Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

How do we activate IP5 if ordered off another # on Family plan?

digitalfx

digitalfx

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 18, 2007
751
238
I ordered my iPhone 5 using one of the other eligible phones on my family plan. My number wasnt eleigble until next year.
When the iPhone 5 arrives, how am I going to activate the phone with my number (since the 4S sim wont fit in the iPhone 5) ?
 
digitalfx said:
I ordered my iPhone 5 using one of the other eligible phones on my family plan. My number wasnt eleigble until next year.
When the iPhone 5 arrives, how am I going to activate the phone with my number (since the 4S sim wont fit in the iPhone 5) ?
Click to expand...

I think what you are going to have to do is activate the phone on the line you upgraded then you will have to go in to a store and switch the lines back. If your with at&t you will need to get a nan sim on your line to put in the iphone 5 and a new sim to put back in the line you upgraded. If your with verizon or sprint i guess they can just switch it but since i have never been with either of them I am not sure how that works.
 
I have heard Verizon can flash SIMs OTA now but I am not so sure about that...when I gave my sister my Thunderbolt a while ago she had to go to Verizon to get a new SIM.
 
Before activating on the line you bought it for you can call your carrier tell them your story and have them activate it on your line instead. The sims in the phone are not tied to any account as they are in the box and shipped from China so there has not been a chance to tie the sim to anything. If you activate on the line you bought it from you will have to get a new sim.
 
On ATT. No way to do this over the phone?
I was hoping to avoid the crowds at the store on Launch day.

----------
PhoenixMac said:
Before activating on the line you bought it for you can call your carrier tell them your story and have them activate it on your line instead. The sims in the phone are not tied to any account as they are in the box and shipped from China so there has not been a chance to tie the sim to anything. If you activate on the line you bought it from you will have to get a new sim.
Click to expand...

thanks, this is what I was hoping for.
 
digitalfx said:
On ATT. No way to do this over the phone?
I was hoping to avoid the crowds at the store on Launch day.

----------



thanks, this is what I was hoping for.
Click to expand...

I called today to see if they could send me the sims in the mail but they charge $10 for shipping. $10 to ship a nano sim really??? anyway I called around and none of the stores around me have nano sims yet but they said they could get them next week ahead of the launch. I'll keep calling next week and hopefully I will be able to get the sims before launch day. otherwise I guess I'll be at the at&t store after work next Friday.:eek:
 
Swap phone numbers. Just go to verizons store. You'll have to swap contacts and stuff to don't forget.

digitalfx said:
I ordered my iPhone 5 using one of the other eligible phones on my family plan. My number wasnt eleigble until next year.
When the iPhone 5 arrives, how am I going to activate the phone with my number (since the 4S sim wont fit in the iPhone 5) ?
Click to expand...
 
PhoenixMac said:
Before activating on the line you bought it for you can call your carrier tell them your story and have them activate it on your line instead. The sims in the phone are not tied to any account as they are in the box and shipped from China so there has not been a chance to tie the sim to anything. If you activate on the line you bought it from you will have to get a new sim.
Click to expand...

I thought of that but I have the grandfathered data and texts on my # and i'm afraid that if I just activate the phone by having my number switched to the phone t could screw that up somehow so I am going to do the sim swap thing.
 
there are tons of threads on this btw..

for AT&T you call and do it over the phone. they change the sim to your line.. that's the official word from at&T now need to get a new SIM...
 
snook911 said:
I thought of that but I have the grandfathered data and texts on my # and i'm afraid that if I just activate the phone by having my number switched to the phone t could screw that up somehow so I am going to do the sim swap thing.
Click to expand...

Activating a phone on your account does not change your plan.

----------
jtp098 said:
there are tons of threads on this btw..

for AT&T you call and do it over the phone. they change the sim to your line.. that's the official word from at&T now need to get a new SIM...
Click to expand...

Why would you need a new sim if you have not tied the sim that comes with the phone to any account yet?
 
I'm on the same boat used my wife's upgrade to buy the iphone 5. I called ATT this afternoon and was told I would have to go to the store and have them activate the phone :(. Hopefully its not that bad on: Friday.
 
sorry that took so long for the link! my internet is having issues and had to find my other post!


http://www.att.com/esupport/article....id=wAmMVjKu8w1

----------
PhoenixMac said:
Activating a phone on your account does not change your plan.

----------



Why would you need a new sim if you have not tied the sim that comes with the phone to any account yet?
Click to expand...

I wrote that a bad way my mistake.. no.. not now

You call from another phone and give them the iphone 5s info. which i think they can get off the account anyways. They for lack of a better work re-format the sim in the iphone 5 to your number.
 
PhoenixMac said:
Before activating on the line you bought it for you can call your carrier tell them your story and have them activate it on your line instead. The sims in the phone are not tied to any account as they are in the box and shipped from China so there has not been a chance to tie the sim to anything. If you activate on the line you bought it from you will have to get a new sim.
Click to expand...
Actually before activating check back here on MacRumors for the latest information in completing the Upgrade Swap.

Also you are incorrect. That new Nano-SIM in your iPhone from China is tied to a specifc line ( phone number ). It is all done based on the bar codes on the box.

A simple scan by Apple for direct orders or by your carrier for carrier orders. This allows Apple and the individual carriers to assign the IMEI and ICCID (SIM) or the MEID and ICCID for the CDMA iPhones to the proper account. :eek:

Note each Carrier and even Apple.com order may have different activation steps. They have for previous iPhones. So stop before you try to do an OTA activation or use iTunes and come back here for the latest update.

This year with the Nano-SIM we will have issues just like for the iPhone 4 when the Micro-SIM arrived and caused problems for upgrade swaps! ;)

Dave
 
dave006 said:
Actually before activating check back here on MacRumors for the latest information in completing the Upgrade Swap.

Also you are incorrect. That new Nano-SIM in your iPhone from China is tied to a specifc line ( phone number ). It is all done based on the bar codes on the box.

A simple scan by Apple for direct orders or by your carrier for carrier orders. This allows Apple and the individual carriers to assign the IMEI and ICCID (SIM) or the MEID and ICCID for the CDMA iPhones to the proper account. :eek:

Note each Carrier and even Apple.com order may have different activation steps. They have for previous iPhones. So stop before you try to do an OTA activation or use iTunes and come back here for the latest update.

This year with the Nano-SIM we will have issues just like for the iPhone 4 when the Micro-SIM arrived and caused problems for upgrade swaps! ;)

Dave
Click to expand...

How can a barcode scan tie the sim in a phone that has not been taken out of a box. I am just saying from experience that I have bought a phone and swapped lines without opening the box and when I activated it, it was on my line. Sure the IMEI is tied to the account but you can swap the IMEIs before opening the box.
 
Found this:

Yes, you can use the upgrade eligibility of another number on your account to upgrade your own device. To take advantage of this, upgrade the line that is eligible. When your device arrives, follow these simple steps and an AT&T representative will help you activate.
Contact AT&T at 1-800-331-0500 or 611 from a different wireless device. At the prompt, enter the wireless number that received the upgrade.
At the next prompt, choose option #2 to activate your phone on a different mobile number, and an AT&T representative will help you from there.
 
PhoenixMac said:
How can a barcode scan tie the sim in a phone that has not been taken out of a box. I am just saying from experience that I have bought a phone and swapped lines without opening the box and when I activated it, it was on my line. Sure the IMEI is tied to the account but you can swap the IMEIs before opening the box.
Click to expand...

Apple tells you to use iTunes or OTA for activion and AT&T provides an instruction sheet in their package. Hey even the instructions from AT&T vary depending your order type, for exampe: Consumer order vs Premier order. :eek:

The bar code scan ties the IMEI and the ICCID for an AT&T iPhone to the account in AT&T system.

AT&T reps use the term pre-parked information on the account for the device activation. Yes calling Customer care or going to an AT&T Corp retail location or even some Apple stores that have on-site AT&T reps for launch can get the IMEI and the ICCID assigned to the correct line.

However it really comes down to the skill of the rep and if the systems are up due to the crunch on "Launch Day". Expect to see lots of posts looking for a new Nano-SIM because the one in the upgrade phone got activated on the donor line.

Make sure that the person that is providing the Donor line for the upgrade knows that they might get their SIM killed. Yes, it has happened every year. :mad:

Howver since the activation steps vary depending on where you purchased, it is a problem every year. Do a search from last year and you will see the issue with AT&T iPhones that were ordered from Apple had issues since the activation steps had the phone number pre-selected on the activation screen for OTA or iTunes activation. When you called AT&T or went to the AT&T store they would put in new Micro-SIM that was not tied to the account to complete the activation.

It was a major issue for those that were reselling sealed box upgrade units that the purchaser wanted their last 4 SSN and billing ZIPCODE to get the iPhone activated.
 
digitalfx said:
I ordered my iPhone 5 using one of the other eligible phones on my family plan. My number wasnt eleigble until next year.
When the iPhone 5 arrives, how am I going to activate the phone with my number (since the 4S sim wont fit in the iPhone 5) ?
Click to expand...

Read one of the hundred other threads with this same question over the past few days.

Has reading become a novelty in America?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back