[hasteveha]

Is it possible to buy a 3GS without contract? Or to have a friend who is on At&t to buy one without contract for me? How much would it be? And how would the sign up for a contract and cancel later cost?


Thanks

[istorm]

Yes u can buy it without contract from att. 16gb=$599, 32gb=$699 + tax

[GenesisDH]

+1 on istorm's comment, with the additions:

AT&T usually requires the no-commitment purchaser to be a current AT&T postpaid customer, but some Apple stores sell them without checking AT&T's records. YMMV, though.

Going the 'sign contract then cancel' route will save you a good amount of money.
No contract is 599/699+tax, while 'contract then cancel' will cost you (assuming you are new to AT&T) about 479/579+taxes (after including one month's service, activation fee, and ETF).

[hameed_farah]

Originally Posted by GenesisDH

Going the 'sign contract then cancel' route will save you a good amount of money.
No contract is 599/699+tax, while 'contract then cancel' will cost you (assuming you are new to AT&T) about 479/579+taxes (after including one month's service, activation fee, and ETF).

This sounds interesting
Any idea who much would the total cost be? AT&T agreement is a hell to read!
And can all of this (buying the 3GS and canceling the contract be done within two weeks only?)

[gordo2150]

You could do that, it has to be done before it's 30 days at least at its 26 or 25, but be careful, they might blacklist your name if you are a new customer. 299.99 plus 73.00 plus 175.00 (548.00) good price but you will still under ATT claws for service on a 3G, if you are in USA. No matter what they have you IMEI even if you paid full for it! Apple would not give out it nor ATT, and to have this phone with a 3G service, is kind of dull!

I have sold to people who are on T-mobile, while T-mobile EDGE service is good for the 2G, but is kind of slow for the 3G & 3GS, I have told my clients, that even though ATT is kind oh costly for internet service, But the best 3G service is been given by ATT at this moment! I mean, t-mobile is good just for the phone service, works great, but for GPS and other service, is too slow,. I have the 15.00 MediaNet works great, Even using the sim card of LG Encite with PDA/Tethering service, the 3GS is fast!

But like I have try to explian! a Factory Unlocked phone, no matter which company it is, it works real good on ATT, reason, they have the best 2100Mhz 3G frequency, and it's given to their customers. My Blackberry Storm work so Good on it, and that's whats get me! you get and unlocked Blackberry and you don't have to paid any extra charges for those other Service! is like the iPhone, they always said that it would not work with out the data plan, no voice mail, no text, that was bull ****, you get that with t-mobile, it was a hoax, you just need to have the right parameter for so.

it's up to you buy it, wait for the unlocked, and you will be happy! buy it Unlocked! and be one of the Few that has all the freedom!

[hameed_farah]

Originally Posted by gordo2150

it's up to you buy it, wait for the unlocked, and you will be happy! buy it Unlocked! and be one of the Few that has all the freedom!

As I understand it even if I buy the contract free phone for $699 it would still be locked and would need activation.

So my plan so far is to buy the phone with two years contract (two phones actually) use them for two weeks while I am still in the US then cancel the contract and travel back home.

This way I would only have to pay $550 for the 32GB iPhone...Any one sees any problems with that?

[istorm]

The actual final price will be like this, or a little more:

Iphone 3GS 32GB $299 + tax $50 or more depend on the state u in (they calculate it based on full price, i paid $61 for tax with 2 years of contract and as a new customer)
Termination fee $175
Activation fee $36
First month bill $75, make sure u cancel it before 30 days end, or u will have to pay prorate for next month.

Final price: $635 or more!

[gordo2150]

Originally Posted by hameed_farah

As I understand it even if I buy the contract free phone for $699 it would still be locked and would need activation.

So my plan so far is to buy the phone with two years contract (two phones actually) use them for two weeks while I am still in the US then cancel the contract and travel back home.

This way I would only have to pay $550 for the 32GB iPhone...Any one sees any problems with that?

Yes, you will need to activate through ATT, and if you cancel the phone, you will need to unlocked it with Ultrasn0w, which is great for a lot of folks, but you will loose the capability of the 3G in certain areas. and every time there is an Update you have to wait until they have cracked the firmware, which is not bad to some folks.

having a Unlocked phone, gives you the potential of choosing the service you want, like as for today every one wants the MMS, those with ultrasn0w are having a ball, those in ATT are stock, but those with a unlocked phone can use any service that is design to other cell with the capability for the ATT G3.

Even the palm pre which it's selling so hot, and the nokia N97, lot's of customer, with our cell phones no activation, just pop any GSM sim!

May I ask, which country your going back to!

[djdraco]

I thought there was a post a while back about purchasing an unsubsized phone from AT&T on their website. Maybe just check that out and see about unlocking it when the program is available. Like others said if you buy it with a contract you're gonna end up spending more.

[ebl4287]

I Just purchased the "No Commitment" 16GB iPhone for $650. It hurt my pockets but i'll get over it.... I'd rather pay 600 and not renew my 2 year contract agreement than pay $299, renew my 2 year contract and now have to pay $2,500 when its all said and done in two years.

[hameed_farah]

Originally Posted by gordo2150

Yes, you will need to activate through ATT, and if you cancel the phone, you will need to unlocked it with Ultrasn0w,

I have already dealt with that with the original iPhone 2G which I still use today...It is kinda fun being able to do something you really are not supposed to

I have another question, if I cancel the subscription in less than 30 days do I have to return the phone?

Oh, and I will be going back to Jordan...Ummm, the middle east, up the river first run on the right

Originally Posted by istorm

The actual final price will be like this, or a little more:

Iphone 3GS 32GB $299 + tax $50 or more depend on the state u in (they calculate it based on full price, i paid $61 for tax with 2 years of contract and as a new customer)
Termination fee $175
Activation fee $36
First month bill $75, make sure u cancel it before 30 days end, or u will have to pay prorate for next month.

Final price: $635 or more!

I plan to go to NY so the total tax would be 8%
I assume that the taxes would still be applicable on the contract free phone as well and that would cost even more!

So Contract free phone: $699 * 1.08 = $755
2-year Contract then cancel: ($299 + 175 + 36 + 75) * 1.08 = $632
(Phone price + Termination fee + Activation fee + First month bill) * Tax
So that's over $120 saving!
But the most important question again would if I cancel before the end of the 30 days do I get to keep the phone or would they want it back?

[GenesisDH]

Originally Posted by hameed_farah

I have another question, if I cancel the subscription in less than 30 days do I have to return the phone?

Oh, and I will be going back to Jordan...Ummm, the middle east, up the river first run on the right



I plan to go to NY so the total tax would be 8%
I assume that the taxes would still be applicable on the contract free phone as well and that would cost even more!

So Contract free phone: $699 * 1.08 = $755
2-year Contract then cancel: ($299 + 175 + 36 + 75) * 1.08 = $632
(Phone price + Termination fee + Activation fee + First month bill) * Tax
So that's over $120 saving!
But the most important question again would if I cancel before the end of the 30 days do I get to keep the phone or would they want it back?

A couple comments:
-Taxes for phone service are different than sales tax and vary between states. AT&T's 'Federal Universal Service Fund' charge on NY phone services (assuming your billing address is in the same state as where you plan to buy the phone) is around 12%, and AT&T may also have an additional 2-8% surcharge included on the bill. So those costs you mentioned (ETF, activation, month's service) may end up higher than what you calculated. The end cost should still be quite a bit less than paying full price for the iPhone.
-If you cancel service within 30 days, AT&T requires the phone to be returned to the original point of sale before completing the cancellation request, and they tend to refrain from allowing people to 'ETF out' until day 30 (YMMV though). This is different policy compared to the 2G iPhone, which had a 14 days return window but the phone could be kept if AT&T service was canceled.
There used to be a loophole that involved porting the phone number to another carrier within the 30 days, pay the resulting ETF, and not have to return the phone... but AT&T might have closed that loophole already (especially for new customers).
That said, day 30 would be the best day to cancel service and have the least risk of having to return the phone or pay more in end cost. Once you hit day 31, you'll be paying for a new month of service which will increase your end cost by about 80 bucks (since AT&T doesn't prorate for one's final month of service).

[gordo2150]

"Good Coment! you have hit the Spot with it!

That's why are people willing to pay more for an unlocked one,(one that you just have to pop the sim, and ready, no activation necessary) Why do you think we sell so mucho, why you think, they try to manipulate our sales with stupid business laws. I for one can be near a Apple store with in 1000 feet from it (I was cought scapling iphone last year near it, LOL they did not have any stock left, but I did)

So is up to you! My advice, get one from ebay, or any other source!

[hameed_farah]

Originally Posted by GenesisDH

A couple comments:
-Taxes for phone service ... is around 12%, and AT&T may also have an additional 2-8% surcharge included on the bill.

20% Tax?!?! And I thought the 16% sales tax we pay here is extreme!
Does the US have tax free shopping for visitors?


How about I buy the phone and then simply leave the country after two weeks without actually canceling the contract?
($299+36+75)1.20=$410
A much much better deal me thinks

Would they arrest me at the airport next time I come to the US? O.o

[gordo2150]

Originally Posted by hameed_farah

20% Tax?!?! And I thought the 16% sales tax we pay here is extreme!
Does the US have tax free shopping for visitors?


How about I buy the phone and then simply leave the country after two weeks without actually canceling the contract?
($299+36+75)1.20=$410
A much much better deal me thinks

Would they arrest me at the airport next time I come to the US? O.o

"you need to have an USA I.D and be a legal resident of the state you are buying from! Your need to fill certain criteria on the credit part! or have a family member that resides with in the state and is able to pass ATT credit check!


My Advice, if you get one from ATT be sure to have a pre-paid sim card with it too. Since you are buying an ATT locked cell phone, when ever you do a jailbreak and a unlocked, is going to ask about activation! so this sim would help you out! just put some $$$ every often, so the card wont expired.

My Advice is to buy one that is all ready "Unlocked, just pop the sim and ready! "the problems with software unlocked is that, you need to be careful with the iphone updates, because you will loose the unlock feature.

Just spend a few more $$$$ on it! OK with taxes, you would reach close to $700.00, I mean what it's the difference on a 100.00 more? "A truly unlocked phone, that is hassle free!

If you come to NYC just come to my place of Business, look at the iphone and some other Hot cell's that I have for sell!