buying second iphone... can use existing sim w/o activating?

[mdwsta4]

i bought an iphone opening weekend, changed the housing to black (some might remember that post), and sold it. been using a SE k850 and T650 since. thinking about picking up an 8GB iphone since the price has come down. will probably hold off until next month to see what comes out with SDK, but my question is.... i have my old iphone's sim card and am still on an iphone plan with ATT. if i buy a new iphone, i can simply insert this sim card and begin to go, right? there's no need to activate it like the original iphone. normal sim cards can be swapped without a problem. just want to make sure a new iphone is essentially the same.

thanks!

 

[mdwsta4]

now that i'm thinking about it, i have a follow up question...
my work cell is also ATT. would i be able to put that sim card in the iphone or not since it would need activation? and would visual voicemail work since i wouldn't be signed up under that plan with work?

 

[waremaster]

now that i'm thinking about it, i have a follow up question...
my work cell is also ATT. would i be able to put that sim card in the iphone or not since it would need activation? and would visual voicemail work since i wouldn't be signed up under that plan with work?

No the iPhone needs an iPhone sim card. However the iPhones card will work in other phones. Also the ID of your original sim will almost definetly NOT activate a new iPhone as even people who had to replace there phones had to get a new sim. I am 90% sure of that. The folks at the AT&T store faught me tooth and nail when I got my Kaiser saying the card from my iPhone would not work in it. I proved them wrong.

 

[mdwsta4]

well in that case i guess i'll have to unlock it or use another third party app to do it. i know there was a way to get around the activation process, but i never looked into it before. guess i'll have to see what's changed in the last few months since i got rid of it.

 

[AJ Muni]

You can't unlock iPhones right now that come with 1.1.2 firmware out of the box. You would need an 1.1.1 to unlock at the moment.

 

[mdwsta4]

looks like you're right if the phone came with 1.1.2. i might just have to find a used one or if i hold off wait for another work around.
http://modmyifone.com/wiki/index.php/Unlock_the_iPhone_1.1.2_(Upgrade)

 

[AJ Muni]

looks like you're right if the phone came with 1.1.2. i might just have to find a used one or if i hold off wait for another work around.
http://modmyifone.com/wiki/index.php/Unlock_the_iPhone_1.1.2_(Upgrade)

as i said in another thread..

when 1.1.3 comes out, the dev team with have the solution for 1.1.2. it's simple really, just need a new firmware so that they can use its baseband to validate the secpack, thus downgrading the baseband to an unlockable 04.01. Unlocking a 1.1.2 OOTB (out of the box) phone is currently impossible with software-only solutions, due to the new 4.6 bootloader. An exploit in this bootloader has been found, but the secpack from 1.1.3 is required to use it. If 1.1.3 introduces a baseband update, the secpack can be extracted from that (if 1.1.3 does not introduce a baseband update, then we'll have to wait until one is introduced).

 

[TEG]

As long as your iTunes still has a backup of your phone it won't matter what sim you use, as your new one will just become a clone of your old phone. You can use any at&t/cingular SIM in the iPhone, and the SIM that comes with the iPhone will work in any AT&T/cingular/at&t GSM or 3G(CDMA-W) phone. Otherwise, just reactivate, extend your current iPhone contract, then you can use that SIM in your other phones when you go someplace where you'd worry about losing or damaging your iPhone.

BTW - You can currently get an at&t GO Phone for free at the at&t stores. I honestly suggest that every iPhone owner get one as a backup/outdoor phone.

TEG

 

[waremaster]

As long as your iTunes still has a backup of your phone it won't matter what sim you use, as your new one will just become a clone of your old phone. You can use any at&t/cingular SIM in the iPhone, and the SIM that comes with the iPhone will work in any AT&T/cingular/at&t GSM or 3G(CDMA-W) phone. Otherwise, just reactivate, extend your current iPhone contract, then you can use that SIM in your other phones when you go someplace where you'd worry about losing or damaging your iPhone.

BTW - You can currently get an at&t GO Phone for free at the at&t stores. I honestly suggest that every iPhone owner get one as a backup/outdoor phone.

TEG

Do you have any more information on these free go phones at AT&T? Like how free is free? Just walk in and say hey can I have a go phone? or is there some purchase required? Any additional info would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[hexonxonx]

I have two phones, my iPhone and my GoPhone that I use because I can get 200 Texts for $4.95. I can use my iPhone sim in my GoPhone and the Gophone works under the number that my iPhone is. I plug the GoPhone sim into my iPhone and the iPhone accepts it but my iPhone won't work.

I also have a friend who bought a new 1.1.2 iPhone and I tried putting my iPhones sim into it and iTunes prompted me to activate it as if it were a new iPhone. I was told that is normal that you have to activate it again but port over your old iPhone number and then it gets transferred to the new iPhone. The Apple rep said this is normal since the Sim and iPhones use an IMEI number as well. You can't just insert your old sim into a just opened up brand new iPhone....unless it's jailbroken I think.

 

[TEG]

Do you have any more information on these free go phones at AT&T? Like how free is free? Just walk in and say hey can I have a go phone? or is there some purchase required? Any additional info would be appreciated.

Thanks.

You may have to start a new Pay as you go plan, I was in a hurry to get my voicemail fixed and get back to my car before the PDX Police towed it. You can also go into nearly any at&t retailer (including Radio Shack, Best Buy, or Circuit City) and pick up a goPhone for $20 with a $10 minutes card to use or give away.

TEG

 

[avaloncourt]

Do you have any more information on these free go phones at AT&T? Like how free is free? Just walk in and say hey can I have a go phone? or is there some purchase required? Any additional info would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I just got one for my wife from AT&T online. It cost $9.99 total and they provided me a $10 credit with an enclosed slip.

 

[dawgfang]

No the iPhone needs an iPhone sim card. However the iPhones card will work in other phones. Also the ID of your original sim will almost definetly NOT activate a new iPhone as even people who had to replace there phones had to get a new sim. I am 90% sure of that. The folks at the AT&T store faught me tooth and nail when I got my Kaiser saying the card from my iPhone would not work in it. I proved them wrong.

I am going to switch to AT&T and my wife wants an iPhone and so do I but I also want a Tilt aka Kaiser. Are you saying that I could get an iPhone, activate it and then use it's sim card in a Tilt (bought off Craig's list) and both phones work with data and text correctly when the sim is inside?

 

[wakka092]

I am going to switch to AT&T and my wife wants an iPhone and so do I but I also want a Tilt aka Kaiser. Are you saying that I could get an iPhone, activate it and then use it's sim card in a Tilt (bought off Craig's list) and both phones work with data and text correctly when the sim is inside?

Sure. Just don't let AT&T know; they'll put you on a more expensive plan.

 

[hexonxonx]

Using sim cards in different phones, especially iPhones is a tricky thing.

I have my orginal iPhone from six months ago that still works perfectly. Last month, I bought a cheap GoPhone at Radio Shack. I activated the GoPhone and found that I was able to use my iPhones sim in the GoPhone. The GoPhones sim would NOT work in the iPhone. Why? I have no clue.

I then got bored with the GoPhones cheap functions and bought a second iPhone. I wanted to use the new iPhone under my original iPhones phone number so I activated it as such and was using it now with my original iPhone phone number. I had also heard that to get the new iPhone to use my original iPhone phone number, that I had to use the old sim in the new iPhone. Well the iPhone would not activate till I put the sim it came with back in. It then activated as my original phone number.

I then took my original iPhone, jailbroke it and for some reason, the GoPhone sim now worked in it. Very cool, till I decided to mess with the iPhone and see what would happen if I restored it. After restoring, the GoPhones sim would not work in this iPhone any longer. Ok, I though well maybe it only worked in the iPhone before because I had it jailbroken. I jailbreak it again and the GoPhone sim still don't work in the iPhone.

Ok, so now I decided to try switching the sims between the iPhones. That worked! The GoPhone sim now works in my other iPhone and the iPhone sim now works in my other iPhone. Why? I have no clue. It just works. Just don't count on any other AT&T sim card working in the iPhone. The iPhone will of course have to be activated first before it will work, putting a sim in it simply won't make it work.

Yes I love a complicated life.

 

[TEG]

Sure. Just don't let AT&T know; they'll put you on a more expensive plan.

at&t doesn't care what phone you use along with your iPhone. As long as you pay your bill on time, you could be using the same SIM in 100 phones a week for testing. GSM carriers traditionally don't care about the phones you use. I have a friend who would buy unlocked European phones and use them because they would offer different features than their US counterparts. He actually spent $200 on a RAZR V3i with iTunes and used it on his Cingular account and they didn't care. They even assisted him with a minor hardware problem he was having. As he was a subscriber, they were duty bound to assist, even though it was not their phone.

TEG

 

[mdwsta4]

right. that's what i do. i don't like the US offering and like to be different. changing phones every 3 months gets expensive, but hey, it's fun!
ah well. i'll wait until SDK comes out next month, then see what new features it offers and maybe then i'll pick up another one. already selling my k850 and unsure what i want as a backup phone.