vB Easy Archive - 64k vs 32k sim cards

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64k vs 32k sim cards
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Posted by: DLando

I have a 32k sim card att, does the 64k cingular sim card alow better signal on the same phone? Motorala v180, I get mostly 1-2 bars in my area.

Posted by: hatoncat

No, the SIM does not give a better signal.

Posted by: DLando

just what I thought, My father lives in zip code 73546. cingular told him thew sim "ATT" couldnt recognize his zip code, so he would have to change over to get "better reception" even though the cell tower is about 5 miles from his house (sounds like a B.S. marketing sceem to me) to get you to extend your contract, I got his old v180 phone (if you call 6 months old) and he got a new one with a cingular sim. and he got another 2 years with the $29.00 plan. 29.00x24 months=696.00 with tax and fees. Its almost like being married again another ball and chain for a retired old man.

Posted by: bobolito

The correct answer is: it depends.

64K SIMs do not improve your signal strength directly. However, if your problem is that Cingular has better signal than AT&T or viceversa in your area, then switching to a 64K SIM will allow Cingular to tell your phone which of the two networks it should prefer. As a result, your phone can be put on the strongest of the two networks, therefore giving your phone better signal.

Posted by: jyalexop2003

I'm still confused with 64kb/ENS stuff but just to clarify.
Now that the new Cingular uses both
original Cingular towers and ATT towers,
the new 64 sim (with ENS-enabled phone)
will allow your phone to 'lock' onto the best single.
What happens after existing Cingualr towers
and ATT towers have the same ID?
What use will the 64kb sims be other rthan providing more memory for contacts, etc....

Posted by: Mango808

Quote:

Originally posted by jyalexop2003
What happens after existing Cingualr towers and ATT towers have the same ID?

Nothing, as it will still find the nearest MNC and register with the network regardless if it can't find the 310-38 AT&T MNC.

Quote:

What use will the 64kb sims be other rthan providing more memory for contacts, etc....

The 64K SIM does not have more contact space, it still has the same 250 contacts as the 32K SIM cards. The only slots it has more of is for the MNC slots which is about 80 or so vice the 33 or so that the 32K was limited to.

Posted by: JustinGB

I have a problem and i want to know if it's simcard related. I dont know whether i have a 32k or 64k simcard, but its a cingular one. Anyways, I tried upgrading from an a55 to an t637, for some reason my contacts won't go over. It has an option to copy from SIM, but it says list empty, However, when i go back to the a55 i still have all my contacts. What's weird tho is that hte contacts from the previous owner of the 637 are still there.. are hte contacts on saved on the phone or on the sim? Sorry new to cingular. Also, if it's not, is there a way to transfer all my contacts from the older phoen to the new one? Thank you

Posted by: Mango808

Sounds like your contacts are saved on the Seimens phone and not the Cingular SIM. So you would have to move or copy the contacts onto the SIM to transfer them over to the T637.

As for the used T637, the previous owner may have it so that the phone memory only is being used/displayed vice SIM and Phone memory. Go through the options and there should be a Delete All which will let you delete all the previous owners contacts from the phone memory.

Once you get the above done, you can put your SIM with the contacts saved on the SIM and move or copy all to the phone memory. That is what I did by using my old SIM to get my contacts onto my SE T637 and Nokia 6230b.

Posted by: Esc

Quote:

Originally posted by Mango808
Nothing, as it will still find the nearest MNC and register with the network regardless if it can't find the 310-38 AT&T MNC.

[B] The 64K SIM does not have more contact space, it still has the same 250 contacts as the 32K SIM cards. The only slots it has more of is for the MNC slots which is about 80 or so vice the 33 or so that the 32K was limited to.

What are MNC slots? I have a 32k card (I think, it just says Cingular on it) and the only prob I have is that it gets filled up with texts messages quickly, and can only save one number to each name. Can the new card save multiple numbers to a name like the phone memory?

One more question, I have a Nokia 6230b, will getting a 64k card benefit me in any way?

Posted by: kilo

Quote:

Originally posted by Esc
What are MNC slots?

MNC's are "network identifiers", where a 32k SIM card could only hold the "network identifiers" for about 33 networks, the 64K SIMS can hold 80 "network identifiers" (i believe that's what Mango808 stated)

what does this mean to you? That your SIM can use more networks that it could before. However you will most likely only notice this if you leave the United States.

Not sure about the rest of your questions except that if you are having reception trouble, call into 866-CINGULA and let them know, they may advise a 64K sim if your situation needs it, but otherwise don't worry about it

Posted by: bobolito

Quote:

Originally posted by kilo
what does this mean to you? That your SIM can use more networks that it could before.....

Are you sure about that? A MNC doesn't need to be in the SIM card for your phone to be able to use it. The MNC list only arranges the order of preference in which the phone will do its selection. It just gives Cingular more control over which carrier your phone will prefer.

There are much more than 80 MNCs in the world, and I am sure the vast majority on them won't fit in a 64K SIM card. However, you can roam in most of them when you travel overseas.

Posted by: kilo

Quote:

Originally posted by bobolito
Are you sure about that? A MNC doesn't need to be in the SIM card for your phone to be able to use it. The MNC list only arranges the order of preference in which the phone will do its selection. It just gives Cingular more control over which carrier your phone will prefer.

There are much more than 80 MNCs in the world, and I am sure the vast majority on them won't fit in a 64K SIM card. However, you can roam in most of them when you travel overseas.

i stand corrected, i had thought (I'm not sure from where) that your SIM did have to have the MNC in order for you to roam on it.

Perhaps I was equating "the Cingular MNC has to be loaded in their network for Cingular to roam on it" with "our SIMS have to have their MNC's"

I do remember being told that since Cingular had 3 MNC's, not all international providers had our MNC's loaded in their systems so Cingular SIMS would be worthless in some countries and that was why we sold unlocked world phones for a time there.

Posted by: Mango808

Quote:

Originally posted by kilo
i do remember being told that since Cingular had 3 MNC's, not all international providers had our MNC's loaded in their systems so Cingular SIMS would be worthless in some countries and that was why we sold unlocked world phones for a time there.

Well for a time, it was known that Cingular users from the PacBell markets using the 310-17 MNC SIM cards had more available international roaming offered to them.

I believe the Cingular users from the BellSouth Mobility DCS market of NC/SC may have had the same available international roaming as well since they too were original GSM from the known start.

Now with the acquisition of AT&T Wireless, they should also be gaining more roaming partners if AT&T Wireless had different partners than Cingular did.

Only part that we don't know is if the roaming partners have made the changes to their systems to treat all three Cingular MNC's and the single AT&T Wireless MNC as the same. If they didn't, then some customers may experience and or get "Registration Failed" messages.

Posted by: bobolito

Quote:

Originally posted by kilo
I do remember being told that since Cingular had 3 MNC's, not all international providers had our MNC's loaded in their systems so Cingular SIMS would be worthless in some countries and that was why we sold unlocked world phones for a time there.

That's true....what that means is that, for instance, Orange UK has to add 310-170 (Cingular Pacific) to their network as a roaming partner in order for your West Coast SIM to roam on Orange UK. If Orange UK added MNC 310-170 and 310-410 but doesn't add 310-150 then any Cingular customer can roam on Orange UK except for those using SIM cards from the Carolinas. Why does it work this way? Because Cingular is still 3 different networks: 170, 150 and 410. In other words, it's like 3 carriers under the same name, so Orange has to add them all to their network if you wanted every Cingular customer to roam on Orange UK.

However, this doesn't mean that the Cingular SIMs have to have the Orange UK MNC. It is their network that has to be loaded.

Posted by: kilo

incidentally, the "one single Smartchip" was announced today to be sold through all channels. I'm not sure what they were going to do with the old stock

one step closer to just one MNC, yay!

Posted by: bobolito

That's great! That will put an end to the fact that you couldn't buy a Californian SIM and activate it in NYC.

Posted by: feverfive

Is 310-380 ATTW? Where I live, that is the only "Cingular" network I can select via manual network select (the other is t-Mobile). As I've been w/ Cing for a whole week as of today, I do have the 64k SIM card.

Posted by: kilo

Quote:

Originally posted by feverfive
Is 310-380 ATTW?

Yes

Posted by: Mango808

Quote:

Originally posted by kilo
incidentally, the "one single Smartchip" was announced today to be sold through all channels. I'm not sure what they were going to do with the old stock

one step closer to just one MNC, yay!

The old stock will be used until they are gone or the PacBell, BellSouth Mobility DCS and the other billing system are changed to not allow the older stock to be entered into the system for use.

This would require the these systems to be merged or phased over to the Nationwide billing system they are hoping to get after all these years of having three or more billing systems that cannot work together.

Eventually the 310-41 MNC will be the only one that Cingular uses just like how 310-38 was for AT&T Wireless and 310-26 is for T-Mobile.

Quote:

Originally posted by bobolito
That's great! That will put an end to the fact that you couldn't buy a Californian SIM and activate it in NYC.

From what someone from the California market was able to do, was buy a non-Cingular West SIM (89014101 version instead of a 89310170 version) and called in to activate it on his California account. He did mention that his phone displays the roaming icon though, but works just fine and nothing on his bills indicate otherwise.

Posted by: phillyslickster

IMHO if the SIM is 64K that we, as Cingular customers, should be able to store more numbers on that SIM.

Posted by: efparri

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esc

What are MNC slots? I have a 32k card (I think, it just says Cingular on it) and the only prob I have is that it gets filled up with texts messages quickly, and can only save one number to each name. Can the new card save multiple numbers to a name like the phone memory?

One more question, I have a Nokia 6230b, will getting a 64k card benefit me in any way?

All SIM cards save only one phone number per name. They will not save email addresses or notes. The new phones allow you to copy those duplicate names to phone memory without adding extra characters at the end to tell one from the other. You have to place the contacts in phone memory to assign phone-specific characteristics to a contacts. These may include ringtones, type of phone, photo IDs, email addresses, voice tags, caller groups and colored LED signals. These features vary by phone model. Older phones will add a character after the names so you might have John, John1 and John$.

Posted by: hockeyinsd

I just got a new SIM card a couple of days ago and have been thoroughly disappointed with the reception my phone now gets. My previous SIM card was from 1998 (Pac Bell Wireless) and only worked on 1900 mhz networks. I needed a new card so my phone will work when I go to Portland and other places that only have the 850 mhz network. Now my reception has gone from great to horrible. Dropped calls, fluctuating signal levels, etc. I still have my old card and am considering trying to get it reactivated so that I can have great reception in my area and just not be bothered on vacation. Unless of course anyone knows how to manually select the 1900 mhz on a motorola v400 phone.

Posted by: blkballoon925

Quote:

Originally Posted by hockeyinsd

I just got a new SIM card a couple of days ago and have been thoroughly disappointed with the reception my phone now gets. My previous SIM card was from 1998 (Pac Bell Wireless) and only worked on 1900 mhz networks. I needed a new card so my phone will work when I go to Portland and other places that only have the 850 mhz network. Now my reception has gone from great to horrible. Dropped calls, fluctuating signal levels, etc. I still have my old card and am considering trying to get it reactivated so that I can have great reception in my area and just not be bothered on vacation. Unless of course anyone knows how to manually select the 1900 mhz on a motorola v400 phone.

You can't select "1900 only" on a V400, but you can use manual network selection (seem edit) to control what network you stay registered on. Take a look at xlr8's website for more information on how to seem edit: http://www.xlr8.us/hofo/

Posted by: kilo

If you have a problem "anywhere and at all times", the first suggestion is to try different equipment.

Well I supposed the first suggestion would be to try calling Customer Service. And if it happens everywhere and at all times they will tell you to try different equipment. Likely you will have to do this through the warranty exchanage program.

I would say try all that before modifying your phone in such a way that may void the warranty

Posted by: dcmetro

is there a sim card with bigger storage than 64k..maybe 128k?

Posted by: i0wnj00

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcmetro

is there a sim card with bigger storage than 64k..maybe 128k?

Yes, 128k SIM cards do exist. Not on Cingular though.

Posted by: dcmetro

oh ok. Wish they did. 250 entreis in phone are not enough for me.

Posted by: kilo

I don't believe Cingular sells one at this time. You might be able to find something like that overseas.

Posted by: bodeh6

Actually I believe Nextel now uses 128K SIMs.

Posted by: kilo

It appears you are correct sir:
http://www.google.com/search?q=128k+sims

Posted by: lostsoul86

well here is my problem i have cingular and well awhile back maybe in october of 05 my Sim Card just gave out somehow it said check sim tried cleaning it and nothing it was messed up soo i had to buy another one and after i bought the new sim card that cingular wouldnt provide for me I Just Had HORRIBLE recption the new sim card i had to buy..before i always had full bars everywhere i went and my phone was a piece of garbage it was broken and was falling apart but i would always have full bars the old sim card was a 64K smartchip.and the new one i bought is also a 64k smartchip. and i had full bard everwhere especialy in my own room..now with the new sim card i cant get good reception anywhere and its just annoying ..ok soo i thought it was the fact that my phone was just crap a motorola V551 ..but heres the thing.. my dad just got himself a new phone from cingular a Sony ericsson w600i and he get full bars while he is in my room mean while i get no bars at all so i told my dad to sell me his phone and soo i take it off his hands and i put my sim card into the w600i and guess what... i still got no reception mean while my dad put his sim card into my old v551 thats still falling apart and he gets FULL BARS and then he puts his sim card into my old samsung x427m and he still get full bars and i have no bars on this new phone its really lame and really mad me mad... now his sim card is diffrent tho its a 64k smartchip but on the back its blue not white like my other sims cards where and it also says 3G on it....so what can i do for my problem..Do i have to just get a new sim card? any suggestions would help guys....Sorry for writting soo much

Posted by: bodeh6

Well you have to tell us where you live. It sounds like you are in California.

Posted by: hockeyinsd

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostsoul86

well here is my problem i have cingular and well awhile back maybe in october of 05 my Sim Card just gave out somehow it said check sim tried cleaning it and nothing it was messed up soo i had to buy another one and after i bought the new sim card that cingular wouldnt provide for me I Just Had HORRIBLE recption the new sim card i had to buy..before i always had full bars everywhere i went and my phone was a piece of garbage it was broken and was falling apart but i would always have full bars the old sim card was a 64K smartchip.and the new one i bought is also a 64k smartchip. and i had full bard everwhere especialy in my own room..now with the new sim card i cant get good reception anywhere and its just annoying ..ok soo i thought it was the fact that my phone was just crap a motorola V551 ..but heres the thing.. my dad just got himself a new phone from cingular a Sony ericsson w600i and he get full bars while he is in my room mean while i get no bars at all so i told my dad to sell me his phone and soo i take it off his hands and i put my sim card into the w600i and guess what... i still got no reception mean while my dad put his sim card into my old v551 thats still falling apart and he gets FULL BARS and then he puts his sim card into my old samsung x427m and he still get full bars and i have no bars on this new phone its really lame and really mad me mad... now his sim card is diffrent tho its a 64k smartchip but on the back its blue not white like my other sims cards where and it also says 3G on it....so what can i do for my problem..Do i have to just get a new sim card? any suggestions would help guys....Sorry for writting soo much

I had this same problem after I got a new chip. I spent a lot of time and frustration going to the cingular stores and trying different phones, etc, no luck. I complained, even considered breaking my contract, paying the termination fee and going elsewhere. I had called Cingular in the past to complain about coverage, but I called one last time to ask when my plan was up and I could go elsewhere, termination fees, etc. The CSR asked me why, I told her my story and she transfered me to technical support to update my sim chip with the new tower information. Apparently, I had the pre-merger tower information on the chip, so my phone was using the pre-att wireles merger 850 mhz towers (my old chip only used the 1900mhz), which were pretty bad. Anyways, they updated the chip, told me to wait till midnight, power cycled my phone, and it is back to working perfectly. Give them a call and ask about the tower information and if it needs updating.

Posted by: edkwon

I'm a new cingular customer, been w tmobile (still am) for the last couple years. I thought this thread would explain the fundamental differences between the 32K and 64K sim cards, but i'm not sure if it answered my question.

Can anyone sum up the differences in idiots terms for me?

Ed

Posted by: Mango808

Quote:

Originally Posted by edkwon

I'm a new cingular customer, been w tmobile (still am) for the last couple years. I thought this thread would explain the fundamental differences between the 32K and 64K sim cards, but i'm not sure if it answered my question.

Can anyone sum up the differences in idiots terms for me?

Ed

Better off reading this thread instead.

64K SIMS and ENS Phones Q&A (Resulting from Cingular and ATTWS Merger)

or look at this image for the differences at a glance.

32K SIM = 250 Contacts, 17/18 SMS storage, 32 GSM Preferred Networks slots, 25 entries for Fixed Dialing Mode numbers.

64K SIM = 250 Contacts, 30 SMS storage, 85 GSM Preferred Networks slots, 40 entries for Fixed Dialing Mode numbers.

Since you mostly use non-Cingular branded phones, ENS will not be used while using a 64K ENS SIM.

Posted by: edkwon

Ok thanks, that makes sense.

Ed

Posted by: ScruffyGuy

How does the 64K Sim card differ from the 3G 64k sim card?

Thanks in advance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mango808

Better off reading this thread instead.

64K SIMS and ENS Phones Q&A (Resulting from Cingular and ATTWS Merger)

or look at this image for the differences at a glance.

32K SIM = 250 Contacts, 17/18 SMS storage, 32 GSM Preferred Networks slots, 25 entries for Fixed Dialing Mode numbers.

64K SIM = 250 Contacts, 30 SMS storage, 85 GSM Preferred Networks slots, 40 entries for Fixed Dialing Mode numbers.

Since you mostly use non-Cingular branded phones, ENS will not be used while using a 64K ENS SIM.

Posted by: i0wnj00

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScruffyGuy

How does the 64K Sim card differ from the 3G 64k sim card?

Thanks in advance.

The 3G 64K SIM card supports Cingular's 3G network in addition to the existing 2.75G network. However, for complete 3G support you need to live in a area that supports 3G and the phone offered by Cingular must support it and the 3G 64K SIM card.

Other than that there's no difference between this card and the 64K SIM card.

Posted by: MattsterNC

I've just received a 3G 64k SIM but currently have a 32k SIM. After reading through all of the threads, I am still having a hard time understanding (you would think if I can seem edit, flash and change the fonts on my phone I would get it!! hehe) how this works. Here is my situation:

Currently, I get 1 or 2 bars in my living room. My wife has a Nokia that seems to have about the same signal strength on her phone. Basically, almost impossible to use in our house anywhere. I have checked here (http://www.cellreception.com/) and notice there is an AT&T tower about 2 1/2 miles away and that appears to be the closest one. The others that are close are Alltel according to the site. So here are my questions:

1. Is there a better site for determining the towers in my area?
2. Should I switch to this 3g 64k SIM and turn on ENS via seem edit for my phone?

Not quite sure what to do, so hopefully you guys have some insight for me!!

Thanks to troyboy and all the guys over at motox for all the info on getting my v3i working on Cingular in the first place!

P.S. -- Everywhere else besides home, I get 4-5 bars consistently, no dropped calls. That excludes known dead zones (there are a few around town). Terrific coverage!

Posted by: miztahsparklez

hmm im in northern california, and i have the new 64k sim. At first, i had left my treo 650 on auto assuming that it would pick the towers with the best signal, but hell it doesnt do that. For the most part, it seems that i either get one type of towers that come in really strong, but not the other. if i leave it on auto, i usually only get like 1-2 bars maybe? but if i use my network select, i can get 3+ bars consistently, depending on the network i choose. The first day i had got my phone (nokia 6682) along with my sister and moms phone, we all had like full bars. but since then, everything seems to be only okay signal. ive only played around with my treo since then to try to get better service. im starting to think maybe i should have stayed with verizon.

Posted by: troyboy30

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattsterNC

I've just received a 3G 64k SIM but currently have a 32k SIM. After reading through all of the threads, I am still having a hard time understanding (you would think if I can seem edit, flash and change the fonts on my phone I would get it!! hehe) how this works. Here is my situation:

Currently, I get 1 or 2 bars in my living room. My wife has a Nokia that seems to have about the same signal strength on her phone. Basically, almost impossible to use in our house anywhere. I have checked here (http://www.cellreception.com/) and notice there is an AT&T tower about 2 1/2 miles away and that appears to be the closest one. The others that are close are Alltel according to the site. So here are my questions:

1. Is there a better site for determining the towers in my area?
2. Should I switch to this 3g 64k SIM and turn on ENS via seem edit for my phone?

Not quite sure what to do, so hopefully you guys have some insight for me!!

Thanks to troyboy and all the guys over at motox for all the info on getting my v3i working on Cingular in the first place!

P.S. -- Everywhere else besides home, I get 4-5 bars consistently, no dropped calls. That excludes known dead zones (there are a few around town). Terrific coverage!

You're Welcome!

Can you search for avil networks via your phone? settings/network/avail networks! what shows up? Your area may not be intergrated yet and getting cs to change your home network list on your sim could help. I had to get them to change me from orange to blue before intergration to get coverage at home. now its not an issue.

Posted by: Dave_Calif

I have a Motorolla V60I with a 32K sim card. The other day I got a letter from Cingular wanting to switch to a 64K sim card, at no charge. I went to the store to do it and they told me I have to upgrade my phone (and then of course get a 2 year agreement). I told them no thanks. I am happy with my V60 and 32k sim, it works fine, I don't need features I just need it to talk. I live in California and travel the US every week and never have any problems (until yesterday).

I get to Oklahoma City yesterday and my phone doesn't work. I call them and they tell me I need a 64K sim. My phone (or card) is looking for Cingular towers and not AT&T, and with the sim I have they can't switch it. This doesn't make sense to me since I was always a Cingular customer, never AT&T. But in any case the phone doesn't work here (I'm only here till this afternoon so I lived with no phone, but need to solve the issue for the future).

I am looking for any feedback you may offer:

Do I really have to get a new phone for the 64K sim or can it be put in?
Do I really need the 64K sim or can I live with the 32K? I thought I'd be fine until I got to OKC and it didn't work.
Will I continue to have problems (or get worse) if I don't buy a new phone?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Posted by: i0wnj00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave_Calif

I am looking for any feedback you may offer:

Do I really have to get a new phone for the 64K sim or can it be put in?
Do I really need the 64K sim or can I live with the 32K? I thought I'd be fine until I got to OKC and it didn't work.
Will I continue to have problems (or get worse) if I don't buy a new phone?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Ideally you should have a phone that's capable of utilizing both the 1900/850 MHz band, the V60i only uses 1900 MHz band in the States and it is possible in OKC the that control channels (for the SIM card to register on) are on the 850 MHz band or that there isn't any 1900 MHz service to use in that city (unlikely) so I would merely look into a phone that will use the 1900/850 MHz bands and even something like a cheap Nokia will do, but your 1900 MHz only phone isn't going to cut it any more.

I still use my 8K SIM card and I have no problems with Cingular service up here in Utah or non-Cingular roaming even though it's quite old. My advice is to replace the phone first and not worry about the SIM card, you can look at eBay for an example buy a unlocked/Cingular locked phone and if you continue to experience problems then replacing the SIM card would be the next step to go.

Wait for more people to chime in...

Posted by: phillyslickster

What he has told you above is correct? Go on ebay and get a phone. You can also check out www.lostmyphone.com
At least, you can find something that's not so expensive--unless you've decided that you want to upgrade your contract at Cingular. There's lots of websites out there selling unlocked phones--new, used, and refurbs. Good luck to you.

Posted by: kilo

I'm agreeing with those guys, check out a website for a 850/1900 phone and I bet that will clear up your problem (I do want to say that OKC is 850, but it's been a LONG time).

The other alternative, ask your co-workers/family if they have an old Cingular phone they aren't using. People are starting to accumulate them, you can try popping the SIM in and make sure it turns on and makes and receives calls fine, you might try to find out what model it is and we can tell you if it's 850/1900.

You can tell if a phone is 850/1900 by going to http://www.phonescoop.com/
And in "Jump to a phone" type in the make and model (like Nokia 6125)
Then scroll down and look for the "Modes" under "Specifications" and look for GSM 850 and GSM 1900, if it doesn't mention both, keep looking.

Posted by: Dave_Calif

Thanks much for the advice i0wnj00, phillyslickster, and kilo!!

I am going to "break down" and get a new phone with both bands.

It is working fine now that I am home, I just need to figure out the right phone for me. Then decide if I should buy from Cingular or just buy off ebay or somewhere else.

Thanks....

Posted by: kilo

Dave_Calif: Be sure to focus on "unlocked" or "Cingular" phones.

What I mean is that phones are either:
"Unlocked" - Any GSM Carrier's SIM card can be placed in it.
"Locked to Cingular" - Only Cingular SIM's can be used.
"Locked to XYZ" - Only usable by some other phone company.

You can "unlock" a phone, check for services in the HoFo marketplace.

Posted by: Dave_Calif

Yep Thanks.

I'm familiar with locked, as I have switched sim cards in Canada.

Just got back from Cingular, I wasn't that impressed with their selection so here goes the rest of my Saturday searching for a phone. Not sure why my wife thinks I analyze stuff to death.

Posted by: LlamaLarry

I purchased a couple of replacement RAZRs (through Cingular) that came with new SIM cards. The card were not preprogrammed with my cell info though and don't appear to do anything. Was I supposed to go to a storefront and have them do something with them? The phones work fine with my old SIM so the new ones have been sitting in a box for ~6 months.

Posted by: i0wnj00

^ The Corporate Store or 611 will be able to help you activate the SIM cards that came with your V3 if you choose to utilize the SIM cards otherwise I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Posted by: Xummoner

I got a weird question, I got a Motorola ROKR E2, and if I use my SIM card, a pretty old model, maybe 8, 16 or 32kb, it won't send SMS, just recieve them (and there's nothing stored on the card), but if I use a different SIM Card I can send text messages too, but the bad thing is that if I want to change my SIM I would have to change my number too and I don't want that... Any Idea of why could that happen?
Also I knew that could be fixed using SEEM Edit, but forgot which bit, offset or seem I needed to fix that.

Posted by: madtodaimax

i have a flashed t809 to d807 and it had excellent reception until cingular had me upgrade me sim card. now its crap. any ideas?

Posted by: hockeyinsd

Quote:

Originally Posted by madtodaimax

i have a flashed t809 to d807 and it had excellent reception until cingular had me upgrade me sim card. now its crap. any ideas?

I think I posted this b4, but I had this same problem. Try calling cingular and ask for technical support. Ask them to make sure your phone has the latest tower information. Not sure where you are located, but I am in San Diego, and when I upgraded to the latest chip so I could have 850 mhz network access (old sim card was from 1998), my phone/account/chip/????? did not have the latest tower information that resulted from the cingular/att merger. Basically, my phone was only using the pre-merger 850 mhz cingular towers (that used to work in conjunction w/the 1900 mhz towers they sold to t-mobile).
Hope that helps!!! within 4-6 hours, my phone was back to near-perfect reception.

Posted by: Mr. Bond

Now that the 3G sim cards are out, how are they different over the 64k cards?

Posted by: LlamaLarry

Heh heh, it's like you read my mind. I just bought a SLVR L7 that arrived today and noticed that it came with a 3g card.

This one (and the RAZR's I referenced above) came with instructions to charge the phone in the Power Off position for 8 hours, then turn on the phone. Within 2 hours of Power On the phone is supposed to be attached to my account; if after 2 hours it is not attached I am supposed to give them a call.

WTF is actually supposed to happen? I lost my RAZR (and thus my SIM) so this is a blank phone and 3g SIM. Why in the world would I have to go through a 10 hour process to get a SIM attached to my account?

Posted by: Car_Lor

Llamalarry-

8 hours = Fully charge the new battery
2 hours = Sync all network info

Look at this database International Numbering Plans

Select "SIM number analysis" on the small menu (right side) and enter your SIM number, if you want to make sure those new SIM cards are really tied to Cingular....

HTH

Posted by: castlecraver

Sorry to bump an old thread, but just a quick question along these lines:
I'm assuming all new phones ordered on wireless.att.com come delivered with a new 3G 64K SIM chip installed or in-box. To anyone who's ordered something direct from AT&T online recently: does your old SIM chip work ok in your old phone all up until the time the new one comes? What do you have to do to activate the new SIM chip (and presumably de-activate the old one)? Just turn the new phone on and wait, or do you have to call in for activation?

Posted by: kilo

I believe when your new phone is delivered, there is a phone # you call that will automatically switch over your new SIM to your phone #.

Posted by: Carvin

There is a number with instructions, but when I received my new phone last week, I kept getting "Phone can be used for emergency calls only", so I just stuck with my old SIM.

My old sim is a Cingular 64K card, the new one is an AT&T 64K, but says "3G" on it. Is there any real difference so that I should get my number transfered to the new sim?

Posted by: kilo

Anecdotal perhaps, but I stuck 3 SIMS into a Sierra Wireless AirCard (one saying 3G, one saying 64K, and one saying something else entirely that I've forgotten), and in Communication Manager all 3 had the little "3G" fireball show up. So I assume that means it still works.

My advice: Just keep doing what you are doing till you run into a problem.

Posted by: pahn

Mine just says 64k smart chip ... that 3G?

Posted by: Blt4424

I have a 32k Cingular sim card and I want to get a 64k 3G sim card. If I buy one off ebay, can I do this without AT&T Cingular knowing, and how does my number transfer over.

Posted by: batmanuel

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blt4424

I have a 32k Cingular sim card and I want to get a 64k 3G sim card. If I buy one off ebay, can I do this without AT&T Cingular knowing, and how does my number transfer over.

Well, it is hard to switch SIMs without AT&T knowing, because their systems use your SIM card number for routing a call to your phone (by associating your SIM card number with your phone number on a computer somewhere) and for billing. There's really no way to go behind their back on this.

Just walk into a store, tell the sales rep that you have an old card and need an upgrade and they will ususally take care of you with little or no fuss. I've done it several times as I moved both my phone and my wife's from a 32k to a 64k and finally to 3G AT&T branded cards. They usually just have to pull up your account, zap the bar code on the new SIM and you're literally good to go with your new SIM in a matter of seconds.

It doesn't affect your contract, and most of the reps I've dealt with didn't give me any hassle for I using my unlocked N80 and E70 phones. Most of the corporate store sales reps I've dealt with in my area (Redmond, WA) are actually cool to work with in my experience, although I'm sure there are arsehats everywhere.

Posted by: bukzin

What does the newer 3g SIM cards address/improve?

I am with ATT on a Blackberry Pearl and travel
to France and Mexico from my base of California.

ATT gave me the unlock code but I have yet to
get a new card.

Any thoughts?

Thanks tons!

Posted by: Ludawg94

reading through I am wondering I have the old AT&T Blue SIM card I'm assuming its 32k. Can I have access to the 3g network or do I need to get a new sim card to attain 3g speeds? I have been using it with the NOKIA 6620 which I know I get edge with it but just wondering if 3g signal is only available with new sim cards.

Posted by: i0wnj00

Yes, AT&T Wireless SIM cards are able to access the 3G network.

Posted by: Ludawg94

oh ok coo thanks for the clarification. I guess they just try bait me to get a cingular plan.

Posted by: kay

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ludawg94

reading through I am wondering I have the old AT&T Blue SIM card I'm assuming its 32k. Can I have access to the 3g network or do I need to get a new sim card to attain 3g speeds? I have been using it with the NOKIA 6620 which I know I get edge with it but just wondering if 3g signal is only available with new sim cards.

I have an old ATT Blue sim. I use to get 3G speeds on my Nokia N95-3 up until 2 weeks ago. Now everytime I try to connect, it give me an error saying to contact my network provider. Never touched any setting or anything. I am still able to get on Edge, but no more 3G for me.

However, I still can make phone calling on the 3G towers, but when trying to access high speed data, i get the error. Only switching back to GSM and restarting the phone will let me get back an edge data connection.

I recently went to NY for the holidays and noticed something somewhat different. When on 3G I can make calls as usual, but as soon as I tried a data connection not only will i get the error, but I could lose all reception all together. Almost like I got kicked off the tower. Again, only restarting the phone will let me get my 3G reception back.

I think ATT pulled the plug on me from the inside. 2 much slingplayer i guess.

Posted by: bodeh6

Port over and get a new SIM. It guarantee it will solve your problem.

Posted by: kay

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodeh6

Port over and get a new SIM. It guarantee it will solve your problem.

agreed,. however I really dont want to give up my plan. I'm still on the 99 unlimited minutes and use about 3k to 4k mins a month. So I'll hold off for a little bit longer.

Posted by: Ludawg94

Quote:

Originally Posted by kay

agreed,. however I really dont want to give up my plan. I'm still on the 99 unlimited minutes and use about 3k to 4k mins a month. So I'll hold off for a little bit longer.

yup the longer the old blue ATT people hold out hopefully the more likely they will cave in to let us keep our plans and allow us to get new sim cards.

Posted by: Akira87

i have a 64k but i want to go to a 32k for some hacking project, i dnt really mind 3G, and im good with GSM, anybody think a rep wud activate such? , i can get an old sim from ebay esp the att wireless ones <2004

Posted by: aw614

32k cingular is a v1 sim card?

Posted by: Rodimus Primal

If customers want updated SIM cards I don't mind swapping out their 32ks for new SIMs. It only takes a minute to do and I copy the contacts for them.

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