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Will this plan work for getting the iPhone from AT&T?

xxjonoxx

xxjonoxx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 9, 2009
110
17
Hey guys

I bought the 3GS last year on release date and I'm one of the unlucky people to be stuck at the 2/20/2011 until full discount upgrade pricing with AT&T..

However, my mother's contract just ran out with Verizon. She prefers dumbphones. So I was wondering, when the iPhone 4 is released can I go to AT&T and make my plan a Family Share plan, add her a line and get the iPhone for $199 on her line, switch the i4 with my 3GS, then just sometime later tell AT&T I broke the iPhone on her line and just buy her a dumbphone with a SIM card again? Or will AT&T be very anal about removing the (now useless) data plan from the line?

Has anyone tried something like this know how AT&T will react?
 
xxjonoxx said:
Hey guys

I bought the 3GS last year on release date and I'm one of the unlucky people to be stuck at the 2/20/2011 until full discount upgrade pricing with AT&T..

However, my mother's contract just ran out with Verizon. She prefers dumbphones. So I was wondering, when the iPhone 4 is released can I go to AT&T and make my plan a Family Share plan, add her a line and get the iPhone for $199 on her line, switch the i4 with my 3GS, then just sometime later tell AT&T I broke the iPhone on her line and just buy her a dumbphone with a SIM card again? Or will AT&T be very anal about removing the (now useless) data plan from the line?

Has anyone tried something like this know how AT&T will react?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it will work. Down side you'll have to buy a dumbphone for her at a no contract price. Those in store are still like $200 bucks or you could find one on ebay for cheap. You won't even have to say you lost the phone, just them you're moving the phone to your line. They'll switch the imei of the 4 to your line.
 
I was looking at this today, and I was unsure.. but is it possible to buy one of those pre-paid Go Phones and use the contract SIM with it? Or is that somehow blocked by ATT?
 
Yes you likely can do this. Add her, get an iPhone, swap phones with her and you're done.
 
quid squid said:
such a nice mom willing to drop verizon to go with at&t's ******** service just so you can get a new iPhone.
Click to expand...

She's paying almost $80 for service by herself on Verizon.. and she doesn't even use the phone except to make phone calls to her family. She'll save money this way ;)
 
xxjonoxx said:
I was looking at this today, and I was unsure.. but is it possible to buy one of those pre-paid Go Phones and use the contract SIM with it? Or is that somehow blocked by ATT?
Click to expand...

it is 100% possible to do

my buddy is actually planning on doing the same thing, has a 3gs, adding his father to his family play for the 4g @ 199, then selling his 3gs for a $30 at&t prepaid job

hands washed lol
 
Higgs1 said:
it is 100% possible to do

my buddy is actually planning on doing the same thing, has a 3gs, adding his father to his family play for the 4g @ 199, then selling his 3gs for a $30 at&t prepaid job

hands washed lol
Click to expand...

Exactly. Really hoping this plan will work exactly like that. Would be nice to save money using AT&T for once.
 
Yeah it will work. Call AT&T, they will help you do it. They did for me and my dad.

The thing is, you will have to pay for data for both phones, atleast till the contract on the 3GS runs out. The pro is, now you can opt for the $15 data plan instead of having to pay $30 for it all the time.

Actually one option is, if you sell the 3GS on ebay, put the sim card in a dumbphone and tell AT&T you lost the phone and are no longer using a smartphone, they will take the data plan off of your phone usually.

Does your mom use the internet at all? Does she listen to music at all?

If so, give your mom the old 3GS with the $15 data plan. She will like it. Just show her the basics and upload a bunch of her favorite music onto it and it will grow on her.
 
Sounds very good. She uses my phone all the time due to me having "unlimited" rollover minutes (I probably uses 20 minutes of my 450 a month), so this should work great. If she doesn't like it I'm sure I can either find a decent $20-30 Go Phone or a cheap RAZR on eBay. (she loved her last RAZR till the top part of the flip with the screen broke off and the phone was in half. :D )
 
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