Since the droid charge uses a sim card, can I still switch to it form another verizon phone via the website? Like this: http://www.ehow.com/how_5046976_switch-phones-easily-verizon-wireless.html
I currently have an Iphone and I want to buy a droid charge off-contract and switch to it.
My guess is you have an AT&T iPhone since the Verizon iPhone doesn't have a SIM in it. The 4G LTE phone(s) as of right now its just the ThunderBolt (we are still waiting on the Droid Charge, LG Revolution and the Droid Bionic) all use a 4G LTE SIM, but that is only for LTE their current voice calls are on 3G which is CDMA and doesn't use a SIM.
So if you were swapping one 4G LTE Verizon phone to another yes you could the same SIM but not otherwise.
I have the verizon iphone. Since the charge uses a sim card, I was wondering if I could still switch from a verizon phone that does NOT use a sim card (the iphone).
i'm not talking about switching sim cards. On the verizon website, you can switch phones by inputting the ESN/MEID of the new phone.
I hope I made myself clearer (probably not).
You would need a new sim card. The sim cards are 1 time use so if you activate the iphone you will need a new sim to activate the Charge again.
I am a bit confused on this. The Verizon iPhone takes a SIM card, that isn't something I had heard before. In either case if the VZW iPhone takes one, it would be a 3G only SIM and the Charge requires a 4G LTE SIM.
I have also read from a user who had the ThunderBolt and took his 4G LTE SIM out and put it into the Charge and it worked for them. That I also found odd since it was supposed to be a one time use, per phone which seems like a waste, but its Verizon.
Its not per phone. The sim is a one time activation that once deactivated it can never be activated again. You can swap the sim to other devices but if you ever deactivate it it can never be used again.
RaptorMD said:
The Verizon iPhone takes a SIM card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The verizon Iphone does not take a sim card, only the AT&T one does. That's the problem. I am hoping that I can buy a new verizon sim card and have my current number transferred to it.
Verizon will give you a new SIM for free when you activate a 4G phone (currently TBolt or Droid Charge) and will transfer your number to it. You can then swap the SIM between different 4G phones without having to call Verizon, do *228, or any other maneuvers-- it just works.
However, if you ever switch back from your 4G device to a 3G device on the same number, your SIM will become "retired" and you need to go get another one from Verizon (again, free, at least so far) if you want to switch back to a 4G phone. Or, they will mail you a SIM.
Related
is the thunderbolt the same as older SIM card phones? where if a phone is stolen it cannot be deactivated? i understand that in order to activate a SIM card you have to also supply the esn number of the phone it will be paired with. but down the line when there are more LTE phones out, if someone had an activated SIM card, could they place it into a stolen phone to use it? or is there a way to blacklist a phone even if it uses a SIM card?
Are you saying that you have a stolen phone or is this just for knowing?
Take this with a grain of salt but the Verizon reps told me the SIM cards are not swappable with the LTE network. I've exchanged my phone 3 times now and they have to give a new SIM each time. They shred the old SIM.
They lied to you. I have exchanged phones never changing the sim.
Not for me 2 phones same sim, no issues here.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
Perhaps all of the LTE SIM cards are the same, and the only authorization is done through the ESN code like it always has been. That way, if someone loses their SIM card (how?) it wouldn't be a big deal, and if they lose their phone, it could still be given a bad ESN and not let anyone else register it.
edifus said:
Take this with a grain of salt but the Verizon reps told me the SIM cards are not swappable with the LTE network. I've exchanged my phone 3 times now and they have to give a new SIM each time. They shred the old SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also on my 3rd Thunderbolt and still have the same SIM card I got on launch day.
pianoplayer said:
Are you saying that you have a stolen phone or is this just for knowing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was just wondering how it worked in comparison to the SIM card on other networks i had used in the past. when i was with T-mo i know they couldnt lock down a phone like verizon can since they where on SIM cards. so was just wondering if that was the case for our phones now that we have SIM cards?
necosino said:
Perhaps all of the LTE SIM cards are the same, and the only authorization is done through the ESN code like it always has been. That way, if someone loses their SIM card (how?) it wouldn't be a big deal, and if they lose their phone, it could still be given a bad ESN and not let anyone else register it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, im wondering if this is the case? really im just curious if i lose my phone or it gets stolen. is it a paper weight once i report it? or is it up for sale to anyone with an activated SIM card?
3 phones same SIM for me...
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
Just my two cents here. There is definitely an place in the Phone Identity portion of the settings menu that states the SIM Card ID, IMEI, and MEID. It seems to me that this would make it so you can still swap devices without extra hassle, but VZW should still be able to blacklist phones reported stolen via the MEID. I could be wrong, this just seems to be the case to me.
The sim card activates the phone, upon activating it communicates with verizon database. Pure and simple verizon can and will track the MEID and if the phone is stolen or in non pay table then it won't activate. Try it out, then your tbolt off and turn it back on. The first 10 seconds upon boot you won't have signal or data. Then it comes on. It's like the same as a prl update *228. Anyways I'm getting off track here's the deal. Your phone has a seperate entity from your sim card. Both need to be clear to activate.
Morkai Almandragon said:
They lied to you. I have exchanged phones never changing the sim.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true. If you have the Thunderbolt and the Charge or any other VZW 4G LTE phone you are able to swap the sim back and forth.
you only have to replace the sim card if you cahnge your number or activate the device he sim can only be used with 1 phone number. The serial number of the sim card and the ESN of the phone both must match in the VZW system or it will not connect to the towers. I have to replace them all the time. So no you could not use a lost,stolen, or non payment phone on the network, phone still essentially a paper weight or spare parts.
I was under the impression that the sim was only applicable to LTE-level functions. The phone's main functionality is still mostly CDMA based and those functions can still be shut down if the phone is stolen. To my understanding, simply inserting the sim card into the tbolt does not just activate and associate the phone to your account. There's still an operator you have to call, right? With Tmo and att, inserting a sim card activated the phone without calling someone or going into a store.
The SIM is a RUIM which eliminates the need for an ESN swap the the best of my knowledge. I started with a LG VL600 air card and then got a thunderbolt. I was issued a new card at that time but I can swap between devices and it works without a problem. Once June 15th I fully expect this to stop working.
I just wanted to put this information out for the masses. Today I switched phones on my account to a non 4G phone to do some work on it when switching back to my TB the system gave me an error saying my sim card could not activate and to call Verizon. Calling Verizon did not help I was told that the sim card number was placed in retirement and could not be reactivated. I was told when I purchased the phone that the sim card was attached to a phone number that you would keep the card with each 4G device you have. I now have to get a new card. So if you are thinking about making any changes on your line with your 4G phone you might not want to. I hope this is not going to be an ongoing problem with Verizon as I move phones around a lot on my line.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
4g sim card problem
I too had a similar issue. I had a number on a 3G phone that I wanted to move to a 4G phone. They had to do it in two steps as once they added a number to a sim card the only way to change it was to swap it to another sim card and retire the old one.
I was told it's a software bug in the Verizon system, and they are working on fixing it. Since Verizon doesn't charge for sim cards right now you should be able to transfer to a new sim card at no cost.
this is how all SIM cards are for all carriers. Once deactivated, they cannot be reactivated
Carl G35c said:
this is how all SIM cards are for all carriers. Once deactivated, they cannot be reactivated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What he said.
Plus: its a new network tech. The only lte network in existence. I'm sure the process will become more streamlined.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
With AT&T you can simply throw a sim card in and away you go with any phone you want. What do you do on AT&T namely if you have an iPhone and TBolt?
You wont be able to do it without going through Verizon to have your TB Sim card reset everytime you want to use your TB after using your iPhone.
Normally you just have to do a simple ESN swap (can do online). Unfortunately with the Thunderbolt and it's LTE SIM, things might be more complicated. I'd check with a Verizon rep to see what would be involved.
Sadly its a complete pain in the butt. One of the guys I work with had to deactivate it and reactivate it a couple of days later. The guy in the store couldn't figure out how to do it, and it took him about 3 hours on the phone with various techs to finally get it working. They ended up having to swap out the SIM card in the store.
Not sure if its the process that is tough, or if they just don't know what they are doing. Either way, I wouldn't recommend it if you can avoid it. If you really need to do it, it is possible, but its not as simple as just swapping out a SIM card like on AT&T.
Once there are more phones utilizing LTE wouldn't you just be able to swap out your sim card and put it in any LTE phone?
dirtyfingers said:
Once there are more phones utilizing LTE wouldn't you just be able to swap out your sim card and put it in any LTE phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this is correct. I can go buy the Droid Charge, and put in the SIM from my Thunderbolt, and I'll be good to go.
Thats pretty sweet, I wish I had the cash to drop on some more LTE phones when they come out.
WilliamStern said:
Yes, this is correct. I can go buy the Droid Charge, and put in the SIM from my Thunderbolt, and I'll be good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure about that? I thought we were still using CDMA for calls and there is no voice over 4G/LTE on VZW just yet.
WilliamStern said:
Yes, this is correct. I can go buy the Droid Charge, and put in the SIM from my Thunderbolt, and I'll be good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure this is wrong.
When setting up my phone the rep had to set up the sim card and phone separately.
Razorz is right, we still utilize cdma for voice, so it may be possible to get data on a new phone but no voice?
A rep told me you could, never tried I don't have another Verizon phone to swap it out with. Also ATT charges activation when you swap sims "if the sim is in a different phone for a lengthy time". Also ATT will add a data plan to your account if the phone you put it in requires one.
the id number for the sim card and the ESN for the phone both must be in the verizon system associated with your phone number or the device will not work.
stuckhere4ever said:
Sadly its a complete pain in the butt. One of the guys I work with had to deactivate it and reactivate it a couple of days later. The guy in the store couldn't figure out how to do it, and it took him about 3 hours on the phone with various techs to finally get it working. They ended up having to swap out the SIM card in the store.
Not sure if its the process that is tough, or if they just don't know what they are doing. Either way, I wouldn't recommend it if you can avoid it. If you really need to do it, it is possible, but its not as simple as just swapping out a SIM card like on AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they didn't know what they were doing.
When I had data problems with my TB, I switched to my INC via the activate phone link on the "my account" web page. An hour later when I tried to return to the TB, I got a prompt for the phone's IMEI, then prompted for the SIM card's number.. It error-ed. After calling CS, the rep couldn't help, got TS on the line, they manually entered the SIM number to make it work...
So it appears switching away from the TB deactivated the SIM, to switch back, VZW's TS had to re-add or re-activate the SIM.
And as thetwiztidfreak said, they did need BOTH the IMEI and SIM numbers to re-activate the TB.
thetwiztidfreak said:
the id number for the sim card and the ESN for the phone both must be in the verizon system associated with your phone number or the device will not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct but when you put the registered SIM in another LTE device it registers that handsets IMEI with your account. You can infact do a SIM swap with LTE, since your phone number is tied to the SIM putting the sim in another device effectively activates the phone on your account.
I should know, it's my job ;-)
It works the same way as GSM, but going from an LTE phone to a CDMA phone is a bit different, the SIM gets decactivated and becomes useless and if you want to switch back you need to go the a Verizon store for them to sell you out a new SIM for $0(some times old SIMs can be reactivated however there may b e issues with this). It's a PITA so I don't reccomend switching back and forth between CDMA and LTE devices unless you absolutely HAVE to.
chaoscentral said:
Correct but when you put the registered SIM in another LTE device it registers that handsets IMEI with your account. You can infact do a SIM swap with LTE, since your phone number is tied to the SIM putting the sim in another device effectively activates the phone on your account.
I should know, it's my job ;-)
It works the same way as GSM, but going from an LTE phone to a CDMA phone is a bit different, the SIM gets decactivated and becomes useless and if you want to switch back you need to go the a Verizon store for them to sell you out a new SIM for $0(some times old SIMs can be reactivated however there may b e issues with this). It's a PITA so I don't reccomend switching back and forth between CDMA and LTE devices unless you absolutely HAVE to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm that it is a royal pain in the ass to go to the vzw store to get a new sim...
I just got a replacement for my tbolt. I had 5 days to return the "defective" one. I bounced the SIM card back and forth between the two phones a dozen times trying to see which one got better 3G/4G reception. The rep told me to decide which one works better and send the other phone back. It didn't matter.
What will happen? Will the phone activate just like on AT&T? I know you cant switch back and forth with an iPhone since its all 3G CDMA etc... but will the sim chip change that? Can you hot swap?
It should, from what I heard, work like any other GSM phone.
So yea, your SIM should make you be able to make calls, text and data on the Charge.
Yes you are correct
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
You still must register the device in their system. However, once you do, its all activated.
Is there a reference, like a white paper or a tech spec that can actually answer this question? This Tbolt is not the first Verizon phone I've had with a SIM card, and just like this thing, they worked just fine without the thing. How do calling functions transfer with the card when it has nothing to do with the SIM card or LTE?
loonatik78 said:
Is there a reference, like a white paper or a tech spec that can actually answer this question? This Tbolt is not the first Verizon phone I've had with a SIM card, and just like this thing, they worked just fine without the thing. How do calling functions transfer with the card when it has nothing to do with the SIM card or LTE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Per Verizon Website:
http://support.vzw.com/clc/faqs/VZAccess/4g_sim_card.html
Yes. You may activate any 4G LTE device that has been certified by Verizon Wireless to be compatible with our 4G LTE network, including devices not purchased directly from Verizon Wireless. Simply activate your 4G SIM card on a Verizon Wireless price plan.
I don't see anything that say you have to activate the device only the sim card.
psufan5 said:
What will happen? Will the phone activate just like on AT&T? I know you cant switch back and forth with an iPhone since its all 3G CDMA etc... but will the sim chip change that? Can you hot swap?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done this numerous times. Just insert SIM and you can instantly make a test call.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
I'm (hopefully) going to be getting the M8 today/tomorrow. I presently have an iPhone 5s. Question is, can I use my current nano sim with the M8 or do I need to use the one that it comes with? I know the new SIM has to be used if I want to use NFC or whatever, but Verizon tells me if I activate the new SIM my old one (in my 5s) will expire. I am sure I'll want to swap back and forth quite a bit, so having 900 sims on hand won't be convenient. One rep says I can use my 5s sim, another says no -- so big question is, can I, or can't I? I don't care if NFC won't work, and IDK what the M8 sim would do (if anything) if I tried it in my 5s.
Thanks.
boxermansr said:
I'm (hopefully) going to be getting the M8 today/tomorrow. I presently have an iPhone 5s. Question is, can I use my current nano sim with the M8 or do I need to use the one that it comes with? I know the new SIM has to be used if I want to use NFC or whatever, but Verizon tells me if I activate the new SIM my old one (in my 5s) will expire. I am sure I'll want to swap back and forth quite a bit, so having 900 sims on hand won't be convenient. One rep says I can use my 5s sim, another says no -- so big question is, can I, or can't I? I don't care if NFC won't work, and IDK what the M8 sim would do (if anything) if I tried it in my 5s.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The way verizon works, I think the sim is sort of tied to the account. You still need to have the ESN on your account as verizon is not purely sim based. Therefore, I do not think you can switch sims, and if you do you MIGHT get purely LTE service, but no cdma.
You shouldn't have any problems swapping Sims. I had no problem putting the micro SIM in my HTC one m7 into my droid bionic. I did have to use an adapter since Bionic uses standard SIM but I had no problem.
Frankie1588 said:
You shouldn't have any problems swapping Sims. I had no problem putting the micro SIM in my HTC one m7 into my droid bionic. I did have to use an adapter since Bionic uses standard SIM but I had no problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have to call in, or were you just able to swap the SIM and everything was working? I recall when I had my Razr, and swapped to the Razr Maxx all I had to do was swap the SIM, and I was good to go. Verizon has confirmed with me that the SIM will work, but I guess I won't have NFC, which again I don't care about either way. Just want to make it as simple as possible, and not have Verizon fiddle with my plan.
boxermansr said:
Did you have to call in, or were you just able to swap the SIM and everything was working? I recall when I had my Razr, and swapped to the Razr Maxx all I had to do was swap the SIM, and I was good to go. Verizon has confirmed with me that the SIM will work, but I guess I won't have NFC, which again I don't care about either way. Just want to make it as simple as possible, and not have Verizon fiddle with my plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope I never had to call. I even noticed that it changed my phone on the My Verizon website which was neat.
You shouldn't have any issues and no you don't have to call. I have a micro sim cut to a nano and I switch it between my M7 and 5S every now and then. If I plan on switching between my 5S and M8 it'll be easier since they both use nano.
I'm using my nano Sim from my 5s in my new M8 now. Didn't call VZW, did nothing on line, just popped it out of the iPhone and into the One.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
Assuming you're switching between devices that have like provisioning(which the two phones will) you will for sure be fine, no need to call. The devices will check in with the platform when they first boot up and the device ID on the account will change on it's own after a short while without you needing to do anything.
Well it is good to be corrected then. I take my statement back, I had no idea verizon started making sense.
123421342 said:
Well it is good to be corrected then. I take my statement back, I had no idea verizon started making sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They did as soon as they switched to 4g sim cards.
As long as devices you swap between are 4g I haven't had an issue. The problem is when you go from 4g to 3g back in the gnex to iPhone 4s days. Every time you did that you'd burn a sim card on Verizon.
Now iI can swap from my m8 to my iPhone 5 with a quick sim swap.
Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it. Will be off to get my device in a few hours. One more question, since we already established the SIM from my iPhone 5s will work in the M8, will the reverse apply as well (the SIM from the M8 working in the 5s) - I'm guessing not, since (at least from what Verizon has told me) that sim is different? I know I'll be switching back and forth between devices, so I just want to make sure I know which sim/sims will work accordingly.
Thanks again.
boxermansr said:
Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it. Will be off to get my device in a few hours. One more question, since we already established the SIM from my iPhone 5s will work in the M8, will the reverse apply as well (the SIM from the M8 working in the 5s) - I'm guessing not, since (at least from what Verizon has told me) that sim is different? I know I'll be switching back and forth between devices, so I just want to make sure I know which sim/sims will work accordingly.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll go get your m8 and it will come with a new sim. The old one in your iPhone will be burned after they activate the new one and Verizon won't let you use it again. Just swap the new one that comes in your m8. Don't listen to Verizon. I'm using my new sim in my m8, m7, and iPhone 5.
Burned??
What do you mean by Burned?
That it's unusable in the future?
I have reactivated a sim card before but maybe it was a different situation. I'm on a business account too. So we can change phones online without calling in. I don't know if non-business accounts can do that or not.
meest said:
You'll go get your m8 and it will come with a new sim. The old one in your iPhone will be burned after they activate the new one and Verizon won't let you use it again. Just swap the new one that comes in your m8. Don't listen to Verizon. I'm using my new sim in my m8, m7, and iPhone 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I'm adding a new line, so they'll have to activate it on the new line. Then I plan to throw my sim from my 5s in the M8. Was just curious if the one from the M8 *would* work in the 5s, in case I decided to get a new SIM before I swap (since I know once I throw a dumb phone on the new line, the SIM from the M8 will be toast).
I'll just use my 5s one, since it seems the easiest. I hate going to Verizon so I just wanna be in and out
You won't lose NFC capability when swapping SIMs. NFC is part of the phone's hardware. What you will lose is ISIS capability, since that relies on the SIM.
You can use Google wallet just when swapping SIMs.
I modified my micro sim from the DNA and it works perfectly. The ISIS loss isn't a problem for me, as google wallet works.
Icyman said:
What do you mean by Burned?
That it's unusable in the future?
I have reactivated a sim card before but maybe it was a different situation. I'm on a business account too. So we can change phones online without calling in. I don't know if non-business accounts can do that or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As in Verizon normally won't reactivate them. I've had wonderful arguments about this on my work side also. More often than not they've made me switch to a new SIM when reactivating something that had a SIM in it already. Say when someone loses their phone, and I have another verizon phone with a SIM already in it from a terminated Employee.
I've had it the other way to where they will. But when I was switching between a Gnex and an iPhone 4s. Every time I wanted to reactivate the Gnex I would have to go get a new SIM as they wouldn't reactivate the previous one. something about going between 3G to 4G systems.
meest said:
As in Verizon normally won't reactivate them. I've had wonderful arguments about this on my work side also. More often than not they've made me switch to a new SIM when reactivating something that had a SIM in it already. Say when someone loses their phone, and I have another verizon phone with a SIM already in it from a terminated Employee.
I've had it the other way to where they will. But when I was switching between a Gnex and an iPhone 4s. Every time I wanted to reactivate the Gnex I would have to go get a new SIM as they wouldn't reactivate the previous one. something about going between 3G to 4G systems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. you are correct. I did experience that once when going from iphone 4 to my Rezound but once you go 4g you never go back. It's un-explainable.
I activated the nano SIM that came with the M8 and put it straight into an adapter and into my S4 (I haven't got the chance to copy files and settings over to the HTC yet so I'm still using the S4 as my phone for now) and my S4's running fine on it!
So in answer to the OP's question, just activate the new SIM and you can use that in both your iPhone and HTC (then the current SIM you have is useless). You shouldn't have any issues switching back and forth.
there's adapters on amazon to take your new nano sim and put it in phones that require a micro sim or other size. But i switch between my phones all the time and all it takes is putting in your current SIM card