Setting up iPad 1 3G for friend

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pputnam Author

Level 3

623 points

Setting up iPad 1 3G for friend

I bought an iPad 1st Gen AT+T on ebay. I'm assuming there will be no SIM card so I ordered one from Amazon.

I want to set up this iPad for a friend who is basically clueless. I would like to use a VIsa Gift card to activate the

the 3G service for 3 months. Will I need to put my address as billing address or can I use hers. She does have an AT+T

account for her phone.

I haven't used an iPad 3G for a long time, but I seem to remember there was some issue with billing addresses if you are

not in AT+T territory which I am not. So, the ideal situation would be to use her address and the Visa gift card.

Should that work okay?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on Jul 15, 2012 2:51 PM

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Answer 1

deggie

Level 10

167,177 points

Jul 15, 2012 4:11 PM in response to pputnam

The gift card will not work. You will need to use her credit card that matches her account to set up the service. Let her do it.

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Answer 2

Jul 15, 2012 4:12 PM in response to pputnam

Does a Visa Gift Card include a billing address?

There is no activation for a designated period of time longer than 30 days. The service is activated for 30 days and renewed automatically every 30 days on the initial activation date which must be cancelled before the activation date if you don't want to continue service with no cancellation penalty. You can re-activate service again later at any time.

Based on the info included with this link, there is an option to enter a billing address as well as a service address which can can be different. If a Visa Gift Card doesn't include a billing address, I would enter your friend's billing and service address in the event she wants to continue service after the initial 3 months.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4157?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

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Answer 3

pputnam Author

Level 3

623 points

Jul 15, 2012 4:15 PM in response to deggie

She has no credit card.

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Answer 4

pputnam Author

Level 3

623 points

Jul 15, 2012 4:18 PM in response to Allan Sampson

I think the gift card just has a zip code associated. I should be able to associate a card with her zip and just enter her billing and service address. When the card $$$ runs out, she can get a new one.

Thanks.

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Answer 5

deggie

Level 10

167,177 points

Jul 15, 2012 4:18 PM in response to pputnam

Does she have a debit card? If not, then she will not be able to set up 3G service with AT&T.

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Answer 6

deggie

Level 10

167,177 points

Jul 15, 2012 4:21 PM in response to pputnam

Use of the gift card will not work, AT&T will not accept it. In setting up the service it checks the card used to make sure the address associated with the card matches the persons home address. There is no way to check the address on the gift card through any service.

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Answer 7

pputnam Author

Level 3

623 points

Jul 15, 2012 4:29 PM in response to deggie

No, it doesn't have to match a person's home address. It has to match their billing address. You are allowed to have a different Billing and Service address.

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Answer 8

deggie

Level 10

167,177 points

Jul 15, 2012 4:32 PM in response to pputnam

True, but my point was that a gift card has no address tied to it.

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Answer 9

pputnam Author

Level 3

623 points

Jul 15, 2012 5:22 PM in response to deggie

I can set her up using my credit card if the gift card won't work.

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Answer 10

deggie

Level 10

167,177 points

Jul 15, 2012 5:28 PM in response to pputnam

Does your credit card have a US billing address?

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Answer 11

pputnam Author

Level 3

623 points

Jul 15, 2012 5:30 PM in response to deggie

Actually you can register a card with an address so you can use it for online purchases, so it might work.

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Answer 12

pputnam Author

Level 3

623 points

Jul 15, 2012 5:31 PM in response to deggie

yes.

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Answer 13

deggie

Level 10

167,177 points

Jul 15, 2012 5:32 PM in response to pputnam

It is also numbered as a gift card, AT&T will not accept it.

If you have a US credit card you can set up the 3G account and then pay for it.

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Answer 14

pputnam Author

Level 3

623 points

Jul 15, 2012 6:01 PM in response to deggie

Look what I found:

fter much hassle, I got it working. Much thanks to

(Name Removed) and (Name Removed) at Apple

For their help and suggestions.

History:

I received my iPad 3G on Friday, 4/30/2010.

Worked great, love it!! Then I tried to activate

The AT&T 3G account. Wouldn’t accept my credit

Card apparently because of the mailing address.

I live in a small town with no mail delivery. So

Apparently my street address is not in the USPS database.

(Name Removed) of Apple suggested as a work-around

Getting a pre-paid Visa card and using that to

Activate the AT&T account. Since it’s pre-paid,

AT&T doesn’t care about the address matching. Then

In the AT&T activation process I can enter any valid

Street address that’s in an AT&T coverage area.

I did this, using my son’s address, and it worked!!

It was a little funny though. At first it rejected my

Visa, but could have been because I just bought it an

Hour before. Maybe it wasn’t fully activated yet.

A few hours later I tried again and low and behold,

The iPad (AT&T) asked for my password. I entered the

One I was attempting to create a couple of days ago,

And it took it!! From there I just selected my data

Plan and off it went, activating my account.

Next, using the iPad, I accessed my AT&T account and

Changed my billing info (credit card and address) to

The one I’d been trying to use all along. It took it!!

All is well.

What a goofy system. Hopefully Apple and AT&T will be

Looking at this. What a way to greet a new customer!

Dan

Hokah, MN

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