Switching to ATT

[edward-k]

I have been reading some posts regarding switching to att that i don't really understand. People have mentioned buying a phone from att (along with a contract I presume), then they buy a ipod. I might be missing parts of the scenario, can someone educate me what the process is, and what it accomplishes??
Thanks in advance.
Ed

 

[albinoAZN]

they sign up for a new 2-year contract with AT&T and they get a free phone out of the deal that comes with a sim card. They then go out and buy an iPhone and use the SIM card they just got to activate the iPhone and use everything but the edge and visual voicemail.
I believe that's how it goes.

 

[obeygiant]

Wait, the visual voicemail doesn't work?

 

[albinoAZN]

if you sign up for a plan that isn't a data plan.

 

[RMferrer]

they sign up for a new 2-year contract with AT&T and they get a free phone out of the deal that comes with a sim card. They then go out and buy an iPhone and use the SIM card they just got to activate the iPhone and use everything but the edge and visual voicemail.
I believe that's how it goes.

i did something quite similar but not exactly. When my iphone was delivered earlier today i went straight to ATT to sign a contract. I purchased a $30 phone and got a rebate for $30 so technically the phone cost me squat. Went home and immediately activated my iphone as an EXISTING customer and within a matter of minutes i was using my iphone no problemo. I wanted visual voicemail so i just upgraded the plan for unlimited data+unlimited texting. I wanted to make sure i could use all the features.

I then listed the phone i bought for $30 which retails for about $210 from the ATT store, on ebay and will use that money to pay for my cancellation fee from Verizon since i ported my previous cell number.

 

[obeygiant]

if you sign up for a plan that isn't a data plan.

oic. So it must be cheaper to do it that way then to just go a buy an iPhone from ATT and be forced to pay for Edge and VV.

 

[albinoAZN]

correct. You pay for a normal plan and not the data. This is most useful when you don't really need the EDGE, or don't have the money for a data plan atm.

 

[edward-k]

ok- i'm starting to understand.

so visual voicemail does not work..

does email work?
how about weather, stock, etc ??

does safari still work on wi-fi ?

I'm a long term verizon customer and not totally familiar with the whole sim card thing. Does following this process also allow you to sell whatever (free) phone you might have received on ebay etc.

Thanks
Ed

 

[albinoAZN]

email, weather, stocks, and safari will all still work, but only in a wi-fi hotspot. And yes, you can sell your free phone on eBay.

 

[EvilDoc]

I have been reading some posts regarding switching to att that i don't really understand. People have mentioned buying a phone from att (along with a contract I presume), then they buy a ipod. I might be missing parts of the scenario, can someone educate me what the process is, and what it accomplishes??
Thanks in advance.
Ed

Well your not really "buying" a phone then going out and upgrading to the iPhone, when you sign a 2 year contact you get a free phone. When you sign a 2 year contract you get a pretty decent selection of free phones. So you can either keep this phone as a back up or sell it to offset the price of the iPhone. If your going to sign a 2 year contract you may as well get a free phone. The whole issue with the visual voice mail is not existent when you upgrade to the iphone you switch plans, to the iphone plan or what ever its called. I think you make out best doing this either way you win, you either have a back up phone or you can sell the "free" phone on ebay or craigslist

 

[Mindflux]

Well your not really "buying" a phone then going out and upgrading to the iPhone, when you sign a 2 year contact you get a free phone. When you sign a 2 year contract you get a pretty decent selection of free phones. So you can either keep this phone as a back up or sell it to offset the price of the iPhone. If your going to sign a 2 year contract you may as well get a free phone. The whole issue with the visual voice mail is not existent when you upgrade to the iphone you switch plans, to the iphone plan or what ever its called. I think you make out best doing this either way you win, you either have a back up phone or you can sell the "free" phone on ebay or craigslist

I'm trying to figure this out myself. If I buy a 2 year plan and get a free phone, does that SIM come active? Because if it's not then i can't tell my iPhone to use an existing account w/ AT&T because I have no mobile number attached to it to input to iTunes?.

So how does that work.

 

[RMferrer]

I'm trying to figure this out myself. If I buy a 2 year plan and get a free phone, does that SIM come active? Because if it's not then i can't tell my iPhone to use an existing account w/ AT&T because I have no mobile number attached to it to input to iTunes?.

So how does that work.

I know what you are asking and i'll try to make it as clear as possible. What you are asking is EXACTLY what i did today.

1.) My phone was delivered today (ordered it online)
2.) went to my local att dealer and signed a 2 year contract.
3.) with the agreement i recieved and FREE LG CE110, no point in payin for a phone right bcuz i have the iphone at home waiting to be activated.
4.) In the store the rep activated the LG phone and i went through the agreement via the cell phone which i just recieved.(at this very moment your new phone with att is active, SIM card and all)
5.) I immediately went home, downloaded itunes and proceeded with the activation.
6.)during the activation process you are asked if you want to use an existing att number(which i just recieved), new number, add a line etc. etc.
7.) I chose use existing att number.
8.)you are then prompted to type in the number you have with att(which i just recieved.) it will also ask you for last 4 of social, billing..etc.
9.) It will then tell you that you need to upgrade to the unlimited data plan $20 and if you want change your plan at all this is the time to do it.
10.) Once everything is completed it will ask if you want to proceed with the changes in your plan bcuz the plan is different from regular plans.
11.) when everything is completed your phone will go from activate phone to your phone is activated.(now at this moment your iphone is active, the iphone has it's own SIM card and no switch is needed, NOW the new phone you just recieved from att is no longer activated!)
12.)AT THIS TIME GO BUCK WILD BECAUSE YOU NOW HAVE THE HOLY GRAIL OF CELL PHONES.

**Oh and btw i just tried calling with the phone i got from att and it does not work, it says service unavailable.**

if i left out anything please add your comments, other than that this pretty much what you will go through. I activated my iphone approx. 15 mins from coming back from the store.

 

[Mindflux]

Well I'm thinking more along the lines of buy a blackberry pearl for 50 (on att.com right now), sell it for 200 or whatever a 'nib' one goes for or unlock it to Tmobile for my girlfriend.

My problem is during the AT&T signup it asks if I want to port a number, and I do. Problem is, will it port right away? Will I lose my current phone access while I have no AT&T phone because it's being shipped?

Did you have to pay two activation fees.

 

[RMferrer]

Well I'm thinking more along the lines of buy a blackberry pearl for 50 (on att.com right now), sell it for 200 or whatever a 'nib' one goes for or unlock it to Tmobile for my girlfriend.

My problem is during the AT&T signup it asks if I want to port a number, and I do. Problem is, will it port right away? Will I lose my current phone access while I have no AT&T phone because it's being shipped?

Did you have to pay two activation fees.

nope one activation fee. I also ported my number from verizon. It took maybe 2-3 hrs for it to be fully ported. When you activate your iphone you will notice that some calls you will recieve and some will be recieved through your previous phone. Like me i had the Moto Q, some calls i'd get on my iphone and some on my q. Then everything pretty much went the iphone.

you will not miss any calls at all. Bcuz you will either get calls on your iphone or your verizon phone.

 

[edward-k]

Thanks, i think i understand the process now. One last question. I get it that you get the new phone from att, and then go thru the i tunes activation and use an existing att number.

So at this point you take the sim card from the free phone and put it in the i-phone?

Is there a sim card in the i-phone already?

If someone just buys an i-phone outright (none of all this stuff), i assume it has a sim card already installed and you never have to mess with a sim card?

Thanks
Ed

 

[heyp]

I know what you are asking and i'll try to make it as clear as possible. What you are asking is EXACTLY what i did today.

1.) My phone was delivered today (ordered it online)
2.) went to my local att dealer and signed a 2 year contract.
3.) with the agreement i recieved and FREE LG CE110, no point in payin for a phone right bcuz i have the iphone at home waiting to be activated.
4.) In the store the rep activated the LG phone and i went through the agreement via the cell phone which i just recieved.(at this very moment your new phone with att is active, SIM card and all)
5.) I immediately went home, downloaded itunes and proceeded with the activation.
6.)during the activation process you are asked if you want to use an existing att number(which i just recieved), new number, add a line etc. etc.
7.) I chose use existing att number.
8.)you are then prompted to type in the number you have with att(which i just recieved.) it will also ask you for last 4 of social, billing..etc.
9.) It will then tell you that you need to upgrade to the unlimited data plan $20 and if you want change your plan at all this is the time to do it.
10.) Once everything is completed it will ask if you want to proceed with the changes in your plan bcuz the plan is different from regular plans.
11.) when everything is completed your phone will go from activate phone to your phone is activated.(now at this moment your iphone is active, the iphone has it's own SIM card and no switch is needed, NOW the new phone you just recieved from att is no longer activated!)
12.)AT THIS TIME GO BUCK WILD BECAUSE YOU NOW HAVE THE HOLY GRAIL OF CELL PHONES.

**Oh and btw i just tried calling with the phone i got from att and it does not work, it says service unavailable.**

if i left out anything please add your comments, other than that this pretty much what you will go through. I activated my iphone approx. 15 mins from coming back from the store.

has anybody else done this recently? what are your experiences? was it worth it?

 

[SFC Archer]

Thanks, i think i understand the process now. One last question. I get it that you get the new phone from att, and then go thru the i tunes activation and use an existing att number.

So at this point you take the sim card from the free phone and put it in the i-phone?

Is there a sim card in the i-phone already?

If someone just buys an i-phone outright (none of all this stuff), i assume it has a sim card already installed and you never have to mess with a sim card?

Thanks
Ed

I believe he answered your question with step 11 of his sequence.

The iPhone comes with its own sim card...no swap is necessary. If you decide to leave your iPhone at home and take your second phone on a trip or whatever then you will pull the sim out of the iPhone and put it in replace of the sim in your free phone.