iPhone Activation: Setup Process for New iPhone

You can’t use the phone services of your iPhone until it’s connected to a cellular network through your cellular service provider. You can purchase an iPhone with a cellular network contract or without a contract, which is called an unlocked iPhone. Here’s the difference:

Contract: iPhone is activated when you sign up for a service plan with an iPhone service. In the U.S., your cellular network carrier choices are AT&T, which uses the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) cellular communications protocol, Verizon, and Sprint, which use the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) cellular communications protocol. We explain both GSM and CDMA in the “Making Connections” section of this chapter. You register your phone with the network and pick a plan for the number of calling minutes, SMS messages, and Internet service usage you want.

Unlocked: iPhone arrives without a micro-SIM (that’s the little chip inside that gives you access to the cellular network). You purchase a micro-SIM from a service provider and then purchase prepaid calling minutes in a pay-as-you-go option. Cellular broadband Internet access is sold separately. You can use an unlocked iPhone with a contract; in that case, you bought iPhone outright so the monthly contract should be less than iPhone plus a cellular service fee. T-Mobile provides national pay-as you- go service and there are about 30 regional carriers who offer pay as-you-go service. Unlocked iPhones work only with carriers who use the GSM cellular communications standard (AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S.). If you spend a lot of time overseas, say in France, you can purchase a prepaid SIM in France, which you put in your iPhone when you’re there. When you’re in the U.S., you put the U.S.-based SIM in your iPhone.

If you bought your iPhone with a cellular service contract, it will have already been activated when you bought it; if, for example, you bought it at an Apple Store, an AT&T store, or other retail outlet such as Wal-Mart or Best Buy.  If you bought your iPhone through the online Apple Store and selected a carrier, you only need to turn your iPhone on and follow the onscreen instructions.

If you bought an unlocked iPhone, you must purchase and insert a GSM micro-SIM. To insert the micro-SIM, do the following:

1. Insert the SIM eject tool that came with your iPhone, or a paper clip, into the hole on the SIM card tray on the right side of your iPhone.

The SIM card tray pops open.

2. Place the SIM card in the tray, matching the cut corner of the SIM card to the cut corner in the tray.

3. Push the SIM card tray closed.

When you turn on your iPhone for the first time, the Setup Assistant takes you through a series of screens where you type in the requested information and tap Next or Done. The Setup Assistant activates the following features:

Sign in or create an Apple ID: Your Apple ID lets you

• Store your iPhone backup on iCloud, Apple’s remote storage site.
• Make purchases from the iTunes Store and the App Store.
• Sign in to FaceTime.

If you have an iTunes ID, you can use that. However, iCloud requires ID with an e-mail format, such as babsboyd@me.com, so you may have to create a new account anyway to activate iCloud. The Setup Assistant asks you to create an ID and password and set up a security question, a question only you know the answer to that Apple asks if you forget your password.

Wi-Fi Setup: We explain this in detail later in this chapter in the “Making Connections” section. Briefly, a list of available Wi-Fi networks appears, you click the one you use and type in the password.

iCloud Setup: The Setup Assistant asks which data on your iPhone you would like backed up to iCloud. You have to have a Wi-Fi or cellular network data connection to complete activation; otherwise, you must connect your iPhone to your computer with the USB connector cable.