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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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…
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.
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?
Yep – I would agree with that.. Thanks for the line.
Is the Gophone’s EDGE data plan the same as the the iphone’s $59.99 EDGE plan in speed?
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Does this work with the 3G?
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!
Where can u get a prepaid iphone asap!!
gO PHONE ACTIVATION ONLINE
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?
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 –
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.
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
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?
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
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?
Can the I phone 3g be prepaid?? If so how much will it cost?
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???
i have the at&t chip in my hand, and the i phone were does the chip go. it dosent have a spot.
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.
I am looking into buying a used iphone in the craiglist…..would I have an issue if it is a used iphone?
so can i just buy an i phone and tell an at&t representative to put my phone as a prepaid phone?
can u please answer my question asap
If it is the new iPhone 3G they will preform a credit check. The original iPhone you could purchase a prepaid At&t SIM, add the data plan and then use it in the iPhone just fine. Many people purchase the original iPhone and when they first connect to iTunes they purposely fail the credit check by using a default SSN 999-99-9999 which allows you to choose from the prepaid options.
If you are able to purchase the new iPhone 3G from eBay or similar you could use a prepaid SIM as well, the problem is locating an iPhone 3G.
Is there any way to use the iphone, that I have, with a at and t pick your plan, where the internet connection does not cost 20.00 every time i check my email, its crazy pricing. IS there anything I can go on that avoids this high priced billing?
hey, im planning to buy an iphone this week , i just wanna ask if you buy an iphone can you buy it without a carrier and make it to prepaid?
Will it work (or rather what will work) with the Pay as You Go option, instead of the Pick Your Plan option?
Hey Ive Been checking on the att go phone plans and it seem like I cant get unlimited media net with it. how exactly did you do it?
I am on the at&t website and it says that you can have unlimited texting for the pay as you go plan but when ordering it doesnt show such thing. Do you know where I can find one? (The unlimited texting package for pay as you go)
I can’t seem to find, the unlimited media net package; on the AT&T website. i was able to select the 20.00 unlimited text. And the 69.99 voice plan. But the only add on I see is 5.00 1mb media net.
Is this because I’m looking online, and didn’t connect the iphone through itunes, after failing the credit check?
How and were would I get a sim card to connect through itunes?
Use an old at&t sim card, or purchase a cheap gophone, then use the sim card out of there?
Please answer asap, I think i should be getting an iphone today!
I was so excited when i read this article. I always wanted a iphone but didn’t want to commit to a 2 year contact. So i called my local at@t store to check price on everything and the sale person said what i was trying to do is impossible to do. I don’t know what to believe,because i am not hip to all this technology. So could you give me some more information. Thanks
Here is the deal …buy any iphone UNLOCKED OR NOT go to any at&t store get a new sim card connect the iphone w/ itunes end try to active the plan 4 2 years contract then u gonna fail end gonna b able to active in a prepaid option i just did that end u get internet end everything else.
Okay so if I want an Iphone without a contract…I can just go buy an iphone at the apple store, un hacked. buy a prepaid at&t phone for cheap, activate it, put the sim card in the iphone and I am good to go? Sounds too easy…whats the catch? I want to get an iphone but my credit is shot and I dont want to pay a $500 deposit. Will the apple store just sell me a phone??
Hi,
I got an iphone that does not have AT&T and I have jailbroken it with the 2.0 version. I would like to know where can I buy a prepaid card that would let my iphone be able to connect to the internet when i cannot find a hotspot. What is the difference between a gophone prepaid service and a prepaid card? If anyone knows what I can do, please help me. Thank you very much!
Finally got a used 2G for 120.00…..just finished doing Factory restore……was thinking on jailbreak, but I already have a go phone sim card, and this phone already came with a sim card (ATT)….is it possible to change the number on this sim card? or do I have to buy another one?, will like to transfer the current cell phone number my wife have into this phone…thanks in advance guys
Is this possible?, Can I buy a 3G at Walmart today and take home and do the jailbreak or would they make me activate the phone for the 2 year contract at walmart?
Quick update guys…went to walmart and bought the gophone, went home and try the sim card on the iphone, it didnt work, went to youtube and did a search for jailbreak 2.2, which was the current version on the iphone. Most reputable videos will have everything you need to jailbreak the iphone under ” more info” with links to the files. Follow instructions and make sure you check “unlock phone”, during the process. The whole process takes about 3 to 4 minutes, if you get a message once the iphone reboots that says “different sim detected”, go to http://www.modmyi.com , they have the fix for that and your iphone will work like a charm. Happy modding for all of you
wait iphone newbiwnoq so… if i get a gophone today and used the sim card in my iphone it wouldnt work even for the 2.0 version??? by the way what video did u watch on youtube maybe it could help me the one u saw
Hi, my name is Amber, and i’m hoping to buy an iPhone soon. I already have an AT&T GoPhone. The problem is, I need step by step instructions on what to do. If you have any help or advice, please e-mail me at xxmz.chloexx@yahoo.com . Thanks ;P !
Sincerely,
Amber L. Mitchell
Very interesting. I have to believe that it’s not going to be very long before AT&T and Apple decide to release a prepaid iphone legitimately, though. I mean, it’s in everyone’s best interest– the carriers and ATT will make tons of money, and the consumers will have a choice. Who knows what ATT will do for customers who’ve jailbreaked their phone when this becomes legit…
Quick update……decided that if I was going to use the Iphone, I should have all the functionalities
, Unlimited Text, Data and calls, etc; for about 22-23 dollars a month. Their is a catch to it, because these are T-Mobile Unlimited Sim cards(from ebay) that will expire every 32 days-meaning; you will need to buy another Sim Card and you will get a different number each time. Their is also a work around for this. Go to “Grand Central” at http://www.grandcentral.com/ , this is a free service that will redirect among other things phone calls to what ever phone number you specify. You also get a free local number, you get the idea right??….this number will become your main number and as you get new sim cards all you have to do is log into Grand Central once a month and update your cell number. So far it is working like a charm for me, I dont have a contract and for 22-23 dollars a month I get “All” the gadgetry of the Iphone…..I dont think their is any plan out there that could beat this:-), BTW….I am not endorsing “Grand Central” or any of those people on eBay selling unlimited Sim Cards….just sharing with you guys what I am doing and
Well one it is hard enough find a real IPhone online, I was selling them for awhile but I stopped to much competition and to many fakes make it a real tough Business I was using pick you plan for years back when At&t was Cingular and the service was good, At&t service was bad but I did use the SIM for IPhone but as of November 08 they stopped offering unlimited data plans speculation is that to many people where shortcutting the system with the pick your plan add-on for the IPhone, Think it is stupid at least they were making money and people weren’t jumping networks with unlocked ones. I since have got one of the unlimited t-mobile cards above poster mentions its $59.00 a month for everything unlimited same number every month just need to replace the sim card. I was paying $120.00 for my go phone 69.99 plan and 40 for the to add ons so I have to deal with really bad service now with T-mobile to save some cash. However the pick your plan mins have been better since I left them in Dec. 64.99 for 900 mins compared to 69.99 for 700 mins I use to pay, If they would just bring back the unlimited data I would go back for sure.
http://www.macblogz.com/2008/12/22/atts-no-contract-iphone-possible-prepaid-plan-details/ Link to pick your plan prices.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/10/06/att.to.stop.gophone.data/ link about data service dropped on Go Phones
iphone newbiwnoq if the phone is unlocked (jailbroken) just take the Sim Card you want to use and pop it in the phone that will transfer all the service, number to the new phone, to take you address book/Contacts/Saved Messages make sure you have them locked or saved to the sim card and not the phone that way they stay with the sim card where ever you take it.