AT&T says original iPhones can be deactivated and used as WiFi iPods - Page 2

The question is , can this WiFi iPhone be used as a VOIP phone?

Have you seen some of the ignorance, "creative" reading and sense of entitlement on the part of forum posters here? I say this especially regarding things like upgrade price qualification. I'd say it's no wonder AT&T might seem that way.

You're right, what AT&T did to you is truly terrible.

Fortunately, they've agreed to make it up to you.

You are not allowed to use your retired iPhone.

Everyone else is but you are not.

Happy now?

yep. I've used fring on my jailbroken iPhone. It works pretty well.

http://www.fring.com/

Uh, since I've been using it on T-Mobile all along, and with fring/Skype on Wi-Fi . . . yes. Quite.

In other words, stealing revenues from AT&T and Apple.

Your ethics seem to be on par with your common sense.

Yes, I know... the world owes you a living, and a pony, too.

I like how it's so simple for you.

Given AT&T's behavior as a corporate citizen, yes, I have ZERO QUALMS about them not getting a dime from me. I'm not denying that for one second, so wow -- yeah, you really got me! But I sleep perfectly well at night about this.

Apple's gotten plenty of revenue from me over the years, not just through my hardware and software purchases, but through the business I've driven their way, directing clients toward Apple products. I'm an independent businessperson who does Mac-focused consulting for a living. You know, the farthest thing from thinking someone "owes me" anything.

Now, let's look at this another way. Forget about me. The world doesn't owe Apple or AT&T anything, either. Just as with any individual human being, corporations need to earn respect and good will; they shouldn't have it handed to them, either. (Apropos of nothing, something the airline industry needs to learn.) Apple's done a lot to earn my money, though. But AT&T, not so much.

No one here has yet addressed AT&T's reprehensible behavior with regard to their cooperation with warrantless wiretapping, followed by their shameful sense of entitlement to retroactive immunity. No, somehow, one guy on the Internet who's "stealing" from an unethical corporation is the problem.

Nor has anyone even broached the subject of how utterly BROKEN the cellular phone system is in this country, with regard to how they do business. At the outset, Apple was a bit of a beacon of hope, with the possibility that they might do things differently. Instead, they've sold themselves out even more to AT&T, now going so far as to go for a completely conventional, backwards, subsidized-in-exchange-for-cheaper-phone arrangement.

And fine -- if you're going to do that, go ahead. But at least have the decency to do what every OTHER phone manufacturer does, and have another, separate retail channel where those of us who DON'T like the "blessed" phone carrier can opt to pay MORE money and get an unlocked version of the phone. AT&T will gladly charge you more for a "contract-free" iPhone . . . that happens to still be locked.

I'm sorry, but having given it lots and lots of thought over the years, I don't subscribe to your moral code. I'm not trying to change your thinking. If you disagree with me, fine. Disagree with me. But lay off on the ad-hominem attacks, e.g. this garbage about the world owing me something. Really? Now, all of a sudden, you KNOW me?

1) This is an Apple forum, not one on warrantless wiretapping.

2) ATT is far from the only one implicated on warrantless wiretapping: many of the big teclos are. See, e.g., http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/200...sk-telcos.html

3) And, not to wander into politics, but both the presidential candidates now support it: McCain always has, and Obama, much to the chagrin of some of his ardent supporters, recently flipped on the issue. See, e.g., http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2...line-backyard/

4) Two wrongs don't make a right.

The last post echoed some thoughts I was already having -- namely, that we ARE veering off course here, no thanks to me.

So I'll bow out now. I need to leave the office soon anyway . . .

I agree with you that this system is broken and that Apple was a beacon of hope in changing it. But did you ever stop to think that Apple having to revert back to the "traditional" model is because so many folks have jailbroken iPhones. Apple would, and this is just smart speculation, be contractually obligated to do whatever it could to keep people in ATTs network. So with all the jailbroken iPhones out there Apple had to give in to ATTs right of exclusivity.

And I do think it is a little arrogant of anyone to assume to know what someone is about just based on a few posts on the internet. But I also think it is more than a little arrogant to say "Well, I've given this company all this business in the past so that gives me the right to take this now".

Interesting and converging thoughts. Can jailbroken iPhones do Skype already??

That would show the way for Apple to setup a service for their growing Apple Mobile family of products that would bypass cellcos altogether, collect a cheaper-than-cell-phone monthly fee that would include MobileMe and a maybe a rev-sharing partnership with Skype and/or others.

Although the fly in that ointment is waiting for the truly ubiquitous availability of WiFi or WiMax (pun: "WiMacs") -- but it could happen sooner with an agreement to share the data network (but not cell coverage) of the company with the widest 3G (and soon, 4G) networks. Also Apple's known for long-term thinking and wanting to control as much of the experience of their products as possible.

And it would/could all be Apple-branded and managed. Not iLife, but aLife -- your Apple Life from living room screen to computer, to browser, to web programs (think SproutCore), to VOIP phone, to music, videos, movies, shows, sync, push and apps.

Hmmmmm. Almost scary to think about.

Most thieves have zero qualms about stealing. That's what makes them thieves.


Obviously, you don't subscribe to my moral code. I don't believe it's okay to steal from someone just because they don't subscribe to your political ideology.

No, I don't know you, but I know self-serving self-righteous trash when I hear it.

huge second!

Why not just unlock your old iPhone and use it any way you want? You could even put the sim from your iPhone 3G in it and it will still work. Makes a nice backup.

Here's a question I have about using an old iPhone as a Wi-Fi iPod.

What is the cell phone antenna doing when the phone isn't connected to service? Is it trying to find a signal? Or is it just off? Because I don't want it active in any way if I were to use it as a Wi-Fi iPod, because that causes health damage from radiation. If it's a Wi-Fi iPod, I want there to be nothing cell-phone about it at all. What happens to the antenna?

I suppose that solves the myster as to why AT&T took away the offer of iPhone account holders free Wifi at its hotspots... everyone would be using their iPhone/Touches as well!

I believe I read that the 2.0 software will allow you to put the iPhone in "Airplane Mode" and give you the option to turn on the Wi-Fi. That may be why they are recommending the update before you try to use the iPhone as an iPodTouch. I guess we will see in 9 days.

Apparently, you don't know it when it comes from a corporation such as AT&T. "Might doesn't mean right."

Interesting statement, given that you're defending just the opposite -- that having the might to steal from a corporation makes it right to steal from them.

Just because AT&T is a corporation doesn't mean they have an obligation to give you everything your little heart desires.

If you aren't willing to pay the price at which a product or service is offered, then you shouldn't use that product or service. That's what honest people do.

small third. Not that I really care about AT&T's bottom line but self-righteous thieves annoy me. Do it quietly with no pretensions of civil disobedience, mmmkay?

Uh, that would be the last time you had a cell phone on any GSM provider like T-Mobile or AT&T. Your old phone could serve as a spare, and if your new phone quit working (or if you were going out into a phone-hazardous situation like a heavy rainstorm or something), you could just take the SIM out of your new phone and put it in your old phone. In fact, before the iPhone came out, Cingular/AT&T even used to have a policy where if you'd been with them for three months, they'd unlock your phone for you for free so you could travel to Europe or any other place that had GSM service and use your phone with a local SIM card. You could also give or sell the phone to anyone who's on a GSM provider and needed a phone. None of this is possible with a $500 iPhone though, although it worked with every free GSM phone out there.

The reason for this, of course, is that you can't expect this level of functionality in a $500 device, since it's not in the same class as a RAZR that they'll actually pay you $50 to take, and thus can't be expected to support the same features. All you whiners wanting to get the advanced features available in a free RAZR should just pony up the extra -$550 and shut up.

So does this mean I can buy an old model iphone, follow the unlocking instructions from ATT and use it on T-Mobile?

Can you still use the 1st gen Iphone as a phone, and not just an Ipod once you've upgraded to the 3g service? Can you swap the sim between the two as I do with other phones, and still make calls on both?

Complaining about the iPhone is not going to get you thrown into Gitmo indefinitely. The worst Apple could do to you if you whine about their products (or partners) is to send you to Redmond (AAAAIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!)

It signals iTunes, dotMac, MobileMe, AppleCare, Apple.com, etc, to send you non-stop emails.

I live in canada, and there's so many people who can get the new phones imported from china for cheap cheap and sell em for 400 for the 16 gb version. you've got to be crazy to pay 500 for anything less.

Quit complaining and just pay for my war.

+1

Don't expect AT&T to teach you how to do it. Search for it on the net. It really is very simple.

I see that this thread is now almost two years old. This mostly refers to the 1st Gen iPhone being used as an iPod Touch. I'm about to upgrade from a 3G to a 3GS. I want to be able to upgrade the iPhone OS as well as have all functionality that I have now, with the exception of the phone related functions. Functions like making and receiving calls, SMS, 3G (and Edge). Will my 3G without a SIM card function as a surrogate iPod Touch?

You have to keep the existing SIM in your iPhone in order for it to continue to function (the SIM card itself won't allow calls, etc.). When you get your new iPhone, get a new SIM as well.

You didn't answer the question. The phone functions weren't what was desired.

An answer to the question: Just pull the SIM, preferably when the device is off (not just sleeping, off), and replace the empty door. The device will work as a thick Touch, except that it gives you a "no sim" warning on startup, and a "No SIM" in place of the carrier name in the upper right corner. So far it seems to work OK. The only wireless data you will get is WiFi.

Actually, yes I did answer the question. Apple's support pages say that in order to keep upgrading the iOS in the iPhone, you need to keep a SIM in the iPhone that was previously activated for that iPhone. I specifically checked for this before upgrading to a 3Gs last Summer because I didn't want to turn my iPhone into a brick.

That's a good point, but so important that I don't understand why it was left out of your previous reply. Without it, it really does look like a non-answer answer.

He-he. Joint efforts make iTouch tschlack, don't they? Well, it never was valuable product after all...

You can continue to upgrade the OS without a SIMM. My iPhone 3G is running 3.1.3 and hasn't had a SIMM in it for 6 mos since I switched back to using my blackberry. Only the phone functionality of the OS will not get updated.

How many things are you mad about?

Whew, and here I thought I went insane for a second. Terrible confusion averted.