Filed under: iPhone
Tada! The 6th Gen contract-free WiFi-enabled iPod
Oh man, what a day. Earlier today, I got my prepaid iPhone activated after a long struggle, which you can read about here, along with an easy solution. After all that, what time was it? Time To Hack!
So what did I discover? I found that your activated iPhone is a lot more flexible and powerful than AT&T and Apple admit. Pop out the SIM or put an inactive SIM and your iPhone works pretty much like a contract-free WiFi-enabled 6th Generation iPod. The WiFi means you can do Mail and Safari without a phone connection.
For your delectation, here's the stuff that I did and the results I discovered. I am still working on writing all this up nicely but I thought I'd rather share sooner than later.
Removed SIM and replaced it with an invalid, unactivated, no-account SIM. Still works as 6G WiFi iPod. Still Synced properly to iTunes. Tried placing call. It failed (as expected).
Removed SIM entirely. It complains but works at 6G WiFi iPod. Tried placing call. "No SIM card installed". Failed. Connected to iTunes. Synced without any problems I could detect. WiFi fine.
Removed activated SIM and placed into a cheap disposable AT&T cell phone. Worked fine. Was able to place calls. Good way to save your iPhone from danger on ski or bike trips.
Placed SIM from cheap disposable AT&T Pay as You Go phone into iPhone. Call failed. WiFi fine.
And remember: you still have to fund the phone and for those of you who are our friends across the border, I'm not sure how a Canadian credit card will play on the AT&T GoPhone funding site.
Conclusions: Buy the iPhone using prepaid. Activate. Cancel. Enjoy.
Want me to test something out? Let me know in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
tkelly said 10:29PM on 7-02-2007
So this is only after you activate it with prepaid right?
You can't just take the sim card out after you buy it?
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Erica Sadun said 10:30PM on 7-02-2007
TKelley: Yes. Before you activate it, it's pretty useless--with or without SIM.
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mike f said 10:42PM on 7-02-2007
I seem to remember reading, in the last few days, that the iphone's activation status will be checked whenever an Apple software update is installed -- if that's the case, I hope that yours doesn't shut down after applying the first update in a week, month, whatever...
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Dave said 10:48PM on 7-02-2007
Out of sheer curiosity, what happens when you put an activated T-Mobile SIM in there?
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Julie McCoy said 10:48PM on 7-02-2007
Try the Nike+ module. It says Nano-only, but I wonder if the iPhone counts since it's flash-based.
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Jason Martin said 10:59PM on 7-02-2007
#3 makes a very good point. That would be the only thing preventing me from doing this as well.
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lukphoto said 11:00PM on 7-02-2007
I'm interested about the T-Mobile SIM also! Thanks for finguring this out!
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Jerrod said 11:01PM on 7-02-2007
Now try restoring it. Do you have to go through this each time you reload or upgrade the system software?
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matt g said 11:03PM on 7-02-2007
If you take an activated iPhone sim and pop it into an unactivated iPhone, will the unactivated iPhone activate itself?
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mckoder said 11:04PM on 7-02-2007
I have already activated my iPhone on the $60 plan. I would like to switch to the PrePaid plan. I know I can cancel the existing plan - at worst I'll lose the activation fee. I'll then have an iPhone that was once active, but now without service. The question is, can the previously-activated iPhone then be re-activated using iTunes?
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Andrew E. said 11:08PM on 7-02-2007
I'm north of the boarder. Did you have to give your credit card info when activating. Can I activate the iPhone by selecting prepay, but never actually pay for the first month's service?
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Jason Martin said 11:08PM on 7-02-2007
#5. I read somewhere (iLounge?) that the Nike+ definitely does not work with iPhone. I hope this is something they will change, though.
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Bryan Shelton said 11:09PM on 7-02-2007
Can you sync your photos and iCal info as well? That's what would make or break (along with the tunes and movies).
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Matthew said 11:18PM on 7-02-2007
I'm sorry, but I just spent money on what I wanted. An iPhone. If I wanted something crippled or a different device, I'd wait. I can't use another phone after using this. I'll keep my activated and pay my $100+ bill every month happily, thanks.
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jimmie said 11:27PM on 7-02-2007
inserting the nike + connector brings up a notification "this accessory is not supported by iphone."
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Nico Mendiola said 11:27PM on 7-02-2007
So, when using a prepaid...you said the phone has no subsidy? Does this mean it cost more? or just the same 499 and 599?
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Victor Agreda Jr said 11:31PM on 7-02-2007
I would imagine if you shut down network connections to whatever Mac you were using and continued to sync with that particular machine, you wouldn't have to worry about the updates. Also, sync with iCal and photos shouldn't have anything to do with the network either.
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Matt said 11:34PM on 7-02-2007
Make a call using Jajah.com via WiFi.
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rv said 11:41PM on 7-02-2007
If an iPhone SIM card falls in a forest and there's nobody around, does it still make a sound? (Sorry, had to - you know you wanted to...)
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Sam Katz said 11:52PM on 7-02-2007
you could if you wanted use little snitch to prevent itunes from calling home.
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