T-Mobile Prepaid Nano SIM

409227 · Nov 3, 2012

I want two things...

I want the iPhone 5, and...

I want T-Mobile's PREPAID $30/mo plan, which includes unlimited data and text, and 100 minutes per month.

PROBLEM...

I went to the T-Mobile store and asked if they carry prepaid nano SIMs.

The guy said they do.

I then asked him if the $30/mo prepaid plan works with the nano SIM.

I don't think he understood my question, because he didn't really answer it.

Does anyone have a T-Mobile nano SIM that uses that lovely $30/mo plan?

And no, I don't mean cutting down a larger SIM card by hand, etc. I mean the ACTUAL nano SIM card WITH THAT PARTICULAR $30/mo Plan.

Beeplance · Nov 3, 2012

Wow, it's really good to have a $30 Prepaid plan with unlimited data, will never have this kind of good deal in my country.

Cutting down the normal sim to the Nano SIM gets you the same thing. There're many tutorials online that teaches you how to do it, its actually quite easy, I've heard people doing it successfully with a pair of normal scissors.

409227 · Nov 3, 2012

Yes... that IS a good price... but I don't know if they OFFER it on the nano SIM, and I don't want to risk damaging a perfectly good SIM card by cutting it down to size...

Is there anyone who DOES know if they offer that $30/mo prepaid plan on the nano SIM?

darster · Nov 3, 2012

Could not find it on their web site.

SkippyThorson · Nov 3, 2012

Hey, I had to chime in - what is this $30 Unlimited Data / Text + 100 Minutes plan, and why haven't I heard about it? I'd love to get this on my iPhone for how little I actually make calls. Does it already come in a Micro Sim for the iPhone 4S?

mohsy90 · Nov 3, 2012

Yes, the plan is available, but it is only a web exclusive. So you must order it online.

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans

Only problem is, is that they do not offer nano sims on their website yet. So try getting a nano sim from the store and then calling T-mobile to activate the plan online. Or just order the micro sim they have and cut it down, a fairly easy process.

darster said:
Could not find it on their web site.

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans

as0016 · Nov 3, 2012

Yes it will work with the nano sim. The reason the guy in the store had no clue about it is because the stores cannot do this plan. It's a walmart and tmobile.com exclusive. You register the sim you want to put the plan on when you go in to activate the plan online.

darster · Nov 3, 2012

mohsy90 said:
Yes, the plan is available, but it is only a web exclusive. So you must order it online.

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans

Only problem is, is that they do not offer nano sims on their website yet. So try getting a nano sim from the store and then calling T-mobile to activate the plan online. Or just order the micro sim they have and cut it down, a fairly easy process.

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans

Thanks for the info. Found the nano sim on their site. It's free right now.

http://find.t-mobile.com/controller?N=0&Ntk=primary&Ntx=mode+matchpartialmax&Ntt=nano%20sim

mohsy90 · Nov 3, 2012

darster said:
Thanks for the info. Found the nano sim on their site. It's free right now.

http://find.t-mobile.com/controller?N=0&Ntk=primary&Ntx=mode+matchpartialmax&Ntt=nano%20sim

Yea, but thats through the regular T-mobile website, not prepaid. You have to select a monthly plan. Only way to obtain a non-activated nano sim is to visit a t-mobile store.

Mr Hill · Nov 3, 2012

Step 1 - Go to tmobile.com and order a regular sim card to activate with the $30 plan

Step 2 - Once you receive the sim card and activate your account, go to your local T-Mobile store

Step 3 - Tell them you now have an iPhone 5 and need a Nano Sim

Step 4 - They will go into their system and swap your sim card number with the Nano sim. Should be free of charge.

409227 · Nov 3, 2012

Mr Hill said:
Step 1 - Go to tmobile.com and order a regular sim card to activate with the $30 plan

Step 2 - Once you receive the sim card and activate your account, go to your local T-Mobile store

Step 3 - Tell them you now have an iPhone 5 and need a Nano Sim

Step 4 - They will go into their system and swap your sim card number with the Nano sim. Should be free of charge.

Are you sure a tactic like this works? Has it been done?

mohsy90 · Nov 3, 2012

Red Leicester said:
Are you sure a tactic like this works? Has it been done?

Yes, this method will also work.

CBR900RR · Nov 3, 2012

Originally Posted by Mr Hill
Step 1 - Go to tmobile.com and order a regular sim card to activate with the $30 plan

Step 2 - Once you receive the sim card and activate your account, go to your local T-Mobile store

Step 3 - Tell them you now have an iPhone 5 and need a Nano Sim

Step 4 - They will go into their system and swap your sim card number with the Nano sim. Should be free of charge.

Red Leicester said:
Are you sure a tactic like this works? Has it been done?

I did the above, except I choose prepay instead of the $30 plan and I went down to tmobile store and did the swap.

Fant · Nov 3, 2012

Ignore this

409227 · Nov 4, 2012

CBR900RR said:
I did the above, except I choose prepay instead of the $30 plan and I went down to tmobile store and did the swap.

Image

Image

Sorry, I'm an idiot...

Issue I didn't think of...

What about the serial number for the phone?

Will it work that way?

i.e. If you buy an iPhone 5 and a micro (not nano) SIM activation kit (swap SIM cards later at the store), can you still activate the micro SIM card even if it's not placed IN the phone? (Since the micro won't fit into the iPhone 5's tray).

Thanks for the help thus far.

As I see it from what's been discussed...

Step 1: Buy iPhone 5.

Step 2: Buy micro SIM.

Step 3: Activate micro SIM via T-Mobile website and select $30/mo plan (SIM should activate even with the iPhone 5 serial number).

Step 4: Bring the micro SIM card into a T-Mobile store and ask for it to be swapped for a nano SIM, claiming that you upgraded and need the nano now.

Am I right on this? Or did I mess up?

wordoflife · Nov 4, 2012

This may be of use:
http://www.amazon.com/cutter-iPhone...id=1352046730&sr=8-1&keywords=nano+sim+cutter

NanoSim Cutter

CBR900RR · Nov 4, 2012

Red Leicester said:
Sorry, I'm an idiot...

Issue I didn't think of...

What about the serial number for the phone?

Will it work that way?

i.e. If you buy an iPhone 5 and a micro (not nano) SIM activation kit (swap SIM cards later at the store), can you still activate the micro SIM card even if it's not placed IN the phone? (Since the micro won't fit into the iPhone 5's tray).

Thanks for the help thus far.

As I see it from what's been discussed...

Step 1: Buy iPhone 5.

Step 2: Buy micro SIM.

Step 3: Activate micro SIM via T-Mobile website and select $30/mo plan (SIM should activate even with the iPhone 5 serial number).

Step 4: Bring the micro SIM card into a T-Mobile store and ask for it to be swapped for a nano SIM, claiming that you upgraded and need the nano now.

Am I right on this? Or did I mess up?

You can order either the 99cents full size sim or the micro sim, get it activated either thru the web or on any phone, take the sim down to tmobile store and tell them you want to use it in your iphone5, they will transfer whatever on the 99cents sim to the new nano sim, after it is done, no activation is needed and all the minutes and phone number retain.

409227 · Nov 4, 2012

CBR900RR said:
You can order either the 99cents full size sim or the micro sim, get it activated either thru the web or on any phone, take the sim down to tmobile store and tell them you want to use it in your iphone5, they will transfer whatever on the 99cents sim to the new nano sim, after it is done, no activation is needed and all the minutes and phone number retain.

Thank you!

But do you need a phone (iPhone 5 or otherwise) to activate the first SIM card?

CBR900RR · Nov 4, 2012

Red Leicester said:
Thank you!

But do you need a phone (iPhone 5 or otherwise) to activate the first SIM card?

When I receive the regular sim from tmobile, I insert it into a dumb phone, dial 611 and it take me to activation, I choose prepay instead of the monthly plan, get assign a new number with 10 free minutes, take the sim down to tmobile store and swap to a nano sim.

I believe you can also do the activation on the web without a phone and make up an imei number, and once the sim is activated, it will work on any tmobile or unlock GSM phone.

ProudLoz · Nov 4, 2012

mohsy90 said:
Yes, the plan is available, but it is only a web exclusive. So you must order it online.

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans

I'd like to add some additional info about this Unlimited Data and Text with 100 minutes plan. I have it, and I went through hell trying to get it. Getting the SIM off T-mobile's website will not grant you that line at all. When I tried to register it, since one of the requirements was for "new activations only" I selected it, and it would always error out no matter what.

I tried chatting with a Rep, but the dude would not budge since that plan is only for "Wal-Mart" activations only. Even though states clearly on the site that new activations from T-mobile.com can also get it, none of the receptionists would budge.

So, since I wanted the plan, I went ahead and bought a pre-paid activation kit from Wal-Mart, the cheapest one they had. I tried to activate the phone online, but it errored out. I then talked to a specialist, but since the SIM and EMEI number I had was from that Wal-Mart activation kit, the Rep gladly walked me through the process of getting me that plan.

So, that was my experience. If you want to get that plan, buy the Wal-Mart activation kit from Wal-Mart to be more sure.

as0016 · Nov 4, 2012

ProudLoz said:
I'd like to add some additional info about this Unlimited Data and Text with 100 minutes plan. I have it, and I went through hell trying to get it. Getting the SIM off T-mobile's website will not grant you that line at all. When I tried to register it, since one of the requirements was for "new activations only" I selected it, and it would always error out no matter what.

I tried chatting with a Rep, but the dude would not budge since that plan is only for "Wal-Mart" activations only. Even though states clearly on the site that new activations from T-mobile.com can also get it, none of the receptionists would budge.

So, since I wanted the plan, I went ahead and bought a pre-paid activation kit from Wal-Mart, the cheapest one they had. I tried to activate the phone online, but it errored out. I then talked to a specialist, but since the SIM and EMEI number I had was from that Wal-Mart activation kit, the Rep gladly walked me through the process of getting me that plan.

So, that was my experience. If you want to get that plan, buy the Wal-Mart activation kit from Wal-Mart to be more sure.

The error you got was probably caused by an invalid activation code for the SIM you purchased. This happens quite frequently with SIM's purchased from tmobile's website for some reason. If someone ends up with this problem, just call tmobile and ask them for a valid activation code after giving them the sim id # and it should work.

409227 · Nov 4, 2012

as0016 said:
The error you got was probably caused by an invalid activation code for the SIM you purchased. This happens quite frequently with SIM's purchased from tmobile's website for some reason. If someone ends up with this problem, just call tmobile and ask them for a valid activation code after giving them the sim id # and it should work.

This whole thing sounds like a chore and a half.

Hopefully the activate/swap method works.

Stupid companies...

That plan is absolute gold. No wonder they make you jump through hoops to get it.

FM1899 · Dec 20, 2012

Sorry if this is a stupid question but I just wanted to clarify.

If I activate a regular SIM in store rather than on the phone and then go back at a later time or to another store to swap for a nanoSIM, would it still work?

I am in Canada so I can't get a SIM shipped to me. I have an old 3GS that I can use to activate the SIM.

isephmusic · Dec 20, 2012

i just bought my iphone 5 too its unlocked. currently using straight talk. i have a nano sim cutter and i suggest you guys get one too. 5 bucks on amazon and u save ur trip to a tmobile store. so how do i go about activinting the micro sim ? i have an old blackberry that will take micro sim maybe i can pop it into that ? activate with 30 $ plan online

then cut it

then pop it into iphone 5 ? should all work out right ? i cant buy the nano sim because it asks for a monthly plan so i should just buy that activation kit for 99 cents right ?

while we are on the topic. is there anyway i can make calls with data ? if its 5gb of 4g data they are giving us i want to find a way to make my calls with data either with google voice or something doesnt matter if its hard to do for 30 bucks a month im willing to do it

edit- also does my iphone from ATnT have to be unlocked ? any gms device should work correct ?

Cursor · Jan 16, 2013

Can anyone verify if this process:

1. Buy GSM unlocked iPhone 5
2. Buy micro sim card
3. Take micro sim card to T-Mobile store and swap for nano card
4. Put in iPhone 5 and connect to $30 Web plan

is still the case? Has it gotten to be less of a hassle in any way?

I'm very interested in doing this, although I also get confused with some of the iPhone work-arounds.

Thanks.

T-Mobile Prepaid Nano SIM

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