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.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
7-02-2007 @ 10:29PM
tkelly said...
So this is only after you activate it with prepaid right?
You can't just take the sim card out after you buy it?
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 10:30PM
Erica Sadun said...
TKelley: Yes. Before you activate it, it's pretty useless--with or without SIM.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 10:42PM
mike f said...
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...
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 10:48PM
Dave said...
Out of sheer curiosity, what happens when you put an activated T-Mobile SIM in there?
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 10:48PM
Julie McCoy said...
Try the Nike+ module. It says Nano-only, but I wonder if the iPhone counts since it's flash-based.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 10:59PM
Jason Martin said...
#3 makes a very good point. That would be the only thing preventing me from doing this as well.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:00PM
lukphoto said...
I'm interested about the T-Mobile SIM also! Thanks for finguring this out!
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:01PM
Jerrod said...
Now try restoring it. Do you have to go through this each time you reload or upgrade the system software?
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:03PM
matt g said...
If you take an activated iPhone sim and pop it into an unactivated iPhone, will the unactivated iPhone activate itself?
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:04PM
mckoder said...
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?
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:08PM
Andrew E. said...
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?
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:08PM
Jason Martin said...
#5. I read somewhere (iLounge?) that the Nike+ definitely does not work with iPhone. I hope this is something they will change, though.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:09PM
Bryan Shelton said...
Can you sync your photos and iCal info as well? That's what would make or break (along with the tunes and movies).
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:18PM
Matthew said...
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.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:27PM
jimmie said...
inserting the nike + connector brings up a notification "this accessory is not supported by iphone."
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:27PM
Nico Mendiola said...
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?
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:31PM
Victor Agreda Jr said...
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.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:34PM
Matt said...
Make a call using Jajah.com via WiFi.
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:41PM
rv said...
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...)
Reply
7-02-2007 @ 11:52PM
Sam Katz said...
you could if you wanted use little snitch to prevent itunes from calling home.
Reply