iPhone XR SIM Card Compatibility Between iPhone 5c and iPhone XR

[rrm74001]

A family member of mine purchased an unlocked iPhone XR today, upgrading from a Verizon iPhone 5c. Apparently the person at the Apple store gave them a new Verizon SIM card because they said one in their iPhone 5c was 'too old' and 'might limit the features and capabilities of the phone'.

Is that possible? I know the iPhone 5c and iPhone XR both use nano SIM cards, so there is no form factor issue...

But other than that, a SIM card is a SIM card, right?

 

[JPack]

Features like VoLTE are controlled by the SIM card. Just use the new one.

 

[rrm74001]

Features like VoLTE are controlled by the SIM card. Just use the new one.

So the only choice in that case would be to take it to Verizon and pay the ridiculous $40 activation fee, right?

 

[JPack]

So the only choice in that case would be to take it to Verizon and pay the ridiculous $40 activation fee, right?

I'm not aware of any other options. Features like HD Voice and WiFi Calling can also be limited by the SIM card. You can obviously try to see if these features work with the existing SIM.

 

[chscag]

So the only choice in that case would be to take it to Verizon and pay the ridiculous $40 activation fee, right?

Why would Verizon charge an activation fee if your family member already had an iPhone 5C that was on a Verizon account? It seems to me it would just be a matter of switching from the 5C to an XR? I have switched phones with
T-Mobile at least 4 or 5 times and have never been charged another activation fee.

 

[rrm74001]

Why would Verizon charge an activation fee if your family member already had an iPhone 5C that was on a Verizon account? It seems to me it would just be a matter of switching from the 5C to an XR? I have switched phones with
T-Mobile at least 4 or 5 times and have never been charged another activation fee.

I am pretty sure Verizon does "upgrade fees", even with existing lines and BYOD devices. Hopefully someone corrects me if I am wrong.

I was planning on just swapping the SIM card from the old device and being on my way, but if there truly is a difference between these old and new SIM cards, Verizon is going to have to be involved somehow to pair the new SIM card with the phone number/account.

 

[quietstormSD]

I actually bought a new SIM from at&t that I said I was going to use for an existing android phone. Put it in my new unlocked iPhone XS Max , but visual voicemail and a couple of other features didn’t work. So I called at&t and they did whatever on their end that registered the iPhone with the and I got everything working with no activation new phone fee. Not sure if I was supposed to get the fee and somehow accidentally found an end around it.

 

[Reno Raines]

Why would Verizon charge an activation fee if your family member already had an iPhone 5C that was on a Verizon account? It seems to me it would just be a matter of switching from the 5C to an XR? I have switched phones with
T-Mobile at least 4 or 5 times and have never been charged another activation fee.

I bought a phone from t mobile a year or two ago. I literally got the phone unopened and they charged me $25 for a set up fee or something like that. I asked them about it as I would later set it up myself and move my old SIM card over. I was told that it was their policy and the employee could not waive it. I called 611 and they credited it. I have read that the best thing is to buy a phone online from them and they don’t do the fee. Maybe it varies store to store. My store was a corporate store.

 

[chscag]

I have several T-Mobile corporate stores in my local area and none of them have ever charged me a setup fee or activation fee when switching or buying phones from them. The fact that you called T-Mobile customer service and they credited the fee shows that they can waiver fees for existing customers. I'm sure that Verizon and AT&T will do the same for existing customers. Don't know about Sprint though.