pcnetworx1
join:2005-09-21
Bethel Park, PA
1 edit | reply to illJazz
Re: Leaving the US for about 5 months--what to do about service?
Yea, every cell phone company I have dealt with has something called a "seasonal plan" which keeps your account active for 5 - 6 bucks a month. I recommend doing this instead of cancelling.
I know with sprint they also actually leave the phone active and you can even still make calls... for
$0.75 a minute though. So, make sure you put it back on a real plan in January. |
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illJazz
Premium
join:2002-09-04
switzerland
| said by pcnetworx1  :Yea, every cell phone company I dealt with has something called a "seasonal plan" which keeps your account active for 5 - 6 bucks a month. I recommend doing this instead of cancelling. I know with sprint they also actually leave the phone active and you can even still make calls... for $0.75 a minute though. So, make sure you put it back on a real plan in January. That's exactly what the guy at AT&T told me he CANNOT do for me. He basically said there is no way to get out of paying my bills. WTF?
I really need to give them a call. |
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slash
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-01
Boston
clubs: | Yeah, I'd see if you can talk to someone else. I think he may have been giving you bad info. |
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pep21835120345
@northwestern.edu
| reply to pcnetworx1
This is not an option with iPhone
If the OP's still under contract with an iPhone (its required data services that he signed up for) he wouldn't be eligible for such a drasticly discounted plan. AFAIK the seasonal plans were never really offered by Cingular or ATT, but just the more discounted carriers like Sprint. YMMV.
-Pedro |
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bahman2000
join:2003-08-27
Brooklyn, NY | I second this.
I'm with Tmobile.
If you're still under contract you can not suspend.
My contract expired and now I can suspend for $10/month. |
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Alcohol
Premium
join:2003-05-26
Somerset, NJ | Not true. I suspended my contract with Cingular last summer for 3 months with a $19.99 (if i remember) fee. My 2 year contract ended 3 months later because of it.
You can easily get the Iphone unlocked in Europe for 20 euros . |
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pepe13126475
@comcast.net | Sure, a first gen iPhone but not the 3G one. Don't confuse jailbreak with SIM unlock. FWIW, the current 'fake SIM' unlocking solutions only work temporarily, and only on some networks. |
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illJazz
Premium
join:2002-09-04
switzerland
| My cousin unlocked his iPhone 3G last week here in Switzerland. Now he's in China and signed up for a mobile plan with China Mobile two days ago. He says everything works perfectly on his iPhone 3G, including 3G data acess at 3G speeds.
It's a combination of a software and hardware unlock. The hardware part uses a chip that you slide into the phone after placing it on TOP of your SIMcard in the SIM tray. No cutting of the SIM card was required. I thought that was interesting, especially because as far as I'm aware, cutting of the SIM card was required until recently.
I have no idea how he'll deal with software updates... but for now, it works great. Oh, and he's running the latest software on his iPhone, 2.1. |
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pepe2143621
@northwestern.edu
| Sorry, but you have not yet read enough on the topic. Again, I will reiterate, it is a *temporary* solution and may stop working at any time depending on the network he's connecting to in China. Head on over to hackintosh forums if you want more specifics about the hardware/software 'fix' you've alluded to. It's a temporary one unfortunately, and won't help the vast majority of folks wanted to free themselves of the high roaming costs w/ an ATT plan.
-Pedro |
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illJazz
Premium
join:2002-09-04
switzerland
| said by pepe2143621 :
Sorry, but you have not yet read enough on the topic. Again, I will reiterate, it is a *temporary* solution and may stop working at any time depending on the network he's connecting to in China. Head on over to hackintosh forums if you want more specifics about the hardware/software 'fix' you've alluded to. It's a temporary one unfortunately, and won't help the vast majority of folks wanted to free themselves of the high roaming costs w/ an ATT plan.
-Pedro
Why does it matter whether it's temporary? The point is that it works. There is never a guarantee that it will continue to work if you ever were to install 2.2 on a device using the SIM unlock chip combined with a software unlock method, but that's just the risk you have to take if you are going to unlock your iPhone 3G. Looking at it that way, the only thing there IS temporary. I don't see how you could perform a permanent unlock. |
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pepe315352
@northwestern.edu
| Greater perspective here
Look at the broader perspective here.
*Any* of my ATT branded GSM handsets can be unlocked for use abroad w/ foreign networks If you do indeed require your phone to be 100% operational wherever you go, the unlock scheme as it stands now w/ the iPhone is not adequate for most travellers. They generally need a guarantee that their device which is set up for specific purposes is going to always work. The beauty of a truly unlocked handset on GSM loses it's shine w/ the 3G iPhone unfortunately. Some of us need a phone that works(!) |
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NY Tel
Premium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY
1 edit | reply to illJazz
Re: Leaving the US for about 5 months--what to do about service?
Just dial 611 from the phone (free call) and ask AT&T.
It makes no sense to tell you that you can suspend your service but continue to pay the bills.
What part of "stupid" does not apply to that AT&T salesperson....lol |
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illJazz
Premium
join:2002-09-04
switzerland
| said by NY Tel :Just dial 611 from the phone (free call) and ask AT&T. It makes no sense to tell you that you can suspend your service but continue to pay the bills. What part of "stupid" does not apply to that AT&T salesperson....lol Well, of course they'll let me suspend service. That's not the issue. I'll pay the cancellation fee and that will be that. The question is... what the heck do I do with my iPhone 3G that's locked to AT&T? I can definitely get it unlocked (»www.iphoneservices.ch/index.php?···vice_new or »www.i-lock.info/index.html) but will have to pay about $80 to do it AND will have to be very careful each time Apple drops an iPhone software update. The iPhone Services guys apparently already have a working iPhone 2.2 unlock.. the i-Lock guys don't just yet, but will soon.
I'd rather have a non-jailbroken/unlocked phone as I've never been into the whole Installer/Cydida world. I'm quite happy with the App Store and its offerings, and I'd like to be able to install software updates on the phone without worrying whether it will stop working..
What this boils down to is... will AT&T unlock the phone for me? Somehow I doubt it.
I'll give them a call and see what they say. If not, I suppose I'll have to get my THIRD iPhone (second iPhone 3G but third overall because I also have an iPhone 2G) with my local provider, Swisscom. |
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pepe3738342
@comcast.net
| Maybe we are arguing over semantics, but suspending service is not the same as canceling service, which is what incurs the ETF.
Unfortunately, ATT still won't provide subsidy unlock codes for their 3G iPhones. [ Why would they give away the cow when they can sell so much milk?  ] Will Swisscom sell you an unlocked iPhone like you can get in some other parts of the world? Since you like it so much, paying such a premium might be ideal so you can always get the updates w/o messing with the functionality. |
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illJazz
Premium
join:2002-09-04
switzerland
| said by pepe3738342 :Maybe we are arguing over semantics, but suspending service is not the same as canceling service, which is what incurs the ETF. Unfortunately, ATT still won't provide subsidy unlock codes for their 3G iPhones. [ Why would they give away the cow when they can sell so much milk? ] Will Swisscom sell you an unlocked iPhone like you can get in some other parts of the world? Since you like it so much, paying such a premium might be ideal so you can always get the updates w/o messing with the functionality. I suppose that's what'll end up happening. I'll have to figure out what the hell to do with the current, ATT-locked iPhone 3G.
Swisscom does sell them with their plans, and they even have a special plan for people under 26. It's 39 Swiss Francs a month with 250MB data included. The 16GB iPhone 3G is 299 Swiss Francs. Not bad--but the 299 suck when I *already have* an iPhone 3G.
I haven't called them yet but will do it later today. |
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pepe319431943
@northwestern.edu
| Just sell it. Ebay, craigslist, etc. It's a no brainer since folks want the phone but are not eligible for upgrade, etc. Some folks even want to use it w/ T-Mo regardless of the fact that it is not compatible with the frequency bands T-Mo uses for 3G in the U.S. |
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