Migrating from an Original iPhone to an iPhone 3G

MacRumors · Jul 3, 2008

Apple has published a knowledge base article detailing steps for existing iPhone owners to take in upgrading to the iPhone 3G. Apple walks through the backup and restoration process which will require iTunes 7.7 for the iPhone 3G.

One new bit of information for U.S. customers is the fact that you will not move your existing iPhone SIM card to the new iPhone. Instead, the iPhone 3G's SIM card will be reprogrammed with your information:

In the US, iPhone 3G includes a SIM and your original iPhone's SIM is not needed. Your original iPhone account information will be transferred to iPhone 3G's included SIM when you purchase iPhone 3G. To dispose of your original iPhone SIM, contact your carrier.

For whatever reason, international users may simply use their original iPhone SIM card in the iPhone 3G.

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macduke · Jul 3, 2008

Hmmm...everyone thought the reason the new iPhone came with a sim retrieval tool was so they could easily swap cards. I would laugh if this tool was an Apple shaped paperclip.

jaxn · Jul 3, 2008

3G Specific SIM Cards?

AT&T has 3G specific SIM cards. I bet I would have to do the same thing if I traded in my Blackberry Curve for a Blackberry Bold. Then again, why would I do that since the iPhone 3G is coming out and that is what I have been waiting for.

Then again, they could be forcing specific SIM cards in iPhones to prevent people from sharing.

greenyboy411 · Jul 3, 2008

theres a "3g" card in the original iphone. this makes basically no sense at all.

SFStateStudent · Jul 3, 2008

So, all we need to do now is get the 3G iPhone and iTunes 7.7. I'm concerned about the syncing v. backup explanation, b/c it sounds like music, movies and TV shows that I've purchased on 3 different computers via iTunes may not get to my 3G iPhone, or will it? It just seems that the backup doesn't include music, movies and TV shows, but it is included with the sync.

(If someone knows why the new SIM card, please post).

Nicky G · Jul 3, 2008

macduke said:
Hmmm...everyone thought the reason the new iPhone came with a sim retrieval tool was so they could easily swap cards. I would laugh if this tool was an Apple shaped paperclip.

You might be surprised to learn that Apple does indeed ship service providers an "Apple Tool" that looks an awful lot like a paperclip, and is shipped in a little plastic bag w/ part number and everything. Also, the Mac mini disassembly tool looks suspiciously like a putty knife. Funny stuff!

sunboi · Jul 3, 2008

"3g" Sim

Believe it or not, some networks do need you to use a different type of SIM to use their 3G networks; it's a card with a "USIM" application running on it. It's not *required* by the specifications (many operators let you use 3G with a standard SIM), but it is recommended because it allows more advanced user authentication than the traditional SIM card.

matt.smith · Jul 3, 2008

Many moons ago - when 3G was new - I bought a second hand 3G handset and O2 had to send me a new 3G SIM card as my "2G SIM card is not compatible with our 3G network and will need to be upgraded".

I can't believe that O2 had the foresight to put 3G ready SIM cards in handsets that could only achieve 2G connections...

coolb0yalex · Jul 3, 2008

Basically, AT&T is helping the world end faster by not promoting the use of the original SIM card that came with the iPhone. Cell Providers are stupid.

soLoredd · Jul 3, 2008

As if there wasn't already enough confusion about what is going on!

So, the iPhone 3G comes with a paperclip, meant for you to take your SIM out of the iPhone 1. However, Apple says you don't need to do that. AT&T says if you "hand me down" your iPhone 1 that the new owner will have to go into AT&T and get a SIM card. WTF? If all of the information is transferred to the new one, why must a person have to even change the SIM cards at all??

I am definitely waiting a week or so after launch to see what happens and read other people's experiences.

headspace · Jul 3, 2008

Maybe there will be a use for this little guy after all:

It looks like you are attempting to retrieve your SIM card....

desenso · Jul 3, 2008

You people will bitch about anything.

kornyboy · Jul 3, 2008

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

It doesn't make any sense to have to swap SIM cards unless it is some sort of feature in place to keep people from trying to purchase an iPhone, unlock it, and then sell it. That is just a stretch of a guess though.

captain kaos · Jul 3, 2008

soLoredd said:
As if there wasn't already enough confusion about what is going on!

So, the iPhone 3G comes with a paperclip, meant for you to take your SIM out of the iPhone 1. However, Apple says you don't need to do that. AT&T says if you "hand me down" your iPhone 1 that the new owner will have to go into AT&T and get a SIM card. WTF? If all of the information is transferred to the new one, why must a person have to even change the SIM cards at all??

I'm definitely waiting a week or so after launch to see what happens and read other people's experiences.

Im going to wait as well over here in the UK, as i don't trust O2 to know what the hell they are doing. They still haven't released any "official" pricing for the PAYG and i think they're going to delay the release.

Idiots.

Bridge51 · Jul 3, 2008

matt.smith said:
Many moons ago - when 3G was new - I bought a second hand 3G handset and O2 had to send me a new 3G SIM card as my "2G SIM card is not compatible with our 3G network and will need to be upgraded".

I can't believe that O2 had the foresight to put 3G ready SIM cards in handsets that could only achieve 2G connections...

It was always my understanding that at some point the SIM included in the original iPhone was a 2G SIM, and then switched to a 3G SIM for newer models.

I bought my iPhone in the middle of January, and it has the 3G symbol on it. I'd imagine some don't have that.

Also, the paperclip could be for people switching their current 3G non-iPhone's over to the iPhone 3G, because they won't need a new card?

desenso · Jul 3, 2008

Bridge51 said:
It was always my understanding that at some point the SIM included in the original iPhone was a 2G SIM, and then switched to a 3G SIM for newer models.

I bought my iPhone in the middle of January, and it has the 3G symbol on it. I'd imagine some don't have that.

Also, the paperclip could be for people switching their current 3G non-iPhone's over to the iPhone 3G, because they won't need a new card?

My iPhone, purchased June 29, 2007, has a 3g symbol on it.

comicbookguy · Jul 3, 2008

Why does everyone want to use there old sim card?

Why does everyone want to use their old sim card? I do understand that the iPhone 3g comes with a tool to open the sim tray.... that doesn't mean that we have to use it. My car came with a tool to remove a tire from my car... that does not mean that i have to remove the tires from my old car to use on the new one. As long as you back up your old iPhone you will be back to normal with the new iPhone as soon as you sync for the first time. We are going to have to sync anyway to get our music and other files over to the new phone anyway... why add another step (sim card) to a simple process.
Comic Book Guy

desenso · Jul 3, 2008

comicbookguy said:
Why does everyone want to use their old sim card? I do understand that the iPhone 3g comes with a tool to open the sim tray.... that doesn't mean that we have to use it. My car came with a tool to remove a tire from my car... that does not mean that i have to remove the tires from my old car to use on the new one. As long as you back up your old iPhone you will be back to normal with the new iPhone as soon as you sync for the first time. We are going to have to sync anyway to get our music and other files over to the new phone anyway... why add another step (sim card) to a simple process.
Comic Book Guy

Agreed... I don't understand why people get so worked up about this stuff. NO iPHONE FOR YOU.

IOIIOOO · Jul 3, 2008

I wonder - if someone bought the 3G iphone at a non-contract price and put their old iPhone SIM card in it, would it function as a phone but only use Edge for connecting?

diamond.g · Jul 3, 2008

IOIIOOO said:
I wonder - if someone bought the 3G iphone at a non-contract price and put their old iPhone SIM card in it, would it function as a phone but only use Edge for connecting?

It should actually connect using UTMS as all AT&T SIMs (for a while) are 3G SIMs. This can be proven by taking the iPhone SIM out and putting it in a current 3G phone.

anim8or · Jul 3, 2008

matt.smith said:
Many moons ago - when 3G was new - I bought a second hand 3G handset and O2 had to send me a new 3G SIM card as my "2G SIM card is not compatible with our 3G network and will need to be upgraded".

I can't believe that O2 had the foresight to put 3G ready SIM cards in handsets that could only achieve 2G connections...

I know, but hey its true... this should make the whole thing alot easier for existing O2 iPhone users....

...Sparks a question in me though...... what stops us buying the 3G pay and go and then putting our original iPhone SIM into that... THUS not signing a new 18 month contract????

aquarterof · Jul 3, 2008

I can't believe that anyone would care...

...why do any of you care if you have to swap out SIM cards? Why are you so suspicious of the mobile operators and Apple?

It seems pretty straightforward to me:

USA - Not really 3G until recently, hence you need a new SIM.

Everywhere else in the developed world: Has been 3G for ages, hence the SIM that is in the original iPhone will work fine in the re-booted version.

It's not foresight on O2's part, merely reality.

O2 will not delay, and the process will be very easy. Where is there a problem?

diamond.g · Jul 3, 2008

aquarterof said:
...why do any of you care if you have to swap out SIM cards? Why are you so suspicious of the mobile operators and Apple?

It seems pretty straightforward to me:

USA - Not really 3G until recently, hence you need a new SIM.

Everywhere else in the developed world: Has been 3G for ages, hence the SIM that is in the original iPhone will work fine in the re-booted version.

It's not foresight on O2's part, merely reality.

O2 will not delay, and the process will be very easy. Where is there a problem?

But that is the problem, all current iPhones are using 3G SIMs. Any one with a AT&T SIM from like the past 1.5 years is probably using a 3G SIM. The whole point behind GSM is to be able to swap handsets by just moving your SIM from one phone to another. Otherwise what is the point of SIMs at all? You may as well do what CDMA does.

How it works for O2 should be the same for AT&T as well.

IOIIOOO · Jul 3, 2008

aquarterof said:
USA - Not really 3G until recently, hence you need a new SIM.

I have a launch iPhone, any my SIM card says 3G on it pretty clearly.

My guess is that they used 3G SIM cards from the get go as they had no real reason not to at the time, and that AT&T decided that it was better to give people new SIM cards with the new iPhones than to get it into the public that the new phones would simply work with your old account if you just swapped SIM cards.

stevelaw · Jul 3, 2008

iPhone SIM worked in ATT 8525

I have an original launch (bought on day 2) iPhone. Shortly after I bought the iPhone, I stuck the iPhone SIM into my Cingular/ATT 8525 to see if it would work. It worked great, and showed a 3G signal.

Migrating from an Original iPhone to an iPhone 3G

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