Can I just switch the SIM card to iPhone 3G I have? When I boot it up, will everything just work? 
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My mom's iPhone 3G died, & I have an extra one. Can I just put her SIM in mine?
- Thread starter jamesryanbell
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They are both on AT&T.
The 3G I have is not currently in use though. It's just been in a box for a year or so.They are both on AT&T.
As long as the sim cards are all from ATT go right ahead. I occasionally have switched between iphone and blackberry in the past by just switching the sim cards in and out of the phones
Changed the SIM card. Phone works, but none of the contacts are on the phone. I guess I'm ignorant, but I thought all of the personal settings were stored ON the SIM card as well, so everything would just appear on the phone automatically without having to restore from backup (I'm completely serious). Disappointed.
I would suggest you restore her last backup for the computer that she normally synced her dead iPhone with, that way the replacement (your loaner) will work as "her" iPhone.Can I just switch the SIM card to iPhone 3G I have? When I boot it up, will everything just work?
Also, it would be a good idea to check the firmware level of your iPhone 3G before you try the restore since you can't restore across different versions. So don't upgrade your 3G before you start, you can always do that after the fact. I would also suggest that you not install iOS 4 on a 3G ( for me it just runs too slow..... )
However, Yes you can just put her current active iPhone's SIM into another iPhone 3G and it will work. It was the original iPhone that wanted to pair the phone and the SIM.
Dave
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As you found out the iPhone does not write contacts to the SIM!
Since the original iPhone, Apple does not store any contact data on the SIM only on the device. That's why it is important to sync on a regular schedule.
See my previous post about checking about the firmware level and try restoring the last backup of her iPhone to get back a baseline of contacts.
Dave