phone which cannot be removed from the plan until the new 2 yr contract expires.

Wrong. Go back and read the OP. They are not going to be using the iPhones. They just want to use the upgrades to get the 2 iPhones for their kids and going back to the dumb phones. If they don't use the iPhones on their accounts and only using the dumb phones they can cancel the data plans. Also just because you signup for an account and buy a smartphone that needs a data plan you do not need to keep the data plan for the full 2years if you aren't using a smartphone the whole time. If you end up going back to a dumbphone you can just call up and have the data removed.

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If you purchase the iPhones with AT&T service, data is mandatory. There is no way around it. I have tried.

But they aren't going to be using the iPhones. They are using the dumb phones so the data plans can't just be forced on them. But their kids who get the iPhone will have to use a data plan no matter what.

 

[techiegirl]

But they aren't going to be using the iPhones. They are using the dumb phones so the data plans can't just be forced on them.

Right. They are not going to keep the iPhones. They just want the discounted 2 year upgrade price. The parents are happy with the dumb phones.

 

[Jordan921]

Right. They are not going to keep the iPhones. They just want the discounted 2 year upgrade price. The parents are happy with the dumb phones.

Yea they should be fine. Data plans can't be forced on them if they are using dumb phones.