Will unlocking my iPhone help with my situation? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

FaderMonkey · 08-30-2009, 11:01 AM

Here's my situation:

A friend just gave me his old 1st generation iPhone. I want to get a new iPhone, but I can't upgrade until February. So, I figured I could use his old one until then. Before I moved the SIM card from my current cell to the iPhone, I decided to go to an AT&T store and talk to someone to see how the iPhone would effect my current monthly plan. I found out everything was going to be fine, except for one thing: I was told that when I move my SIM card to the iPhone I would have to connect to iTunes to activate the phone, and when I do that and agree to new Terms and Conditions, I would also be agreeing to a new 2-year contract. That doesn't work for me.

I'm excited to use this iPhone, but it's the 1st gen and I was hoping to be able to upgrade to the 3G S this February. If I agree to a new 2-year contract I'll be stuck with it for 2 years! No thanks. A friend mentioned I should look into jailbreaking or unlocking it and maybe that would prevent me from having to agree to a new contract. So, would it?

In the little research on unlocking that I've done I've found that it would allow the iPhone to be used on other networks. But, would it prevent me from having to agree to a new contract if I still use it on AT&T? What are the cons of unlocking? Would I still be able to download apps from the App Store?

Xerxys · 08-30-2009, 11:50 AM

I don't know much about iPhones but I do know this. You can contact At&T and ask them what are the stipulations of extending your contract. Usually (and the most common one) it's you agree to a new two year commitment if you purchase another hand held device at a reduced rate.

Given this you can explain that you do not want to extend your contract and if you inform them you are going to purchase another phone as soon as you can they will be very willing to work with you. Once you have the cell phone activated you must ensure you had made arrangements with them to return the contract terms back to what it was prior to activation.

Otherwise the rep you speak to will just screw you.

n0nsensical · 08-30-2009, 06:16 PM

As far as I know, any given iPhone needs only be activated once. After you've done that you can use any valid AT&T SIM card in it. So there's nothing to worry about for a used phone. The store isn't going to tell you this because they only deal in new phones. From personal experience I can tell you Cingular/AT&T stores are generally worthless for anything that doesn't involve you paying a thousand dollars for a contract. The only thing unlocking/jailbreaking does for you is give you the ability to run unauthorized apps or to use the phone with an unauthorized phone network. If you already have AT&T service you can simply swap in your SIM card and it should work fine, of course I recommend you test it out first before handing over any cash for it.

FaderMonkey · 08-30-2009, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n0nsensical

As far as I know, any given iPhone needs only be activated once. After you've done that you can use any valid AT&T SIM card in it. So there's nothing to worry about for a used phone...

This isn't the first time I've heard this, so I just gave it a try. Once my SIM was in the iPhone it immediately displayed that I needed to connect it to iTunes. I did that and it told me I needed to activate the phone. So, I canceled.

n0nsensical · 08-30-2009, 07:22 PM

Wow that sucks, and I was planning to do the same thing. So maybe someone with more real experience knows what's going on here. Does the phone need to be activated per account or what?

FaderMonkey · 09-02-2009, 05:30 AM

Well, I ended up unlocking the phone and it worked. I didn't have to go through the Apple/AT&T activation process and the phone is working fine.

08-30-2009, 11:01 AM	#1 (permalink)
FaderMonkey Psycho Location: Orlando, FL	Will unlocking my iPhone help with my situation? Here's my situation: A friend just gave me his old 1st generation iPhone. I want to get a new iPhone, but I can't upgrade until February. So, I figured I could use his old one until then. Before I moved the SIM card from my current cell to the iPhone, I decided to go to an AT&T store and talk to someone to see how the iPhone would effect my current monthly plan. I found out everything was going to be fine, except for one thing: I was told that when I move my SIM card to the iPhone I would have to connect to iTunes to activate the phone, and when I do that and agree to new Terms and Conditions, I would also be agreeing to a new 2-year contract. That doesn't work for me. I'm excited to use this iPhone, but it's the 1st gen and I was hoping to be able to upgrade to the 3G S this February. If I agree to a new 2-year contract I'll be stuck with it for 2 years! No thanks. A friend mentioned I should look into jailbreaking or unlocking it and maybe that would prevent me from having to agree to a new contract. So, would it? In the little research on unlocking that I've done I've found that it would allow the iPhone to be used on other networks. But, would it prevent me from having to agree to a new contract if I still use it on AT&T? What are the cons of unlocking? Would I still be able to download apps from the App Store?

08-30-2009, 06:16 PM	#3 (permalink)
n0nsensical Junkie Location: San Francisco	As far as I know, any given iPhone needs only be activated once. After you've done that you can use any valid AT&T SIM card in it. So there's nothing to worry about for a used phone. The store isn't going to tell you this because they only deal in new phones. From personal experience I can tell you Cingular/AT&T stores are generally worthless for anything that doesn't involve you paying a thousand dollars for a contract. The only thing unlocking/jailbreaking does for you is give you the ability to run unauthorized apps or to use the phone with an unauthorized phone network. If you already have AT&T service you can simply swap in your SIM card and it should work fine, of course I recommend you test it out first before handing over any cash for it. __________________ "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." --Abraham Lincoln Last edited by n0nsensical; 08-30-2009 at 06:19 PM..

08-30-2009, 07:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
n0nsensical Junkie Location: San Francisco	Wow that sucks, and I was planning to do the same thing. So maybe someone with more real experience knows what's going on here. Does the phone need to be activated per account or what? __________________ "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." --Abraham Lincoln

08-30-2009, 11:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
Xerxys Junkie Location: My head.	I don't know much about iPhones but I do know this. You can contact At&T and ask them what are the stipulations of extending your contract. Usually (and the most common one) it's you agree to a new two year commitment if you purchase another hand held device at a reduced rate. Given this you can explain that you do not want to extend your contract and if you inform them you are going to purchase another phone as soon as you can they will be very willing to work with you. Once you have the cell phone activated you must ensure you had made arrangements with them to return the contract terms back to what it was prior to activation. Otherwise the rep you speak to will just screw you.

09-02-2009, 05:30 AM	#6 (permalink)
FaderMonkey Psycho Location: Orlando, FL	Well, I ended up unlocking the phone and it worked. I didn't have to go through the Apple/AT&T activation process and the phone is working fine.