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.
[Update: 12/12] Currently the simplest and fastest way to jailbreak and unlock the iPhone 3G or 3GS is to use Blackra1n. The software is currently available for both Mac and PC Users. Simply direct your browser to http://www.blackra1n.com/ and click the appropriate link (pc or mac). Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer and your iPhone connected to the computer before running the .exe file. Once blackra1n has finished unlocking and jailbreaking your iPhone, return to the remainder of this guide.
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.
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can you choose the pay as you go plan? how do you view your remaining minutes with pay as you go? how quick do the minutes go?
it may be different with other gophones but i have a samsung a177 gphone and it doesnt have a menu app for prepaid so all you have to do is dial *777# and a screen will pop up and it will show you how much money you have left on it.
Does this really work?
I have the iphone 3g, just cant use it cause they wont activate it on the Pay As You Go.
Will it for sure work on the Pick Your Plan?
Wait, Dont You Need To Buy An iPhone First?
cant you just buy the sim card for the pay as you go ? do you have to buy the phone to do tht…
I have a jail broken iPhone 3GS. I found an AT&T Sim on eBay for $7, I bought it and tried to activate it online and it wouldn’t go through. I called AT&T and asked to have it activated. I gave the SIM # and then the IMEI # and the lady on the phone said iPhones could not be used as prepaid so she could not activate it.
I went to Wal*Mart and picked up a cheap GoPhone and activated it and I took the sim out of the GoPhone & placed it in my iPhone. I waited 5 minutes for the “Searching…” to go away and when it did it said “No Service”. So I guess it doesn’t work on iPhones anymore.
Any ideas?
If you activated it using the GoPhone the SIM card should be ready to go. I’m assuming you used blackra1n on the iPhone to sim unlock the phone so even a T-mobile SIM card works in the phone right now?
I’m having exactly the same issue as you Tonya. My iphone is unlocked officially and the AT&T gophone sim card wont work in my iphone. I also tried hacktivating and unlocking with blackRa1n and blacksn0w. still no luck!
Im going to try using my friends blackberry AT&T simcard to see if that works.
your supposed to give them the IMEI# of a random AT&T phone so it can work
Hello!!! http://www.cellfanatic.com is one of the best resourceful websites of its kind. I take advantage of reading it every day. All the best.
It worked!! I can use now my iPhone using a prepaid plan with at&t. However I cannot access internet though. It says athat I’m not suscribed to a cellular data service. What should I do now? Please help me!!!
are you serious that it worked im not worried about the internet the only thing i want is to meke it prepaid…can u plz let me know how u did it?
I just followed the steps as said in the article, which are EASY to follow;
1. You must jailbreak your iPhone first. Go to http://www.blackra1n.com
2. Pick your “go phone” at any retailer store. I purchased mine online
3. Activate your “go phone” using the phone purchased at the retailer store. DO NOT SWITCH SIM CARDS YET!! Do it online or by calling at&t activation center, that’s how I did it.
4. Once activated, switch SIM CARDS and you are all set!!
I think it’s time I record a video of the process. I’ll go grab an At&t GoPhone tonight to help those of you still having problems getting your Prepaid iPhone working.
Did you add data to the prepaid plan on the At&t website when you activated the SIM card?
can you use the internet still on the iphone with WiFi if u just get the goplan unlimited talk and text
I stumbled upon your blog by accident. Pretty informative post.
Thanks!
The trick is when you activate the sims card using the gophone emei# of the cheap gophone that it came with, do it online and never put the sims card in the cheap phone otherwise it will marry (meaning only recognize that phone). The only phone the sims card should ever go in is your Iphone!!!!
And the internet isn’t unlimited like the article says, is only for 100 megabytes….
so u bought a gophone like from walmart and put it in ur unlocked iphone and it worked
DOES THE INTERNET WORK AS WELL, USING THAT METHOD? MY PREPAID SIM CARD WORKS WITH TALK BUT NOT WITH THE INTERNET ON MY IPHONE.
i have an iphone 3g can i buy a gophone simcard pick a plan and it work ????
if it is unlocked
ok so far from what i here………….DONT PAY ATTENTION TO NO ONE ESLES BLOG…………NO OFFENSE.
ok im ganna find out for every one and make a video on youtube………the moment i have everything in my hand….. ill open it up on the video…………. im getting a >>>>>>>>>>>3g iphone 8gig<<<<<<<<<>>> rest<<<>>>>DONT MENTION THE IMEI#<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< SAY YOU BOUGHT IT OFF OF EBAY ER SOMTHIN……. then itll be all set up…put the sim in the iphone 3g turn it on then add money on to yer account if not done so already when you called at@T….THEN IT SHOULD WORK…..NOTEE IF YOU GIVE THE IMEI FROM THE IPHONE IT DEFINETLY WONT WORK……
MY NAME ON YOUTUBE IS MRSIR8642
VIDEO COMMING SOON ON CLEARIFY THE MYTH IF A IPHONE CAN GO PREPAID
my last post on here is messed up for some reason….im ganna clear the myth if iphone can go prepaid…… in i couple of days ill have a 3giphone and a go phone with money cards to top up the account im ganna do the whoole process on video from step to step.
itll be on youtube shortly the name will be/ ” unmythmyiphone”
So if I do all this it will work for sure? And also, will my internet work with the iphone if I add the 100MB Data Package?
Thanks.
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