Do you plan to cancel your 3G service tomorrow?

So in other words, if you purchased an iPhone and decided to cancel service after 30 days you'll be paying for the prorated service charges + $36 activation fee + $199 for iPhone + $175 ETF, in total you end up paying roughly $550 bucks for a clean contract free iPhone you can use with any gsm provider (once unlocked), that's definitely cheaper than eBay!!!

Is there a way to get a 20 or 30 dollar/month unlimited data plan, plus a pre-paid renewable supply of minutes for voice calls? I don't need a full size voice plan because I don't make many cell calls, and would use the iPhone primarily for data, but I would like to be able to make calls when necessary.

Or, would something like Skype work for making calls on an iPhone (which has the microphone and speaker built in) via the 3G data network (not wifi)?

The scenario I don't get is, lets say you went from a 1st gen to a 3G and you're within your 30 days. Lets say you've decided you don't like the 3G. So if I were to return the 3G without having to pay the ETF, what happens to my old phone? Is it still a "free agent"? If I have/want to use the regular iPhone account, can I get the cheaper old 2G plan or am I stuck paying more?

I'm really on the fence on which way to go, it certainly would be cheaper to just go with my unlocked 1st gen and pre-pay, and if I decide to stick with the 3G, for my usage it most likely would be cheaper to cancel the phone after 30 and go pre-pay.

Before I got my first iphone, I was doing AT&T pre-pay on a window smartphone and that worked out fine.

Service Cancellation
You may cancel service within 30 days from the activation date to avoid the early termination fee of $175. Thereafter the fee will decrease by $5 each month for the term of the agreement. You will be responsible for all applicable usage fees, prorated access charges, taxes, surcharges or other charges through the termination date. AT&T will refund your activation fee, if any, if service is terminated within 3 days of activation.

You may have to return any handsets and accessories purchased with the service before your account will be cancelled. If you are allowed to cancel service within the 30 day return period, but do not return the equipment within the return period, AT&T may **charge you an amount equal to or up to the (full retail price) of the equipment.**
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So, what's the FULL RETAIL PRICE? 599.00 and 699.00 That's what you'll pay if you cancel within 30 days, but don't return the phone. The difference is much higher than the 175.00 ETF that kicks in after 30 days. So, yes, you can keep the phone if you cancel before 30 days, but no you can't keep it and only pay 175.00

Just wanted to add. AT&T won't refund you for the unused days of the month after you call to cancel.

So, along with the $175ETF + you are actually paying $35 for activation + the days of the first month (JUL) and the whole second month (AUG).

So, that puts you at around $630 for the 16GB iPhone 3G.

I am another person for whom this article is highly relevant. I am on a free unlimited voice and 3G data plan - ie., my work provides me with one device (Mot Q9H) and I never see the bill. Until recently, I have been swapping the SIM out of my Mot (and previous Blackjacks, Treos etc) into my 1st gen iPhone whenever I could afford to be without access to my work email (essentially, on weekends). Since they won't pay for a second device, I did not want to activate the iPhone (so I unlocked it) - plus I don't want a second number. I really only want one device and the iPhone was close - except for that pesky work stuff.

Since 2.0, however, I now have Exchange running on the iPhone and I have not put the SIM back in the MOT ever since. Sure, I miss the physical keyboard for hard core emailing - and I REALLY miss the cut and paste, but for the overall functionality and form factor it is worth it. Whatever you want to say about Exchange, they do have the push functionality well sorted.

Of course I now want a 3G iPhone but there is no unlock and anyway you cannot by one without activating. If I can pay the $175 ETF to effectively unlock my phone and use my existing SIM - then I am happy to do so. (Ok, I would rather not pay (like last time) but then this time I am getting a subsidized price for the phone)

So, very helpful. Thanks.

Thanks for bringing this up Erica. I have been scouring the web for info like those presented in the comments here but haven't found much luck elsewhere.

I know quite a few people who are looking to cancel service and pay the ETF so they can use the iPhone 3G with their work's AT&T account or their AT&T line that has a nice FAN discount or simply use the iPhone 3G with an existing iPhone 2G plan, saving the $15+tax difference per month. Paying the ETF is probably the cheapest way I can see in acquiring an iPhone 3G.

The especially good nugget of info that one of the commenter brought up is the fact that one could technically cancel within the 30day grace period without returning the equipment and simply get charged the ETF. It does take a bit of effort to actually read the Terms of Agreement and a little reading comprehesion skills since the lawyer speak is always confusing.

Only caveat I can see is that AT&T customer support will want you to go to an AT&T store to handle the cancellation and return the equipment there. I suppose you can be direct and just tell them to cancel your line and that you don't intend to return the equipment. It is within your rights.

Good luck to those this article is pertinent for. And for those who thinks the article is a waste of bandwidth, it's really your negative, insensitive comments that is wasting the bandwidth and cluttering up this thread without adding any value to the discussion.

To answer the questions posed in the article. I already canceled out of my iPhone 3G contract and am happily using my old iPhone 2G contract.

All this bickering and the 30 day return period was up two days ago.

Here's the thing that ticks me and others off is I go in my front yard and have 3G but NO bars, my sons AT&T tilt has 3 to 4 bars and 3G. Where I work at a coworker and I go from 5 bars to no bars to 3 bars all day. AT&T says go to apple, apple swaps phone for BN in box and we have the same thing. Why is it so hard for a company to fix the easy things first like reception. Screw the apps lets get the hardware and software working properly and than go from there to apps.

AnD I waited 6 months using an old black razor that had 4 to 5 bars for this.

Personally I am waiting to see what Motorola brings out the end of this year. Verizon is out of the question because they lock down all the features of a phone and make you pay more.

"Even if you're a brand new customer, cancel, you cannot sign up for another at&t account for 18 months."

NONSENSE! I canceled my new contract the day after I got the iphone 3g (coz it sucked for me) and they were begging to keep me on as a customer. When I finally convinced them they had to let me go, they told me they would keep my number for 60days in case I decide to come back and re-activate that number. they LOVE me. and all new customers. Buy at will and freely, me loves.