Downgrade from iPhone Without Paying a lot?

purdue1014

purdue1014

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Jun 3, 2006
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Brent
Hi All,

I have a question for those who would know. I recently got an ipad2, and as such, I am looking to get rid of my iPhone. I would like to downgrade to just a text messaging phone to help save some $$ from the monthly costs. To the best of my knowledge, I am month to month right now on an ATT family plan. If possible in this process I'd like to port my number to google to continue to use google voice, as well as remain month to month on ATT.

How would I best go about doing that? Also, can anyone recommend a non-smart good messaging phone out there?

Thanks,

B
 
Go to your local AT&T wireless store and look at the "non-smart" phones. You'll see only a few. The Samsung flip phone is the standard issue and it's fine with two LCD screens.

You should get the phone for free with a two year re-up, and you won't be paying the $30+ a month for a data plan.
 
purdue1014 said:
Hi All,

I have a question for those who would know. I recently got an ipad2, and as such, I am looking to get rid of my iPhone. I would like to downgrade to just a text messaging phone to help save some $$ from the monthly costs. To the best of my knowledge, I am month to month right now on an ATT family plan. If possible in this process I'd like to port my number to google to continue to use google voice, as well as remain month to month on ATT.

How would I best go about doing that? Also, can anyone recommend a non-smart good messaging phone out there?

Thanks,

B
Click to expand...

If you are already month-to-month, that means you are no longer under contract. If that is the case, you don't need a data plan at all on the iPhone. This can work two ways. First, you have an honest discussion with your local AT&T person ... I no longer need the data plan and I want to convert to just phone with texting. I've heard this works on occasion. When I tried, they told me "no can do". Thus, I bought a Go Phone at Walmart for $20, took it in, had them activate with my old number ... "uh, my iPhone broke". Then take the Go Phone home and swap SIM cards with the iPhone. Now you have a dumb iPhone.

Nice thing is that AT&T has a cheaper data plan for non-iPhones. Now, if you want data, you can turn on data using the low cost data plan (since they don't know you have an iPhone) and have a half cost data plan on the iPhone.

The trick for all of the above is having an iPhone that is no longer under contract. If you do, all of a sudden the AT&T plan is reasonable and only $10/month under the family plan with no data. I did this when I upgraded my wife to the new $50 3GS. We gave her old 3G to my son and he now basically has an iTouch with phone for $10/month.

PS - Go Boilers
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate it! I'll head over to the ATT store in the next day or two and go from there...

Cheers,

-B
 
Seriously: buy a prepaid phone from walmart. Ditch the sim it comes with. Insert your sim. Blam, instant cheap phone.

Call AT&T and tell them you don't use the iPhone anymore, and you just want a minutes and text plan. Use google voice exclusively, and you are golden. Maybe $20 out of pocket.
 
iflyforfun said:
When I tried, they told me "no can do". Thus, I bought a Go Phone at Walmart for $20, took it in, had them activate with my old number ... "uh, my iPhone broke". Then take the Go Phone home and swap SIM cards with the iPhone. Now you have a dumb iPhone.
Click to expand...

That works??? At least on the original iPhone and iPhone 3G, they used "special" SIM cards that were iPhone-specific, and the iPhone wouldn't work with any other SIM cards. In fact, when the iPhone 3G came out, the original iPhone SIM cards wouldn't work in them.

I guess that has changed? I wonder when...
 
flyingcheesehead said:
That works??? At least on the original iPhone and iPhone 3G, they used "special" SIM cards that were iPhone-specific, and the iPhone wouldn't work with any other SIM cards. In fact, when the iPhone 3G came out, the original iPhone SIM cards wouldn't work in them.

I guess that has changed? I wonder when...
Click to expand...

If true, this is yet another "AT&Tism" that means people should stay the hell away.

Why?

Because they charge for replacement SIMs. So changing from iPhone to another phone, even if it was one you had lying around anyway, would cost money. Usually about $29.99, IIRC.
 
SkyHog said:
If true, this is yet another "AT&Tism" that means people should stay the hell away.

Why?

Because they charge for replacement SIMs. So changing from iPhone to another phone, even if it was one you had lying around anyway, would cost money. Usually about $29.99, IIRC.
Click to expand...

Well, two things:

1) Do they REALLY charge for SIMs or just say they do? I've had them hand me three with no charge.

2) The second half of your statement isn't true - You can use an iPhone SIM in a non-iPhone, just not vice versa.

I'm not sure if the iPhone 3Gs and the iPhone 4 have "special" SIMs any more - I don't remember hearing anything about them since the 3G came out, and now that they're available pretty much everywhere in the world, there's not much point in locking them down any more.
 
I busted my iPhone 3G once and pulled the sim out and stuck it in a prepaid AT&T phone with no problems.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Well, two things:

1) Do they REALLY charge for SIMs or just say they do? I've had them hand me three with no charge.

2) The second half of your statement isn't true - You can use an iPhone SIM in a non-iPhone, just not vice versa.

I'm not sure if the iPhone 3Gs and the iPhone 4 have "special" SIMs any more - I don't remember hearing anything about them since the 3G came out, and now that they're available pretty much everywhere in the world, there's not much point in locking them down any more.
Click to expand...

That is different then, if its backward compatible (assuming it still works that way). Whether they always charge or not doesn't matter....they can, and some CS rep somewhere will charge for it based on principle.
 
I know a guy who happily runs his iPhone on the T-Mobile network with one of their SIMs. I didn't ask how.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Yup - Like Jesse said, he's done it.

And, it sounds like they may not be using special SIMs at all any more.
Click to expand...

Just last week, pulled the SIM out of my sons plane Jane (pun intended) dumb Go Phone and dropped it in our old iPhone 3G ... it works, no problem. I haven't tried it with my wife's 3GS or my 4.

All those iPhones don't make me an Apple fan. iTunes must be the biggest POS since Windoz. What a user unfriendly piece of crap. That said, the iPhone itself is really something ... a smidge like crack, once you get started it is hard to give it up.
 
The iPhone 4 uses a micro sim. It's pretty much the same...only smaller. When my wife broke the screen on her 4 and I had to send it off, I bought a micro-sim -> sim adapter for $2 and popped it into her old 3G for a couple of days. Worked like a charm.

http://amzn.to/dTkmlO
 
SkyHog said:
If true, this is yet another "AT&Tism" that means people should stay the hell away.

Why?

Because they charge for replacement SIMs. So changing from iPhone to another phone, even if it was one you had lying around anyway, would cost money. Usually about $29.99, IIRC.
Click to expand...

And they cost the dealer about $2.99.

-Rich
 
purdue1014 said:
Hi All,

I have a question for those who would know. I recently got an ipad2, and as such, I am looking to get rid of my iPhone. I would like to downgrade to just a text messaging phone to help save some $$ from the monthly costs. To the best of my knowledge, I am month to month right now on an ATT family plan. If possible in this process I'd like to port my number to google to continue to use google voice, as well as remain month to month on ATT.
Click to expand...
I was considering the same thing for when I get an iPad but I'm thinking I will still want a smart phone with a data plan since I don't intend to carry the iPad everywhere I go and I've found the data features on the phone to be very useful.
 
SkyHog said:
Use google voice exclusively, and you are golden.
Click to expand...

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the replies...

One other question for you all, would there be a way to continue to use Google Voice if I make this switch? Right now, (on a 3G) I use either the GV app or the HTML5 site...If I switch to a new phone/no data, how would I initiate calls/texts from GV on the new phone?

Thanks,

Purdue
 
Hi Guys,

Well, I made the change. Went to Walgreens, bought a $20 go phone, called ATT and had them remove the data. Should I wait a bit of time prior to putting my sim back in the iPhone, or does it matter?

Thanks!

B
 
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