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Carrier ATT 5G SIM
- Thread starter circatee
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Givmeabrek
macrumors 68040
Pretty simple. If you buy an iPhone with ATT service it will come with a 5G sim. If you buy a sim free unlocked model it will have no sim card.
Givmeabrek
macrumors 68040
And I moved my ATT SIM, from my iPhone 11 Pro Max to my iPhone 12 Pro Max.
I merely wanted to know, if in order to obtain 5G speeds and even have the icon show on the device, is a 'special' 5G SIM card needed. After all, my current SIM card is just about to turn 1, on 28th November.
PS: I feel like my conversation was either poorly written, or I simply should have not asked it in the first place...
Givmeabrek
macrumors 68040
You need the white 5G sim card and not the one in the 11PM. You also need a plan that includes 5G service. Only the new plans have that.
webbuzz
macrumors 68030
I purchased a SIM-free iPhone 12 Pro Max and used the SIM from my iPhone X, My plan is Unlimited Elite and 5G is working fine.
Your post was written fine and easily understandable.
Lobwedgephil
macrumors 603
You don't need a new SIM card from At&t, your sim from your old phone will work fine. What you do need is a plan that supports 5G, and for At&t to properly provision your imei.
Just spoke with ATT, and we currently have Unlimited plan Choice 2, at $175 a month, for 4 lines.
The Unlimited Starter 5G plan is $200 a month, for 4 lines. Since we have 4 lines on the account, and thus far, only one has an iPhone 12, I will wait, before changing to the Unlimited Starter 5G plan...
The Unlimited Starter 5G plan is $200 a month, for 4 lines. Since we have 4 lines on the account, and thus far, only one has an iPhone 12, I will wait, before changing to the Unlimited Starter 5G plan...
what is the advantage of getting sim free iphone pro max 12? I see the option of att or sim-free. is the att one locked to att or does it just come with sim card attached to att? i am upgrading from att iphone x. i will be paying in full.
Nhwhazup
macrumors 68040
I bought my SIM free 12 Pro from Apple. I even called ATT to ask if I needed a new SIM. They told me no. I swapped my really old SIM and off I went. I live in rural NH with no real access to 5G. I’ve had normal service compared to the X iPhone that I came from. There is another thread with many complaining of poor cellular service. I have been paying attention specifically for this but haven’t noticed any issues with the method that I used.
Now my daughter who got a new 12 on Verizon is having issues with no service and dropped calls. She currently has an old SIM from last year. She is going to get a new SIM card to see if that helps.
Now my daughter who got a new 12 on Verizon is having issues with no service and dropped calls. She currently has an old SIM from last year. She is going to get a new SIM card to see if that helps.
So if you take your old sim card out of an iphone 11 with ATT, and do not have a 5g plan, will everything work fine? Will the 5g just automatically not work because you don't have a 5g plan ???
Nhwhazup
macrumors 68040
This is exactly true. The old SIM should work just like it did in your 11.
There are many complaining of poor cellular connectivity and dropped calls on another thread. My husband and I both have ATT plans and switched our old SIMS to a 12 and 12 Pro. Both new phones are working like our old phones with no loss of connectivity. We are in rural NH so we don’t have 5G plans.
internetrando
macrumors 6502a
I did exactly the same thing. I passed on the option to purchase with an AT&T SIM - just felt 100% confident I would get a completely unlocked 12 Pro if I bought one with no SIM. I took the SIM card out of my previous 11 Pro and everything looked good (I do NOT have a 5G plan currently and it's at least a year away where I live). Then I started to realize that there IS a newer AT&T SIM card and as mine was at least 3 years old I went into an AT&T store and asked about a new SIM. They looked at me like I had two heads. About a week later I went back and this time they acknowledged there was a new SIM - but they didn't have it in stock and to call AT&T. I called AT&T and asked them and they said "Sure - we'll send one to you - you'll get it tomorrow". Tomorrow - and several more tomorrows came and went and I finally traced the order in my account and found out it was back ordered. I called them again to see if they could tell me when they expected stock and they told me they had no idea but try a store. So I went back and the store told me they'd be getting them in in a couple of days. So back I went in a couple of days - and they told me they were out but getting more in. So I called the store in a couple of days and was told they were out. But then said "Wait a minute" and put me on hold - in a couple of minutes I was told they checked with the manager and they DO have a few in stock, so I said "I'll be there in 15 minutes" - and I was. A simple process to put in the new SIM and off I went.
Was this all worth it? Probably not but I AM happy. The new SIM gives me about 3X the upload speed on LTE as the old SIM, and I have one bar more signal strength on the tower signal than I had with the old SIM. I still don't have a 5G plan but when there are actually 5G towers in my area I'll be ready to go.
Some anecdotal stories from around the internet: There are some security features native to 5G that seem to require a new SIM to implement - but a 4G / LTE SIM will still work even though these functions may not be supported. Also, there seem to be a number of reported problems (disconnects) with the Apple SIM cards delivered in new phones, and AT&T has had to swap out a number of 5G SIMs for this reason - which may explain why these cards are hard to find at AT&T stores or direct from AT&T. AT&T has two SKU numbers for their 5G SIMs - 6818B which is a "Combi SIM" that can be used as a Standard SIM, a Micro SIM, or a Nano SIM depending on how much surrounding plastic you remove, and 6817B which is only a Nano SIM (the iPhone 12 takes a Nano SIM). They gave me the 6818B.
Question: I moved my SIM from an iPhone 7 Plus to an unlocked iPhone 12 Pro Max. Should I purchase a 5G SIM card and should I upgrade to a 5G phone plan?
teeshot44
macrumors 65816
Buy one, NO. If you need one they won't charge you. Upgrade your plan, MAYBE. Depends on where you live, what it's gonna cost you and what you think you'll need 5G for. In most areas of the US, except for some of the major population centers, 4G/LTE is just as good and just as fast.
DiCaprioAngel
macrumors 6502a
Nhwhazup
macrumors 68040
I would answer this based on your service area. I live in NH and 5G is pretty much non-existent. I just swapped my old SIM and have my old plan. Everything is working as it should.
If I lived in a big city with available 5G, I might look into the 5G SIM and plan.
webbuzz
macrumors 68030
The 11 doesn't support 5G. The icon you're seeing is "5Ge", which "is AT&T's misleading name for an enhanced 4G LTE network [...] and is not actual 5G connectivity."
See:
5GE: AT&T's Misleading Label on iPhone
After upgrading to iOS 12.2, the newest version of iOS, AT&T users began seeing a "5GE" icon in place of "LTE" for their cellular connection. This is AT&T's misleading name for an enhanced 4G LTE network, and as explained in the guide below, is not actual 5G connectivity. Why am I seeing a 5GE...
www.macrumors.com