I am planning on buying the iPhone 11 online. Just wanted to know what is the difference between activating it online (I don’t have to go to the store to do it) or going to the carrier store to do it? And if I activate online does that mean my current phone won’t work until I receive the new phone? Or will my current phone stop working once my new phone is delivered?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 11
Don't confuse buying "on line" with activating "on line". Buying on line is buying through an internet store instead of a brick and mortar store (what you are planning to do). Activating on line is the process of getting your new phone up and running.
When you receive your new phone, it will be completely blank. In order to use it, it must be activated. Do you now use an iPhone, and do you plan to "move out of" your old iPhone and "move into" your new one? If so, the startup process will guide you through the activation procedure, and all you need is a WiFi connection to facilitate the migration.
You will connect your new phone to its charger and start it up. Follow the initialization prompts, and at one point you will be asked if you want to create a new iPhone or migrate from another iPhone. Select the migrate option and you will be prompted to point the camera of one phone at the screen of the other phone to confirm the migration relationship. After a while, all of your configuration from your old phone will be replicated to your new phone (except for Face ID, wallet, and the like). After that, just move your SIM from your old phone to your new phone and you should be good to go.
Visiting your carrier's store with your old and new phones in hand will simply put this procedure in the hands of the store's clerk.
Of course, make sure that your new iPhone is not SIM locked before you order it.
Don't confuse buying "on line" with activating "on line". Buying on line is buying through an internet store instead of a brick and mortar store (what you are planning to do). Activating on line is the process of getting your new phone up and running.
When you receive your new phone, it will be completely blank. In order to use it, it must be activated. Do you now use an iPhone, and do you plan to "move out of" your old iPhone and "move into" your new one? If so, the startup process will guide you through the activation procedure, and all you need is a WiFi connection to facilitate the migration.
You will connect your new phone to its charger and start it up. Follow the initialization prompts, and at one point you will be asked if you want to create a new iPhone or migrate from another iPhone. Select the migrate option and you will be prompted to point the camera of one phone at the screen of the other phone to confirm the migration relationship. After a while, all of your configuration from your old phone will be replicated to your new phone (except for Face ID, wallet, and the like). After that, just move your SIM from your old phone to your new phone and you should be good to go.
Visiting your carrier's store with your old and new phones in hand will simply put this procedure in the hands of the store's clerk.
Of course, make sure that your new iPhone is not SIM locked before you order it.
If you are buying a phone tied to a carrier - it will still need a SIM card to be able to make and receive calls and be tied to your number.
So - your current phone will work until you transfer the SIM card to the new phone
difference between activating it online or going to the carrier store
