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Other iPhone 12 Pro: Sim Free or Carrier?
- Thread starter Robdmb
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If the world gets back to some sort of normal and I can travel again, easier to get a cheap local prepaid physical sim than an esim
Is this correct? We switched to Verizon last November and have (relatively) current SIM cards. I assumed I could order sim-free phones and just switch the sims and still receive 5G service. Is that not true?
@PatrickNSF Actually, I just spoke with AT&T and my customer support specialist told me that in order to get 5G service with AT&T, you need to be on a 5G phone plan. It has nothing to do with the SIM card. If I don't have a 5G plan, my new iPhone 12 Pro will just have 4G LTE service. I don't know how it works with Verizon though!
I checked my Verizon plan the other day and it automatically shows as 4G LTE / 5G now. There isn’t anything you need to do for Verizon. Once you connect your new 5G phone everything will work. That’s at least what I found while researching.
same. I haven't touched my verizon data plan and i checked it sasy 4G /5G on my 2 GB shared data plan.
So is it fact that Tmobile and verizon iphone 12 come unlocked? No waiting etc? I plan on buying the two iPhones coming out tomorrow. One on Verizon and the other on t-mobile. Then on Nov 6 buying the mini possibly on AT&T or Verizon and the pro Max hopefully on Verizon.
Well, that may be the case today, but it was not the case for AT&T in 2018 when I purchased my XS sim-free. VoLTE and Wifi Calling did not work because of an IMEI mismatch on my account. I actually had to put in a ticket to get it fixed as the CSR couldn't figure it out.
I also decided to get the Verizon one just in case. I was on the fence but better to pay the $40 upgrade then to scramble to get the phone to work for hours. Didn’t want to gamble. I’m sure it would have been fine either way. Future phones, different story since it will be all 5G.
This is accurate. Even slightly older AT&T plans do not get 5G. Limited to LTE. Confirmed with AT&T CS. They are actually linking 5G access to a plan type.
Only caveat to above post is that if you've got a really really old SIM, you probably should get a new one.
You shouldn't normally need to contact AT&T when simply moving a SIM from one phone to another. It's kind of why SIMs were created. Sounds like you had a weird glitch. Hopefully it won't happen again for you. I've moved SIMs between phones for over a decade and never needed to call AT&T for it.
I have Xfinity Mobile, which uses Verizon towers. I am assuming I can just buy a sim free and pop my sim card in and be good to go, too? I honestly do not care about 5G, as I use very little data away from home/office, and when I do, 4G LTE is more than fast enough for anything I am doing.
T-Mobile and Verizon both advised to go for a new sim due to 5g. Im coming from a xs so decided against sim free.
For Verizon: 5G Nationwide is available for all existing LTE plans. The SIM of a previous iPhone can be swapped, i.e no "5G SIM" required. In order to benefit from 5G UW one of their Unlimited Plans needs to be chosen. I decided to get the SIM free 12 Pro from Apple, will swap the Verizon SIM from my XS and - for now - not upgrade to a 5G UW Unlimited Plan as coverage is rather poor. I may change that 12-24 months from now when coverage has improved.
I chatted with a Verizon rep this morning. There is nothing like a "5G SIM". Your previous SIM is fine. To benefit from 5G UW you need to upgrade to one of their higher tier Unlimited Plans.
Fingers crossed. For me the corporate com was convincing enough to forgo the sim free this time.
From Verizon
If sim is activated as 4g lte and inserted into 5g device - Device connects to the 5G Ultra Wideband network, but may not connect to the future enhanced 5G network.
From T-Mobile
Swap out your sim today to enable the best 5g experience.
From Verizon
If sim is activated as 4g lte and inserted into 5g device - Device connects to the 5G Ultra Wideband network, but may not connect to the future enhanced 5G network.
From T-Mobile
Swap out your sim today to enable the best 5g experience.
Don't swap the SIM yet. As you posted if you activate the sim in a 4G LTE phone first it may not work with future 5G Enhanced. The Verizon purchased iPhone will have an unactivated sim in it when it arrives. Turn off current phone. Remove that Sim and throw it away. Turn on the 12 with new sim and you should be good to go. The question arises if one has multiple phones and if one takes out the iPhone 12 activated sim and puts in a non 5G capable phone, and then later puts it back into the 12, will that mess it up and then not work with 5G enhanced.
See below chat conversation re SIM swap on Verizon:
I have a SIM free iPhone 12 coming and want to swap my Verizon SIM from my iPhone XS into the iPhone 12. Will the 4G LTE SIM work on 5G network?
Verizon Agent
Yes, definitely! 4G LET SIM works on 5G Network. The service would automatically convert to 5G with 4G SIM.
I have a SIM free iPhone 12 coming and want to swap my Verizon SIM from my iPhone XS into the iPhone 12. Will the 4G LTE SIM work on 5G network?
Verizon Agent
Yes, definitely! 4G LET SIM works on 5G Network. The service would automatically convert to 5G with 4G SIM.
When the X came out I waited until November then decided to upgrade. About a week before the SIM-free model came out. So I switched to ATT and bought it at Best Buy (to get the CDMA compatible model). Just for the flexibility.