Giving my original iphone to my wife

Question

Level 1

34 points

Giving my original iphone to my wife

I have purchased an original iPhone 8G the day it went on sale 2 years ago. It is my understanding that the price was very high back then because it was NOT subsidized by AT&T. I have been using it since then with the data plan.

I know want to buy a 3G S and give the original iPhone to my wife. We are on a family plan. She does not want the data plan on the iPhone if she has it as she is a stay at home mom.

I have just called AT&T and I was told that I cannot transfer the old iPhone to my wife without taking the data plan. Stated differently, in order to activate the iPhone on her line, the customer representative of AT&T stated that Apple makes it mandatory for me to have a data plan for an iPhone. I asked her when I would be able to cancel the data plan and she stated that Apple makes it mandatory to have a data plan with each iPhone thus I would not be able to cancel the data plan. Over the next 2 years, adding a data plan to my wife phone, which she does not want, would cost me 24*20=480 plus taxes.

My question now is whether the customer representative of AT&T is right when she states that AT&T forces me to have a data plan on the old iPhone since it was not subsidized by the carrier and it is now a week shy of being 2 years old.

What advices can you give me to be able to use this old iPhone on my wife number without a data plan? I have just received my 3G S that I did not activate on my line yet until my wife is able to use the old iPhone without the data plan. Do I have to return the 3G S to Apple and keep my old iPhone. Any restocking fees will always be lower than the $480 of data plan.

Thanks for the help.

Donald

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.6), iPhone

Posted on Jun 20, 2009 10:20 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 20, 2009 10:32 AM in response to Dopik

I'm pretty sure she's right on that one, data is just built into all the iPhone price plans, its broken down on the bill, but its not optional.

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Answer 2

Jun 20, 2009 10:35 AM in response to Dopik

I doubt that Apple makes it mandatory (if anything, it's AT&T who does, and they also like to pass the blame onto Apple for various things) but it's the fact that the phone isn't exactly usable without data. Yes, it can be used as a phone, but all other apps don't cease to exist without a data plan; weather will still update, safari will still work even if accidentally opened, etc. Without a data plan, you'd be in a world of hurt with the data charges even if your wife never intended to use any data features.

For example, those who have taken their phones overseas with no intention of using data still come home to $3k+ bills for data because the phones still connect to data networks.

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Answer 3

Dopik Author

Level 1

34 points

Jun 20, 2009 10:35 AM in response to Alf A'Lot

but the phone has never been subsidized and it is 2 years old. Why i cannot do whatever i want with it

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Answer 4

Daiya

Level 4

1,666 points

Jun 20, 2009 11:49 AM in response to Dopik

Well, if she doesn't want the data plan, she can use it as an iPod touch and still carry a basic phone.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3406

I think AT&T is being pretty hardline on this--I seem to remember people getting notices like "you are using an iPhone. We will be subscribing you to the data plan as of next month."

The truth is, even though you own it, if you want AT&T to support it, you can't do whatever you want with it.

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Answer 5

Jun 20, 2009 12:10 PM in response to Dopik

reason data plan is required is because 90% of the time the iPhone is connected to internet for some data such as visual voicemail which is downloaded over internet.. So if you didn't have the $20 unlimited data plan on that phone then would be on Pay-As-You Go Data plan which then your bill would end up being in the thousands of dollars range....

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