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Question
I previously owned a 3g iphone which broke and I'm several months away from an upgrade so I purchased a used 2g iphone on ebay for the time being. The phone is not unlocked or jailbroken and I use AT&T service but was unable to activate the phone with my old sim. The ATT service rep stated it was probably because the sim was 3g and the phone was 2g. Is that correct or is there something wrong with the phone? It shows as emergency calls only. Or should I have had it unlocked since it was previously owned? Thanks.
The rep was incorrect. All phones that are not 3G work with 3G SIM cards. The reason that it probably wouldn't work is because only AT&T or Apple can put a SIM card into a 2G iPhone. They don't have the same mechanism to put in a SIM card manually that the 3G and 3GS do. Did the AT&T rep try to get your SIM card into the 2G iPhone? If they did install it for you, then you need to activate it via iTunes to get it to work. No iPhone works for calls or anything else until it is activated via iTunes. It will show emergency calls until you do that. Do not unlock or jailbreak it. It isn't necessary at all. As long as your account has an iPhone data plan, it should work in the 2G iPhone without issue. I hope this hles. Thanks. DebiN
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DebiN
Expertise
I can answer questions on cellular phones, the physical device, the network, contracts, billing, ordering, porting and what to look for when purchasing cell phones. I am located in the United States. I am an expert on BlackBerrys, Treos, HTC devices and iPhones as well as cellphones and aircards. I have over 15 years of experience in both the wireless and wireline world with the carriers. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the wireless providers - their services, prices and policies, both GSM AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel). I am very familiar with the individual devices and their specifications. I can also answer questions regarding BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs, both Palm-based and Windows-based. I can troubleshoot most any problem someone is having with their cellular device or with the provider.
Experience
Over 20 years in the Telecom industry working for the carriers with individuals, small business, medium business and large corporations(Fortune 500). Also worked as a professor in Maryland for 10 years teaching telecommunications.
Organizations
I belong to several organizations
Education/Credentials
Master's in Telecommunications
Awards and Honors
Received several awards for papers that I have published over the years
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