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I've applied for an official unlock on my AT&T iPhone 4 and intend to put it on a pre-pay plan for my mom when I switch to an iPhone 5 in October or November.
'Anyone got any experiences with pre-pay SIMs? Any recommendations for a particular cellular provider? Any problems with data plans/speeds/hidden costs?
TIA!!
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No direct experience here, but keep in mind you probably won't have visual voicemail if you're not on one of the big three networks (I'm pretty sure it is an AT&T / Verizon / Sprint thing). Also, even though I like T-Mobile, the 3G speeds are more like 2.5G, from what I hear.
-Tofer
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I do. My iPhone is also AT&T unlocked, but it doesn't need to be on any AT&T MVNO. I'm on Airvoice, mostly because I don't need much data (data is 33c/MB, which is fairly expensive, but calls are only 4c/min and texts are 2c/min). I'm mostly on WIFI so if I do need data it's only to check/send an email or look up an address. I can keep my monthly costs to around $10/month.
If you use more data, Straighttalk also uses AT&T's network (and doesn't need to be unlocked) and for $45 you get unlimited talk and text and 2GB of data.
Other options are H2O Wireless (also an AT&T MVNO) and T-mobile.
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I've been wondering the same thing.
also curious if I can use a prepaid card for data along with phone...?
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I would recommend either StraightTalk or H2O. You do not have to unlock your iPhone to use it on either of these. Both are AT&T MNVOS. MMS will required some work, if that matters to you, but pics through iMessage work fine. As said, no visual voicemail. My daughter has had her iPhone, not unlocked or jailbroken, on H2O for over a year. Both ST and H2O have different plans, so you can just pick the one that fits your needs for amounts of minutes, texts, and data.
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"$45 you get unlimited talk and text and 2GB of data."
Throttled after 2 gigs.
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Anyone know if these phones on AT&T MNVOs would work on the AT&T Microcell? I'd guess not, only because it's not a branded "AT&T" phone at that point?
So, no Visual Voicemail, and MMS doesn't "work" except from another iMessage user ... anything else to be aware of?
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deckeda wrote:
Anyone know if these phones on AT&T MNVOs would work on the AT&T Microcell? I'd guess not, only because it's not a branded "AT&T" phone at that point?
So, no Visual Voicemail, and MMS doesn't "work" except from another iMessage user ... anything else to be aware of?
Not sure about the microcell, but you can get MMS to work, if you jailbreak and do some tweaking. You can probably get Thanatos answer about the microcell thing over at the StraghtTalk forum at HoFo. Those people are all over all things related to the iPhone and ST.
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I'll check it, thanks Rhon.
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Tofer wrote:
No direct experience here, but keep in mind you probably won't have visual voicemail if you're not on one of the big three networks (I'm pretty sure it is an AT&T / Verizon / Sprint thing). Also, even though I like T-Mobile, the 3G speeds are more like 2.5G, from what I hear.
-Tofer
If you have a proper T-Mobile compatible phone and good coverage, the speeds are fast, definitely faster than the other carriers' 3G. With an iPhone, you'll only get EDGE speeds, for the time being anyway.
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