<p>so im an international student enrolling at a US university this August. recently i started searching for cell phone carriers (maybe thats too early but anyway) and got a question. or not just one actually.</p>
<p>im interested in buying either an iphone or a nokia (3G) through a two-year contract with a carrier. so i went to apple's website and found out that iphones are only sold by at&t. but at&t requires a SSN, and i obviously dont have one. as i understand, that means i wont be able to buy an iphone.
ok, what do i do then? do all carriers in the US require a SSN for signing a contract with them, or is it just at&t?
or is "pay-as-you-go" the only option i'll have? </p>
<p>sorry for so many questions but everything is soo different here in russia and im really confused and need someone to shed some light. thank you.</p>
<p>When my s went for his freshman year he bought a phone outside of the states nd got an at&t go phone with a monthly payment plan to start. we felt that it was too difficult to assess which company, contract etc would be best, and which would get the best reception in his area until he was there for a while.
Phone contracts are notoriously difficult to get out of and change if you need to. He is also just able to switch his sim card when he comes home, which you can’t do with a phone bought in the States because they are locked for use with only the provider you got it from.</p>
<p>you can use sim cards on other phones regardless of the carrier. some functionality may be lost, but well that’s what happens when you use sim cards on phones that they weren’t meant to be used on. in any event, wait until you get to the US. and find out what cell phone service is good in the school you’re going to. not every cellular provider has good service everywhere.</p>
<p>I would go with a pay-as-you-go phone if you are going to be coming home for the summers since you wouldn’t have to pay for it then. The only problem with getting a phone from a U.S. carrier on contract is that it probably isn’t going to work when you bring it home, so you’ll be paying for time that you cannot use it.</p>
<p>Verizon and Sprint use CDMA, which isn’t going to work in Russia and AT&T MIGHT work in Russia since it is GSM (Same for T-Mobile), but you will be paying huge roaming fees if you want to do anything. </p>
<p>If you want a phone on a contract, you could go for the iPhone (I’m sure they don’t require an SSN for international students, contact an AT&T rep?) but don’t expect it to work when you go home, or work for a reasonable fee. Another option would be to go with a world phone, some examples are the Blackberry Storm (Verizon), Blackberry 8830 (Verizon, Sprint, and possibly AT&T/T-Mobile, I cannot remember). So you could pop in a sim card for a local carrier and use it while you are home.</p>
<p>(Haha at the AT&T ad on the side of this post as I reply.)</p>
<p>Even if have the means, you dont need a very good phone. </p>
<p>Case in point- I use a Razr which is verry old. Many times people with the nicest phones are the ones that rarely use it (it’s just for show). I need a phone that is reliable, makes phone calls, and texts. End of discussion.</p>
<p>@BMWdude
unfortunately, this is not my case. i rarely use my phone for calling, but i like to text and use internet really a lot. besides, i need a camera phone because i dont have a separate camera and am not planning on buying it.</p>
<p>thank you all for you responses!</p>
<p>the reason i am considering a contract is that i want to save money and buy a nice phone at a low cost… but frank has made a good point - those roaming fees are HUGE. =(</p>
<p>i went on ebay and saw that iphones there were sold for much higher than $200. but maybe they’ll get cheaper come august, i dont know</p>
<p>You have two legal options to get a cell-phone contract without a SSN, depending on how much money is an issue. If money is not an issue, you can often walk into a store and buy a cell phone without a SSN in exchange for a security deposit. The deposit might cover all contract fees for a year or two, so don’t be surprised by a small 4-digit sum. You will get your deposit back after a pre-specified amount of time (termination of contract?)</p>
<p>If money is an issue, I suggest you apply for a Social Security Number once you get to the US and buy your phone afterward you get the number. In order to apply for a SSN, you will need a job offer from an employer on campus.</p>
<p>@barium
yes, but, if i understand it correctly, in both cases i’ll have to pay for time even when i dont use it (for around three months a year). i didnt think of this before.
so, i guess the best option will be to buy a cell phone at a place like ebay (not necessarily an iphone) and go with a monthly plan…</p>
<p>Do you know for sure that you won’t be in the US during the summer? Most international students at my college stay in the US for most of the summer for research positions, internships, jobs, summer classes, etc.</p>