Refurb Activation

[irun5k]

Apologies if this has been addressed already (I haven't found anything yet.):

I just ordered a 3G refurb online via AT&T Premier. It replaces an older non-iPhone on a family talk plan. Am I going to be able to activate this thing in the comfort of my home, or will I have to go to an AT&T store? If done at home, what is the basic process? (swapping SIM cards, iTunes activation, etc?)

Thanks in advance!

 

[vienta]

I did the same thing but as a new customer so there may be some differences. I had to call the premier # (which is only open until 9pm eastern, kind of a pain if u live west & don't get home to pick up the package right at 5), then plug it into itunes.

 

[rollingstart]

Same thing here, upgraded with Premier. You have to call AT&T and talk to a representative prior to activating in iTunes. Actually, most of the activation work is done by AT&T, after speaking with them it was a simple matter of syncing to iTunes, no internet activation was required. At least that was my experience. GL!

 

[irun5k]

Thanks guys. What is the phone call all about? Curious what the phone call does that couldn't be done online (after all, I did my 1st gen iPhone online.)

I'm actually a little concerned because the premier status on our family plan is apparently not what AT&T intends. I am entitled to premier status through my company, but I'm the secondary line on the account (my wife is primary.) I didn't realize I had to be the primary, and I was able to set all this up online just fine via my company's portal into the AT&T site.

Now I've learned that to be 100% "legit", we should have the lines swapped and I should be the primary account holder and my wife should be the secondary line. Apparently AT&T will ding us a service fee on both lines to swap this around.

Hopefully I can avoid triggering the switch when I have to talk to the premier rep to activate the new iPhone. Or I guess I could just pay the fees, but it seems stupid to get charged fees just for moving names around on an account because of their own arbitrary policies. I mean, it isn't like I'm requesting a new line or a new number for an existing line.

 

[vienta]

Phone call is pretty short, they just asked me to verify my account info and the last digits of a couple of numbers (SIM card, etc.) and then told me to sync to itunes. I think they just want a verification that the package was received by the right person. Although they did ask me to verify the name on the account and then ask if that was the person they were speaking to- so I guess maybe if you call and your wife's the primary they might question that? I'm not sure.

 

[dave006]

The AT&T refurb iPhone 3Gs should all already activated and include a new SIM. In your case you can just insert your existing AT&T SIM and complete the setup in iTunes. That's the way I actived my refurb last week. Just double check your status in OLAM after you complete the setup in iTunes to confirm that your data plan is correctly set to the iPhone 3G data plan. As a side note, if your Visual Voicemail works correctly then you should be all setup.

The issue about FANs, accounts and lines of service is a little confusing but it sounds like you are the Account holder / owner since you setup everything through your company Premier Portal. The names you have assigned on the individual lines of service don't matter as long as it is your account and the FAN matches.

Dave

 

[bluebajabug]

I got 2 through the premier site and just put my sim in each one and started using it. I got the 8gb first and used it a few days and sold it. Then I got the 16gb and have been using it about a week now. I don't know how many they would let me keep getting? I'm guessing it comes unlocked, since my FAN says I can upgrade at the normal price for all the other phones (which are more expensive then just buying them outright). Who knows I'm not complaining!!!