Can I use an iPhone 4S with a prepaid at&t sim?

[Sonic911]

Can I use a prepaid at&t sim to activate and use my iPhone 4S.

because as of now I dont want to get into two year contract.

And if I travel abroad will my phone work or will be locked(no features usable)

[youngjm ACE - Professor]

Per ATT's policy you cannot use an iPhone on a pre-paid sim.  Others have but not all the features may work.  If you bring your own iPHone to ATT, you can get a post-paid plan on a month-to-month basis without a contract and cancel at anytime.  Remember that any use of an iPhone on ATT's network does require a data plan and they will add it for you if you don't.

Now for the unlocked use over seas, that depends.  If the phone you have was purchased directly from Apple AND you purchased the Unlocked version then yes you can use your iPhone overseas as you like.  That version is different than the no-Committement version of the iPhone that is roughly $50 less than the unlocked version.

ATT nor Apple provide unlocking for any iPHone that was not purchased directly from Apple as an unlocked iPhone!

[Sonic911]

(1)Im not talking about the unlocked use i.e with other carrier..Im asking whether it will work...like playing games..wifi surfing,etc.

(2)When I put the prepaid sim with no data connection into my new unactivated iphone,will it load to the home screen so that I could use it for normal purposes or it will say its locked or "U need data plan to load,etc."???

And thanks for replying quickly...

[youngjm ACE - Professor · Accepted solution]

---

Sonic911 wrote:
(1)Im not talking about the unlocked use i.e with other carrier..Im asking whether it will work...like playing games..wifi surfing,etc. - Yes is will work.  It is the phone related features that may be limited such as voice mail and cellular data, wifi is fine.

(2)When I put the prepaid sim with no data connection into my new unactivated iphone,will it load to the home screen so that I could use it for normal purposes or it will say its locked or "U need data plan to load,etc."???  When you go overseas, the iPHone still works. To avoid high voice and data charges, I would put the phone in Airplane mode then turn on wifi. 

And thanks for replying quickly...

---

Your SIM does not enable to disable the non-phone related functions.  It just becomes like an iPod Touch.

[coolrhyme]

Just get a iPod Touch

[Sonic911]

Thanks for the reply for (1)..

I think u got my question 2 wrong.

(2)When I put the prepaid sim with no data connection into my new unactivated iphone,will it load to the home screen so that I could use it for normal purposes or it will say its locked or "U need data plan to load,etc."???

and to coolrhyme....I want a  good phone...the problem for me is I am a frequent traveller and I stay abroad for long...so I did not wanna waste money by paying monthly bill even when not using...and I have an ipod already

thanks for the suggestion anywayyy...

[BadBadLeroyBrown ACE - Warrior · Accepted solution]

It may work, but AT&T does not officially support this, we really can't discuss the topic here, and there's no guarantee anything that AT&T doesn't support will ever work.

Data will mostly likely not work at all with a prepaid SIM, which will also prevent Visual Voicemail from working.

---

Sonic911 wrote:

Thanks for the reply for (1)..

I think u got my question 2 wrong.

(2)When I put the prepaid sim with no data connection into my new unactivated iphone,will it load to the home screen so that I could use it for normal purposes or it will say its locked or "U need data plan to load,etc."???

and to coolrhyme....I want a  good phone...the problem for me is I am a frequent traveller and I stay abroad for long...so I did not wanna waste money by paying monthly bill even when not using...and I have an ipod already

thanks for the suggestion anywayyy...

---

[Sonic911]

thanks guyz....I understand it cant be discussed here but thank you...

[Sonic911]

And what will happen if I reboot my phone in airplane mode abroad.....

Will it get locked?

[dwill05 · Accepted solution]

Not sure I understand what you are asking. "Locked" generally means locked to a specific carrier, like AT&T. Using the phone in airplane mode, or even without a SIM installed doesn't change that. If it was locked to AT&T before, it will still be even if in airplane mode, or if the SIM is removed. Same if it's factory unlocked; it will stay unlocked. My old iphones have a now-deactivated SIM. If I turn them on, either with the old SIM in, or with it removed, it will still work as an iPod touch. It will just say No SIM or No Service in the upper left corner of the screen. Obviously the phone part or anything that requires cell data won't work, but WiFi works and everything that doesn't need cell data works.

[tonester]

---

coolrhyme wrote:
Just get a iPod Touch

---

Sure, if OP doesn't need GPS capabilities...and yes I'm aware that the iPT can do location services via Wifi but of course that helps only if you are within range of Wifi hotspots.  

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor · Accepted solution]

Re: "Can I use an iPhone 4S with a prepaid at&t sim?"

Yes, you can. I've seen other people at the Prepaid section of this Forum reporting that they are using prepaid iPhone 4S's on a GoPhone account. I have prepaid 3GS on my account with no data plan. Calls and text messaging work absolutely fine; it's just getting data to work that involves some extra steps.

[geerabe]

Ok...I see that there have been a bunch of threads about using a prepaid AT & T sim (like Go Phone) with an iPhone 4S...

So I should be safe to buy an unlocked iPhone 4S from Apple & use the sim card from my Go Phone?  Would I just contact AT & T about getting the data plan added? Aside from calls, I do want to be able to check e-mail & take decent photos & video. And I want an unlocked phone for travel purposes - just don't want a contract.

I know buying the phone up front is expensive but the appeal of an unlocked phone that could be used internationally, and without a contract, is what I am looking for.

Thanks for the help....

P.S. A recent chat with an Apple rep said that I could use the iPhone4s with prepaid - so I really wanted to confirm with AT & T users that this is indeed true. My understanding was that other carriers did not support it.

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

---

geerabe wrote:

Ok...I see that there have been a bunch of threads about using a prepaid AT & T sim (like Go Phone) with an iPhone 4S...

So I should be safe to buy an unlocked iPhone 4S from Apple & use the sim card from my Go Phone?  Would I just contact AT & T about getting the data plan added? Aside from calls, I do want to be able to check e-mail & take decent photos & video. And I want an unlocked phone for travel purposes - just don't want a contract.

I know buying the phone up front is expensive but the appeal of an unlocked phone that could be used internationally, and without a contract, is what I am looking for.

Thanks for the help....

P.S. A recent chat with an Apple rep said that I could use the iPhone4s with prepaid - so I really wanted to confirm with AT & T users that this is indeed true. My understanding was that other carriers did not support it.

---

can you? - Yes

is it supported - no

the iphone is still not officially support as a prepaid phone, it can be gotten to work but you are on your own for support and will depend on peers for assistance..

You don;t have to go pre-paid to have a unlocked iphones, the only thing that triggers a commitment is a subsidized phone, if you bring your own phone you can get a month to month service for the phone.

[geerabe]

Thanks wingrider01 - in other words, support meaning if something goes wrong with the phone or service, AT & T is unavailable to help? But I could buy my unlocked phone from Apple and take it to an AT & T store and tell them what I want exactly - month-to-month service instead of a contact - and they should be able to help with that?

Thanks so much for the help - it is appreciated!

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

---

geerabe wrote:

Thanks wingrider01 - in other words, support meaning if something goes wrong with the phone or service, AT & T is unavailable to help? But I could buy my unlocked phone from Apple and take it to an AT & T store and tell them what I want exactly - month-to-month service instead of a contact - and they should be able to help with that?

Thanks so much for the help - it is appreciated!

---

yes, have done it a couple of times, you wil still need to comply with the requirements - IE a required data plan, credit check, etc but you just need to make sure they set the account up as a month to month since you have your own phone

[Kerry78]

Sonic, when activating a 4S you will need a Sim card the phone will then
Get passed the activation and you can set it up on the phone thru wifi

Consult to AT&T regarding a prepay sim that will work with ur 4S though!

And find out if there prepaid cards are able to work outside of the USA

Bon voyage