How does Tracfone react to moving a T-Mobile SIM between phones

[BGordon]

I know that on Tracfone Verizon SIMs it's a big no-no to move the SIM to another phone.

However, how does Tracfone react to moving a T-Mobile SIM between phones? Does anyone know if I would be risking a service suspension or other trouble if I moved my Tracfone T-Mobile SIM from one phone to another?

Thanks in advance for any insight you might have.

[BGordon]

I did a little googling around. I found some people saying that moving the SIM around on AT&T and T-Mobile is fine, but not on Verizon.

Hopefully this info is still true, but I would love to hear from an expert.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TracFone/co...im_to_another/

https://www.reddit.com/r/TracFone/co...r_putting_the/

https://www.reddit.com/r/TracFone/co...o_a_new_phone/

[Senkoboy]

I'm assuming you are taking a a BYOP sim. I moved on a couple of times in the last year, not an issue. Moved one two weeks ago.

[BGordon]

I'm assuming you are taking a a BYOP sim.

Yes! Sorry if that was not clear. In fact, a BYOP SIM that I just got a few days ago and moved the line to. Everything has been working fine so far, but I don't want to mess it up. I have another phone that will be getting unlocked in a month or two and might like to move the SIM to it instead.

[SlowLoris]

My daughter moved a T-Mobile sim last summer without any issues. We did notice a deactivation/reactivation in her transactions so Tracfone's system definitely registered the change. But there was no suspension or loss of the data she had accrued.

[Lisme]

I don't think that TF has much interest in AT&T and T-Mobile outside of having to pay for their airtime for the time being.

[Lisme]

My daughter moved a T-Mobile sim last summer without any issues. We did notice a deactivation/reactivation in her transactions so Tracfone's system definitely registered the change. But there was no suspension or loss of the data she had accrued.

You will also see a deactivation/reactivation anytime that TF gets itself confused. I think it's like an automatic reboot.

It could have been anything.

[pitflyer]

I move my TMO and ATT BYOP SIMs all the time between phones. Just did it earlier this week, and I don't see the deact/react on the website either, so I agree its just kind of random when that appears.

[BGordon]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I appreciate the info.

[SlowLoris]

My daughter moved a T-Mobile sim last summer without any issues. We did notice a deactivation/reactivation in her transactions so Tracfone's system definitely registered the change. But there was no suspension or loss of the data she had accrued.

Now that I'm thinking more about this, she moved the T-Mobile SIM from an unlocked phone purchased from the Apple store, to a Tracfone iPhone 11 that had been used for 60 days, unlocked, then the service lapsed. When she started getting the harassing texts that she had to move to Verizon, we were afraid that she would lose service with no notice, so we tried to move from the T-Mobile SIM to the Tracfone SIM that was originally paired with the phone. We got an error message online, so contacted Corporate, and they were also unable to reactivate that original Tracfone SIM. I ended up getting a BYOP SIM from Amazon to move her service.

So maybe the deactivation/reactivation had to do with it being a Tracfone branded device. It definitely coincided with the timing of the SIM swap. Or like you have said, maybe it was just a weird quirk, because we all know that not everything that happens with Tracfone makes sense!

[PaulCrawhorne]

It is very common that used inactive SIMs cannot be re-used, even bundled ones on the original device.

It's in effect a different line now, even if it happens to have the same phone#.

But yes BYOP SIM lines are fundamentally different in the system compared to lines coming from TF-originated phone+SIM bundles.

BYOP ones seem to have a lot more flexibility.

So long as you keep a supply of spare BYOP SIMs rather than moving bundle SIMs around, better to activate a new SIM moving the existing number + line over.

[Vicpdx17]

Should be fine until Nov 2024 when Tracfone/Verizon part ways with both AT&T and T-Mobile service. Otherwise on the T-Mobile side have not heard any issues.