From UK. Want AT&T for iPhone. Early Termination Fee?

[amirite]

Ok I'd appreciate if you guys could help.

I have an iPhone 3G from the UK on o2 but I'm living in the US for the next 3 months... possibly longer.

Now the thing is, o2 uses AT&Ts services when I'm here, unfortunately it costs a LOT, and I'm sick of it. £7/$10 for each megabyte, or I can pay for like $80 for a pathetic 50mb of data...

So my decision is to get a contract with AT&T

I have some questions though:

1. Would I be able to get the 3GS for $199, pay about $70 (or whatever it is) each month for a few months of service, and then pay $175 for the "early termination fee" of the contract if I do leave the country? This seems like a good deal so I'm sure I must be missing something. Are there any other big fees?

2. What would I need to get on a contract with AT&T? I have passport, proof that I'm allowed to be in the US, credit cards, I could probably get some bank info... I could show bank statements to show that I can afford it, etc. etc. Would they be ok with this? Is there anything else I need? AT&T must expect some international customers, so I'm sure they have ways of handling this...?

 

[rjohnstone]

I suggest contacting AT&T directly.
I don't think any of us here is going to be able to provide all the information you need.

 

[maflynn]

I believe you'll need a US based credit card and if you're credit history is lacking (being from England) you may need to pay a deposit that will get refunded to you after your first year. I'm not sure if that does turn out to be the case what happens after you cancel.

 

[amirite]

I suggest contacting AT&T directly.
I don't think any of us here is going to be able to provide all the information you need.

I know, but maybe some people have experience with this or maybe somebody here works for AT&T.

And I'm sure many people can answer the first question.

 

[Tomb85]

Ok I'd appreciate if you guys could help.

I have an iPhone 3G from the UK on o2 but I'm living in the US for the next 3 months... possibly longer.

Now the thing is, o2 uses AT&Ts services when I'm here, unfortunately it costs a LOT, and I'm sick of it. £7/$10 for each megabyte, or I can pay for like $80 for a pathetic 50mb of data...

So my decision is to get a contract with AT&T

I have some questions though:

1. Would I be able to get the 3GS for $199, pay about $70 (or whatever it is) each month for a few months of service, and then pay $175 for the "early termination fee" of the contract if I do leave the country? This seems like a good deal so I'm sure I must be missing something. Are there any other big fees?

2. What would I need to get on a contract with AT&T? I have passport, proof that I'm allowed to be in the US, credit cards, I could probably get some bank info... I could show bank statements to show that I can afford it, etc. etc. Would they be ok with this? Is there anything else I need? AT&T must expect some international customers, so I'm sure they have ways of handling this...?

I WANNA MOVE TO THE US LOL!!!

 

[amirite]

I'd really appreciate it if somebody could at least answer my ETF question... I've read about people doing that before but I'm not sure if it's still allowed on iPhone contracts...can anybody answer this? I doubt AT&T would be as willing to help if they thought I may terminate early

 

[eezing]

I'd really appreciate it if somebody could at least answer my ETF question... I've read about people doing that before but I'm not sure if it's still allowed on iPhone contracts...can anybody answer this? I doubt AT&T would be as willing to help if they thought I may terminate early

Is it possible to suspend your O2 service for the duration of when your in the states and sign up for a no contract at&t plan?

 

[gigapocket1]

You are correct.. U can go in the store right now and buy an iPhone 3gs.. And u can cancel your contract the same day.. Of course u have to pay the termination fee.. But u can do that... Personally I think that's all the information you would need to get a contract... Lastly.. I would not let them thAt you are LEAVING THE COUNTRY! do not tell them that at all.. U may be able to not have to pay the termination fee when u have to leave because obviously u do not get service from AT&T in europe where u will live.. Therefor that's a reason for free termination...

 

[Colonel Badger]

I believe you'll need a US based credit card and if you're credit history is lacking (being from England) you may need to pay a deposit that will get refunded to you after your first year. I'm not sure if that does turn out to be the case what happens after you cancel.

As someone who moved to the U.S. 3 years ago I can confirm this is correct. Without a U.S. credit score and/or social security number you'll need to put a deposit down.

 

[-aggie-]

You are correct.. U can go in the store right now and buy an iPhone 3gs.. And u can cancel your contract the same day.. Of course u have to pay the termination fee.. But u can do that... Personally I think that's all the information you would need to get a contract... Lastly.. I would not let them thAt you are LEAVING THE COUNTRY! do not tell them that at all.. U may be able to not have to pay the termination fee when u have to leave because obviously u do not get service from AT&T in europe where u will live.. Therefor that's a reason for free termination...

That's not true. If you cancel the same day or before 30 days, you give up the phone and there is no ETF. If you cancel after 30 days, you keep the phone and pay the ETF. There are a number of other fees associated with either way of doing this. And there are a number of threads discussing what those fees are and the pros and cons of going the ETF route, so I won't bother repeating here.

 

[Tomb85]

I'd really appreciate it if somebody could at least answer my ETF question... I've read about people doing that before but I'm not sure if it's still allowed on iPhone contracts...can anybody answer this? I doubt AT&T would be as willing to help if they thought I may terminate early

Is there no pay as you go option for AT&T like there is in the UK?

 

[aristobrat]

amirite, couldn't you just jailbreak your o2 iPhone 3G so you could use an AT&T pre-paid SIM while you're over here?

Like Colonel Badger's experience, since you have no US credit, I'd imagine they'd want a fairly substantial cash deposit from you (in addition to the other fees). Be sure to understand if you get the deposit back if you break the contract after just a few months. It'd suck to give them a US$500+ deposit and end up not getting it back!!!

Is there no pay as you go option for AT&T like there is in the UK?

AT&T does have pay-as-you-go options on other phones, but not with the iPhone.

 

[amirite]

amirite, couldn't you just jailbreak your o2 iPhone 3G so you could use an AT&T pre-paid SIM while you're over here?

Like Colonel Badger's experience, since you have no US credit, I'd imagine they'd want a fairly substantial cash deposit from you (in addition to the other fees). Be sure to understand if you get the deposit back if you break the contract after just a few months. It'd suck to give them a US$500+ deposit and end up not getting it back!!!


AT&T does have pay-as-you-go options on other phones, but not with the iPhone.

thanks for the help guys
I just left the AT&T store and here's the deal...
I can get an iPhone on contract with just a passport and credit card. I pay a $500 deposit because I have no social security number/no credit. As long as I pay my bill every month for 12 months I will getit back. If I leave the country I will likely be out 500 dollars, but I guess it could be worse. I wouldn't have to pay an ETF, since I could just stop paying my bill, so this works out at 325 more than expected. I also plan to sell the 3gs when I go home, so I'd make a little back on that.

 

[fernande-mac]

Unless you are rolling on dough, I would suggest that you just unlock your existing iPhone and get a pay-as-you-go SIM card.

You only pay for the service you used while you were here and when you get back to the UK you can reset the phone to the factory firmware.

 

[amirite]

Unless you are rolling on dough, I would suggest that you just unlock your existing iPhone and get a pay-as-you-go SIM card.

You only pay for the service you used while you were here and when you get back to the UK you can reset the phone to the factory firmware.

I can't unlock my phone since I've updated to 3.1
And I don't get any service where I'm living with AT&T, only when I'm out (which is a lot of the time) but I'm going to be roaming a lot and can only do that with a contract.
I'll sell my 3GS when I go back to the UK.

 

[nateo200]

Not trying to be rude but this is a waste of allot of hardware, money and paid service.....can't you downgrade to 3.0 and unlock it? If you unlock it and use a prepaid SIM they really won't freak out if you put it in an iPhone.