For the purpose of testing, this week we purchased an iPhone and decided to check the options for AT&T prepaid service. Essentially there are two choices when it comes to prepaid service with AT&T: Pay As You Go or Pick Your Plan. The difference between the two plans is that pay as you go simply means you put a value on your account and you get charged standard itemized billing per minute usage, text message, picture message and Media Net (Internet Usage). Pick Your Plan is much more beneficial to prepaid users looking to have a standard plan since it gives you standard minutes with Rollover, Nationwide Long Distance and most importantly add-on options for text messaging/multimedia messaging and internet usage.
Going Prepaid with the Iphone is a choice a lot of people have to make before they decide to give over their life for a 2yr Commitment to AT&T without knowning how solid the service is in their area or if they want to pay the rate plans for the next 2 years on the iPhone. Also, the most important is that you do not get a carrier subsidized phone when you purchase the iPhone, instead you pay full retail like anyone else wanting to use the iPhone.
What are the choices? Well first off you can always bypass the activation then jailbreak the iphone which will allow you to use the Iphones features as well as install 3rd party applications such as Nintendo Emulators, Instant Messaging Software, etc. This will essentially give you a Ipod Touch with a camera and the option to be used as a Phone later down the line with an AT&T Contract or simply AT&T Prepaid. Check my previous post for all the juicy details on unlocking your iPhone
We were in the same boat at this point, since our goal was having an iPhone without contract. The first step was following the procedure above on my previous post and unlocking the iPhone with an activation bypass and a jailbreak. This allowed us to be able to access the iPhone’s menu.
Step 1: Bypass activation and jailbreak the iPhone. Note follow these same instructions Read, but instead of choosing upgrade so that it upgrades to 1.1.3, you will need to download the 1.1.2 restore image from Apples website. Hold down the shift key when you press the upgrade button and direct it to the 1.1.2 restore image. Currently the jailbreak for iPhone 1.1.3 is on hold and it is worth waiting for the SDK *software developer kit* firmware update to be released so they can jailbreak that version.
Step 2: Pickup an AT&T GoPhone at your local retailer. We ended up going to Walmart to pickup our Go Phone since they often have deals where it is $9.99 for the GoPhone with $10 of prepaid balance included. You will follow the activation online at http://www.att.com/activations and setup your GoPhone. At this point you need to decided whether to choose the Pick Your Plan or the Pay as You Go Option.
We choose the Pick your Plan Option 29.99. We also took advantage of the Unlimited Messaging feature for $20.00 and the unlimited Media Net internet for $20.00. This brings the grand total to $69.99 a month for a small amount of voice minutes, but an unlimited texting, picture messaging, and EDGE internet capable device.
Step 3: Take out the SIM card from the AT&T GoPhone and place SIM Card in the Iphone.
You are now ready to use AT&T Pick Your Plan Service. If you need to add money to your GoPhone account or want to make changes to the Plan features/add ons you can do it online.
You are now done and have your iPhone ready to use with a small number of voice minutes, but unlimited internet and unlimited texting/picture messaging. Grand Total per month will be 69.99, but if you are not as heavy of a text messenger you can always use the $10.00 option and have 1500 text messages per month. Alternatively you can lower your internet plan if you intend to use WiFi access a majority of the time.
Any Questions? Leave a Comment below.
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Diego 02.06.08 at 11:44 pm
HI! i would like to buy an iphone this weekend… but i have no social security number, i heard you can activate one failling your credit check… and going for a prepaid plan with no contract… is this true?? can you still do this trick with at&t?? with the new iphone 16GB version 1.1.3? please i need an answer soon… thanks…
nick marshall 02.07.08 at 12:31 am
If you fail the credit check it will give you the option to do the prepay. We actually had this happen to us yesterday when a friend incorrectly entered his SSN when activating a new 8GB iPhone. The 16GB iPhone is no different, using all 9’s is what most people do. Buying the GoPhone was simply an alternative and avoids entering a bogus SSN.
massaline 02.23.08 at 11:47 am
so wait a minute…if i just go to like ebay or something and buy a completely unlocked iphone and put a at&t prepaid sim card in it…it will work as if i had a regular At&t service plan?
geoff daum 03.23.08 at 9:10 am
Yep - I would agree with that.. Thanks for the line.
justin 04.14.08 at 9:50 pm
Is the Gophone’s EDGE data plan the same as the the iphone’s $59.99 EDGE plan in speed?
justin 04.14.08 at 9:55 pm
Is there any differance between the Gophones unlimited Media Net internet for $20.00 and att’s 20.00 price for adding a iphone plan? can you add that won to your prepaid plan and get the 200 text messages that it includes?
http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.html
Nick Marshall 04.14.08 at 10:04 pm
Same Internet speeds with pre-paid (go phone) or with a 2yr contract @ 20/month (for the iPhone). Best speeds I have hit with EDGE data is 190kbps. With 3G AT&T speeds on the AT&T Tilt I can hit over 1000kbps.
hyu 05.07.08 at 4:49 pm
Nice how-to, thanks, few questions. Does Visual Voicemail work fine with the sign up directions you have above? Did you hit the 3G speeds on the tilt from your prepaid sim? I’m with sprint and i just can’t justify leaving my plan of 69.99 for unlimited everything data+text, 6pm nights, ev-do revA (3G of sprint) + and 3 free lines for the family. Sprint desperatley wants to keep their loyal customers and you can say anything to retentions and they make it happen. My Mogul hits 1000kbps+ easily, but its no iphone. i’m considering the 3g iphone w/att thru summer until fall, sprint may come out with the htc diamond / rapheal / an android phone? at end of summer. I’d like to go prepaid until then and keep the fam on sprint.
Spaz 06.11.08 at 2:03 pm
1) ok…so if you buy an iPhone from Apple and then type in a bogus SSN# will you get the option to use GoPhone?
2)Does the trick you stated work on an iPhone that isn’t unlocked?
Nick Marshall 06.12.08 at 2:16 am
If you buy the current generation iPhone from the Apple store or At&t store (most likely ebay now since they are sold out), you can enter a bogus SSN and it will give you the prepaid options. This is one way to use the Go Phone plans.
My method is more of a fail safe option, but either method works.
raziel 06.25.08 at 10:40 pm
with all this said… should i keep mi hopes up with the new iphone 3g or do we all have to wait till it comes out like the first one. and is there one place where i can unlock the iphone both secure and easy not too complicated though… well thanks in advance.
Adam 07.14.08 at 7:25 pm
Does this work with the 3G?
Matthew 07.21.08 at 6:01 am
Hi, I’m from Macedonia (Europe) and I will be in the USA (Boston) from 9th to 24th of august and I would like to buy iPhone, so please tell me how to do this without 2yr contract with AT&T or Apple.
Thank you in advance!
TOXIC 07.26.08 at 7:30 pm
Where can u get a prepaid iphone asap!!
SUSANNAHRWOLD@YAHOO.COM.AU 07.29.08 at 6:18 pm
gO PHONE ACTIVATION ONLINE
Fu 07.30.08 at 3:00 am
Hi, I am just wondering if media net is same as edge?
If I get gophone sim card with $20/month unlimited internet , I will be able to use them on iphone’s features?
Nick Marshall 07.31.08 at 12:01 pm
Yes you will be fine using all the iPhone’s data features with the media net 20.00 add-on. The only feature you will not be able to use is the Visual VoiceMail which is plan specific (i.e. only the iPhone plan enables that feature). Other than that and you are good to go –
Gabe 08.24.08 at 4:20 pm
I think Apple and AT&T are going to be releasing an ‘official’ version of the prepaid iPhone later this year. When they do, it could revolutionize the industry– just as the iPhone is a disruptive technology in the device field, I think the power of the iPhone could be just what the prepaid market needs to have it take off as it has in Europe. The only unknown will be if consumers are ready to pay so much for an non-subsidized device… that remains to be seen.
I found a list of reasons why it is smart of AT&T and Apple to release a prepaid iPhone and on the same site there is a list of reasons why consumers are ready for ATT prepaid iPhone. It seems like if they could make it happen, it’d be a huge win-win for everyone.
john kalita 08.25.08 at 9:53 am
i want the iPhone but i am not old enough to get the plan itself. can i really buy the iPhone and just put it on pay as you go? and do you know if it the same price as it usually would be?
thanks
Chaz 08.26.08 at 3:14 pm
I have the IPHONE and its currently on firmware version 1.1.4 can I update the version through my Itunes player to version 2.0 since the sim card I have is a prepaid AT&T card?
kimberly 09.01.08 at 5:18 am
i want to buy my little sister a iphone but i dont want a 2 year plan so i can a iphone and a pre paid go phone an insert the sim card from the go phone to the iphone
Communicatio in Sacris 09.13.08 at 12:25 am
DOES ANYONE KNOW IF YOU CAN DOWNLOAD E-BOOKS ON THE IPHONE?
I TRIED GETTING THIS BOOK ONTO MY IPHONE, IT’S CALLED “COMMUNICATIO IN SACRIS”
ANYONE KNOW ABOUT THIS? ANY TECHNICAL PEOPLE HERE? ALSO DOES THE TEXT READ LIKE IN ADOBE? I MEAN DOES THE IPHONE AUTOMATICALLY HAVE AUDIO Text?
ali guerrero 10.05.08 at 1:53 pm
Can the I phone 3g be prepaid?? If so how much will it cost?
harryet 10.22.08 at 4:28 pm
I just got my unlocked g3 iphone off enay. I bought a go phone and put the sim card in, and the phone works great. I got the 39.99 plan to charge my acct every month. NOW I need to know how to get the internet service and all the rest! What do I now do???
andy 11.04.08 at 3:00 pm
i have the at&t chip in my hand, and the i phone were does the chip go. it dosent have a spot.
yodawg 11.12.08 at 7:46 pm
alright so im planning on getting the iphone - 2g not 3g
so all i do is pick up a pay as you go card i got that part. now what services differ from prepaid service and the 2 year contract.
iphonenewbie99 11.16.08 at 11:25 am
I am looking into buying a used iphone in the craiglist…..would I have an issue if it is a used iphone?