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When setting up my 6, after selecting my phone number my 4S lost service

T

TH55

macrumors 68040
Original poster
The SIM card is still in my 4S. When I was setting up my 6 it asked "do you want to use this number?" And I clicked yes. Now I have no service on my 4S, even though the SIM card is still in it. Why/how is this possible? How do I restore service to my 4S?
 
Your 6 has its own nano sim that is now activated for that number.

To go back to the 4s you either need a nanosim to microsim adapter or to go to an AT&T store and get a microsim provisioned to put back in your 4s.
 
When you activate your new 6 the old one is killed, can't have two phones with the same number. The new 6 has its own sim
 
Knowimagination said:
Your 6 has its own nano sim that is now activated for that number.

To go back to the 4s you either need a nanosim to microsim adapter or to go to an AT&T store and get a microsim provisioned to put back in your 4s.
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Wtf?? I can't just switch back to my 4S?? That's ridiculous, why the hell would they do this?

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Resqu2 said:
When you activate your new 6 the old one is killed, can't have two phones with the same number. The new 6 has its own sim
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Why didn't anyone warn me of this? That's ridiculous, what if I want to switch back and forth?
 
TH55 said:
Wtf?? I can't just switch back to my 4S?? That's ridiculous, why the hell would they do this?

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Why didn't anyone warn me of this? That's ridiculous, what if I want to switch back and forth?
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You could of if they had the same size sim card, but they don't.
 
If you want to switch back and forth then you'll need to switch the SIM (and you'll need an adapter). That's pretty standard; it's rare for two phones to share the same number (there used to be a service called Tandem here but it was discontinued several years ago, and even then it only supported voice).
 
TH55 said:
Wtf?? I can't just switch back to my 4S?? That's ridiculous, why the hell would they do this?

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Why didn't anyone warn me of this? That's ridiculous, what if I want to switch back and forth?
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Tell me how do you married a new wife? just kick your old ass wife and married the new one? life is not that easy my man 🙄
 
Nermal said:
If you want to switch back and forth then you'll need to switch the SIM (and you'll need an adapter). That's pretty standard; it's rare for two phones to share the same number (there used to be a service called Tandem here but it was discontinued several years ago, and even then it only supported voice).
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How did it assign my number to the new sim without using the old phone? Can't I undo that or switch my number back onto the old sim? How much is this adapter?
 
Jesus. The adapter kits are on eBay and Amazon and are under $10. Only one SIM card can be assigned one number at a time. If you wanna use your 4S, you will need to put the nano SIM card into the adapter and pop it into the 4s.
 
It assigned the new number by asking AT&T what the account is and the corresponding SIM card numbers are and changing it as required by AT&T's servers. The adapters are less than $3.
 
If you bought the phone as an upgrade, then the sim comes preloaded with you number. An adapter is just a little plastic tray that you can find online.
 
dictoresno said:
Jesus. The adapter kits are on eBay and Amazon and are under $10. Only one SIM card can be assigned one number at a time. If you wanna use your 4S, you will need to put the nano SIM card into the adapter and pop it into the 4s.
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No kidding right? People seem to be coming out from under their rocks lately.
 
EM2013 said:
Just look at his previous posts for the answer, I'm surprised they haven't banned him and even more surprised people keep replying to his posts.
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Wtf are you talking about? Almost all of my posts are completely legitimate questions/observations.

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richardbb85 said:
yea no kidding
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What because I has a 4S that had the old kind of SIM card? I bet most normal people don't know about this.
 
TH55 said:
Wtf are you talking about? Almost all of my posts are completely legitimate questions/observations.

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What because I has a 4S that had the old kind of SIM card? I bet most normal people don't know about this.
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first off, which carrier? verizon? the sim card in the verizon 4S, as far as i know, doesn't do jack unless you are traveling overseas. it isn't needed for domestic use, as the phone solely relies on the ESN. if I'm wrong, someone correct me.

soooooo to use the 4S again, i believe dumping your new sim card into it won't have any effect, you will need to do the old school way and add its ESN back onto your account. switching back and forth between it and the newer LTE phones will not be as easy as it is on a 100% gsm phone.

if you are on t-mobile or att, then yes, just swap the card over.
 
AT&T changed this whole process a few years back. Used to be you could call them up and read the number off the SIM card and they would be able to reactivate it for you. Nowadays, once you switch service away from a card it's effectively dead and cannot be reused.

Not sure why they did this. Pretty much just results in wasted money for them. I've been into the corporate store several times for new SIM cards and not once have they ever charged me (Best Buy tried charging me $35).
 
TH55 said:
How am I dumb because my previous phone used an older technology? How the hell would I know about the technology for other phones?
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Is this the first time you've gotten a phone with a different sim? Was the 4s your first ever phone?
 
Well at this point you're question has been answered. You live and learn. This thread has run its course IMO.
 
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