Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Question about the 3G AT&T Service

dmk1974

dmk1974

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
2,475
533
I am holding out to likely get the 3G version later in the month. Here in the U.S, it will be exclusive to AT&T (which I have since my wife and I also have 3GS iPhones).

My question is, when I get the 3G iPad, will it be added to my existing AT&T account? Or will it be a separate setup? If added to my existing account, I'm hoping that the data plan will get the same discount that my 3GS data plans get.
 
This is a good question that I would like to know the answer to as well, since I also get a discount. I hope it is added to my existing account, for convenience and for the discount.
 
So if you don't need a contract, how do you pay for the thing - register a credit card or debit card that is billed monthly? Or do they send you a bill when you use it?
 
goobot said:
unlocked

no contract on att
Click to expand...

Unlocked means you can use it with any carrier. AFAIK this is not the case. It's AT&T only. No contract, but no other carriers, sans jailbreak/unlock, what have you.
 
richpjr said:
So if you don't need a contract, how do you pay for the thing - register a credit card or debit card that is billed monthly? Or do they send you a bill when you use it?
Click to expand...

My understanding is that you activate the 3G service via the iPad itself thus suggesting a purely credit/ debit card based payment system that you pay up front for, no bill is sent. You can activate and deactivate the service as needed.
 
NathanMuir said:
My understanding is that you activate the 3G service via the iPad itself thus suggesting a purely credit/ debit card based payment system that you pay up front for, no bill is sent. You can activate and deactivate the service as needed.
Click to expand...

That is what I would have guess, and it's really the perfect way to do it. Turn it off or on from the device as needed. I wonder if you'll be able to sign up for the lower plan and have it auto bump you up to the unlimited plan if you hit the 250 meg limit.
 
You activate iPad 3G service directly on the iPad itself. You set up the account and use a credit or debit card to PREPAY for your service. 250MB of data is $14.99 per month. "Unlimited" data is $29.99 per month. If you chose the 250MB plan, the iPad will warn you when you are down to 20%, 10% and 0% of your data remaining. If you use up your 250MB in less than a month, you are given the option to either do nothing (no data service until your next month renews), buy another 250MB for $14.99 (which then resets the clock for another 30 days), or pay $29.99 for unlimited (again, reseting the clock for 30 days). You can stop your service at any time. I do not know if AT&T will refund you for unused bandwidth/month if you cancel mid-month. I doubt it though.

This 3G service plan is very fair and reasonable in my opinion. You can start and stop when you like and if you use more than 250MB per month but less than 500MB per month, you can just keep buying it in 250MB blocks and save money over paying for the unlimited plan.

BTW, I think this is the first time a mobile provider has offered this easy of a way to "pay as you go" on a data plan! Very very cool! In fact, I'd call it revolutionary!

Mark
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back