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Newbie with a dumb question about 1st gen iphones

M

mitch256

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 26, 2009
3
0
I thought it would be a good idea to have a backup for my new 3Gs so I bought a really nice, pristine 1st gen iphone off ebay only to find out that I can't just simply swap my sim card back and forth between the two phones. I wanted to try out the 1st gen to see how good/bad it was compared to the 3Gs but when I put the sim card in, the phone wouldn't work. It (itunes) took me to the screen used to activate the phone. I went to the ATT store and they informed me that the 1st gen operates on a different data plan and that while it is possible to "switch" to the 1st gen plan, I would have to call them EACH time I switched the sim card back and forth. I didn't ask but I don't suspect they would let me switch back and forth too often without getting annoyed?

Anyone have any suggestions on how I can use the 1st gen by just swapping the sim card or did I just buy a REALLY nice Ipod/Itouch?
 
mitch256 said:
How hard is it to do? What features will I lose and can it be unjailbroke (is that even a word?) ?
Click to expand...

Jailbreaking and unlocking is very easy. There's a thread with links to tutorials in the iPhone Hacks forum. It took me about 20 minutes, including backing everything up first. It is fully reversible...just to a restore from iTunes.
 
I have jailbroke and unbricked my 1G iPod Touch eight times. The process is similar with an iPhone, but it's not easy, and each time, it will set you back an hour or two. And it's risky. You risk perminately bricking your device.
 
ElijahPost said:
I have jailbroke and unbricked my 1G iPod Touch eight times. The process is similar with an iPhone, but it's not easy, and each time, it will set you back an hour or two. And it's risky. You risk perminately bricking your device.
Click to expand...

There is very little risk of permanently bricking an iPhone. Since firmware 1.1, iPhones have had a DFU mode which makes it possible to restore the firmware pretty much no matter what you do to it short of physical damage.
 
mitch256 said:
I thought it would be a good idea to have a backup for my new 3Gs so I bought a really nice, pristine 1st gen iphone off ebay only to find out that I can't just simply swap my sim card back and forth between the two phones. I wanted to try out the 1st gen to see how good/bad it was compared to the 3Gs but when I put the sim card in, the phone wouldn't work. It (itunes) took me to the screen used to activate the phone. I went to the ATT store and they informed me that the 1st gen operates on a different data plan and that while it is possible to "switch" to the 1st gen plan, I would have to call them EACH time I switched the sim card back and forth. I didn't ask but I don't suspect they would let me switch back and forth too often without getting annoyed?

Anyone have any suggestions on how I can use the 1st gen by just swapping the sim card or did I just buy a REALLY nice Ipod/Itouch?
Click to expand...

I think your ATT guy was on crack. I do exactly what you are talking about without issue. The data plan has nothing to do with it. I have had problems with GSM phones not recognizing a new sim card.

I have found that if I leave the card out of the phone with the phone off for a while it will then work when I put the sim card in and turn the phone on.
 
Did you try going through the actual process of activating the 1st gen phone? I've had to activate my 1st gen a couple times after iPhone OS upgrades. Except for the OS 2.0 update when the servers were overwhelmed, it only takes a few seconds.
 
ElijahPost said:
I have jailbroke and unbricked my 1G iPod Touch eight times. The process is similar with an iPhone, but it's not easy, and each time, it will set you back an hour or two. And it's risky. You risk perminately bricking your device.
Click to expand...

Even the first time I did it it only took 45mins.

The dev team blog the poster above me put will probably just confuse you (it did me, and to an extent still does). Google iClarified and look at the tutorials on there, that'll give you a clearer idea what you have to do.

Don't worry jailbreaking and unlocking the 1st gen is EASY. (I have one)
 
skubish said:
I think your ATT guy was on crack. I do exactly what you are talking about without issue. The data plan has nothing to do with it. I have had problems with GSM phones not recognizing a new sim card.

I have found that if I leave the card out of the phone with the phone off for a while it will then work when I put the sim card in and turn the phone on.
Click to expand...

I tried taking the card out of the phone and turning it off three times but it still did not work. Am I understanding you that you are taking the sim card out of the iphone, turning it off then putting the sim card back in and turning it on? Confused--:confused:
 
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