No Contract Required to Buy Apple iPhone?

Submitted by Chad Shmukler on

For information on purchasing an iPhone 4 without a contract see our FAQ: Can I buy the iPhone 4 without a contract?

For information related to the purchase of the iPhone 3G and contract requirements, visit our FAQ: Can I buy the iPhone 3G without a contract?.

As we near the release of the Apple iPhone, on June 29th at 6pm, it is seeming increasingly likely that, contrary to previous reports, it will not be required to initiate a 2 year contract with AT&T in order to purchase the iPhone.

Of the 15 Apple retail stores we surveyed today, each one reported no knowledge of their store handling proof of wireless service, contract establishment, or contract extensions with AT&T. More to the point, 6 of the stores specifically stated that no contract would be required to buy the phone, and that the customer would be responsible for establishing service with AT&T after purchasing the iPhone from an Apple retail store.

No only does this likely squelch rumors about through-the-roof non-contract prices for the iPhone (previously rumored to be as high as $899 and $999), but it introduces a new segment of demand to the iPhone launch: opportunistic buyers that have no plans for personal use of the iPhone, only resale at a higher price. As we've seen in recent months with the launch of the Playstation 3 and the Ninetendo Wii, large volumes of iPhones could be bought up by "entrepreneurs" looking to make a fast buck on the upcoming iPhone frenzy.

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Clearly the possibility exists that Apple has continued to withhold details about contract requirements from employees at it's own retail outlets as part of an effort to contain as much information about the iPhone prior to launch. Should that be the case, information provided to iPhoneFAQ may be a result of assumptions on the part of these employees due to lack of information, rather than clear indication from Apple that no contract would be required. However, that said, most of the salespeople and managers we spoke with indicated clear knowledge of the no-contract policy. As with everything iPhone, only time will tell.

According to AT&T, purchasing the Apple iPhone at AT&T retail outlets will require a contract with AT&T.

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Comments

Mr Smith replied on

You must be kidding, right? Of course the iPhone will require a contract with AT&T! Quit deluding yourself...

Anonymous replied on

mr smith i am a at&t rep. u can buy the iphone n jus throw in ur sim card and not touch ur at&t contract

Anonymous replied on

So if you buy the iphone from any apple store you don't need to sign a contract with the buying of the phone? Or do you need to sign with two year contract? If you dont how can you tell the sale person?

Anonymous replied on

The iphone will cost more without the contract. The 16 gb 499 and the 32 gb 599!! but with contract the phone is 200/300 and your stuck with at@t for 2 years.. You can also jailbreak the iphone to use it with any cellphone network!!!.....

Anonymous replied on

Nope. I bought an unlocked iphone 3GS 32GB one from http://www.pinkpine.com and it's a lot cheaper than you quoted. You just have to buy it from other places, not from AT&T or apple store. They are ripping you off. The tax alone is about $60 in my state.

Anonymous replied on

Liar liar!!! that website priced iPhone 4 is much higher than apple store even with tax.

Anonymous replied on

hi,

how can i get the new iphone 3g with out a contract? i'm just visiting the US, i don't live here and in my country we don't have AT&T or apple stores, so please if you don't mind tell me how to get the new iphone 3g with out a contract cause i really want to buy one but they won't let me get one unless i sign a contract.

Thank you and sorry for bothering

Anonymous replied on

can i but an i phone from atat without the 30$ a month

Anonymous replied on

so do you mean i can go to att and get the iphone and my sim card put it in and not have a contract answer soon

Anonymous replied on

Are you really a at&t rep. because i'm not confident you are, of how u talk, but really i am looking to but an iphone. I am in trinidad, so if i but and iphone and ship it down I could use one of my local servers and take a sim card from them and use it normally until my contract is done??

John Alderman replied on

Of course you can buy iphones with no contract for cheap. I have bought a new unlocked iphone 3gs from http://www.pinkpine.com . They also sell used ones for even cheaper price.

Anders Batten replied on

I spoke with my local Apple store (Providence, RI) and they confirmed no contract will be needed to buy the iPhone.

And, Mr Smith - the article says that no contract will be required to BUY the iPhone. It is clear that a contract with AT&T will still be required to USE the iPhone.

indra replied on

if i bye a i phone and unlock it and bye a sim card for prepaid..........that will be better.....

Anonymous replied on

i bought an iphone4 from apple store US and i bought it for 699 which means i bought it unlocked so should i have to use at&t to use it or can i use it with the operator company in my countryTR

Nick replied on

(Please answer as soon as possible)
Do I have to be a current AT&T user to buy it without the contract or could I just go to the AT&T Store 2 blocks away from me and walk in, pay and leave with the iPhone?

This is important because I'm considering the iPhone 4, that or another iPod Touch.

Kmm504 replied on

A contract will be required if you purchase your phone from Cingular. If you purchase your phone from Apple no contract is required. However, the phone does not work with any other service provider, unless your lucky enough to get an unlocked one, which is highly unlikely! And this people is the hard core truth.

Anonymous replied on

hey.....

dipshit u can unlock the iphone and use it with the tmobile service only service that works with it.......

Anonymous replied on

Lay off. At the time that was written (June 2007) nobody actually owned an iPhone yet, let alone had there been any effort made to unlock it.

Anonymous replied on

no this is not the hard core truth. we bought a iphone and had it unlocked dthe same day. oops

Anonymous replied on

how did you do this and where did you buy it?:)

Anonymous replied on

you can just do a quick research online and download the program to jailbreak the iphone it takes less than 30 mins and you can use it with t-mobile if you wish. but if you havent done this before i'll advice you to read and to check how its done to avoid further inconveniences with your iphone and with your service

Anthony replied on

So for those looking for shorter lines, the best bet might be to head to an AT&T store, since there wont be "entrepreneurs" looking to ebay their phones, instead only folks who are genuinely interested in buying iPhones for their own use.

videob0x replied on

Yeah, the fact that we're going to have to deal with people trying to resell the phones is a real downside to the Apple stores not requiring contracts. It stinks, in fact.

PR replied on

This does not squelch the rumors about through-the-roof non-contract prices for the iPhone. There is also the possibility that although you can buy the phone without a contract, there will be a rebate to get the price down to $499/599 with a contract. Steve said those prices were with a contract. So, maybe the store will sell them at a higher price without a contract, then if you activate with Cingular you get the rebate to account for the difference.

Also the phone still has many other functions even if it's not activated as a phone.

Daniel replied on

the iphone doesn't have anything that a PSP doesn't have except multi-touch. PSP has full internet even the ability to download files, even flash support (which the iphone doesn't have), mp3, aac, WMA (not on the iPhone), pics, mp4, h.264, movies via UMD or memory stick, REMOVABLE BATTERY. Plus the PSP only costs $170 70 for 4gb of memory. So for less than half the price you get all the features with the same screen size just no touch screen which I could do without. I thought I heard the PSP played all these cool videos games too but IDK!!

videob0x replied on

You're forgetting the lack of a phone on the PSP, eh?

bebeXplit replied on

i wanna get it but i dont want contract with it
how much will that be?

MARTIN replied on

i would like to know if i can buy the Iphone with out a contract

Anonymous replied on

yeah its gonna cost you alot more $699

Appolonov replied on

You MrSmith told that you can change your operator. But I asked that in apple store, and everybody sed, that you can use iphone ONLY with AT&T. This is so strange!!! I wanna bring this iphone to Russia, and I'm actually ready to buy 3 or 4 iphones, by you guys termaneted my dreams. If you not gonna stay in U.S. for long time - forget about iphone. You know, i'll buy NOKIA. They think about people in the all world. Thank you, Apple

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