Tip: Buy an iPhone and Get a Backup Phone Free
This may be the simplest tip I’ve ever written, but so many people have been surprised when I mention it to them, I figured I would write it up for everyone. It’s a common-sense technique to make sure that, once you decide to plonk down your hard earned cash for an iPhone and enter in to a two-year contract with AT&T, you get the biggest bang for your buck.
I don’t have any magic secret here your phone is still going to cost you at least $500 but I have a tip that might serve you well down the road (as long as you are not already an AT&T subscriber).
Before you activate your iPhone, which will create and activate an account with AT&T, activate a plain old service plan with them which will net you a free (or at least discounted) phone. Then go ahead and activate your iPhone using the number from the account you have already established.
The benefit is that you now have two phones, your iPhone and the one you don’t use. All I had to do was pull out my SIM card and put it into the backup phone and it worked just fine with my new iPhone account. Be sure to choose a free phone that is compatible with iSync so that you can put your contacts on to it. This ensures that when you use your backup phone, your experience is as close to the iPhone experience as possible.
Why would you ever want to use the backup? I am currently on vacation and my iPhone is safe at home. This way, I can take my phone out on to the boat or to the beach without worrying about damaging my precious iPhone. This “spare” phone might also come in handy if I ever need to have my iPhone serviced; I can continue to use my phone without paying Apple for a loaner. Sure, it’s not an iPhone, but it was free, I just had to ask for it before activating my iPhone.
Like I said, this is not an earth-shattering tip, but many people have thanked me for explaining the idea to them before they bought their iPhone. So, there you go!
I wish I would of known this back when they acutally came out not 2 months later….still a good idea though.
Nice, that’s a sweet deal. As for MT’s comment, that’s why you don’t buy things when they first come out.
Also, check out this iPhone survey you can take or see the results: http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=funsurvey.php
i was already with Cingular when it became ATT and da iphone came but dis is a GREAT tip that is so simple i dont know why i have never heard of this lol sadly like i said i was already with ATT sooo i cant do dat but nice for you to mention it.
A 1 yr contract would definitely ease things up, don’t know y they r eyeing 2 full years unlike t-mobile
Anyways, nice deal, I wish I have the liberty to use my exiting number for a new 2yr activation 
way before my previous plan expires.
Any uk readers able to confirm if this works on O2 as well?
Good call! Totally doing this when I get my iPhone in a few weeks.
If you are going month to month because your contract is over, you can also do it. Just go to the AT & T store, and update your phones. You can get free ones, or pay a nominal fee depending on the phones that you want. That will get you a new 2 year contract. Then go home and activate your iphone.
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