iPad Micro SIM in iPhone 4 for data only?

[gngan]

Thanks, I see what you mean: I plan on getting a factory unlocked iPhone so, according to the tip posted in this thread, I think I should be able to use the iPad sim in the iPhone for data only.

What I would like to know is whether the iPhone will effectively let me go to the website posted here over wifi so that I can change the apn even if it has never been activated before with a proper voice + data sim. I wouldn't want to end up with a brick!

Thanks

All iPhone in HK is factory unlock. That's doesn't mean you can use your sim with your iPad. That's what i mean. It all depends on the carrier.

Moreover, you iPad/iPhone will never brick because of using different sim. Be careful using the word 'brick' as it's sensitive here.

 

[MaxBurn]

Wow, thanks for the info this is what I wanted. I have an iPad 3G that I really like but don't like to carry out so I hope I can pick up any regular old US att locked 3Gs and use it for data only. In reading I just need to get a sim adapter tray and change the IMEI info, that's really all there is?

Is it possible to accidentally make a phone call on an iPad sim? Hopefully it just doesn't go through at all?

 

[rusbo.uk]

Even though they are micro sims im sure there are is a data type and a phone type..

 

[ryohazuki222]

Anyone having any problems with doing this these days? Saw on another forum that ATT finally caught on or something and now real ipad IMEIs are required.

also, anyone know if you can register more than one sim to a single ipad imei?

 

[MaxBurn]

I tried this today and successfully used an iPad SIM in a 3Gs. I only pulled up a couple web pages to verify but it worked. SIM still worked in the iPad afterward too.

It won't do anything without changing the APN so I used unlockit.co.nz to change the APN to broadband with no user or password. They don't have it as a preset so just type it in. iPad is 4.2.1 with the 250mb AT&T plan. Phone is 3Gs with old boot ROM, 4.0.2, 5.13.04 and is locked to AT&T. About any microSIM adapter on ebay will work for this.

I plan on using it this way while on vacation the next couple weeks. If AT&T gives me any crap about this I just plan on swapping to Tmobile, or just go without and continue to use work phone.

 

[squeakyclutch]

So I'm exploring the use of my iPad sim card in my iPhone 4 for data only/VOIP.

My question is: is it still possible to make emergency calls using the iPad sim card in the iPhone 4??? Does anyone know?

 

[MaxBurn]

I'm not trying it but I am guessing no.

 

[rahhb.riley]

So this thread has died down a bit and I'm not sure if the situation has changed a bit...
My end goal is to use my iPad sim in my iPhone 4 for 3G data use only.

I have changed my APN on the iPhone to Broadband using unlockit. 3G data is on, yet still won't work. Someone a few post back wondered if it had to do with something AT&T did in regards to the IMEI of the device. Anyone know if they finally were able to keep this from working? I'm running 4.2.1

Anything you think I might be missing? I've no pro hacker but I've been following the JB/Unlock train since the original iPhone and rarely have an issue like this I can't work through.

Thanks.

 

[ellsworth]

Hey rahhb.riley
What you are wanting to do still works.
The problem that I've seen is the latest iOS no longer giving access to change the APN manually. You mentioned using unlockit. Unfortunately, you also have to change/adjust the APN settings on your phone. The settings function use to be located in Settings // General // Network // APN
but Apple no longer gives you access to this in iOS 4.1 and above. Why? I have no idea. You will have to jailbreak your phone in order to get that setting option back. Sorry.

 

[MaxBurn]

The unlockit site works without a jailbreak. Not being able to change your apn manually in settings is just another part of having a locked phone.

Anyway, I stopped doing this when I went gophone. Not as cheap data but it is nice to have a whole phone. I'm one of those few that has no issue fitting in the 500mb/$25/30 days plan.

 

[rahhb.riley]

First off, thank you both for your quick replies and suggestions.

I thought unlockit did change the APN without jailbreaking. Having said that, the phone is jailbroken. I have seen a few suggestions of Cydia apps to control the APN setting, which would you suggest?

Any other suggestions? I seemly have the APN changed, but will try it through a Cydia App that will allow me to change the APN Settings.

Small thing- when I create the APN profile on unlockit, I have been leaving the carrier settings blank, I should be correct? Or should I tell it the SIM is AT&T?

PS. @ MaxBurn, how is the go phone plan treating you? Advantages or Disadvantages?

 

[MaxBurn]

My phone is not jailbroken right now and I used unlockit to get the apn right for the gophone plan (it is different from stock AT&T locked iPhone apn), as far as the cydia tweaks I never used one.

I think but I am not sure that once you get the unlockit apn in place a reboot of the phone might be required to make it redo the cell handshake?

Gophone plan is what it is, still AT&T service which isn't the greatest but I don't feel I am over paying for it. Works when I am not in the house anyway. I have another thread discussing it, you can legitimately get an iPhone on the gophone plan now once you find someone willing to look up the new rules on the gophone smartphone plans and not spout the old no iPhone on gophone rules which don't apply anymore.

 

[JohnDoe98]

So I'm exploring the use of my iPad sim card in my iPhone 4 for data only/VOIP.

My question is: is it still possible to make emergency calls using the iPad sim card in the iPhone 4??? Does anyone know?

I use an ipad sim card in my iphone 4 for data only/voip. It works like a charm and talkatone and google voice give you free calls to the US and Canada with very competitive rates for other countries. It's fabulous and the call quality is excellent.

As for emergency calls, I've never tested it, but from what I understand carriers are not supposed to be able to block emergency calls. All Cell phones are supposed to have direct access to 911 services by default. I think I read somewhere a while back, that such access should even work without a sim card installed. But unless someone is willing to actually test it, all this is merely speculative. But from the article I read a while back, there was some non-profit that collected old cell phones that did or didn't have sim cards and plans on them and distributed them to people so as to give them emergency services, which does suggest that 911 works on phones without voice sims in them.

 

[JohnDoe98]

First off, thank you both for your quick replies and suggestions.

I thought unlockit did change the APN without jailbreaking. Having said that, the phone is jailbroken. I have seen a few suggestions of Cydia apps to control the APN setting, which would you suggest?

I used to do it myself via the iphone configuration utility from my mac. But if the unlockit site doesn't work anymore as of 4.1 and up, I doubt the configuration utility will. However, I am still doing this to this very day and it still works like a charm. I'm currently jailbroken and have tetherme installed, it comes with an apn utility as well. I'd recommend using that option from Cydia.

Small thing- when I create the APN profile on unlockit, I have been leaving the carrier settings blank, I should be correct? Or should I tell it the SIM is AT&T?

You can leave the carriers settings blank, or you can use the following configuration if you can get it setup. If you can't get all those details configured from unlockit, or doing it yourself via the iphone configuration utility, the only important setting is the first, the Cellular Data one.

Cellular Data:
APN: broadband
Username:
Password:

Visual Voicemail:
APN: acds.voicemail
Username:
Password:

MMS:
APN: wap.cingular
Username:
Password:
MMSC: http://mmsc.cingular.com
MMS Proxy: wireless.cingular.com:80
MMS Max Message Size: 1048576
MMS UA Prof URL:

 

[JohnDoe98]

Is it possible to accidentally make a phone call on an iPad sim? Hopefully it just doesn't go through at all?

It is not possible. You get to hear the voice of some ATT rep say a recorded message along the lines of: you don't have a voice plan, to add one call ATT.

 

[JohnDoe98]

Even though they are micro sims im sure there are is a data type and a phone type..

Correct, for ATT anyway.

 

[shwick2]

I use an ipad sim card in my iphone 4 for data only/voip. It works like a charm and talkatone and google voice give you free calls to the US and Canada with very competitive rates for other countries. It's fabulous and the call quality is excellent.

I've been thinking about doing that, but what is the battery life like?

Doesn't the iphone4 keep trying to establish a connection to the GSM phone network, eating battery, even with a data only sim?

Also you have to constantly stay connected to the 3g network. Can your phone even remain on standby doing that?

I know the iphone4 can receive calls while on standby, and can stay on standby for up to 300 hours.

Finally, Apple engineered the iphone to work seamlessly using native phone calls. Isn't using a voip app sort of messy? i.e. what about the contacts list, i guess you don't use that? anything else that relates to native calls on iphone would also be rendered useless, such as call recording, recording messages from missed calls in inbox, etc

 

[JohnDoe98]

I've been thinking about doing that, but what is the battery life like?

Pretty good for me. I use my iphone a lot for different purposes. It always last me the entire day.

Doesn't the iphone4 keep trying to establish a connection to the GSM phone network, eating battery, even with a data only sim?

Yes, the iphone will maintain a 3G connection and if you are in a Wifi network, it will maintain a connection to the Wifi network so that your call always comes through on the best possible connection you can. Does this seriously impact battery? No. When in standby my battery hardly diminishes. It can sit all day in standby and maybe drop like 20%. I haven't tested it but I certainly can for you. The point being, battery life has never been an issue for me.

Also you have to constantly stay connected to the 3g network. Can your phone even remain on standby doing that?

Yes it can. iOS is really well designed. It can even maintain wifi in standby.

I know the iphone4 can receive calls while on standby, and can stay on standby for up to 300 hours.

While you won't get 300 hours on standby, do you really need that?

Finally, Apple engineered the iphone to work seamlessly using native phone calls. Isn't using a voip app sort of messy?

Not for me. Instead of using the native phone app, I just use Talkatone. It does SMSs at the same time. Truth be told though, I prefer the native messaging client so I don't use talkatone's sms features. I use the SMS GV Extension. And if I want to facetime, I do it through the contacts app.

i.e. what about the contacts list, i guess you don't use that?

Of course I do. Talkatone reads the contacts from the phone so all your native contacts are always displayed in Talkatone and in the entire OS. So there is no issue here.

anything else that relates to native calls on iphone would also be rendered useless, such as call recording, recording messages from missed calls in inbox, etc

Yes those might be useless (but google voice offers those services and can be integrated in your usage of your iphone and talkatone, which also has some of that stuff). All things considered though, there is a price to pay to have everything so cheap. Without 3G in the mix, you basically have a free phone line and free messaging when in Wifi zones, like at home. There is no point to get a landline. And if you use a data plan, like we are talking about, the price is unbeatable. I only which the Phone GV Extension on cydia was as good as the SMS one. If someone could integrate talkatone into the native phone client it would be wonderful, but until that happens, I'd say this is quite a deal, just not perfectly seamless.

 

[shwick2]

Pretty good for me. I use my iphone a lot for different purposes. It always last me the entire day.



Yes, the iphone will maintain a 3G connection and if you are in a Wifi network, it will maintain a connection to the Wifi network so that your call always comes through on the best possible connection you can. Does this seriously impact battery? No. When in standby my battery hardly diminishes. It can sit all day in standby and maybe drop like 20%. I haven't tested it but I certainly can for you. The point being, battery life has never been an issue for me.



Yes it can. iOS is really well designed. It can even maintain wifi in standby.



While you won't get 300 hours on standby, do you really need that?



Not for me. Instead of using the native phone app, I just use Talkatone. It does SMSs at the same time. Truth be told though, I prefer the native messaging client so I don't use talkatone's sms features. I use the SMS GV Extension. And if I want to facetime, I do it through the contacts app.



Of course I do. Talkatone reads the contacts from the phone so all your native contacts are always displayed in Talkatone and in the entire OS. So there is no issue here.



Yes those might be useless (but google voice offers those services and can be integrated in your usage of your iphone and talkatone, which also has some of that stuff). All things considered though, there is a price to pay to have everything so cheap. Without 3G in the mix, you basically have a free phone line and free messaging when in Wifi zones, like at home. There is no point to get a landline. And if you use a data plan, like we are talking about, the price is unbeatable. I only which the Phone GV Extension on cydia was as good as the SMS one. If someone could integrate talkatone into the native phone client it would be wonderful, but until that happens, I'd say this is quite a deal, just not perfectly seamless.

*drool*
K now I want to do this

For $35/mo 5gb of data and voip, you just can't beat it.
Rogers best plan is $55 for 200 mins and 1gb, yech. This is way better.
I love the fact you can be useful to your friends and act as a wireless access point with some actual BANDWIDTH.

 

[JohnDoe98]

*drool*
K now I want to do this

For $35/mo 5gb of data and voip, you just can't beat it.
Rogers best plan is $55 for 200 mins and 1gb, yech. This is way better.
I love the fact you can be useful to your friends and act as a wireless access point with some actual BANDWIDTH.

I am not sure it works with Rogers, but I heard Telus sims work and I know you can get this to work on Bell. With Bell just sign up for the flex data plan for tablets and tell them you intend to use it on a few different tablets (they will register the sim to no specific device and as a result it will work in the iphone). With ATT just get the ipad data plan and activate it on an ipad. Once it is working, pop the sim into the iphone and change the APN to broadband and your good to go. Idon't know about Europe.

 

[shwick2]

I am not sure it works with Rogers, but I heard Telus sims work and I know you can get this to work on Bell. With Bell just sign up for the flex data plan for tablets and tell them you intend to use it on a few different tablets (they will register the sim to no specific device and as a result it will work in the iphone). With ATT just get the ipad data plan and activate it on an ipad. Once it is working, pop the sim into the iphone and change the APN to broadband and your good to go. Idon't know about Europe.

Ah thanks for the info. I wanted to go with bell as I was reading they have solid coverage for Ottawa and the rest of Canada, as well as more wifi hotspots.

 

[ellsworth]

I'm currently jailbroken and have tetherme installed, it comes with an apn utility as well. I'd recommend using that option from Cydia.

I'm also using therme from Cydia. It cost $5 bucks but is worth it for what it does. I was on a little road trip and was able to share my connection with an ipod touch and an ipad. It's wonderfully handy.

 

[atonba]

Going to france

I'm going to france tomorrow, and I have a factory unlocked iPhone 4. Does anyone knows if it is possible and without a hassle to buy a prepaid microsim for iPad (data only) for instance at Orange, and use this in my iPhone 4. And will my personal hotspot still work?

 

[TheRealHershey]

Hey,

So it looks like this is still working, right?

I'm going to get an iPhone 4, JB it, get Skype/Talkatone + Google Voice and leave Sprint's *****ty service in the dust.

What's the easiest method of getting a data-only micro-sim card nowadays? Is it still the iPad 3G? If so, is it just 1 sim per iPad 3G?

Thanks for any replies!

 

[vitzr]

I really wish people would read information and have some basic technical knowledge of these devices.

Reading is something that many undervalue.

It's also the reason they can't adapt to new concepts like Android.

After all, some people are far happier playing the victim, blaming others or bashing a device. It's very socially acceptable in forums to ask others to do their work for them. Give them the answers they seek, so they don't have to think.

Steve Jobs was brilliant in exploiting these types. He told them what they wanted, how much to pay Apple, and made his products so easy to use anyone could manage to use them.

Proof positive were the articles written by many in the industry, when they discovered the huge pre-release enthusiasm for the iPad. When potential buyers were questioned why, they had no clue what an iPad was, or what it was for.

This of course because of Apple's secrecy.

How amazing, they were already committed to purchase a product they knew absolutely nothing about. Now that's a testament to the hype, and lure of Steve Jobs "Reality Distortion Field".

It was one of the best things that happened to my Apple stock.

I thank everyone who blindly buys into the club.