My flip phone needs to be replaced. There are too many problems with it. It served me well but now I want to join the smart phone set. I’m going to stay with my current carrier.

Considering an unlocked smart phone from a third party vendor such as an Apple store, Best Buy, or Amazon, etc. and not a locked phone which is only what the carriers sell. My current flip phone’s SIM card cannot be transferred to a smart phone.

1. How does a phone’s SIM card get initialized with the necessary information that makes the phone work such as the phone no., phone’s serial no., carrier’s name, fingerprint/photo for security, etc.? Who does it: third party vendor, carrier’s store, or me?

In most foreign countries, a replacement SIM card is needed to make it work in the foreign country.

2. Can a foreign country’s SIM card be purchased here or does it have to be bought in a store in the foreign country? If foreign country, it could be a hassle finding a store in a country that I’ve never been to.

3. What are the ownership rights to the foreign country’s SIM card? Will I own it or am I actually renting it and have to return it to the store before leaving the country?

I'll be following this too, as I'm interested in moving to a smart phone as well.

I have noticed that you can buy foreign SIM cards in vending machines at most airports. They're about $20. I don't know anything else about them.

I was surprised that my flip phone worked in Mexico with no alteration. It didn't work in Europe, but I have never investigated alternate SIM cards.

I buy my iPhones through Apple, but they make me specify the carrier. I think with my last one there was some issue setting it up and I went to the att store and they got it working.

I have never had to change my sim card and I use it internationally all the time. In most countries, over 100 I believe, ATT charges me 10/day to essentially carry my normal plan terms over. The only exception I’ve encountered recently was Russia

Definitely go with unlocked if you can. But in my experience, the only way you can get an unlocked phone is if you buy it outright, not through installments with your carrier.

1. Take your new and old phones to your carrier. They will do whatever's necessary to transfer your old phone number to a new SIM card, activate it, etc. I believe they also inactivate your old SIM in that process, but I'm not sure--ergo the advice to take both phones in just in case. They may charge you a small fee for the SIM (like $20 or so), but most will waive it.

Depending on your carrier, most have international plans where you don't have to purchase a new plan for that country and/or get a new SIM and swap it out. I have t-mobile and I get unlimited data (sometimes slightly slower, generally not) wherever I go internationally, but I have to pay extra for phone calls. T-mobile has a plan for voice as well, but with Skype, messenger, etc., I don't really need it. I rarely use my phone to call people.

2. If you need to buy a foreign SIM, you will need to purchase it from a foreign carrier. I'm not sure if there are companies that specialize in this and will mail you a foreign SIM, pre-activated. You might want to google this. On the other hand, it's likely cheaper and certainly easier to upgrade your current US carrier to international. Most let you turn it off and on as needed (and charge you only for when it's on).

3. As far as I know, SIM cards are disposable. You don't need to return it. However, if you do go the route of multiple SIM cards, I would definitely not throw it away. Either keep it or destroy it (so someone else can't use it and their use shows up on your bill).

You don't have to change SIM cards to use the phone in Europe any more. Like John, I notify ATT as to where I am going and they move my service to wherever I will be. The $10 day seems high but you only pay for the days you use the phone on the cellular network, not when on wifi.

The place you buy the phone from will transfer all of your data, set up the phone number, etc. I'm not sure how easy it is to transfer data off of a flip phone these days and unless you are backed up to the cloud somehow you may have to re enter a lot of stuff.

quote:

How does a phone’s SIM card get initialized with the necessary information that makes the phone work such as the phone no., phone’s serial no., carrier’s name, fingerprint/photo for security, etc.? Who does it: third party vendor, carrier’s store, or me?

There's no process. You can just swap it yourself, and it reads the phone (the SIM card is carrier-specific).

I have an older iPhone and an iPad that has LTE, and I can swap the SIM card back and forth myself without issue. The hardest part is finding a pin small enough to open the SIM card slot.

quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:

There's no process. You can just swap it yourself, and it reads the phone (the SIM card is carrier-specific).

+1

The "smartphones" these days, iPhones and Android phones included, are typically not "locked in" to any particular service provider. Feel free to buy just about any smartphone you want, you can always choose the service provider separately.

The SIM card is carrier-specific, and the SIM card determines the phone number.

If you travel overseas, you can buy a SIM card locally, swap that into your phone, and get service (and a local phone number) just like the locals there.

Some newer phones support something called "eSIM" the is basically a built-in, non-removable SIM. Some service providers can work with eSIM, some cannot. But even these phones have a slot for the more traditional removable SIM so you can still get service from just about any service provider and go with removable SIM. And if you use the eSIM, that too you can think of as re-programmable so you can freely change service provider later and keep the same phone.

Long story short, don't worry about your new smartphone being "locked in" to any particular service provider. The wireless telecommunications industry has largely moved away from that sort of business/operational model.

quote:

The "smartphones" these days, iPhones and Android phones included, are typically not "locked in" to any particular service provider.

Unless maybe you buy an older model to get something cheaper?

I have an iPhone 8plus, which I bought unlocked so I could use it in Japan. When I bought it 2 years ago, I bought it at the Apple store and IIRC there were two options I could purchase for use with ATT, but one of those would not work in Japan (even with swapped out SIM card). Obviously, I got the other one, and when we were in Japan, I got a Japanese SIM card w/ a data and phone plan (and hence, a Japanese-specific phone number, which was great for my fieldwork needs).

Anyway, all that is to say, when you make your purchase, if there are specific countries you know you'll be traveling to, tell the sales person and they'll make sure you don't have any compatibility concerns.

BTW the last time we went to Japan, I used the local SIM card option because using ATT's 10/day plan would have cost me over $300 (b/c of the length of time we were there) and again, without a local phone number, it would have been harder for contacts to... contact me

So that's country- and purpose-specific, but in any case.

BTW, QL, are you anticipating any adjustment period switching to a smartphone? What other devices do you use besides your current flip phone?