Unsuccessful atempts to get $20 unlimited data plan for iphone 2g

[maclook]

I have seen it posted both ways(the instructions that is). It seems there are many things that are really a case by case basis. Success has been had both with both methods.More below.

Are you saying you had the 200mb plan and switched to the 2g, and did the activation process and re-selected the 200mb plan again instead of the unlimited plan. Yes you are missing something, or your leaving out a part of the process thats making me miss something. Did you follow the instructions. Post everything you did. If you activated through iTunes after restoring the 2g, you should have selected the unlimited plan. If you are saying you did that but did not get any options to select a data plan, at all, my best guess would be that you didn't use a brand new unactivated sim card and just popped your current sim card into the 2g before going through the process in iTunes, is that what happened? Im sure you missed something, or everything perhaps, what exactly i can't be sure of but will try to help you narrow it down if you post more details on exactly what your process was, to the best of my abilities at least considering i haven't done it yet.

----------.

Alright, you seem really knowledgeable so hopefully you can help. I plugged in my iPhone 2G with a new SIM card that picked up from the AT&T store. I began the activation process and got stuck at "activation requires additional time" so I called 611 and the CSR helped activate it. At that point, I hadn't been asked to choose a data plan yet. The phone was still in "connect to iTunes mode" and iTunes wasn't being cooperative and saying my phone's activation was still processing even though I could see I had service and had gotten a text message. The CSR pretty much got it activated and called the phone to confirm it but iTunes wasn't letting me proceed to the next step.

Since I needed to jailbreak it, I just used Pwnagetool while it was in "connect to iTunes" mode. I think this is where I screwed up because now my phone is jailbroken and in working order but I may have bypassed the step where I choose the data plan. I'm going to call AT&T tomorrow to see if I can do it over the phone since I can't do it online or through iTunes.

Any better options would be much appreciated.

 

[PPFee]

They asked me who was the owner of the particular iphone so I wonder if its an issue with the imei of this particular iphone 2G. I got it off ebay so who knows who had it or whatever.
I wonder if I should get another blank sim, restore the iphone and try the whole thing again? Now that I got the 2GB data plan removed.
Or maybe go to an AT&T or Apple store and have them do it there.
Seems like talking to reps on the phone is a waste of time. I talked to a bunch of them and they all had different answers and blames for the problem. 3 days later and I still cant activate the original iphone.

Yes it's usually a issue with the phone and its past,regardless though they should require nothing more than the rep manually pushing through the activation. At most kicking it up to a higher support level. I would try the activation process again, because your current sim still hasn't been activated, see what happens. If you get the same error, and in the morning check your account online and don't have any changes, and don't want to give a phone rep another shot it couldn't really hurt to get another new sim. You may find with the imei issue you have to go through phone support lottery to get this done right. In the meantime, i would try as many variables as possible.

 

[Applejuiced]

Alright, you seem really knowledgeable so hopefully you can help. I plugged in my iPhone 2G with a new SIM card that picked up from the AT&T store. I began the activation process and got stuck at "activation requires additional time" so I called 611 and the CSR helped activate it. At that point, I hadn't been asked to choose a data plan yet. The phone was still in "connect to iTunes mode" and iTunes wasn't being cooperative and saying my phone's activation was still processing even though I could see I had service and had gotten a text message. The CSR pretty much got it activated and called the phone to confirm it but iTunes wasn't letting me proceed to the next step.

Since I needed to jailbreak it, I just used Pwnagetool while it was in "connect to iTunes" mode. I think this is where I screwed up because now my phone is jailbroken and in working order but I may have bypassed the step where I choose the data plan. I'm going to call AT&T tomorrow to see if I can do it over the phone since I can't do it online or through iTunes.

Any better options would be much appreciated.

I had the same issue.
The CSR activated the sim cause I got service and could see the phone received a text message but it was still stuck on the connect to itunes screen.
So I couldnt get in the homescreen.
I dont think you should have hactivated it. See if AT&T will add the $20 data plan manually for you. For me it seemed like it was impossible to do and none of the managers on duty could get it to go on or even activate the iphone.

Yes it's usually a issue with the phone and its past,regardless though they should require nothing more than the rep manually pushing through the activation. At most kicking it up to a higher support level. I would try the activation process again, because your current sim still hasn't been activated, see what happens. If you get the same error, and in the morning check your account online and don't have any changes, and don't want to give a phone rep another shot it couldn't really hurt to get another new sim. You may find with the imei issue you have to go through phone support lottery to get this done right. In the meantime, i would try as many variables as possible.

Thanks.
I wonder what could be wrong with this iphone's past history though. Its a GSM phone so it couldnt be blacklisted or anything right?
My current sim did get activated manualy by the rep by giving him the sim number but I was still stuck on the connect to itunes screen on the original iphone. So we didnt get anywhere cause it still listed datapro 2GB plan on that line.

 

[PPFee]

Alright, you seem really knowledgeable so hopefully you can help. I plugged in my iPhone 2G with a new SIM card that picked up from the AT&T store. I began the activation process and got stuck at "activation requires additional time" so I called 611 and the CSR helped activate it. At that point, I hadn't been asked to choose a data plan yet. The phone was still in "connect to iTunes mode" and iTunes wasn't being cooperative and saying my phone's activation was still processing even though I could see I had service and had gotten a text message. The CSR pretty much got it activated and called the phone to confirm it but iTunes wasn't letting me proceed to the next step.

Since I needed to jailbreak it, I just used Pwnagetool while it was in "connect to iTunes" mode. I think this is where I screwed up because now my phone is jailbroken and in working order but I may have bypassed the step where I choose the data plan. I'm going to call AT&T tomorrow to see if I can do it over the phone since I can't do it online or through iTunes.

Any better options would be much appreciated.

Yea i have heard that it needs to be "in jail" for this particular process. However, if its activated and pushed through and you check your account online it A.) doesn't show unlimited data and B.) won't let you select unlimited data from the website, than yes just call and seeing you have an iPhone 2g as your account phone just explain the activation issues and they should be able to select the unlimited data plan for you.

 

[maclook]

I had the same issue.
The CSR activated the sim cause I got service and could see the phone received a text message but it was still stuck on the connect to itunes screen.
So I couldnt get in the homescreen.
I dont think you should have hactivated it. See if AT&T will add the $20 data plan manually for you. For me it seemed like it was impossible to do and none of the managers on duty could get it to go on or even activate the iphone.

Yeah, I think hactivating it was my downfall. iTunes was being really difficult during this process so my patience was being tested the whole time. I was about to restart the process but the SIM card has already been activated so I guess I'm screwed for now. I have to wait until tomorrow to call AT&T so fingers crossed. On AT&T's website, the data options have changed and I have the "DataPlus 200 MB for Smartphone" option and there's no other options available.

Thanks for the help. Will update if AT&T customer service changes it to unlimited for me.

 

[Applejuiced]

Yeah, I think hactivating it was my downfall. iTunes was being really difficult during this process so my patience was being tested the whole time. I was about to restart the process but the SIM card has already been activated so I guess I'm screwed for now. I have to wait until tomorrow to call AT&T so fingers crossed. On AT&T's website, the data options have changed and I have the "DataPlus 200 MB for Smartphone" option and there's no other options available.

Yep, I had the 2GB datapro for iphone plan listed still after the whole process and it cant be removed online using my login on AT&T's site.
Its a real pain, seems like its impossible to just activate an original iphone 2G any longer.
What if people still want to use them?
Thanks for the input though, keep us posted and I'll also update you guys on how it went.
Thinking about going to the local AT&T store and have them figure it out there. Bring in the iphone 2G and have them activate it. If they cant do it either I will freak out

 

[PPFee]

I had the same issue.
The CSR activated the sim cause I got service and could see the phone received a text message but it was still stuck on the connect to itunes screen.
So I couldnt get in the homescreen.
I dont think you should have hactivated it. See if AT&T will add the $20 data plan manually for you. For me it seemed like it was impossible to do and none of the managers on duty could get it to go on or even activate the iphone.




Thanks.
I wonder what could be wrong with this iphone's past history though. Its a GSM phone so it couldnt be blacklisted or anything right?
My current sim did get activated manualy by the rep by giving him the sim number but I was still stuck on the connect to itunes screen on the original iphone. So we didnt get anywhere cause it still listed datapro 2GB plan on that line.

Really the history shouldn't matter, there like you said, is no way it can be blacklisted or anything. I think att must have its own internal list though, there could have been someone who owned the phone and used it on a daily basis to upgrade other peoples accounts, or one of a million other things that aren't illegal but that ATT deems inappropriate. You may find you wake up and have a text with it changed, but if you never were able to select the data plan and a rep never got there either i doubt it.

 

[PPFee]

What is bothering me, or poking at my curiosity. Is why a new unactivated sim card is required. Im not doubting that it is, i Just really want to know what part of the process dictates that a new unused sim, I am guessing that its something to do with what information the phone feeds to iTunes when you plug it in and dictates what type of activation process to throw up on the screen. But since users have reported accomplishing this process flawlessly with existing iPhone sims, guessing isn't good enough, and i may yet sabotage myself and try the process out with my existing sim, although i swore i would wait and do it properly to ensure the fastest possible results. We will see, either way i should have everything needed tomorrow and will post my results as the process progresses. If i make it till tomorrow without trying various things is another question, i feel like i should try every possible variable out so that i will know the answers and also have a flawless reference as to what does and does not work to better help other people attempting this process.

 

[dave006]

.....Since I needed to jailbreak it, I just used Pwnagetool while it was in "connect to iTunes" mode. I think this is where I screwed up because now my phone is jailbroken and in working order but I may have bypassed the step where I choose the data plan. I'm going to call AT&T tomorrow to see if I can do it over the phone since I can't do it online or through iTunes.

Any better options would be much appreciated.

Yes, you are not following the instructions.

If you are attempting this on a current AT&T line, turn off your phone that contains an active SIM with your phone number on it before you start.

1. Restore the original iPhone in iTunes to Factory Settings. Don't restore from a backup. Close iTunes and power off the original iPhone.

2. Put a new unactivated Mini-SIM card into the original iPhone, power on the original iPhone, start iTunes on your PC or Mac and then connect via USB. iTunes should detect the original iPhone and walk you through the activation steps starting with the "Welcome to Your New iPhone" screen.

3. The iTunes activation process will ask if you are an exiting AT&T Customer. It has a couple of radio buttons to select. Click Contiue and you will need to provide for your account information and what line to activate the iPhone on. You can add a new line or reuse your current phone number. You will be able to choose one of the original iPhone Unlimited Data plans and a SMS Txt message plan bundle. Finally you will be asked to provide your iTunes Apple account information or create a new iTunes Apple account.

4. Once that is done, the iPhone will say "Waiting for Activation". This can last from a few minutes to a few hours. Be patient. (NOTE: Late at night and on weekends the activation servers are not always available so WAIT!)

5. Once the original iPhone is activated, log into your AT&T Online account and verify that you have the corrrect iPhone Unlimited Data plan and the proper SMS Txt message plan.​

This may take 3 minutes to 24 hours or longer on a weekend! Do not call Customer Care unless you want them to screw up the process. Most Care reps don't have a clue how to activate an original iPhone or add the proper data plan. They don't see the "data" Feature codes (SOC) for the original iPhone as an option in their system. That's the reason to use iTunes!

Special Note 1: Please make sure to check the email address that you provided during "Activating your iPhone" in iTunes. Apple or AT&T may need to contact you for additional information.

Special Note 2: You must have an active internet connection and not have any DNS host redirections for any gs.apple.com entries. Hint: some hacktivation tools have you setup a redirection....

Dave

 

[Cmjkxa]

It keeps timing out at the "processing activation". So i should keep trying?

and by timeout, it tells me to unplug and replug the iphone back.

 

[dave006]

What is bothering me, or poking at my curiosity. Is why a new unactivated sim card is required. Im not doubting that it is, i Just really want to know what part of the process dictates that a new unused sim, I am guessing that its something to do with what information the phone feeds to iTunes when you plug it in and dictates what type of activation process to throw up on the screen......

It is because that's the way the original iPhone / iTunes activation process was designed. The new unactivated Mini-SIM is paired with the original iPhone as part of the activation process.

The question is how lucky do you feel today.

There is one and only one process that the activation process was designed for and tested against. Yes there have been reports about being able to reuse an existing active SIM but you are not getting the complete story. If you feel lucky go for it. Hint: 99% of those stories come from customers that were actually using a factory unlocked original iPhone (NON-USA model) or a active AT&T Mini-SIM that had never been used in "ANY" iPhone.

Note concerning Calling Customer Care: The AT&T systems see all the recent devices that you use your current SIM in and when you call Customer Care the rep can see your current device and the recent devices that you have used.

Dave

 

[iprime]

Note concerning Calling Customer Care: The AT&T systems see all the recent devices that you use your current SIM in and when you call Customer Care the rep can see your current device and the recent devices that you have used.

Dave

That might ruin everything. I have been using my 4S that I got last week. They will be suspicious seeing me jump to 2g and back to 4S and asking for unlimited data.

 

[dave006]

It keeps timing out at the "processing activation". So i should keep trying?

and by timeout, it tells me to unplug and replug the iphone back.

Well a few more details would help.

Do you have a phone "On" already on using the number that you are trying to activate in iTunes?

Did you receive any emails from Apple or AT&T?

Have you restarted the original iPhone?

Have you restarted your PC or Mac?

Dave

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That might ruin everything. I have been using my 4S that I got last week. They will be suspicious seeing me jump to 2g and back to 4S and asking for unlimited data.

Well that's the reason to use iTunes and the automated process and not call Customer Care.

Dave

 

[Cmjkxa]

Well a few more details would help.

Do you have a phone "On" already on using the number that you are trying to activate in iTunes?

Did you receive any emails from Apple or AT&T?

Have you restarted the original iPhone?

Have you restarted your PC or Mac?

Dave

1)phones are off
2)i got both emails but it times out when "activating"
3)yes
4)ill do that now

 

[PPFee]

It is because that's the way the original iPhone / iTunes activation process was designed. The new unactivated Mini-SIM is paired with the original iPhone as part of the activation process.

The question is how lucky do you feel today.

There is one and only one process that the activation process was designed for and tested against. Yes there have been reports about being able to reuse an existing active SIM but you are not getting the complete story. If you feel lucky go for it. Hint: 99% of those stories come from customers that were actually using a factory unlocked original iPhone (NON-USA model) or a active AT&T Mini-SIM that had never been used in "ANY" iPhone.

Note concerning Calling Customer Care: The AT&T systems see all the recent devices that you use your current SIM in and when you call Customer Care the rep can see your current device and the recent devices that you have used.

Dave

Thanks a lot Dave. I may be a little bit of an information addict, although other less friendly terms could fit as well. Thanks for the explanation with the used sims, just the tidbit i was looking for. Based on how thorough your instructions were it appears you had success without removing the your existing data plan first. In RE: calling customer care, Ideally it would go through for me without the need to call them, but It's not something that concerns me either as I like to think i can deal with them effectively after working with them for years. Thanks again for all the input, I know it can seem aggravating when all the answers are already in the thread and your being asked the same questions again.

 

[Cmjkxa]

alright, now i've restarted, when i connect the iphone, nothing shows up anymore, its blank with just the "iphone" logo.

 

[maclook]

alright, now i've restarted, when i connect the iphone, nothing shows up anymore, its blank with just the "iphone" logo.

iTunes was incredibly uncooperative which is why I ended up getting impatient and probably ruining my new SIM card. Anyways, this was the only solution I found that worked for me to force iTunes to get me to the activation screens and not that black iPhone page:


not sure if anyone is still having this problem. called up apple and they were able to tell me how to force itunes to activate my phone.

Note:*Activation-only mode is intended only for businesses and education institutions that activate devices for users.
If you are helping a friend or family member activate their new iOS device, choose Sign out from the Store menu in iTunes before connecting the device. If you share a computer, another option is to create or login to their user account before connecting the device, as suggested in How to use multiple iPods with one computer.
To turn on Activation-only Mode on Mac OS X:
1. Make sure iTunes isn’t running and then open Terminal.
2. In Terminal, enter a command:
▪ To turn activation-only mode on: defaults write com.apple.iTunes StoreActivationMode -integer 1
▪ To turn activation-only mode off: defaults delete com.apple.iTunes StoreActivationMode
To turn on Activation-only Mode on Windows:
1. Make sure iTunes isn’t running, and then open a Command Prompt window.
2. Enter a command:
▪ To turn activation-only mode on: "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe" /setPrefInt StoreActivationMode 1
▪ To turn activation-only mode off: "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe" /setPrefInt StoreActivationMode 0

 

[2ndname]

For some reason mine didn't work at all and my fiance's is at least going through the motion. Got the email stating that it is being processed for activation. We will let it sit here for a few days since it is the weekend. I will attempt on re-doing mine once I get hold of a new sim.

 

[Cmjkxa]

thanks maclook, worked, although i had to put (x86) after program files

still timing out

 

[maclook]

Yes, you are not following the instructions.

If you are attempting this on a current AT&T line, turn off your phone that contains an active SIM with your phone number on it before you start.

1. Restore the original iPhone in iTunes to Factory Settings. Don't restore from a backup. Close iTunes and power off the original iPhone.

2. Put a new unactivated Mini-SIM card into the original iPhone, power on the original iPhone, start iTunes on your PC or Mac and then connect via USB. iTunes should detect the original iPhone and walk you through the activation steps starting with the "Welcome to Your New iPhone" screen.

3. The iTunes activation process will ask if you are an exiting AT&T Customer. It has a couple of radio buttons to select. Click Contiue and you will need to provide for your account information and what line to activate the iPhone on. You can add a new line or reuse your current phone number. You will be able to choose one of the original iPhone Unlimited Data plans and a SMS Txt message plan bundle. Finally you will be asked to provide your iTunes Apple account information or create a new iTunes Apple account.

4. Once that is done, the iPhone will say "Waiting for Activation". This can last from a few minutes to a few hours. Be patient. (NOTE: Late at night and on weekends the activation servers are not always available so WAIT!)

5. Once the original iPhone is activated, log into your AT&T Online account and verify that you have the corrrect iPhone Unlimited Data plan and the proper SMS Txt message plan.​

This may take 3 minutes to 24 hours or longer on a weekend! Do not call Customer Care unless you want them to screw up the process. Most Care reps don't have a clue how to activate an original iPhone or add the proper data plan. They don't see the "data" Feature codes (SOC) for the original iPhone as an option in their system. That's the reason to use iTunes!

Special Note 1: Please make sure to check the email address that you provided during "Activating your iPhone" in iTunes. Apple or AT&T may need to contact you for additional information.

Special Note 2: You must have an active internet connection and not have any DNS host redirections for any gs.apple.com entries. Hint: some hacktivation tools have you setup a redirection....

Dave

In a perfect world, I would have been able to follow steps like these and have my unlimited plan by now. Unfortunately, there have been unexpected speed bumps that threw me off track. Here are the problems I'm facing now:
1. "Processing Activation" screen tells me that I may have to wait up to 3 minutes and then I get a "failed to connect to iTunes account" error and nothing happens
2. Stuck at blank "iPhone" screen and have no options at all

Also for clarification, I've gotten all the way to processing activation and have yet to be given data plans options. I did put in my phone number and iTunes account though.

 

[Cmjkxa]

Now it keeps telling me it's activated, then tells me the network timed out. lol

I'm literally LOL-ing.

This is so frustrating.

 

[maclook]

Now it keeps telling me it's activated, then tells me the network timed out. lol

I'm literally LOL-ing.

This is so frustrating.

I'm on the exact same step! I'm doing maniacal laughs also. I have no idea what to do now. It goes from "Processing Activation" (though it already is activated) to "iTunes network timeout" to "An error occurred, please disconnect and reconnect". Once I do that, the entire process starts all over again. The strange thing is I can't find anything on Google about the "An error occurred" step.

 

[Cmjkxa]

Well of course, we're the only ones in the world with this ridiculous problem.

 

[dave006]

In a perfect world, I would have been able to follow steps like these and have my unlimited plan by now. Unfortunately, there have been unexpected speed bumps that threw me off track. Here are the problems I'm facing now:
1. "Processing Activation" screen tells me that I may have to wait up to 3 minutes and then I get a "failed to connect to iTunes account" error and nothing happens
2. Stuck at blank "iPhone" screen and have no options at all

Also for clarification, I've gotten all the way to processing activation and have yet to be given data plans options. I did put in my phone number and iTunes account though.

If you are stuck at the blank "iPhone" screen in iTunes look at the top line and you should see a message about Accessing iTunes Store in the top window where the Apple logo is displayed.

Try selecting another item on the left side in iTunes, for example your library or Playlist.

Also before you ran the "store" short tethering step, you brought up iTunes and logged out of your Apple ID?

You can verify this by unplugging your original iPhone and in iTunes try going to the "iTunes" Store in the left pane. Also you should not see your Apple ID listed on the top right of the black bar just below the "Search Store" window.

Note: The data plan screen is between entering your account information and the Apple iTunes account screen in the activation steps.

Dave

 

[Cmjkxa]

Nada. just....blank. all accounts are signed out.