The Iphone

[blu3fan]

ok guys
im 17 and just really cant afford shelling out 60bucks a month for the iphone bill
but im willing to buy the thing for like 400-600 since my ipod was stolen and my phone is dieing. i needed to replace them both so i figure it would be a good move
is there any way to get an iphone and just put my old sim card in and for it to work w/o internet and use the wireless on it
thanks for help
No flamers plzz

[edge777]

The answer is yes and no. There is a TON of information out there about how to activate and use an iPhone. If you're already an AT&T customer, I think there is a way you can use the iPhone without the major plan. If you're not, then it is possible, but quite difficult at the moment due to the new firmware (1.1.2 or 1.1.3). There is a lot of information out there, so just start Googling and do the research.

I live in Canada, and love the site iPhone in Canada: Tips, Tricks, and News for Canadian iPhone Users for this, but more or less, if you're trying to use the iPhone on any other network (in Canada or wherever), the same rules apply. There are two things that need to occur - unlocking your phone for cell use, and unlocking your phone in order to use the software. Here's the quick info:

With the new firmware phones (1.1.2 or 1.1.3), the only way to use them on a network other than AT&T is the StealthSim card which piggy-backs your SIM card. You used to be able to software unlock at 1.1.1 phone, but no unlock has yet been discovered for the 1.1.2 or 1.1.3 phones.

You use the other features on the iPhone, you need to "jailbreak" the phone. This is the terminology used to describe your iPhone's software features being unlocked. 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 phones are able to be jailbreaked. However, jailbreaking, without the StealthSim unlock of the phone networking capabilities simply leaves you with an iTouch more or less.

For those who are wondering if this kind of post is allowed here, yes it is. There is nothing illegal about unlocking a phone to use on another network. Companies don't like it, Apple is doing there best to limit it, but legal and viable companies are doing their best to open up the iPhone to be used with the convenience of any SIM card, and so you don't have to tie yourself to an expensive data contract.

If you just want to get an iPhone, use it on AT&T, but without the 2 year contract data package (say, pay as you go), there are some blogs out there about buying the phone, intentionally failing the credit check, which in turn automatically sets you up as pay as you go (but, don't try to use a lot of data this way, it will kill you in costs). However, you still have access data through wifi.

[blu3fan]

Wow thanks lots of info :)
yes im an at&t customer and i Do live in the usa
i have a credit plan at the moment so i get a bill every so often
so do u suggest buying a phone from at&t or buying it online
Bearing in mind i now know how to unlock it
and im going to call them tommorow and find out
anonymously of course so they dont cancel my plan and hunt me for sport...

[edge777]

If you go through AT&T, you'll likely have to get the crazy data plan. Get one from an Apple store in your city, or from the Apple store online. Since you can't really unlock the 1.1.3 phone (and you should have no need to), you should be fine.

I did a little checking, and here's something you might be interested in - iPhone users can now drop data plan, save $20 per month - Engadget

[blu3fan]

i just gotta say ur awesome !
i did a little research myself and found out my bud can hook me up for $350 and im gonna do it that way
i found out exactly what i need to do
and ur information gave me a great start :)
THanks


**edit**
ok lets say i buy a locked one
is it possible to unlock these using the utube videos method ?
if anyone knows please tell me :)***

[ksong12]

I have an iPhone, unlocked and on T-Mobile USA.

If you don't need data, you can get it on AT&T minus the $20 data.

You can indeed unlock 1.1.2, but it involves one of two things.
1) Open up iPhone and use testpoints
2) Using something like TurboSIM or StealthSIM, which modifies your SIM itself, so the phone thinks its a legit AT&T sim.

I got mine back when 1.1.1 came out (although it came with 1.0.1 for some reason....), so it has 3.9 bootloader. Newer ones come with 4.6 bootloader, which is why you cannnot unlock it with the same way. 1.1.3 comes with yet another bootloader, which is currently, not unlockable by any method.

I currently am running 1.1.2. There are currently two ways of getting an unlocked phone. One, get it off of eBay, or some other store that tells you what firmware its on. Two, get a refurb off of Apple.com and hope it comes with an older version.

(Mine was refurb, and it came with 1.0.1, when the newest was 1.1.1. Thats two firmwares older, completely skipping 1.0.2)

[musicetime101]

Well it seems that apple is now have a $200 price cut down for their iphone.

[ksong12]

I am not aware of any price reductions, other than AT&T's sale of refurbished 8GB iPhones at $249. I purchashed my second iPhone during that sale.

[computer2005]

Maybe there will be a price drop after the 3G iphone come out.

[ksong12]

The current geeneration of the iPhone is not in stock, and has been out of stock for months now. You could probably get a used one for maybe $200, but considering the current one is $199... the only thing you'd be saving is the extra $10 a month data costs.

[nealh]

The current geeneration of the iPhone is not in stock, and has been out of stock for months now. You could probably get a used one for maybe $200, but considering the current one is $199... the only thing you'd be saving is the extra $10 a month data costs.

You have to now sign a 2yr contract, unlike with version 1

so extra $10 x 24mo=$240...making the 3G phone more expensive by a small amount.

BTW, it seems they still are including 200 txt messages with the data plan...but >200 will cost extra

The 3G will also have a true GPS chip but it is not clear about software for turn by turn directions..supposedly Tom Tom had a software product but there is some issue in the SDK about GPS software

I cant tell you whether a Version 1 phone is worth buying at this time or not
Also I have no idea if you buy one used, refurb etc what if any contract will be required

The version1 is not subsidized like the 3G phone so there was no contract requirement and activation was done at home not in store...3G speeds would be nice but make sure you area as good 3G coverage from AT&T

[ksong12]

Well, technically, there WAS a 2 year contract agreement for the 1st gen iPhone. But you could take it home and activate it yourself, giving you an opportunity to unlock it. They're trying to close that hole in the 2nd gen, since over a quarter of iPhone sales went overseas, and since it's subsidized with AT&T, that's a heck lot of money lost.

They're also counting on the fact that since its coming to over 70 countries, people won't bother buying it elsewhere and unlocking it. (Not coming to China though, perhaps the largest source of unlocked phones for the 1st gen).

As for turn-by-turn, TomTom did say the SDK license (which forbids guided navigation) was not a problem, but they have not said if they will release their product or not.

And more than 200 text messages always cost more.

[rickymrtn93]

I am not exactly sure about this. But I think there must be way. I heard one of my friend had the same question like you and he finally found out a solution. I will try to know it from him and let you know.

[ksong12]

Well, with the coming of 3.0, Apple has allowed it. TomTom has announced a product, as has Navigon, as well as several other companies.

For awhile, there was a jailbreak application named xGPS, but it is now officially allowed.