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Using iPhone 3G as a GoPhone?

WildGuess said:
Hi folks:I got the att go phone: Nokia 2720. $6.00. It came with the sim inside, BUT, it was not activated. If you follow their instructions, you're supposed to charge it, turn it on, and push the "1" button. That activates and links it to the sim. They even say that you have 36 days or so to activate or your number will no longer be held for you.
Just now I put my iPhone sim (with a micro holder) in the go phone and called a friend. No problem.
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On first reading your post I was excited to have found the answer until I realized that you accomplished the opposite of what I am trying to do.

I want to use a cheap gophone pay-as-you go account with my iphone...not vice versa.

To be clear... I want to activate my gophone sim card, take it out of the gophone, put it in my iphone and make calls using my iphone at a cheaper rate than what AT&T charges for the monthly iphone account.
 
fmen said:
On first reading your post I was excited to have found the answer until I realized that you accomplished the opposite of what I am trying to do.

I want to use a cheap gophone pay-as-you go account with my iphone...not vice versa.

To be clear... I want to activate my gophone sim card, take it out of the gophone, put it in my iphone and make calls using my iphone at a cheaper rate than what AT&T charges for the monthly iphone account.
Click to expand...

This thread is about using an iPhone as a GoPhone. Your question belongs here. I am trying to do the same thing and I think I figured it out, I just need to go to the AT&T store when I have time.
 
benhollberg said:
This thread is about using an iPhone as a GoPhone. Your question belongs here. I am trying to do the same thing and I think I figured it out, I just need to go to the AT&T store when I have time.
Click to expand...

I should have started a different thread. My bad. I think I will.
Let me know if you are successful.
 
Is a "Go-Phone" sim any different then a "regular" post-paid SIM? If I have a new and unused "regular" micro or regular size SIM can it be activated for a new Go-phone account?

I ask because there are a lot of eBay sellers selling new sim cards and they advertise them as being able to be registered for a new Go-Phone account.
 
fmen said:
If I take the gophone with me to the AT&T store, won't they activate/lock the new sim card to the gophone for at least 6 months? We seem to be going around in a circular pattern here.
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No, they do not. Hell the SIM i got in the Pantech Link I bought last week off of AT&T's website wasn't even locked (nor was it supposed to be). That whole locking thing had to do with free air time.

This is really way easier than you think it is.
 
Here's a question that would help me out some more, anyone with experience let me know.

Does MobileMe's Find My iPhone feature use data? I ask because I do not plan on getting the data plan on the iPhone I will use as a GoPhone. So if I don't have data will Find My iPhone work, or does it not use data at all?
 
benhollberg said:
Here's a question that would help me out some more, anyone with experience let me know.

Does MobileMe's Find My iPhone feature use data? I ask because I do not plan on getting the data plan on the iPhone I will use as a GoPhone. So if I don't have data will Find My iPhone work, or does it not use data at all?
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Yes, it needs data to transmit the information. Either carrier or wifi.
 
I'm a newb to all of this stuff. I have had a GoPhone on a Pay-as-you-go plan for over a year, and I am wondering whether I can just pop the SIM out an plop it in an iPhone 3G or 3GS, continue to get my phone service without data, and access WiFi data only so I don't have to subscribe to a data plan. Or would the phone automatically start using 3G data at expensive pay-as-you-go rates whenever I wasn't in WiFi area?
 
Also I had read that at some point AT&T had disabled use of iPhone with Pay-as-you-go and that you had to use the more expensive pick-your-plan option with the $19+ data plan. Has this changed at all, or are there ways around this?
 
I have my sister on the GoPhone plan using an iPhone. I do not subscribe to any type of data package with that line and on the iPhone settings turned cellular data off just to make sure she didn't use any. She can still use WiFi all she wants.
 
snowman1 said:
This is very possible. :]
I have an iPhone 4 and I've done the GoPhone thing for well over 2 months now. Just go to the AT&T store, set up a GoPhone account, get JUST the SIM card (tell them you already have a phone ready to use), put it in, and you're done! No jailbreak required and no data plan required either.
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I have done this for about a year. Works great if you use the phone for calls on a limited basis. The WiFi works great but I have not found a way to get a data plan from ATT.
 
I don't know why everybody is making a big deal out of hiding the usage of a gophone sim into their iphones at an AT&T store.

I basically went into an AT&T store WITH my iphone 4 in hand and asked for a gophone micro sim to use with my iphone 4. They didn't give me any problems whatsoever and within minutes, they set me up with a new gophone account and activation.

I was at a Best Buy earlier that day and the Best Buy folks at the mobile phones department told me I had to buy a $5 gophone phone, which I did. But when I brought it to the AT&T store, the people at AT&T said I didn't need it and I should go return it back to Best Buy. They even suggested that if I wanted to use data, I should google the steps because they are not allowed to show us instore.
 
drenline said:
I don't know why everybody is making a big deal out of hiding the usage of a gophone sim into their iphones at an AT&T store.

I basically went into an AT&T store WITH my iphone 4 in hand and asked for a gophone micro sim to use with my iphone 4. They didn't give me any problems whatsoever and within minutes, they set me up with a new gophone account and activation.

I was at a Best Buy earlier that day and the Best Buy folks at the mobile phones department told me I had to buy a $5 gophone phone, which I did. But when I brought it to the AT&T store, the people at AT&T said I didn't need it and I should go return it back to Best Buy. They even suggested that if I wanted to use data, I should google the steps because they are not allowed to show us instore.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like you went to an authorized retailer instead of a corporate store.
 
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