Tips

Current AT&T customers who don’t have a first generation iPhone, or who aren’t eligible for an upgrade, will have to pay an extra $200 to purchase an iPhone 3G. Sad, but true.

However, if you follow these simple instructions (instead of waiting until upgrade time rolls around, or impatiently throwing down an extra $200 for an unsubsidized iPhone) then you will be able to get yourself an iPhone 3G also.

All you need is a little help from a friend who already has an iPhone.

1. Grab a friend who already has a first generation iPhone.
2. Remove the SIM card from your friend’s iPhone and replace it with the one from your own phone.
3. Plug the iPhone into a Mac or PC running a recent copy of iTunes. (iTunes will recognize that the iPhone is loaded with a different SIM and begin the activation process.)

Note: You’ll literally need to sign up for an iPhone plan at this point, sign a new two-year contract… etc

4. When you’re done, you can return your friend’s SIM… more...

Although I have yet to experience this problem, it is reported that the iPhone suddenly resets in the middle of operation, displaying the silver Apple logo and returning the user to the home screen, interrupting any activities that were taking place.

More than likely, this issue occurs when the iPod function is playing music, but can also occur when browsing in Safari and performing other operations. When I play music and browsing simultaneously, the browser quits and takes me back to the home screen. A simple power-off eliminates the problem temporarily. It is like a computer.

If you are like me and keep your iPhone on constantly, then a few power-offs will do the trick until it gets backed up again. Another workaround for this issue is to force quit other applications before using the application that frequently triggers resets. This can be accomplished by holding down the home screen button for several seconds while in the application that you want to force quit.

For a more in-depth view of problems and workarounds, iPhone Atlas posted ”troubleshooting iPhone application crashes,” for your viewing pleasure. I do hope you get… more...

I’ll say it right now, the iPhone’s mail client isn’t the most robust but then again it’s what we give up for simplicity. However, one feature apparantly remains unknown to users: draft saving.

I wasn’t aware that some didn’t know how to save drafts but it’s easy. When in a new message, just click “Cancel” and hit “Save” when the prompt comes up. Saved messages can still be edited.

Via: iPhone Atlas

Only a few days ago Apple rolled out iTunes 7.6.1 to the masses but some users have reported some problems such as their iPhone not being recognized in iTunes or a false reporting of excess data. the best fix is to restore your iPhone through iTunes. You can see the compiled list at iPhone Atlas.

Via: iPhone Atlas

Normally your iPhone lets you know when you’re connected to the Internet either through Wi-Fi or EDGE. Sometimes you don’t even need an indicator to notice the surprisingly slow speeds between the two but much to my surprise it can get slower. But then me being surprised is like a garden gnome being surprised he has no place in the lawn and that his owners put them there to be cute or are PR for Travelocity.

Anyways, the solid blue square does not indicate your iPhone has lost all its vowels but rather it is running on the nearly extinct (thank you Telcos) GPRS system which is significantly slower than EDGE.

Via: iPhone Atlas

I experienced this problem yesterday as I tried playing a rather ridiculous video on YouTube: no sound was being emitted from the speakers but came out through the headphones instead. By exiting out of the currently playing video and changing the ringer from mute, (side button above the volume control) the video will output full sound through the speakers.

Flip flopping cellular signals can be a pain for anyone especially so on the iPhone. But a Macguyver like solution may be the solution for signal problems.

The most promoted remedy is to reseat the SIM card but increasing the connection between the metal contacts works much better. This can be done by attaching a small piece of scotch tape on the end to push it down more in the SIM tray.

Via iPhone Atlas

Unfortunately mobile Safari on the iPhone isn’t the most reliable thing for archiving web data and the inconvenience becomes prominent when you’re disconnected from the Internet. But by leveraging data URLs, you can save Web pages locally.

iWebSaver has compiled a bookmark that automates the process and works as advertised.

Via: LifeHacker

Printed on the back of every iPhone is an IMEI number unique to that device but if you need quick access to it, you can retrieve it another way.

This tip is not restricted to the iPhone and can be applied to other GSM handsets as well. Open up the iPhone’s keypad and type in *#06#, your IMEI number will pop up. This is helpful if you don’t already know it or have not written it down. If your iPhone is ever stolen, calling AT&T with the IMEI number will result in the device being rendered inoperable on a cellular network.

Users have reported some growing pains with 1.1.3 newly loaded on their iPhones. IPhone Atlas in response has gathered some posts related to troubleshooting these problems.

Via: iPhone Atlas