[danpal]

can an iPhone be used to access the internet without using it as a phone?

[kch50428]

Yes... you can use an iPhone for data only... but to my knowledge, every carrier requires a voice plan... so you can't have an iPhone with data only... once upon a time, one could have a Blackberry with data only... but that is no more.

[03_CTD]

This may not apply to you at all but, apparently under the right and extremely fluke circumstances what you're trying to accomplish could actually be possible. Good luck.

[SeanHRCC]

You can do some pre-paid data services on the iPhone granted it is unlocked...but the amount of money you'd spend on this will most likely prove to be a lost cause in your attempt to refrain from having the total cost of a data plan + voice, pre-paid data plans are ridiculously over priced and give you very little data to use before "per" charges begin to apply.

[ups925]

I used to have a data only device via att. I got corporate discounts via my work, and by having two separate lines i was able to double the discount and pay a $25 unlimited data monthly fee. I wanted an ipod touch, and figured why not get an iphone to use on my data only line. The problem was, Apple & att wouldnt activate a data only iphone. The loophole was that if you are hearing impaired then apple would activate the device as data only. My dad is hard of hearing from working in construction industry, and I thought that may be an vessel towards my data only iphone. In the end, I just bought an ipod touch, ended my data only device and added data to my other line since I switched to sprint which included data for the same price att was charging me for just talk & text.

Looking back at my $25 a month unlimited data plan, I regret not pushing for the data only iphone. I could have ported my actual cell number to google voice and paid $25 a month (total bill after taxes) for unlimited everything.

[bamf-hacker]

If you are trying to connect it as an internet only device and want to use it on WiFi you can turn off cellular data and use it to your hearts content. Both my children have older iPhone4's and use them like that. If you need a data plan to connect away from a WiFi access point you can get the pay as you go minutes plan and use the data only.

[YorkieRay]

Why not just buy an iPod Touch? They have the exact same screen as the iPhone, yet sell for less than half the price of an equivalent iPhone 5. It seems crazy to me to be paying hundreds more to Apple for functions you will never use.