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mark8538's profile

Contributor

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3 Messages

Sunday, March 13th, 2011 3:37 PM

Old sim card in new phone?

I have an older At&t Motorola cell phone. Can I buy a new At&t phone and use the old sim card? I have some $$$ in credit and don't want to throw it away. Also my current pay as you go is $1.00 a day, the new plans are $2.00 a day...

 

Anyway If I can use the old sim, which new phone will work with the old sim? Is there anything else that I should be aware of?

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Master

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5.9K Messages

13 years ago

Any of the newer at&t phones will work with your old SIM.  The important thing is that if you purchase a new GoPhone, be sure you activate the new phone with the old SIM in it.  If you put the SIM that comes with the new phone in the phone for activation, that SIM and phone will then be "locked" to one another for a period of time and you would have to contact at&t customer service to resolve the issue.  You wouldn't have that concern if you purchase a device being sold for post paid service with the no-commitment pricing; but that route is far more expensive, and especially if you are interested in any of the prepaid refurbs. 

 

I recently purchased a prepaid refurb SE W518a and have had no issue using it with either of my older SIMs - by not using the SIM that came with the new phone at all.  Instead I've just kept it on hand so that I'll have an unactivated SIM card in the future should I ever need one for some reason. 😉

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Master

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10.2K Messages

13 years ago


@mark8538 wrote:

Thanks for your reply. Just wanted a clarification... will any At&t phone work or does it have to be a "go phone"? I stumbled across another post that said the Iphone wont accept and old sim card. Basically I want a good smart phone but on a budget. I was looking at Best Buy online and they have "free" phones but with 2 year contract. Obviously I don't want the 2 year deal... just the phone. 


Any AT&T phone except the iPhone will work with a prepaid SIM card, whether it be a new or older phone. Although, some people have managed to get away with, or "sneak" an iPhone into using it on their prepaid GoPhone account. Ultimately, though, iPhones are not authorized for use on prepaid accounts.

 

I am using a "top of the line" smartphone on my prepaid account - no data plan required. 🙂 That's what I really like about being on prepaid. The mandatory data plans necessary for postpaid accounts are not applicable on prepaid. The best thing is, it only costs me less than $25 a month to use it.

 

If you are looking to purchase a phone online through Best Buy, you would not qualify for getting a "free" phone to use with prepaid service, as you probably already know. You would have to pay the no-commitment pricing for the phone if you were to get it from there. You could ask if they sell the phone you would like off-contract at the full-retail price. That is the price you would have to pay for the phone.

 

Contributor

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3 Messages

13 years ago

Thanks for your reply. Just wanted a clarification... will any At&t phone work or does it have to be a "go phone"? I stumbled across another post that said the Iphone wont accept and old sim card. Basically I want a good smart phone but on a budget. I was looking at Best Buy online and they have "free" phones but with 2 year contract. Obviously I don't want the 2 year deal... just the phone. 

Contributor

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3 Messages

13 years ago

Ok thanks - I appreciate the info!

Master

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10.2K Messages

13 years ago


@mark8538 wrote:

Ok thanks - I appreciate the info!


You are welcome. 🙂

 

Master

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5.9K Messages

13 years ago

 


@mark8538 wrote:

Thanks for your reply. Just wanted a clarification... will any At&t phone work or does it have to be a "go phone"? I stumbled across another post that said the Iphone wont accept and old sim card. Basically I want a good smart phone but on a budget. I was looking at Best Buy online and they have "free" phones but with 2 year contract. Obviously I don't want the 2 year deal... just the phone. 


Just a clarification - I believe the iPhone 4 takes the new microSIM, so you'd have to cut an older SIM down to size in order to use it with that model.  Earlier iPhone models use the standard sized SIM card, however; so your older SIM could be used in those without alteration.  And as Wild Banchi mentions, to my knowledge the 3G and later iPhone models are not "supported" for use with at&t's prepaid service (per at&t's TOS) - but there are many users who use them for voice and SMS (no data) only, seemingly without issue.

 

Contributor

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2 Messages

10 years ago

I have a used Samsung galaxy s lll, it does not have a sim card. I know that it uses the micro sim. I am on a prepaid plan so to speak and need to know if I can order a sim card for this phone or what do I need to do? 

Master

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10.2K Messages

10 years ago

Yes, you can order a prepaid microSIM for the phone and activate it. That's pretty much all you need to do to get it set up and running. You will choose a rate plan during the activation process as well as get a new phone number if you are a new customer.
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