buying an iPhone in the US
#17
Re: buying an iPhone in the US
AT&T, T-Mobile and a bunch of the smaller mom n pop providers that are GSM all use SIM cards. You can also use SIM cards in many of the newer Verizon phones, but only for international, i.e. outside the US, use.
#18
Re: buying an iPhone in the US
Not an IPhone.. the ones in the US are sim card-less, so with a foreign IPhone you wouldn't be able to get a US IPhone package sim on its own...although I suppose you could just get a plan that includes internet but for an android. I don't think there are m(any) plans with unlimited internet as of recently either, as a lot of people were using it for tethering. I think it's gone on Verizon at least.
There are plenty of unlimited data plans on PAYG for Android phones, they tend to be 4G for x number of MB's a month though, say 200-500, but then drop the speed way down after that.
#19
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 285
Re: buying an iPhone in the US
Yeah, what Kar just said. They've got sims in them these days, that's how people are able to get other networks such as the pay as you go sim cards to work on the things.
There are plenty of unlimited data plans on PAYG for Android phones, they tend to be 4G for x number of MB's a month though, say 200-500, but then drop the speed way down after that.
There are plenty of unlimited data plans on PAYG for Android phones, they tend to be 4G for x number of MB's a month though, say 200-500, but then drop the speed way down after that.
#20
Re: buying an iPhone in the US
"The iPhone 4S works like all of our global phones. The phone comes in box with a SIM locked to our network and the network of our roaming partners including Vodafone, one of our parent companies. Customers sign up for a Verizon Wireless voice plan (beginning at $39.99 for 450 min.) and a data plan beginning at 2GB for $30. When they choose to go out of the country, they should call Verizon Wireless and sign up for a global plan. The customer can also request to have the SIM unlocked if they want to use a local service while out of the country. The request needs to be made prior to leaving the country, their bill must be current and the phone must be active on the account for 60 days before we will unlock the SIM."
#21
Re: buying an iPhone in the US
Well then, i'm off to Verizon to complain! The guy who sold me my phone explicitly said no sim cards in any IPhone 4S as I wanted to use it with foreign sims... so I bought a new English phone rather than just a sim card when I came back. They also told me they had recently scrapped all of their unlimited data plans and everyone else was too because of all the tethering I have no idea about other networks though, which is why I only mentioned Verizon
The phone still has a sim socket in it.
You'd need to unlock and jailbreak it to use a sim from else where to work on the phone.
You'd need to jailbreak the phone to tether it anyway because all the networks disabled that feature on the phone for the iPhone.
The unlimited data plans with uncapped speeds has pretty much come to the end, but there are unlimited data plans around which cap the amount of data you can use at maximum speed.
#22
Re: buying an iPhone in the US
Thanks everyone for your replies. I had no idea about the credit system in the US. I am so used to my iPhone but all I really need is unlimited texts and around 300 minutes but I would really need 3G, wifi as I use google maps and check emails on the go a lot.
Would it be worth buying a phone in the UK first, getting it unlocked and only Then finding a network when I arrive? (I am in need of an upgrade anyway)
Would it be worth buying a phone in the UK first, getting it unlocked and only Then finding a network when I arrive? (I am in need of an upgrade anyway)
Will that be 300 British minutes?
Because here in good ole USA, you would need more then double that. We pay for incoming calls and all calls are rounded off, to nearest minute. 1min 1sec minutes.
Reg. Frank R.
#23
Re: buying an iPhone in the US
Verizon does not use Sim cards - in fact, if I remember right, Apple had to virtually make a whole new iPhone just for the Verizon network because we don't have sim cards on our phones.
#24
Re: buying an iPhone in the US
Reg. Frank R.
#25
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 29
Re: buying an iPhone in the US
"but all I really need is unlimited texts and around 300 minutes but I would really need 3G"
Will that be 300 British minutes?
Because here in good ole USA, you would need more then double that. We pay for incoming calls and all calls are rounded off, to nearest minute. 1min 1sec minutes.
Reg. Frank R.
Will that be 300 British minutes?
Because here in good ole USA, you would need more then double that. We pay for incoming calls and all calls are rounded off, to nearest minute. 1min 1sec minutes.
Reg. Frank R.
#26
Re: buying an iPhone in the US
"but all I really need is unlimited texts and around 300 minutes but I would really need 3G"
Will that be 300 British minutes?
Because here in good ole USA, you would need more then double that. We pay for incoming calls and all calls are rounded off, to nearest minute. 1min 1sec minutes.
Reg. Frank R.
Will that be 300 British minutes?
Because here in good ole USA, you would need more then double that. We pay for incoming calls and all calls are rounded off, to nearest minute. 1min 1sec minutes.
Reg. Frank R.
Reg. Frank R.
#27
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 66
Re: buying an iPhone in the US
Hello!
I am new and this is my first post! As far as I am aware no one has posted about iPhones specifically in the U.S so I'm just going to go ahead and post.
I am moving to the U.S in August from London to study. While living in London over the past 4 years I have relied on having an iPhone and I would really like to continue using an iPhone when I move. My phone is pretty old now and I would like to purchase a new one as soon as I arrive, does anyone know of any networks to go with ? I have so far only come across AT&T and their cheapest 'package' is $199 + $79.99 per month which seems absurd! - I am currently paying £20 a month here in the UK for unlimited texts/500 minutes etc.
If anyone has any information to share I would really appreciate it
I am new and this is my first post! As far as I am aware no one has posted about iPhones specifically in the U.S so I'm just going to go ahead and post.
I am moving to the U.S in August from London to study. While living in London over the past 4 years I have relied on having an iPhone and I would really like to continue using an iPhone when I move. My phone is pretty old now and I would like to purchase a new one as soon as I arrive, does anyone know of any networks to go with ? I have so far only come across AT&T and their cheapest 'package' is $199 + $79.99 per month which seems absurd! - I am currently paying £20 a month here in the UK for unlimited texts/500 minutes etc.
If anyone has any information to share I would really appreciate it