Using an iPhone in the US without a regular iPhone contract
September 16, 2009 11:56 AM Subscribe
I have an unlocked iPhone 3GS and am visiting the US for a few months. What's the best way to use the iPhone with a US network?
The iPhone was bought overseas and is legally unlocked. I could take out a regular AT&T iPhone contract but it seems a shame to pay for two years, not to mention in effect paying for a new iPhone that I don't need. I suppose that leaves prepaid service with AT&T or T-Mobile (I'm not sure that there are any prepaid voice/data plans that work with an iPhone, though), or cheaper/shorter non-iPhone contracts with one of them. Unlimited data is a must, limited voice minutes would be OK.
One wrinkle is that I will be back in the US for a few months every year, so that taking out a contract that I can suspend and reactivate (thereby keeping the same phone number) would be a nice feature, though not essential. I'm thinking about using it with Google Voice, which would solve the same-number problem.
The iPhone was bought overseas and is legally unlocked. I could take out a regular AT&T iPhone contract but it seems a shame to pay for two years, not to mention in effect paying for a new iPhone that I don't need. I suppose that leaves prepaid service with AT&T or T-Mobile (I'm not sure that there are any prepaid voice/data plans that work with an iPhone, though), or cheaper/shorter non-iPhone contracts with one of them. Unlimited data is a must, limited voice minutes would be OK.
One wrinkle is that I will be back in the US for a few months every year, so that taking out a contract that I can suspend and reactivate (thereby keeping the same phone number) would be a nice feature, though not essential. I'm thinking about using it with Google Voice, which would solve the same-number problem.
Check out T-mobile flexpay - I think it will be perfect for you. You can get data and everything, same price as a contract, without the contract. From what I can tell, the disadvantages would be no call forwarding and no 3G data speeds.
posted by Salamandrous at 12:44 PM on September 16, 2009
posted by Salamandrous at 12:44 PM on September 16, 2009
Best answer: Your best bet is to sign up for service with att. Without purchasing a phone you won't have a contract. Your phone is unlocked and therefore should only need a new sim=$20. You won't have to pay early termination fees because you brought your own phone. You just keep your sim card and pop it in when you're stateside. They usually only let you suspend your account for three months at a time. But, you can still use the sim card after three months. It will be way cheaper than any prepay if you need data. I think you may be able to tell them you have an lg phone and get $15 unlimited instead of $30.
posted by bravowhiskey at 12:55 PM on September 16, 2009
posted by bravowhiskey at 12:55 PM on September 16, 2009
I am in the States now (from Australia) with a similarly legally unlocked iPhone.
Neither of the US GSM carriers will allow iPhones on prepaid plans to have internet access, despite allowing it for some other handsets (the suspicion is they're filtering on IMEI). You can just buy a prepaid T-Mobile SIM for $10 (including $10 worth of credit), you don't have to buy a whole prepaid phone package and ditch the handset. If you buy a $100 top-up, the credit expires after 1 year.
As far as I can work out, to get Internet access on my phone with either carrier I'd have to sign up for on of their pay-in-advance-month-by-month no contract plans, for at least $60/month.
Yes, the US mobile phone industry is retarded.
posted by m1ndsurfer at 12:55 PM on September 16, 2009 [1 favorite]
Neither of the US GSM carriers will allow iPhones on prepaid plans to have internet access, despite allowing it for some other handsets (the suspicion is they're filtering on IMEI). You can just buy a prepaid T-Mobile SIM for $10 (including $10 worth of credit), you don't have to buy a whole prepaid phone package and ditch the handset. If you buy a $100 top-up, the credit expires after 1 year.
As far as I can work out, to get Internet access on my phone with either carrier I'd have to sign up for on of their pay-in-advance-month-by-month no contract plans, for at least $60/month.
Yes, the US mobile phone industry is retarded.
posted by m1ndsurfer at 12:55 PM on September 16, 2009 [1 favorite]
Without purchasing a phone you won't have a contract. ... You won't have to pay early termination fees because you brought your own phone.
This is not true. At least with AT&T, as soon as you agree to a non-prepaid plan, you have to agree to a service contract that includes a minimum contract period and an early termination fee, whether or not you buy a phone. You can sign up for a prepaid plan, but you won't be able to get internet access. The same was true for T-Mobile last time I checked.
posted by teraflop at 2:14 PM on September 16, 2009
This is not true. At least with AT&T, as soon as you agree to a non-prepaid plan, you have to agree to a service contract that includes a minimum contract period and an early termination fee, whether or not you buy a phone. You can sign up for a prepaid plan, but you won't be able to get internet access. The same was true for T-Mobile last time I checked.
posted by teraflop at 2:14 PM on September 16, 2009
Oh, you can get data on a prepaid plan, you just don't want it. A few months ago, it cost me $11 to load a couple of Web pages on an iPhone using an AT&T prepaid SIM.
posted by kindall at 4:42 PM on September 16, 2009
posted by kindall at 4:42 PM on September 16, 2009
Response by poster: Thanks all. I definitely want unlimited 3G data. It sounds as if prepaid is out. That leaves as the open question: What's the best way to get a contract with AT&T or T-Mobile that's (i) compatible with iPhone use, (ii) allows unlimited 3G data use, (iii) as cheap as possible, and [especially] (iv) avoids or minimizes early termination fees. The last is a blurry area for me, but the suspension option mentioned by bravowhiskey sounds like a good start. I'm interested to hear more about whether AT&T/T-Mobile allow this in general.
posted by rationalist at 7:45 PM on September 16, 2009
posted by rationalist at 7:45 PM on September 16, 2009
you can get data on a prepaid plan, you just don't want it
I don't actually think that's true anymore. I initially went with AT&T who sold me a 100MB "data pack" for $20, then by lunchtime when it still hadn't provisioned, I called AT&T who told me it was never going to work on an iPhone and the (AT&T branded, but independent) dealer shouldn't have sold it to me.
I went back to the dealer and insisted on a refund, then went and got a T-Mobile SIM (data still doesn't work, but they're cheaper for voice and text).
posted by m1ndsurfer at 12:48 AM on September 17, 2009
I don't actually think that's true anymore. I initially went with AT&T who sold me a 100MB "data pack" for $20, then by lunchtime when it still hadn't provisioned, I called AT&T who told me it was never going to work on an iPhone and the (AT&T branded, but independent) dealer shouldn't have sold it to me.
I went back to the dealer and insisted on a refund, then went and got a T-Mobile SIM (data still doesn't work, but they're cheaper for voice and text).
posted by m1ndsurfer at 12:48 AM on September 17, 2009
Response by poster: OK, problem solved. Bravowhiskey was right that if you're not buying phone equipment, you don't need to take out a contract. So I have an AT&T iPhone account for the months I am here and will either suspend (for a maximum of three months) or cancel after that. Thanks!
posted by rationalist at 3:42 PM on September 22, 2009
posted by rationalist at 3:42 PM on September 22, 2009
rationalist, did the "l them you have an lg phone and get $15 unlimited instead of $30" as suggested by bravowhiskey work? I'll be in a similar position soon so this question is really helpful.
posted by hibbersk at 11:56 AM on September 24, 2009
posted by hibbersk at 11:56 AM on September 24, 2009
I don't actually think that's true anymore. I initially went with AT&T who sold me a 100MB "data pack" for $20
I didn't have a data pack -- the data just worked. It was merely very, very costly.
posted by kindall at 5:40 PM on October 2, 2009
I didn't have a data pack -- the data just worked. It was merely very, very costly.
posted by kindall at 5:40 PM on October 2, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by thewalrus at 12:03 PM on September 16, 2009