iPhone 3G without data plan

Nope the only way to do it would be to fully jail break it and put it on T-mobile which nobody has done with the 3G yet. You must have the data plan.

Sure - you can do that. Here's what you do. Go and get an iphone with the 2 year contract with the data plan. Pay on it for a month and then pay the $175 cancellation fee to ATT. Then you have a phone not restricted to the plan. Now take that phone and add it as a second line to someone else's contract - like your wife's. Viola!

I have an Iphone on my wife's plan as a second phone and I did NOT have to sign on to the contract - although I am paying for the data plan - which I had to to get the phone. Hope that makes sense!

That seems somewhat extreme and you're still playing the data plan and your family is still under contract. I guess you can get this work with the family plan, which is what you did, but you can't get it to work on an individual plan. If you'll be a sole user and the iPhone is the sole phone I don't think you have the option of setting up the phone without the data plan.

What do you mean? If you use an existing iphone, and add it to an existing contract, there isn't a 2-year contract?

The point here is to pay the cancellation fee to ATT for the 2 year contract - which they will make you get in order to get the phone. Now you have a phone not under contract. At that point you can add that phone as a second line to someone else's contract - WITHOUT THE 2 YEAR REQUIREMENT-AND WITHOUT THE DATA PLAN. I am not on the "family" plan. We have the cheapest plan available - $39.95, and just added a second line for an additional $9.99. When I first did that - I had a blackberry - and just replaced the sim card. You would be doing the same thing - only using the new sim in the iphone (they don't even have to know what phone you are adding). At that time - we were on a month to month contract.

We are now on exactly the same plan - but to get the phone - we upgraded one line to the data plan to get the phone and signed the 2 year contract. Now - conceivably - if my wife for instance wanted to move to t-mobile - I could pay the $175 to get out of the two year agreement and then open a new account IN MY NAME with ATT and be free to do as I wish.

I had trouble with my iphone 3g activation and 1.5 hrs of calling and waiting to get it resolved with ATT, apple store manager ended up activation my iphone 3g manually and I did not get the data plan or the 2 year contract.

I found that out when I walked out of the store and I did not get data. I had to call 611 and have it set up with ATT which they found strange that I was not set up with 2yr contract nor the data plan required with new iphone 3g. It only took 3 minutes to get it all set up with ATT customer service. I am still wondering why it took so long to get the phone to set up from the apple store........

perhaps you can also activate your iphone manually? But, what good is an iphone without data service?

Ultimately - that's the rub. I guess if you lived in New York or SF and there hot spots all over the city - it would make sense not to have the data plan - but if you travel at all and are using the phone for business - then you'll see that most of the network isn't 3g anyway - and for me I am SO tired of chasing wireless hot spots with my laptop, that I just figured I'd eat the data plan and just enjoy it for those times when I really need it - even over the edge network. One lost sale for me would pay the data plan for 4 years - kind of a no brainer there...

We have a three line family plan. Two of the phones are iPhones and one is a Blackberry with no data plan on it. I just called AT&T and cancelled the iphone plan. So in their minds I have one iPhone line and a Blackberry phone with no data for 9.99. Not so. I put the SIM from the old Blackberry into the iPhone and it works. I specifically told the AT&T person to cancel all data on that Blackberry "in case the kids get hold of it and incur huge internet charges". She assured me it was cancelled and it was impossible to get data on it. Well, the iPhone is working. I cannot get on the web but it makes calls on AT&T service. So now I have a family talk plan with two iPhones and one of the iPhones is only costing 9.99 a month. Hope this helps someone. This really confirms my suspicions is that they cannot tell what phone you are using, only what sim you are using. iPhone works with the SIM from the Blackberry cause it was a new 3G SIM. But now data is turned off on that account and the iPhone works with it. NIiiiiice!

I have an iphone with no data plan, I even called Rogers to ensure my present bar to downloading was still in place........it was but not actually doing anything !

I got a call from a Rogers rep asking if I was aware my iphone was 'downloading' data, I was not, as I made it plain I had data barred. The rep agreed that my account was indeed barred, but then explained that ( in the best british rail kind of way) it was the 'wrong kind of bar'.......WTF ??? So hit me with it I said, what have I downloaded? Turns out I 'downloaded' 1400 c$ worth of data ( I presume this is at some heinous non plan rate, but even of it wasn't, thats some downloading! Where was the call from Rogers before today?).

What also makes me laugh was that I even called Rogers a week after getting the thing, to inform them that I was able to download via the stock and weather apps, and was told that rest assured, I really couldn't be doing this, I must be getting a weak WiFi signal from somewhere, I then explained that even Apple aren't that clever, as the WiFi was turned off !!

Needless to say, I am getting this credited back to my account and a new iphone bar that will truly ban data downloading except via Wi-Fi hotspots.

So while you may think you have barred your sim/phone from downloading, it seems that the iphone can carry on downloading regardless of that.

The final thing to say is that the rep also noted mine wasn't the only iphone affected, others are as well, so if your on Rogers and not on a data plan, expect a call.

See... this is what I don't get. If what you want is WiFi internet and phone calling, why not just have a regular full-featured phone and an iPod Touch? Is it just to save that minimal amount of space of having the second small device?

As a phone without data, there are hundreds of phones that work better than the iPhone, with better features and better performance. The iPhone becomes an attractive device only because of the integration of the phone features with the data features.

I don't want 2 devices, nor do I want to use anything but itunes, call me lazy, but an iphone happens to suit my needs, I can still use WiFi hotspots, which are plentiful in Toronto...I have never needed to download data, just because I can, doesn't mean I should.

HI,

Are you still able to use iphone without the data plan? Can't AT&T representative tell when you call them?

Also, is it necessary to use a different SIM than one AT&T gives with the iphone to avoid the data plan?

Thanks,

i was wondering if i have an iphone and dont buy a data plan can i just use it for calling and recieving calls and texts in, which in my plan now i can, and thats all i use it for, can i use it without getting charged or without a plan,

Hi, I love 3G iPhone. I bought my 3G iPhone from Greece last month. It has really wonderful features, I enjoy it. You can contact to good person who can help you out. Here is his email ID zoomobileslimited@gmail.com.

When the iPhone 3G came out in Australia some people were stupid enough to buy them on non data plans, then they'd go on sensationalist TV shows whining about multi-thousand dollar bills.

An iPhone without data is like a car without petrol, fairly useless.

Maybe if there were more wifi hotspots here it would be different, but their aren't.

P.S. The data adds $A20 a month to the plans.

my issue is not that i don't want a data plan, I already have one. The problem is that i don't want to pay the apple tax to get the iphone data plan. i've had unlimited data plan for years. On my account its $35 for unlimited data & text. my wifes account it's $20 for unlimited data and text. we are both on the HTC tilt right now but my wife likes the Iphone. if I "upgrade" to an iphone, i lose her $20 plan and have to pay $50 for the iphone data & text (forever- see att site "Please note: Data plan for iPhone is required for the life of your iPhone service and cannot be removed in the future." ). This is a lame scam from both parties! has anybody been able to keep their old data plan with an iphone?

How about Wi-Fi? 3G data is not working you said. Then Wi-Fi should work, right?

I'm sorry, this is a scam how? Because one product's plan is more expensive than another? As its been since the beginning of mobile phones?

Try again.

Is this method still working without accidental data charges? I have read that AT&T will be able to pick up what kind of phone you are using and start sending you annoying emails saying you must have a data plan and threatening to charge you per unintended use. Are you still using your iphone 3g without a data plan? Thanks!

I meant to say they send annoying text messages with threats to charge you. Which brings up another issue. Are you able to send and receive unlimited text messages on the non-data plan iphone? Thanks!

Hey I have a iPhone 3G without a data plan which was accomplished after much arguing with an employee and a nice call with the store manager sold me a new iphone with no data package. I was wondering if I jailbreak my iPhone if it would interfere with whatever he did to the phone.

I purchased a Legally UnLocked iPhone from Hong Kong and use T-Mobile Prepaid. I don't like 2 year contracts and the plans that are offered. I paid over $800USD but it's worth every penny. No need for all the machinations of canceling plans etc. My iPhone is registered with Apple and has the 1 year warranty with extended warranty available and NO getting screwed by ATT. I see that most want a Freebie or almost Freebie.

I have unlimited data on my plan already and was looking at getting an iphone but also don't want the plan, could you just buy a phone online from somewhere like ebay and then put your sim card in it? If so, would the features all still work since I have unlimited internet?

if I have an iPhone 3g with a 2 yr contract,can I pay the cancelation fee and still use apps like Aim or Text Plus on the iPhone? would I have to be in a wifi area?

I have not posted on this topic in a while and I apologize. My wife and I both have iPhones. We had the 1400 minute plan from AT&T and she was an add on line for 9.99. I paid for voice and data and she only paid for 9.99 voice add on. They thought she had a blackberry (cause we did at one point) and we just sold that and put the sim card in her iPhone and we operated that way for two years.

THEN, in an effort to lower our monthly bills and to stay out of contracts altogether, we left AT&T. They told me all about the cancelation fees and I gave them an earful about being an 8 year customer and so they cut those charges in half. To me, it was worth it as our phone bill was $150 a month and 95% of our calls are made at home. (home business and such). Enough was enough. We kept our numbers and changed them over to GoPhone plans (pay as you go). No contracts, nothing to pay at all, no bills, just 25 cents a minute for the minutes we use. Here's how I make it work.

Firstly, the iPhone still has GPS so I downloaded "OffMaps" from the app store $2.99 and you can download all the maps you need for your area or areas you plan to travel to over WIFI and they are saved in the phone. The app uses your GPS data to track you on the road and give you turn by turn directions. So that's maps taken care of. I may upgrade to Navigon later.

Secondly, the iPhones' WIFI still works so I looked into making calls over WIFI. I have downloaded a free Vonage app that is set up to make really cheap calls internationally. You set up an account with them, give them your credit card details and put $5 in the account. What I discovered was that you could also make as many LOCAL calls as you want for free without them knowing. I have been doing this for 3 months now. All you have to remember when making the calls is to put the 1 + area code before the number and hey presto! It works a charm. My account balance with them is STILL $5. As I said, I work from home and so does my wife. If I am out, it is to meet a client at a coffee house so I make calls from the coffee house WIFI if need be.

Now, people (clients mainly) can still call my old number and I can choose to talk to them at 25 cents a minute or I can let voicemail pick it up and then call them back over WIFI. I also have WIFI tracker on the phone and use it to pick up open WIFI if I really really need to make a call on the road. I recently went on a 500 mile journey and I made calls at nearly every rest stop and a few times I pulled off, turned on WIFI tracker and within 30 seconds I was making calls on someones open WIFI. You would be surprised at how MANY open WIFI's there are out there. So, it's like looking for a payphone but finding one superquickly and never leaving your car. After a while you just know where WIFI is and you start to think that way. I have to pick up milk and paper. I know that I can call that client back when I am at Staples picking up paper cause they have open WIFI.

Obviously I get everything else I need over WIFI. Email, the web, etc.

I also have a Google Voice number. I got my wife an invite on ebay for $2 and got her one too. I don't pretend to understand all of it but what I have found is that by putting my cell number in the list of numbers for Google Voice to call, I am able to get my AT&T voicemail sent to my email at no charge. Weird. But convenient.

I also have MagicJack for our home line and it works really well!!! $39.99 to buy it and that includes on full year of unlimited calling. Plug it into your Mac and it just works right away. I did have Vonage and I have since cancelled that. After your first year MagicJack cost 19.99 for a year of unlimited free calling with all the bells and whistles. Voicemail, forwarding, ID, all that good stuff.

So, in conclusion, if you are still with me (and I'm only trying to help) I feel pretty connected. and I only pay $1.70 a month for unlimited calling at home and I still retain a pretty functional cell phone and mobile maps service. So for less than $2 a month I get all that. Now that's more like it! Not $170.00 a month.

Do I miss data? Not really. I can add 100mb of data to my GoPhone plan for $20 a month (and I have it on this month) but I will not continue it as I just don't use it much, even with running my business. To be honest I thought it was so important to respond to email RIGHT AWAY to have the edge in business and that is how I justified the iPhone and AT&T but I learnt that most people in business are not at that level yet and I don't hear from people for days and here I am paying all this money to be SO connected. Meh!

To me, I feel connecting people should be free and so should the internet. It's what you do with those connections that should justify your revenue. These are pipelines, much like the road systems. Don't charge people to get to the mall. Get them to the mall and charge them for the services they use there. You'll get a lot more people to the mall that way. I am not a fan of monthly bills. I don't have cable, I have iTunes and the internet and I pay (happily) for what I use. Is 1.99 too much for a TV show? You betcha! But is it worse than paying $100 in cable on a busy month when I don't use it and get bombarded with adds? NO WAY IN HELL!!! I am never going back.

I may pick up another cell phone plan someday if I have to but I am hoping the industry evolves before then. Any form of evolution in business comes from messages received. You keep paying them, they'll keep charging it. Cells were cool in the 80's but they are established technology now and should be a much cheaper part of our lives, not some gold-like commodity.

Edit: This will be my next purchase to further release myself from the cell phone commitments. Cell phone use on your landline. http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/0...lls-disappear/

Edit again: I just visited Starbucks and tried to see if I could hook into AT&Ts' free WFI for iPhone customers. I have my iPhone on a GoPhone plan (read above) so I wasn't sure. But it worked. And no data use. So I now have a whole manner of services from AT&T without paying them a dime. I am sure this will end soon as they tighten things up but hopefully they are learning that more and more people want an iPad plan on their iPhone. Data data data. These "minutes" packages are really getting old!!!

Good luck!

Thanks for the info.

Way down here in New Zealand we're always complaining about how expensive our cell phone plans/usage charges/data charges are, but reading this is all making me feel pretty good!

True, when the iPhone was first released, we only had one 3G provider, so we all got locked into their plans, but we got pretty good at jailbreaking if we had to, and now a provider change is just a simcard away... but to be fair, vodafone (the approved provider) has the best, most reliable 3G coverage.

I stuck with the plan I was locked into - I got my 16GB 3G for NZ$700 (about US$900), on a 2 year contract (the same phone retail without a plan then was about NZ$1250). My "iPhone plan" with vodafone NZ costs me NZ$60/mth, and includes 60 anytime calling minutes, 200 text messages per month, and 3GB of data each month (technically only 250MB, but a 'special offer' has meant a free increase in the data cap since July 2009 - oh, and that also comes with 1000 free multi-media messages/PXTs a month too). There are cheaper and more expensive plans available, but until you go up to about NZ$130 per months it's only the number of free minutes and texts that changes.

So I suspect that as far as call charges and probably text messages go, I'm not doing as good as many of you. If I exceed my free calling minutes (which my lifestyle doesn't need often) I get stung for around $1.30/min. And I paid a fair bit more for my hardware (but we expect that down here). But as far as 3G data goes - it's a no brainer. Hey, as long as the promotion continues, it's cheaper for me to port my laptop at home than use my home broadband data plan!

And yes, an iPhone without a data plan, it's like a tennis racquet without strings.

I have searched through many threads on this topic and can't seem to find a clear answer. I recently bought an iPhone 3G from a friend and swapped the sim from my samsung solstice into the iPhone. I had previously had a data plan on my solstice but canceled it and had AT&T restrict any data on my line a few months back. I manually disabled 3G on the iPhone aswell. I checked on my at&t account page to see if I have incurred any data costs since I started using the iPhone and it says I have not. I am on a family plan with ultimated texting and the line with the iPhone is a secondary line. I have yet to receive any notice from at&t. Everything on the iPhone is working properly. I am wondering if there is anything else I should do to better prevent being switched/notified to switch to the iPhone data plan? And has anyone had success with CS at at&t making accommodations like this? I personally think at&t is being less then reasonable by contractually obligating their customers to have a specific extraneous data plan depending on which phone they use, especially when the device is fully functional without said plan.

I think you missed the point. We just stated above how you can have an iPhone without an AT&T data plan. I agree, the iPhone is a great phone to have a data plan on but it is also a great device with other ways to stay in touch and use the power of it without paying AT&T large sums of money every month. I think the consensus is is that people don't want to be forced into having a data plan just cause they want the iPhone. They also don't like paying for data or minutes that they are not using. I actually would just like a data plan, period and no cell minutes. Or bring the unlimited everything plans down. I was paying $150 a month. Not any more. Last month I bought more clothes and next month I am going to blow it other things then an overpriced network. I don't miss it. Being connected every freaking second is overrated. As from my post above, I stay connected just fine.

Buy it unlocked (outright) in Australia.

I had an old iphone 2G and finally bought a new iPhone 3G S. My 12 year old son has wanted an iphone for the longest time but I absolutely refuse get him a $100 AT&T account for him to have an iphone. I want to give him my old phone but need to know how to make this happen.

I have been reading a bunch of forums on trying to find a way to use an unlocked iphone with no data plan. All he needs is a cheap phone plan with no data. He can use wifi where available. I think I have found it. Not sure on the specifics but everything looks legit. There is a company called Pure TalkUSA (www.puretalkusa.com) that I believe you can use old AT&T phones. There are people that are using iphones with no data plan with this service and are loving it. The plans start at $10 / month for like 100 minutes. As far as I can tell there is no contract, no fees of any kind, and the coverage area is AT&T. These guys on these forums seem to really like the flexibility and how cheap the service is. This sounds perfect for my son.

Here is a link to the forums, let me know what you think:

Check out what bwparker1 says.

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthr...1895908&page=7

He wants the iPhone for the features that are available on the iPod Touch. Get him the iPod Touch and a cameraphone. Problem solved.

But the ipod touch starts at $199 and my old phone is free. Plus I want him to have a phone for emergencies and to talk a little bit on without going over and racking up a huge phone bill. I'm actually signing up today for the $20 plan for 200 minutes from Pure TalkUSA. No contract, tax included, rollover, free sim, and 50 additional minutes when you sign up. Thats dirt cheap and on the AT&T network. I'll take it.

Thanks tonton I know what you're saying though.

I'll post an update if everything works. If not Im only out $10.

Waiting to sign up for Pure Talk until I figure out how to unlock my iPhone. Im guessing this is what I need to do. I've searched so many forums and I'm getting all kinds of answers on how to do this. I have taken my old AT&T SIM out so its just an iPod Touch right now. It picks up wifi still. Any help would be great! Sorry if this is off topic but I'm new to all of this.

Thanks!

That sounds like a very decent deal and the fact that minutes (supposedly) never expire makes it even better. It isn't hard at all the unlock the 2G. A few searches should turn up plenty of information. I've done it and it is easy.

My buddy that told me about Pure Talk said that he signed his parents up about 5 months ago and his bill has never been over $40 for both plans. $40 even.

Do you recommend any sites? Who did you use?

Still trying to figure out the iphone deal. I did sign up for pure talk though. I had an old razor that im using. I went on their site last night to sign up and look into their $40 plan that comes with 550 minutes (which was probably not going to be enough unless i really monitored my balance) and saw that they now have an unlimited talk/text plan for $48. So i signed up for it. Still no contract or fees (which i triple checked with CS).

Im going to try and unlock my iphone tonight and try to use it.

I have read many threads on this subject.... but a lot of the information is old or from people who don't know what they are talking about. So I wanted to get some things cleared up once and for all.

---Goal---
To use my 16GB 3G iPhone on AT&T monthly service without paying the $30/mo data plan.

---Background---
-I had a 2 year contract with AT&T for a different phone. That contract expired last month, so now I'm just doing the month-to-month payments and still using my old phone with a no-data plan. (I do not have a contract with AT&T for the iphone)

-I just bought a 3G jailbroken iphone off of ebay (firmware 3.1.3). Since the iphone is jailbroken, I'm assuming it does not need activated or anything.

-I have already called AT&T and had them block all data to my account.

-I am part of a family plan and I want to be able to text frequently.


---Things I'm aware of so you don't need to point them out like I'm a complete idiot (just a partial idiot)---

-I am fully aware that I could get a ipod touch and keep my phone then "problem solved". However, I want them combined into 1 device so I don't have to carry around 2 everywhere I go. I also want GPS built in and I think the camera would be nice addition as well.

-"An iphone without data is useless" Yes, I agree (for the most part) but 75% of the time I'm at work, home or the local coffee shop and all 3 have WIFI so I do not need the EDGE/3G plan.

-I will not be able to get visual voicemail without the data plan. (Don't care, I'm fully capable of calling in to check my voicemail... I've been doing it for about 4 years now)

-I will not be able to download GPS maps via the 3g network (I plan to get around this by using the TomTom app that basically has the entire continent on the phone, no downloads required. 3G can hold 16 gb and that will be useful since this program is 1.3gb)

-I could get a pay-as-you-go phone and swap the SIM cards but I want to be able to send texts a lot and I don't want to have to pay for each text.


---My Plan---
-To swap the SIM card of my current phone into the iPhone
-Change the iPhone's IMEI to my old phone's IMEI (if possible)
-Have AT&T be none the wiser that I am using an iPhone without a data plan.


---My questions---
-Will AT&T know if I am using an iPhone if I just swap the SIM cards? (There is a lot of heresay out there about what they know... please only answer if you have something with actual evidence... not just what you read on some other thread)

-Will AT&T even care that I am using an iPhone without a data plan because I didn't sign a contract with them for buying/using an iPhone? (In other words, am I going to be charged some fee or something if i'm already just doing month-to-month)

-Is it possible to change the IMEI on a 3G phone and will it help? ( I know that older iphones had this capability using like Ziphone or something, but supposedly not on the 3G)

-What do I need to do give myself the best chances of AT&T finding out about the iPhone (I've heard of people swapping the SIM back to their old phone the day before the billing cycle ends each month, others always ejected the SIM everytime they restarted the iPhone because supposedly that is when it transmits the phone data to AT&T)

I too am very curious about this. Both my wife and I have had our iPhone 3Gs for roughly two years and when the new version comes out this year we plan on upgrading to it, however, from what I can tell I'll be UNABLE to allow my kids to use the old iPhone 3G (on AT&T at least) without getting charged a data plan.

Recently my daughters phone broke and I swapped her SIM into an old Samsung Blackjack I had lying around and promptly received a text from AT&T (at midnight mind you, thanks for that) saying that they had oh so helpfully added a Data Plan to my account.

After calling them, they said they could remove it if I gave them an IMEI number of a non-smart phone that she would be using.

I also happen to COMPLETELY disagree with the notion that without a dataplan the iPhone is silly and when you've jailbroken the phone it's SUPER easy to disable all DATA on the phone so that you don't have to worry about "accidentally" using it. (Yay for JailBroken)

If AT&T wants to require a dataplan for a subsidized phone I totally get it, but when I've "paid my dues" for my phone and still cannot choose how to use it, that's down right disreputable and AT&T should be ashamed of themselves.

From all the reading I've done, changing your IMEI number is completely illegal so I've little hope there. I'm thinking that jailbreaking/unlocking and using a non-AT&T service that doesn't require a dataplan would be the only way to go and being as I'm using a Family plan, that doesn't really work out.

*Sigh* So frustrating!

Iskondi