This posting goes out to fellow iPhone member Fabrice 
So, I was posting for the last few days about how I wanted to get an iPhone Pre-Paid / Pick-Your-Plan option instead of getting a "Normal" plan.
That didn't exactly work out.... I tried following the wonderful instructions posted by Erica Saudin on TUAW.com but it didn't seem to work out that way. Everywhere I tried, at an AT&T store or online via iTunes, the Pick-Your-Plan option never showed up for me.
Moreover, I tried activating the iPhone 4x's using a dummy SSN (999-99-9999) in lieu of my own and it always failed. 4x's I had to cancel my attempt to activate it because I just never got the damn activation message and AT&T was soooo friggin' slow to activate the damn iPhone for me. Despite hollering on the phone with them and talking to their supervisors, they would NOT just ssend me the damn manual activation message.
I was just about to give up after 24 hours of trying to activate my iPhone to no avail...until I went to an AT&T store on B'way & Astor Place (NYC).
There, I spoke to an AWESOME sales rep (we'll call her A.R.) who basically explained to me that the best way to go about this was to simply get an account in-store and then just UPGRADE that line over to the iPhone plan.
Just to let you know, this was for a NORMAL line, not pre-paid, pay-as-you-go as their store could not offer such services for this.
So there and then, within 5 minutes, I got my new line. I went back to my computer, UPGRADED my CURRENT ATT account by putting in my new line number and waited...
Within 1hour I got my activation message - MAZELTOV!!!
My iPhone was unlocked and I was all but too happy.
Now, the next step was to get rid of the line and use my glorified iPod. I called back to ATT and told them I wanted to cancel my new line b/c "I wasn't getting any reception where I work".
The Cust. Rep. told me on the phone: "No problem, just return the iPhone to Apple and they will cancel your service". I was like I want to keep my iPhone!!!
So....it got me thinking....
I looked in my ATT account online (took 5 mins to setup) and noticed that the reason she told me to return the iPhone was b/c she could see I had an iPhone listed as my current phone and I had an iPhone plan.
Hmmmm....I thought "What if I no longer have an iPhone plan and changed my phone online?"
I changed my phone online to a "Treo" and then took out my SIM from my iPhone. I called back to the support at ATT. I told them I want to SWITCH to a Treo b/c the iPhone just wasn't doing it for me. The lady changed it for me, but she asked for an IMEI # first. I gave her my friend's IMEI # and then she changed the plan and dropped the iPhone service. I told her that I had already returned the iPhone.
1 hour later, I called A.R. from the ATT store and she let me put in the notes that my ATT service gave me no reception at work. 15 mins later I called ATT and CANCELED my line, no questions asked!
DONE! My iPhone now says NO SERVICE but at least I don't need to pay anything to use it. I'll go Corp. Act. later but for now, I'm totally happy with a Line-Free iPhone!
Sorry this was long!
So, I was posting for the last few days about how I wanted to get an iPhone Pre-Paid / Pick-Your-Plan option instead of getting a "Normal" plan.
That didn't exactly work out.... I tried following the wonderful instructions posted by Erica Saudin on TUAW.com but it didn't seem to work out that way. Everywhere I tried, at an AT&T store or online via iTunes, the Pick-Your-Plan option never showed up for me.
Moreover, I tried activating the iPhone 4x's using a dummy SSN (999-99-9999) in lieu of my own and it always failed. 4x's I had to cancel my attempt to activate it because I just never got the damn activation message and AT&T was soooo friggin' slow to activate the damn iPhone for me. Despite hollering on the phone with them and talking to their supervisors, they would NOT just ssend me the damn manual activation message.
I was just about to give up after 24 hours of trying to activate my iPhone to no avail...until I went to an AT&T store on B'way & Astor Place (NYC).
There, I spoke to an AWESOME sales rep (we'll call her A.R.) who basically explained to me that the best way to go about this was to simply get an account in-store and then just UPGRADE that line over to the iPhone plan.
Just to let you know, this was for a NORMAL line, not pre-paid, pay-as-you-go as their store could not offer such services for this.
So there and then, within 5 minutes, I got my new line. I went back to my computer, UPGRADED my CURRENT ATT account by putting in my new line number and waited...
Within 1hour I got my activation message - MAZELTOV!!!
My iPhone was unlocked and I was all but too happy.
Now, the next step was to get rid of the line and use my glorified iPod. I called back to ATT and told them I wanted to cancel my new line b/c "I wasn't getting any reception where I work".
The Cust. Rep. told me on the phone: "No problem, just return the iPhone to Apple and they will cancel your service". I was like
I want to keep my iPhone!!!So....it got me thinking....
I looked in my ATT account online (took 5 mins to setup) and noticed that the reason she told me to return the iPhone was b/c she could see I had an iPhone listed as my current phone and I had an iPhone plan.
Hmmmm....I thought "What if I no longer have an iPhone plan and changed my phone online?"
I changed my phone online to a "Treo" and then took out my SIM from my iPhone. I called back to the support at ATT. I told them I want to SWITCH to a Treo b/c the iPhone just wasn't doing it for me. The lady changed it for me, but she asked for an IMEI # first. I gave her my friend's IMEI # and then she changed the plan and dropped the iPhone service. I told her that I had already returned the iPhone.
1 hour later, I called A.R. from the ATT store and she let me put in the notes that my ATT service gave me no reception at work. 15 mins later I called ATT and CANCELED my line, no questions asked!
DONE! My iPhone now says NO SERVICE but at least I don't need to pay anything to use it. I'll go Corp. Act. later but for now, I'm totally happy with a Line-Free iPhone!
Sorry this was long!