You should call T Mobile and find out if your old SIM supports Low-Mid (Sub 6) 5G.What about older SIM cards? I planned on using the one that is in my iPhone 11PM.
No surcharge, but if you want to use the latest mmWave 5G frequencies, you will have to get a $10 R15 SIM card.
Otherwise the one that is coming in the new 12 will have the low and mid band 5G SIM card.
Not really worth it now as mmWave 5G is not really available except for some major cities.
I prefer the mid and low band 5G for it's ability to go thru walls.
The very high mmWave is in the microwave region and won't penetrate walls very well...
Yes, you can contact another MacRumors member: @nateatlarge who had to undergo the extra expense in obtaining an R15 SIM chip from T-Mobile.——————————————-
It’s not my intention to challenge you, but are you saying that a T-Mobile iPhone ordered from Apple will not have the latest SIM (R15) pre-installed? Has this issue been documented anywhere?
From what I understand, the T Mobile R15 SIM is an updated chip to allow access to both LTE, 5G (Sub 6 and mm Wave).Will the R15 SIM support sub 6 bands as well or strictly mmwave?
Cell tower locations are not really a secret anymore. You can check you area for carriers here:I called the T Mobile expert and all he said was that 5G is available in my area but precise tower locations are not disclosed.
He said 5G (sub 6) will be most common and that they are constantly working on new mm Wave towers in my area (Los Angeles County).
He agreed that until more mm Wave towers are up, to use the old SIM and not pay the $10 for the R15 SIM.
Yes, you can contact another MacRumors member: @nateatlarge who had to undergo the extra expense in obtaining an R15 SIM chip from T-Mobile.
Since I don't need to be sitting next to a mm Wave tower for any intensive phone use so I will be happy with sub 6 5G bands in the meantime which means I am happy with whatever SIM that comes with the phone I ordered.
If I needed gigabit speeds, I'll connect my Mac Mini to 10GBpsE port on my work's 10GB network....
The T-Mobile rep I spoke with on Thurs said that the iPhone 12 models come with a new SIM card.nateatlarge said:
If you ordered a "SIM" free iPhone then you will need to get a new sim card. If you have an old iPhone 6 though iPhone 11 you will need to either use esim OR get a new sim card that is 5G compatible. That is my point behind all of this.
T-Mobile rep I had talked to said that the iPhone 12 and its variants will not ship with a sim card because they too are joining the environment friendly approach. I don't know if this is true, but who knows
I called the T Mobile expert and all he said was that 5G is available in my area but precise tower locations are not disclosed.
He said 5G (sub 6) will be most common and that they are constantly working on new mm Wave towers in my area (Los Angeles County).
He agreed that until more mm Wave towers are up, to use the old SIM and not pay the $10 for the R15 SIM.
I like this site. It's kind of the gold standard among people that care about cell towers and signal.Cell tower locations are not really a secret anymore. You can check you area for carriers here:
Search for Cell Towers | CellReception
View cell towers by city to find the best carrier within the neighborhood.www.cellreception.com