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Omarc44's profile

Teacher

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13 Messages

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 3:38 AM

can you use an unlocked phone with a pay as you go plan?

hi well i was wondering if anyone knew if u can use a unlocked phone like say the nokia n8 on a go phone plan? Also i checked the att website and i found out they sell sim cards for 5 bucks does anyone kno if u can use those sim cards to use with go phones? Like if i odered one and i activated online can it be used with a go phone like make it prepaid? Also can this work with a nokia n8 on a go phone plan? Thankz

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

Master

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5.9K Messages

13 years ago

You can use a Nokia N8 as a GoPhone. 🙂

 

I wasn't aware that they are selling SIM cards on the at&t website for $5, but if that's the case I'd contact customer service and ask if it can be provisioned for either GoPhone service or a post paid plan, what the process is for activation on a GoPhone, etc.  (1-800-331-0500)  To my knowledge, on their website at&t has not sold the SIM cards without an accompanying device.

 

If you are close to a local Corporate at&t store, imo the easiest thing to do is just visit the store.  They'll set you up with the GoPhone plan of your choice and provide the SIM which you can use in your N8.  And if you'll fund the new GoPhone account, they likely won't charge you anything for the SIM card - if you don't fund the account at that time, they may charge you $25.

Teacher

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13 Messages

13 years ago

thanks and yes lol they are selling sim cards at the att website im guessing there not activated? because it says that there without commitment im not sure so ur right im going to have to ask thanks for everything 🙂

Master

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10.2K Messages

13 years ago


@Omarc44 wrote:
thanks and yes lol they are selling sim cards at the att website im guessing there not activated? because it says that there without commitment im not sure so ur right im going to have to ask thanks for everything 🙂

AT&T would not sell activated GoPhone SIM cards on their website. If so, they would already have a number (and maybe some funds... ;)) assigned to them that would most likely not be relative to your area code. "Without commitment" would mean that they are being sold off contract, so they would be for sale for the use of prepaid or if you just happen to need a new one. 😉

 

Have fun with your N8. That sure is a sweet phone. 😉

 

Master

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5.9K Messages

13 years ago

 


@Omarc44 wrote:
thanks and yes lol they are selling sim cards at the att website im guessing there not activated? because it says that there without commitment im not sure so ur right im going to have to ask thanks for everything 🙂

You can get "No commitment service" - for a post paid plan or of course prepaid, but unless something has changed recently the at&t website just directs you to an at&t store in order to obtain the SIM card and set up your account/service. 🙂

 

Contributor

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3 Messages

12 years ago

I have an unlocked Samsung C3322 quad band phone. I took it to the AT&T store today to get a pre-paid SIM card for it but it didn't work. The phone seemed to indicate that the SIM was valid (we tried a couple of different SIM cards) but the phone would not connect to the AT&T network. However, the phone did function correctly when the technician in the back put his contract SIM in the phone. Is there any reason an unlocked phone would work with a SIM on contract but not pre-pay?

Scholar

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346 Messages

12 years ago


@gregfcarlson wrote:
Is there any reason an unlocked phone would work with a SIM on contract but not pre-pay?

Only reason I can think of is if it's an area that uses roaming. When that happens, the SIM should still register on the phone but you'll only be able to make emergency calls.

 

By the way, you should have made a new thread for your inquiry.

Teacher

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6 Messages

12 years ago

I have an unlocked Sony Ericcson T715 that I use in France with SFR. I just started up with AT&T GoPhone here in the US. Walked into a Seattle store, got a SIM with some minutes, popped it in, and was good to go. The only problem (which I realized later) was the store never asked for my address. They put in the store address as my home address. Even calling that a "problem" is probably an overstatement. It was just funny.

Master

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5.9K Messages

12 years ago

I wouldn't think you would be roaming if you were in an at&t Corporate store though. Was it an actual Corporate store where the technician used his post paid SIM in your phone? Or just an authorized reseller?

Contributor

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3 Messages

12 years ago

It's a corporate store and it was the technician who put his own contract SIM card into the phone. My iPhone doesn't go into roaming anywhere near the AT&T store so I don't think roaming is an issue. The technician had never seen an issue like this before. I did find a special code I could type into the Samsung C3322 phone to check the lock status of various aspects of the phone. There are 14 different aspects of the phone that apparantly can be locked or unlocked. They are all showing that they're unlocked so the phone seems to be truly unlocked. Is it possible that it's "too unlocked" for the pre-paid SIM card to work?

Master

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5.9K Messages

12 years ago

I'm not familiar with the phone - is it 3G too? If not is it possible you are in an area where only 3G service is available with a prepaid plan? I'm not sure if at&t has areas like that with their post paid service, and I can't look at the coverage viewer at the moment. 🙂
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