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I have been plagued with the wait 48 hours to be activated message, like many of you. So I was reading the Apple forums and they said, you need to speak to an activation person at AT&T. So I did and it worked. Do this, step by step:
(1) Call 800-331-0500
(2) Dial 0 and then 0 again
(3) Ask the customer rep nicely to activate you.
(4) Give them your SIM Card # and IMEI. To find this quickly, go to "Settings" on your iPhone, click on "General," then "About." The "ICCID" is your SIM card and the one above that, IMEI is the other number they need.
(5) They will ask you to shut down your phone, wait 30 seconds and turn it on.
(6) When the phone turns back on, you should be activated.
LAST item is to make sure your voicemail works. Just call your number, with area code and leave yourself a voice. It will then prompt you a minute later to enter your voicemail password and then your voicemail should work.
Enjoy!
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Comments
i'll try this, thanks!
Posted by: hawaiianbabe | June 19, 2009 8:43 PM
i'll try this, thanks!
Posted by: hawaiianbabe | June 19, 2009 8:43 PM
this absolutely works. thank you.
Posted by: neil | June 19, 2009 10:42 PM
I activated mine at 2pm yesterday to no avail. This morning after speaking with an at&t rep who said it could take 48-72 hrs to get service, I found this post and just momentarily popped the SIM out and back in. Works now. Thanks!
Posted by: quirky | June 21, 2009 10:21 AM
putting your old SIM in your new iphone works
Posted by: lupe | June 22, 2009 10:37 PM
Hi, When you call AT&T do they ask u for personal information or just the IMEI number and ICCID.. Cause i bought a brand new iphone 3GS online at ebay, unopened that has not been activated at the at AT&T store but it does come with the original SIM with the same ICCID number on the bottom of the iphone box. what else do they ask you when you call.. I mean since i didnt sign a 2 year contract will they still activate it for me. i just want to put in my old prepaid AT&T sim card in and make calls. I don't need to unlock it..thanks..
Posted by: Will | June 27, 2009 12:48 AM
I popped my old SIM card in, and the voice worked, but data did NOT for some reason. So I've been sitting on hold to the above number for a half hour now.
Posted by: Herschel | June 27, 2009 2:03 AM
OMG, this was the best! I waited all day for my phone to be activated, and then i read your blog, and I was up and running in 5 minutes!!!
YOU"RE THE BESTEST!!!
Posted by: Liam | July 1, 2009 11:07 PM
Yea! it works - no delay - no wait!
Posted by: JohnF | July 2, 2009 9:07 AM
i have the iphone 3Gs with no contract.. will they charge me if i call ATT rep activate for me??? THX!
Posted by: ChrisH | July 3, 2009 12:35 PM
I called the number provided here and a lady told me that I had to activate it by syncing it to my itunes and I already had done that and waited around a half hour and noting happened, what do I do? D:
Posted by: aznprider507 | November 15, 2009 12:52 AM
Well I called this number but they r askin 4 AT&T number without tht i guess u cant activate ur iphone!!! any ideas
Posted by: Fez1337 | November 24, 2009 3:43 PM
Thank you!! This was a HUGE help.
Posted by: Mercedes Clemens | December 24, 2009 11:36 AM
I live in S'pore. I just got a new iphone 3gs. I tried your way but it did not work. I cuold not call 800-331-0500. can you help me, please?
Posted by: dung | December 28, 2009 7:14 PM
i have iphone 3gs i tried to upgrarde it to 3.1.2 version but then due to some reasons i restored it to factory settings and than when i tried to start it, it asked meh to insert a sim but i don;t have any at&t sim.. so now how do i activate my iphone.. plz someone help meh. i've been lookin all over fo this problems solution.
Posted by: tony | February 4, 2010 12:25 PM
hi tony, we have the same problem i have update my iphone into 3.1.3,, and hell now they are looking for sim card,,,what i dont understand is why itunes ask for upgrading if you will be in trouble next
Posted by: lani | February 13, 2010 11:32 AM
i have the same problem i have update my iphone into 3.1.3,, and hell now they are looking for sim card,,,what i dont understand is why this stupid itunes ask for upgrading if you will be in trouble next.
Posted by: sunil | March 5, 2010 1:52 PM
Hi there. I just want to know how cna I activate the iphone sent to me from France and now Im in the philippines, I dont have a SIM and i cant use my phone. Pls pls help THANKS!
Posted by: chub | March 7, 2010 10:41 PM
If you accidentally updated your iphone into new version like 3.2.1 or 3.1.3 it will automatic updated your boot loader to 6.4 and baseband to 5.12.01 and it will reset your phone to factory setting so it will delete your unlock and jailbreak software in you iphone. so anyone that has this problem will have to wait untill the new jailbreak software come out to jailbreak and unlock it so you will be able to use another sim card instead of AT&T. so anyone that dont use AT&T servies have to wait untill the jailbreak and unlock software come out. http://www.blackra1n.com for more information.
Posted by: Dang Nguyen | March 8, 2010 12:45 PM
Hey Dang Nguyen.
i am waiting for them to release the new jailbreak and unlock too
but just if u dont mind emailing me with the answear ...when will they get it released ?
cause i bought my 3gs just yesterday and updated it with no clue it could be the kind of iphone that needs SPECIAL SIM ACTIVATION thingy
so do you think i should give the iphone back to the dealer ? it is used btw and i am like in trial first days 5-10 days max
or just wait and keep it?
cause i got it with great price ;)
Posted by: mostafa | May 7, 2010 7:30 PM
hello everyone.recently i got a iphone 3gs 3.1.3 from London.its network is orange.i didn't got any original Sim with it ...by mistake i restored my i phone with i tunes after restoring the software it is asking me to keep its SIM to activate the i phone.it is always showing me USB and I TUNES symbols...pl z help me.....
Posted by: raghav | May 9, 2010 8:15 AM
Only yet a solution for activating the iPhone 3GS 3.1.3 with 5.12.1 baseband i find on this website http://wecanunlockiphone.com/ . If your phone is unactivated mean only shows the emergency calls only screen, then these guys providing the best services, I my self have a new 3GS and that was having the same issue, I do activate my phone through them, now atleast able to use that as an iPod touch but still finding some solution for 6 bootrom.
Posted by: Cena | June 14, 2010 5:59 PM
could u send me the number 2 activate
Posted by: emma munnich | July 9, 2010 3:45 AM
Compared to a $99 iPhone or a $199 iPod Touch, the $499 for the 16GB iPad may seem steep.
Posted by: No Name | August 15, 2010 4:36 PM
Hey, can anyone help me?? I bought my cousin's old iPhone 3GS from him, I went and called tha lady to get it activated, but since I'm under my dad's contract and I don't know tha last four of his soc and he won't give it to me she said that there was no other way fed me to get it activated. Is that true??
Posted by: Kyle | October 2, 2010 2:26 PM
Hey , i have updated my iphone software and now its not getting activated. after power on ,error on screen is itunes!! . I just want to know how can I activate the iphone????!
Posted by: neda | November 5, 2010 4:59 AM
i have iphone 3gs i tried to upgrarde it to 3.1.2 version but then due to some reasons i restored it to factory settings and than when i tried to start it, it asked meh to insert a sim but i don;t have any at&t sim.. so now how do i activate my iphone.. plz someone help meh. i've been lookin all over fo this problems solution.
Posted by: keyush | January 30, 2011 4:05 AM
showing the number is wrong "80033105001"
Posted by: yuvaraj | May 15, 2011 9:42 PM
Hi, i've just brought a iphone 3gs of ebay, which the lady said was unlocked, however once i've inserted my sim its says not carrier supported? can i fix this fast?
Thanks
Michaela
Posted by: michaela orton | July 5, 2011 3:37 PM
How do I unlock my iphone 3GS with 4.3.3 firmware baseband 05.16.02
Posted by: DK | July 22, 2011 11:27 AM
guys the easiest way is to just call the activation team's number:(866)-662-4548 they helped me be up and running in no time!
Posted by: Dinah | August 4, 2011 1:23 AM
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! A week after getting the 3GS, your post was the ONE THING that helped me activate my phone and it was all so simple! By the way, calling the 800-331-0500 number turned out to be a fully animated process for me, perhaps because I was upgrading to an iphone from my previous phone. In any event, it worked BEAUTIFULLY and I thank you!
Posted by: Lynda | October 28, 2011 12:31 PM
hello there, I wanted to download the dictionairy on my IPHONE 3S ,one before comleting the operation ,the message on the sgreen: it may take up to three minutes and then to complete, saying: your iphone could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unvailable, TRY AGAIN. an you help as soon as possible?
Sincerely.
Posted by: N.Elie | December 5, 2011 6:09 PM
Easy, Simple Steps. But you failed to mention that you need the passkey to your actual At&t account before you can do anything so it ruined the beginning of the whole process for anyone who called and waited on hold with only the ICCID and IMEI numbers.
Posted by: Jason Miller | December 26, 2011 9:58 AM