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selowitch · Mar 24, 2010, 04:02 PM

Why on earth would someone buy a contract-free iPhone from Apple that is still locked to AT&T for $400 more? I don't get it.

anthology123 · Mar 24, 2010, 05:04 PM

I would think because if you want to replace your iPhone that was lost or stolen, and you were still under your 2 year ATT contract, you would be forced to buy it new at the unsubsidized price, unless you go out and get a secondary market used model, or maybe a gray market unlocked model.

::maroma:: · Mar 24, 2010, 05:12 PM

I thought that the new offer wasn't locked to AT&T?

I could've heard wrong though.

selowitch · Mar 24, 2010, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by ::maroma::

I thought that the new offer wasn't locked to AT&T?

According to this, if you want 3G service, it is still tied to AT&T. So I guess it's unlocked for purposes of using non-3G carriers?

::maroma:: · Mar 24, 2010, 06:19 PM

Aw man I mistook that to mean it was totally unlocked. Bah!

anthology123 · Mar 24, 2010, 06:52 PM

so it is a 'no -contract' phone, but that does not imply unlocked. It would be nice when traveling abroad to use a SIM card from another country.

amazing · Mar 24, 2010, 11:46 PM

Totally unlocked iPhones are available in Europe, by law. If you're travelling abroad you could buy one, and use the best available SIM card for the country you're in.

Problem is, who to you hook it up to when you're in the US? You certainly can't find a pay-as-you-go, which is a problem if you spend 6 months here and 6 months there.

-Q- · Mar 25, 2010, 10:32 AM

And the biggest problem is the 3G radio in the iPhone itself: it's just not compatible with T-mobile's 3G signal so unlocked from AT&T doesn't do you that much good in this country, unfortunately. You can get a month-to-month plan with AT&T so you're could cancel at any time with them. But doesn't save you anything in terms of cost.

amazing · Mar 25, 2010, 11:10 AM

Can you get a month-to-month iPhone plan? I've kind of looked into that and I believe that the iPhone requires a contract and it requires the $30/month data plan. I'd love to hear that isn't true?

AFAIK the pay-as-you-go plans are only for regular mobiles, not smartphones?

Big Mac · Mar 25, 2010, 11:28 AM

No, I have heard of iPhone on pay-as-you-go setups. It's not common but I think it can be and is done.

imitchellg5 · Mar 25, 2010, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by amazing

Can you get a month-to-month iPhone plan? I've kind of looked into that and I believe that the iPhone requires a contract and it requires the $30/month data plan. I'd love to hear that isn't true?

AFAIK the pay-as-you-go plans are only for regular mobiles, not smartphones?

After every contract expires, it basically becomes month to month since you can cancel at any time without paying an ETF. If I'm understanding this correctly, this is essentially the small advantage of this deal to consumers. But if you buy the iPhone like this you don't need a 2 year agreement, and I'm guessing you could forgo the data plan if you wanted. The advantage to AT&T/Apple is that when the new iPhone comes out, people who are only a year into their contracts can be told that they're out of the previous deal that Apple offered (IE, a discount on the new iPhone) since there is now a contract-free iPhone.

imitchellg5 · Mar 25, 2010, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

No, I have heard of iPhone on pay-as-you-go setups. It's not common but I think it can be and is done.

Those with the iPhone 2G on T-Mobile do it all the time. I think foreign carriers allow it too.

-Q- · Mar 25, 2010, 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by amazing

Can you get a month-to-month iPhone plan? I've kind of looked into that and I believe that the iPhone requires a contract and it requires the $30/month data plan. I'd love to hear that isn't true?

AFAIK the pay-as-you-go plans are only for regular mobiles, not smartphones?

They used to offer pay-as-you-go plans for the iphone, but I think they eliminated them when the 3G was introduced since you could no longer get an unsubsidized iPhone (and had to activate it with AT&T before leaving the store).

I'm reasonably sure you can get a month-to-month plan so long as you get an out of contract iPhone (like Apple is offering) or get an iPhone from another source that's out of contract (like my wife is considering doing with a co-worker's phone now that he has a Nexus). I spoke to an AT&T rep to get an idea of cost and he said that month-to-month is an option due to the phone having already been subsidized.

Although I have heard some reps will try and sign you to a two-year contract so I would watch out for that.

bailoutpacket · Mar 29, 2010, 03:43 AM

can u use the wi-fi capabilities with a prepaid iphone with no contract. ex. i buy an unlock iphone on ebay and act. it a prepaid, can i connect to wi-fi, pls assist me if you can.