Question about SIM cards and Cell Phones

[aolsuxs]

My brother just recently got a new phone/plan and will not be needing his new one and will be giving it to me and I am just curious as to the steps in switching it. I was under the assumption that I just popped my sim card out and poped it into this however it says incorrect SIM. Both phones are on the Cingular plan if that helps.


Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Call Cingular and ask.

 

[sixone]

If both phones are on Cingular, you don't need to do anything to the phone. Just call Cingular, and they'll walk u thru the setup for the new phone, and assign your existing phone number to it.

<----ashamed to be a former Cingular customer: Cingular sux.

 

[Zim Hosein]

Originally posted by: sixone
If both phones are on Cingular, you don't need to do anything to the phone. Just call Cingular, and they'll walk u thru the setup for the new phone, and assign your existing phone number to it.

<----ashamed to be a former Cingular customer: Cingular sux.

<-- Cingular customer!

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
My brother just recently got a new phone/plan and will not be needing his new one and will be giving it to me and I am just curious as to the steps in switching it. I was under the assumption that I just popped my sim card out and poped it into this however it says incorrect SIM. Both phones are on the Cingular plan if that helps.


Thanks in advance for any help.

The reason it says incorrect SIM is because the ESN (Electronic Serial Number ) comes up wrong for the sim you are using.

When you call Cingular they will ask you to look at the ESN number under the battery. They will enter that number in the account and you will be good to go.

 

[aolsuxs]

I just called Cingular and they told me that I would need to migrate over to Cingular (I am currently on ATT, signed up right before they merged) get a cingular phone and then use that cingular sim which I really do not want to do since I would have to extend my contract. However my friend says all I need to do is unlock the phone which I have no idea how to do. She was able to use my SIM and have it work on her Cingular phone. However I have no idea how unlock the phone as it does not give me any options to enter any code when I power it up.

 

[batmanuel]

What kind of phone is it? If it is an older Nokia, they are really easy to unlock. Newer Nokias and other brands can be a bit harder nut to crack.

 

[Dead3ye]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
My brother just recently got a new phone/plan and will not be needing his new one and will be giving it to me and I am just curious as to the steps in switching it. I was under the assumption that I just popped my sim card out and poped it into this however it says incorrect SIM. Both phones are on the Cingular plan if that helps.


Thanks in advance for any help.

The reason it says incorrect SIM is because the ESN (Electronic Serial Number ) comes up wrong for the sim you are using.

When you call Cingular they will ask you to look at the ESN number under the battery. They will enter that number in the account and you will be good to go.

That has nothing to do with it and will not work. GSM phones do not have to be "activated". As long as the SIM and the phone are from the same carrier, the SIM will work in any phone. If the phone is unlocked, you can use any carrier's SIM in it.

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
I just called Cingular and they told me that I would need to migrate over to Cingular (I am currently on ATT, signed up right before they merged) get a cingular phone and then use that cingular sim which I really do not want to do since I would have to extend my contract. However my friend says all I need to do is unlock the phone which I have no idea how to do. She was able to use my SIM and have it work on her Cingular phone. However I have no idea how unlock the phone as it does not give me any options to enter any code when I power it up.

You might want to look long and hard at the Cingular Orange plans and compare them to your current Cingular Blue plan. They are usually more expensive and have less minutes. The only advantage would be the rollover minutes. If running out of minutes is not a problem, I'd stick with Blue.

I currently have an old ATT plan (Blue) and nothing Cingular Orange has to offer come close to what I have now. There's no reason for me to change unless they force me to.

The common person (even with good PC skills) can't unlock a GSM phone unless you want to invest in the equipment to do it. There's hardware involved and you will have to send the phone out to have a thrid party unlock it for you. I think they charge around $30 + shipping to do it.

Check this site out. It will answer most of your questions.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
I just called Cingular and they told me that I would need to migrate over to Cingular (I am currently on ATT, signed up right before they merged) get a cingular phone and then use that cingular sim which I really do not want to do since I would have to extend my contract. However my friend says all I need to do is unlock the phone which I have no idea how to do. She was able to use my SIM and have it work on her Cingular phone. However I have no idea how unlock the phone as it does not give me any options to enter any code when I power it up.

Your friend is correct. What brand and model phone do you need unlocked.

 

[FrustratedUser]

As said before here you need to get the phone unlocked. I called T-Mobile and got a code to type in ---> voila'!! The phone now works with any SIM card. Came in very handy in Europe.

 

[Zysoclaplem]

There will be an activation fee more than likely.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
There will be an activation fee more than likely.

Woah, that sucks. T-Mobile was free.

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
There will be an activation fee more than likely.

Woah, that sucks. T-Mobile was free.

When I got my new phone (from v551 to nokia 3595 to ericsson t637), I was able to pop in the sim card and start using it immediately in all three cases, no problem. But if you call up cingular, and have them activate your phone, it might cost you something. Don't quote me on that though. I may be 100% wrong.

 

[jaedaliu]

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
There will be an activation fee more than likely.

typically this only is needed for a new phone line subscription. Most likely the phone is locked (possibly one is old enough to be from AT&T?) Wireless companies in the U.S. usually will tell you how to unlock it ?6? ?9? months into your contract (to prevent the buy phone, unlock, leave country and cancel plan so there's no retribution possible by cell phone company deal.)

 

[Wonderful Pork]

From what I read, it seems that you are on Cingular Blue (formerly attws) and the new phone is from Cingular Orange. Your SIM card won't work unless you have the phone unlocked, which you can do either online or at an independent reseller (usually). Cingular will NOT give you the unlock code unless you have had the PHONE for 90 days. Of course you could get lucky or whatever, but usually they don't give you the code.

Cingular won't give you an unlock code for a Cingular BLUE phone if you want to migrate...they want you to buy new equipment. There really isn?t any reason to switch from Blue to Orange unless you _really_ need a new phone or something. They will still charge you the $18 migration fee (what a crock!), and make you get a new phone. So if you want to use the new phone, I'd just go get it unlocked for $25+ and be done with it, unless it is an easily unlocked phone like a Nokia.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
There will be an activation fee more than likely.

No it won't. Normally he could just call Cingular, and they would sent him the code, along with instructions on how to enter it. However since the phone was just purchased, they won't do it now until the contract his brother bought it under expires.

There's plenty of places that will do it online, and many mom & pop phone stores will do it for a fee of about $30. With the aid of software & the data cable for the phone, he could unlock it himself. I was going to do this for my S710a, but Cingular sent it to me. I :heart: Cingular.

 

[aolsuxs]

I am trying to unlock a Sony Ericsson S710.

I've had my current phone for over a year so does that mean I am qualified to get the other phone unlocked? I tried some local places here and only one does it but they have to send it off and it will cost $50.

I've tried googling/ebay and found a few options however not sure how credible they are, and all seem more complex then just entering a code but require some sort of cable.

What should I say to Cingular for them to unlock the S710 that my brother gave me, he is still on his plan but using a different phone.

 

[nife4]

so much talk of unlocking phones... does anyone know how to unlock the samsung e315 for tmobile
(no, howardforums doesn't say how to)

 

[lavagirl669]

Originally posted by: Zim Hosein

Originally posted by: sixone
If both phones are on Cingular, you don't need to do anything to the phone. Just call Cingular, and they'll walk u thru the setup for the new phone, and assign your existing phone number to it.

<----ashamed to be a former Cingular customer: Cingular sux.

<-- Cingular customer!

now we can use our cingular to cingular minutes to call each other

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
I am trying to unlock a Sony Ericsson S710.

I've had my current phone for over a year so does that mean I am qualified to get the other phone unlocked? I tried some local places here and only one does it but they have to send it off and it will cost $50.

I've tried googling/ebay and found a few options however not sure how credible they are, and all seem more complex then just entering a code but require some sort of cable.

What should I say to Cingular for them to unlock the S710 that my brother gave me, he is still on his plan but using a different phone.

You can forget about Cingular unlocking either phone. They won't unlock the S710 because your brother just got it, and it is under a new contract. You can try in a year or so, because rules change, but it's not gonna happen now.

As for your AT&T phone, last I heard they aren't unlocking them at all. They want to kill the old AT&T network, so they want you to get a new Cingular orange phone, and a brand new Cingular contract.

Unlocking the S710 is pretty easy if you have a data cable. There are places online that you can download their software, buy a credit, and bam, instant unlocked phone. It's about $15 for a data cable, and another $10-$15 for a credit, so if you have a local store that will do it you would be better off.

PM me if you want to know who I was going to use to unlock mine, good luck!

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: Dead3ye

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
My brother just recently got a new phone/plan and will not be needing his new one and will be giving it to me and I am just curious as to the steps in switching it. I was under the assumption that I just popped my sim card out and poped it into this however it says incorrect SIM. Both phones are on the Cingular plan if that helps.


Thanks in advance for any help.

The reason it says incorrect SIM is because the ESN (Electronic Serial Number ) comes up wrong for the sim you are using.

When you call Cingular they will ask you to look at the ESN number under the battery. They will enter that number in the account and you will be good to go.

That has nothing to do with it and will not work. GSM phones do not have to be "activated". As long as the SIM and the phone are from the same carrier, the SIM will work in any phone. If the phone is unlocked, you can use any carrier's SIM in it.

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
I just called Cingular and they told me that I would need to migrate over to Cingular (I am currently on ATT, signed up right before they merged) get a cingular phone and then use that cingular sim which I really do not want to do since I would have to extend my contract. However my friend says all I need to do is unlock the phone which I have no idea how to do. She was able to use my SIM and have it work on her Cingular phone. However I have no idea how unlock the phone as it does not give me any options to enter any code when I power it up.

You might want to look long and hard at the Cingular Orange plans and compare them to your current Cingular Blue plan. They are usually more expensive and have less minutes. The only advantage would be the rollover minutes. If running out of minutes is not a problem, I'd stick with Blue.

I currently have an old ATT plan (Blue) and nothing Cingular Orange has to offer come close to what I have now. There's no reason for me to change unless they force me to.

The common person (even with good PC skills) can't unlock a GSM phone unless you want to invest in the equipment to do it. There's hardware involved and you will have to send the phone out to have a thrid party unlock it for you. I think they charge around $30 + shipping to do it.

Check this site out. It will answer most of your questions.

Amen to that. They keep trying to convince me to switch over but I keep refusing. They don't offer 7pm nights anymore nor do they have as many minutes as im getting right now for what I'm paying.

 

[Dead3ye]

Originally posted by: dabuddha

Originally posted by: Dead3ye

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
My brother just recently got a new phone/plan and will not be needing his new one and will be giving it to me and I am just curious as to the steps in switching it. I was under the assumption that I just popped my sim card out and poped it into this however it says incorrect SIM. Both phones are on the Cingular plan if that helps.


Thanks in advance for any help.

The reason it says incorrect SIM is because the ESN (Electronic Serial Number ) comes up wrong for the sim you are using.

When you call Cingular they will ask you to look at the ESN number under the battery. They will enter that number in the account and you will be good to go.

That has nothing to do with it and will not work. GSM phones do not have to be "activated". As long as the SIM and the phone are from the same carrier, the SIM will work in any phone. If the phone is unlocked, you can use any carrier's SIM in it.

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
I just called Cingular and they told me that I would need to migrate over to Cingular (I am currently on ATT, signed up right before they merged) get a cingular phone and then use that cingular sim which I really do not want to do since I would have to extend my contract. However my friend says all I need to do is unlock the phone which I have no idea how to do. She was able to use my SIM and have it work on her Cingular phone. However I have no idea how unlock the phone as it does not give me any options to enter any code when I power it up.

You might want to look long and hard at the Cingular Orange plans and compare them to your current Cingular Blue plan. They are usually more expensive and have less minutes. The only advantage would be the rollover minutes. If running out of minutes is not a problem, I'd stick with Blue.

I currently have an old ATT plan (Blue) and nothing Cingular Orange has to offer come close to what I have now. There's no reason for me to change unless they force me to.

The common person (even with good PC skills) can't unlock a GSM phone unless you want to invest in the equipment to do it. There's hardware involved and you will have to send the phone out to have a thrid party unlock it for you. I think they charge around $30 + shipping to do it.

Check this site out. It will answer most of your questions.

Amen to that. They keep trying to convince me to switch over but I keep refusing. They don't offer 7pm nights anymore nor do they have as many minutes as im getting right now for what I'm paying.

I checked into a Orange contract that has the same price as I'm paying for Blue right now:

Orange:
700 anytime
Unlimited M2M to Blue or Orange
9:00 N/W
2 lines

My Blue:
1100 anytime
Unlimited M2M to Blue or Orange
7:00 N/W
2 lines

Both plans are $69.99. Gee, I wonder why I'm sticking with Blue?

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
I am trying to unlock a Sony Ericsson S710.

I've had my current phone for over a year so does that mean I am qualified to get the other phone unlocked? I tried some local places here and only one does it but they have to send it off and it will cost $50.

I've tried googling/ebay and found a few options however not sure how credible they are, and all seem more complex then just entering a code but require some sort of cable.

What should I say to Cingular for them to unlock the S710 that my brother gave me, he is still on his plan but using a different phone.

You can forget about Cingular unlocking either phone. They won't unlock the S710 because your brother just got it, and it is under a new contract. You can try in a year or so, because rules change, but it's not gonna happen now.

As for your AT&T phone, last I heard they aren't unlocking them at all. They want to kill the old AT&T network, so they want you to get a new Cingular orange phone, and a brand new Cingular contract.

Unlocking the S710 is pretty easy if you have a data cable. There are places online that you can download their software, buy a credit, and bam, instant unlocked phone. It's about $15 for a data cable, and another $10-$15 for a credit, so if you have a local store that will do it you would be better off.

PM me if you want to know who I was going to use to unlock mine, good luck!

This is true. Cingular doesn't have to and they won't unlock any of their phones. They don't want you using their branded phone on a competitor's network. It becomes a real problem if you want to use your phone in Europe and use a bought SIM card there.

Cingular would love to get rid of Blue customers like me. That's why they won't unlock my phone either (ATT V505), even to come to Orange.

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: Dead3ye

Originally posted by: dabuddha

Originally posted by: Dead3ye

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
My brother just recently got a new phone/plan and will not be needing his new one and will be giving it to me and I am just curious as to the steps in switching it. I was under the assumption that I just popped my sim card out and poped it into this however it says incorrect SIM. Both phones are on the Cingular plan if that helps.


Thanks in advance for any help.

The reason it says incorrect SIM is because the ESN (Electronic Serial Number ) comes up wrong for the sim you are using.

When you call Cingular they will ask you to look at the ESN number under the battery. They will enter that number in the account and you will be good to go.

That has nothing to do with it and will not work. GSM phones do not have to be "activated". As long as the SIM and the phone are from the same carrier, the SIM will work in any phone. If the phone is unlocked, you can use any carrier's SIM in it.

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
I just called Cingular and they told me that I would need to migrate over to Cingular (I am currently on ATT, signed up right before they merged) get a cingular phone and then use that cingular sim which I really do not want to do since I would have to extend my contract. However my friend says all I need to do is unlock the phone which I have no idea how to do. She was able to use my SIM and have it work on her Cingular phone. However I have no idea how unlock the phone as it does not give me any options to enter any code when I power it up.

You might want to look long and hard at the Cingular Orange plans and compare them to your current Cingular Blue plan. They are usually more expensive and have less minutes. The only advantage would be the rollover minutes. If running out of minutes is not a problem, I'd stick with Blue.

I currently have an old ATT plan (Blue) and nothing Cingular Orange has to offer come close to what I have now. There's no reason for me to change unless they force me to.

The common person (even with good PC skills) can't unlock a GSM phone unless you want to invest in the equipment to do it. There's hardware involved and you will have to send the phone out to have a thrid party unlock it for you. I think they charge around $30 + shipping to do it.

Check this site out. It will answer most of your questions.

Amen to that. They keep trying to convince me to switch over but I keep refusing. They don't offer 7pm nights anymore nor do they have as many minutes as im getting right now for what I'm paying.

I checked into a Orange contract that has the same price as I'm paying for Blue right now:

Orange:
700 anytime
Unlimited M2M to Blue or Orange
9:00 N/W
2 lines

My Blue:
1100 anytime
Unlimited M2M to Blue or Orange
7:00 N/W
2 lines

Both plans are $69.99. Gee, I wonder why I'm sticking with Blue?

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: aolsuxs
I am trying to unlock a Sony Ericsson S710.

I've had my current phone for over a year so does that mean I am qualified to get the other phone unlocked? I tried some local places here and only one does it but they have to send it off and it will cost $50.

I've tried googling/ebay and found a few options however not sure how credible they are, and all seem more complex then just entering a code but require some sort of cable.

What should I say to Cingular for them to unlock the S710 that my brother gave me, he is still on his plan but using a different phone.

You can forget about Cingular unlocking either phone. They won't unlock the S710 because your brother just got it, and it is under a new contract. You can try in a year or so, because rules change, but it's not gonna happen now.

As for your AT&T phone, last I heard they aren't unlocking them at all. They want to kill the old AT&T network, so they want you to get a new Cingular orange phone, and a brand new Cingular contract.

Unlocking the S710 is pretty easy if you have a data cable. There are places online that you can download their software, buy a credit, and bam, instant unlocked phone. It's about $15 for a data cable, and another $10-$15 for a credit, so if you have a local store that will do it you would be better off.

PM me if you want to know who I was going to use to unlock mine, good luck!

This is true. Cingular doesn't have to and they won't unlock any of their phones. They don't want you using their branded phone on a competitor's network. It becomes a real problem if you want to use your phone in Europe and use a bought SIM card there.

Cingular would love to get rid of Blue customers like me. That's why they won't unlock my phone either (ATT V505), even to come to Orange.

I have a similar plan with Blue

1200 anytime minutes
free m-m minutes
free n-w
7pm nights
all for $69.99/month for 2 lines

 

[TwoMix]

I have cingular blue and went to chinatown looking for a new phone and nobody would give me a deal.

1000 anytime
free n/w
m2m
70/month 4 lines

 

[Dead3ye]

Originally posted by: TwoMix
I have cingular blue and went to chinatown looking for a new phone and nobody would give me a deal.

1000 anytime
free n/w
m2m
70/month 4 lines

That's a great deal for 4 lines!