I have a network unlocked uk iPhone 4 and wanted to use a sim card from the USA when I visit. My phone takes all other network sim cards here, will there be any reason it won't there? If there is, are there ways round it?
iPhone 4, iOS 4.3.2
Your phone will work fine, but your choices are not good. You have only two GSM providers: AT&T and T-Mobile. AT&T is not very friendly to travelers using an iPhone. They have disabled data on all of their pre-paid sims if you try and use such in an iPhone. You'll get voice, but no data. The next alternative is T-Mobile, but their 3G network is not compatible with the iPhone, so you'll get data but only on their edge network. To get data, on an iPhone, with AT&T requires a post paid plan, i.e.-month to month(you'll have to stop by one of the corporate stores when you get here). An alternative is renting a sim from these folks, works great but might be to expensive for you:
Enjoy your trip!
Your phone will work fine, but your choices are not good. You have only two GSM providers: AT&T and T-Mobile. AT&T is not very friendly to travelers using an iPhone. They have disabled data on all of their pre-paid sims if you try and use such in an iPhone. You'll get voice, but no data. The next alternative is T-Mobile, but their 3G network is not compatible with the iPhone, so you'll get data but only on their edge network. To get data, on an iPhone, with AT&T requires a post paid plan, i.e.-month to month(you'll have to stop by one of the corporate stores when you get here). An alternative is renting a sim from these folks, works great but might be to expensive for you:
Enjoy your trip!
Thanks for reply.
$11.99 a day seems excessive. I would like to get something that will work with data. I'm there for 3 weeks so not worried about paying a months plan. How comes I won't get any data with at&t? How do they know :-) ?
I'm not that bothered about searching the web as I'll have my laptop and wifi where I'm staying, but would be nice to use my phones apps to look for local resteraunts etc using some kind of data. Edge should be fine for that right?
There are lots of at&t or t mobile sims on eBay that are not activated, will these be simple to active and work from here?
Also I have friends and relatives in Orlando (where I'm going), is there a sim i can ask them to get me without them having to sign into something?
As I've said, AT&T has disabled data on their pre-paid sims for use in an iPhone(they want everyone on a contract or a post-paid plan(month-to-month). They, like all carriers, can tell exactly what kind of device is using their network from the device's IMEI number. Some folks have gotten pre-paid sims to work with data in an iPhone, but I can't recommend such since if they catch you, they will disable such. Thus, if I told you to try & you got caught...well you get the idea. You can stop in an AT&T corporate store when you get here...they're pretty much everywhere...their post-paid plans are actually quite reasonable & you'll get 3G.
Understood, thanks for your help. I don't mind doing one of those rolling month kind of things. Is a post paid plan the same as this? Is there anything I will have to sign or prove USA address etc? I just want to pay some money and use my own phone without having to buy a cheap pay as you go phone again without Internet etc :-(
Post-paid plans are month-to-month. You'll need an AT&T sim anyway, so when you get here just stop into any AT&T store, and they should be able to fix you up.
For what it's worth - I travelled to the US for a one year period and I lived in California. The reply above is correct in stating that AT&T or T-Mobile are your only options.
To be honest, all you need is voice calls that aren't roaming as WiFi is pretty freely available - at least it was wherever we went.
You could just get a PAYG Sim card from one of the above providers - it was relatively inexpensive for us to use for a year so it should be perfectly adequate for you to use for three weeks.
Yes - there won't be data over Edge or 3G but as I said, WiFi is readily available.
The only issue will be converting an ordinary PAYG Sim into a Micro Sim for your iPhone 4. There are lots of videos showing how easy it is to cut one down - I guess you just want to make sure that it doesn't get stuck in the phone!
The other simpler option would be to leave your UK SIM in place and just turn off data roaming so you can only use WiFi. Then go and buy yourself a cheap PAYG phone from a Target or Walmart or similar. T-Mobile charged us $25 per PAYG SIM from their store whereas we realised we could get the same SIM with a cheap Nokia handset for $20 from the supermarket.
That way, you only need to make sure that you don't use your UK number for calls etc as US roaming isn't cheap.
Hope this helps.
I've used pay as you go handsets previously, but got my iPhone 4 unlocked recently. All 7 of us in our party have unlocked iPhones and wanted sim cards. We shop a lot and wanted to use apps Internet etc. When we had our phones there last year we couldn't access any wifi as needed a AT&T number etc. All other wifi was locked.
It's a shame we can't just get a sim card to put in and pay for calls and internet at an increased rate than if on a contract. AT&T etc are missing a trick here surely, all networks in the uk do it.
Right. I got a AT&T go pay as you sim off ebay, activated it, and selected a smartphone plan that allows data use. It says i can add a data plan. The sim card works in my phone but just says searching (im still in uk).
Im told it will work when i get there, and i guess i can load it with credit and data when i get there. It all registered ok and i now have a usa phone number.
Fingers crossed.
Hi,
Just wondering how you got on out there in USA? I am going to Florida next year and am researching options too.
Cheers
Chris
Im going end of july. I have the sim card set up and ready to go, so i'll let you know. I've spoken to people who say it works, so fingers crossed mine does too.
Would you mind pointing me towards the right AT&T sim card your bought off ebay?
I'm also going at the end of July, so i'm trying to find the best way to have 3G access.
So you just insert the SIM and register it with a smartphone plan online?
Appreciate the help 🙂
I just bought a AT&T go micro sim, put it in the phone phone and all worked fine. You have to add a data plan to get 3G but they are a rip off.
I scoured the internet for a solution but in actual fact I didn't get the answer I wanted so here is what I did and it worked inexpensively and immediately. I went to a Best Buy Mobile Store and asked for a US SIM for my unlocked iPhone 4S. They offered me a T Mobile SIM for $20 (which included about $3.34 of time) and then a $2 per day unlimited talk, text and web plan. So I purchased a top up card for $10 which gave me a total of 6 days of time (including the credit that came with the SIM) - assuming I was not making international calls. It worked like a charm and I was set up in about 10 minutes. They cut the SIM down and registered it. One point to note is that the plan restricted web traffic to 2G (or Edge - you will see an E on the phone to indicate you are on Edge not 3G etc.) but to be perfectly honest for a short term use this was more than acceptable. I should mention there is no contract and the SIM expires 30 days after all the credit is used up but you are only charged $2 on the days you use which is perfect for international travellers. See http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/pay-by-the-day-cell-phone-plans for more details.
Can I use a USA sim card in my unlocked iPhone 4?
