I want to give my brother my old iPhone 1G...

[maurysmusic]

... but he can't afford the data plan. I've been looking around for info for a few days but I'm confused. If you can help guide me, I'd really appreciate it and I'm sorry if this question has been asked before.

I got the new 3GS and I'm using it with my original SIM card, taken out of my 1G. Can my brother put his AT&T SIM card in my old 1G and use it as a phone & iPod without buying AT&Ts data plan? In other words, keep his existing AT&T phone service but use my 1G?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ca$hflow]

Yes he can. He'll have to call AT&T to make sure that he doesn't get charged data. That's what I did when I couldn't afford a data plan with Rodgers.

 

[maurysmusic]

thanks for your help. I called AT&T and asked for them to make sure we don't get charged data but they said there's no way to use an iPhone without the $30 monthly data plan. They said if we just put my brother's SIM in my old iPhone and neglect to tell AT&T what we did, my brother will be charged overages for data use, and the iPhone will automatically update every few hours. There's no way to turn off data on the iphone or on AT&Ts end, so they say.

Would an "unlock" fix this?

 

[darngooddesign]

ATT still offers the $20 unlimited data + 500 SMS plan for the original iPhone.

 

[maurysmusic]

Thanks Darn, but as cheap as it sounds my brother can't rationalize $20 more a month.

 

[thelatinist]

Just call up AT&T and tell them you want to to block data on that account. You don't need to tell them what kind of phone you will be using. You will lose SMS/MMS, too, but that can't be helped. There are alternative apps that let you send free SMS over WiFi.

 

[maurysmusic]

Rats, I never put 2 and 2 together regarding SMS... I'll bet he doesn't want to give up texting. I had thought it was just the internet he'd go without. He has no wifi at home, or at his local hangout/tavern. My bad. Thanks for all your answers.

Just chatted with my brother again, and he would only want the iphone if he could use the internet, so I was wrong on 2 counts

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

ATT still offers the $20 unlimited data + 500 SMS plan for the original iPhone.

The original $20 data plan comes with 200 SMS.

Just call up AT&T and tell them you want to to block data on that account. You don't need to tell them what kind of phone you will be using. You will lose SMS/MMS, too, but that can't be helped. There are alternative apps that let you send free SMS over WiFi.

This is false. You will lose MMS but you'll still be able to send texts.