Question about selling an iPhone on eBay

m021478m021478
Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Can someone please validate (or dis-prove) the following information I found online:
Question: Let's say I bought my iPhone last year and I want the iPhone 3G. Can I give my old iPhone to my sister or sell it on eBay?



Answer: No, once an existing iPhone user activates service for an iPhone 3G, their first-generation handset will be unusable as a phone. You won't be able to replace it with another AT&T SIM card and use it to make calls. This also means that you can't buy an old iPhone on eBay and expect to activate it on AT&T's network. However, you can use it as a media player and a Wi-Fi device for browsing the Web.
Does this mean that if in a year I want to upgrade to the newest and greatest that comes out down the line I can't resell it? That would totally blow. Is this the case?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Who said this?
  • Reply 2 of 9
    hitbyhitby Posts: 38member
    I don't know if it's the same in the US but in the UK you can either shift you current iPhone to a new contract or stick it on a PAYG sim card, if you do that you could sell it on. The other option is obviously to jailbreak it and use it on any network



    hth

    Dan
  • Reply 3 of 9
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    a lot of people want to know

    e.g. if i get the v2iphone, then what about getting my wife a v1iphone, save some bucks if they go to a new form factor at Christmas or jan 09 then upgrade one, stagger them.

    used iphones if the above is true price/ value would drop like stone. most consumers don't want to jailbreak, just be able to get a phone and a att contract. what will apple do with refurbs??
  • Reply 4 of 9
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,016member
    I think that cannot be the case. Can't you just have the 2G one deactivated? Couldn't the new customer just reactive it upon purchase?
  • Reply 5 of 9
    m021478m021478 Posts: 71member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    Who said this?



    Mid-way down on this page: http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9717097-1.html
  • Reply 6 of 9
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,179member
    Quit taking stuff out of context... read the entire paragraph!



    You CAN give/sell the phone to someone else and it CAN be re-activated with a new/different account. (ie: a different phone number from AT&T.) Apparently though, you can't just stick an existing active SIM into it and expect it to work.

    The article was pretty clear about this.
  • Reply 7 of 9
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    So what is to prevent UK people from buying loads of iPhone 3Gs, not activating, or just "activating" on prepaid, then shipping a boatload to the US straight?



    Because, for US residents, think about it:



    Option A: pay USD199. Delays/worries of activating with AT&T, and 2 year contract. Heck, I don't even *know* if I'll still have my job next month.



    Option B: pay USD299 for iPhone from UK through eBay (on o2 prepaid, so it is "activated", without contract). Go nuts. Enjoy yourself. Unlock, dance, put in an AT&T prepay sim, whatever...



  • Reply 8 of 9
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,179member
    perhaps nothing?... I could find nothing on the O2 site that priced the new phone without contract... something tells me it'll be a bit steeper.
  • Reply 9 of 9
    tjp091tjp091 Posts: 4member
    You just have to unock the phone, then you can use any sim. ATT can't kill your iPhone. Otherwise, how did I just sell my iPhone on eBay last week? It works just fine. Unlock it and give it to anybody you want.
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