In this article you will buy a broken phone online, fix it, unlock it, link it to Walmart Family Mobile and have an iPhone 4 or 4s or 5 without paying the ridiculous fees that Verizon and AT&T charge you with.
Here is your fix in a few simple steps.
1. Go on Ebay and look for an iPhone with a broken screen. Make sure it is an AT&T (GSM) iPhone. The key words you are looking for is that it still turns on and works even though the screen is cracked or broken and has no water damage.
2. Go to eTechparts.com and buy the correct screen for it and buy a phone tool kit. It will cost you about $40 for an iPhone 4 setup. Be sure to get a card punchout tool too. They are $20.
3. Go to Walgreens and get an apple charging cable, they are only $5 there.
4. THERE IS NO NEED TO JAILBREAK YOUR PHONE! Seriously! You will need to have it unlocked from AT&T and that will cost about $40. http://www.cellunlocker.net is what I use. It has worked every time for Apples and Droids. Note: To get the IMEI for the phone dial #*06#
5. Replace the screen (Look up a video online and follow along.. dont lose any screws and take note of where they come out of.. they are all different sizes.) Take it to a guy that does these if you absolutely dont feel comfortable doing this.
6. Omitted Jailbreak instructions. No longer needed.
7. Go to Walmart and get a walmart family mobile card and activate it. Put the card in that card cutter you got and snip it so it will fit in the tray for the iPhone 4. If you already have a phone with them your existing SIM card will not work. The SIM card is married to the IMEI for each phone and is only allowed to be used once. You will have to spend the $25 for a new SIM kit at WalMart. For the phone to get up on the network, wait for it to be completely unlocked. You will get an email from cellunlocker saying so. Once you have that, hook the iPhone 4 to your computer with an Apple cable and set it up as a new phone. It will provision and jump right onto the network.
CALL WALMART FAMILY MOBILE AND TELL THEM YOU NEED TO UPDATE YOUR PHONE AND SIM CARD AND THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE THE NEW SIM CARD!
Give them the Sim card number and the IMEI of the phone and the phone number you are using or set up new – whatever you are doing. You put it in and they will update the system and tell you it takes about 2 hours. Thank them and that is all you need from them.
The phone will not provision automatically!! You have to plug it into your computer and set it up in Itunes. Once that is done, it will be activated. Wait about 2 minutes after you hang up with Family Mobile to do this and it will work just fine.
Here is the complicated part: Messaging WILL NOT WORK! Here is how you fix that.
CELLULAR DATA APN: web.omwtoday.com
MMS APN: web.omwtoday.com
MMSC: 216.155.174.84/servlets/mms
MMS PROXY: 216.155.165.50:8080
MMS Max Message Size: 1048576
MMS UA Prof URL: http://www.apple.com/mms/uaprof.rdf
Leave everything else blank.
::UPDATE:: Walmart now offers micro sims for Family Mobile. WOOT!!! You will not need a card cutter anymore. Then again, they are cheap and a good thing to have in your tool kit. Who doesn’t need more tools, right?
:::: Be sure to use iCloud. iCloud.com is a wonderful resource that will help you get all your contacts, emails, notes, and more organized.
8. Link up your Apple ID and iCloud accounts and enjoy having an iPhone 4 with unlimited texting, Data, and service for only $35 a month through Family Mobile that is supported by T-Mobile.
My iPhone 4 I have a total of $250 into and it is like brand new and only $35 a month to manage. Works like a champ. =)