Can Apple SIM be used in any iPad 2 irrespective of where is was purchased.

Apple does not sell SIM cards because Apple is not a cellular service provider and does not own a cellular network. You need to decide which cellular service provider you wish to subscribe to and get a SIM from them. Your iPad should work with any SIM from any carrier who supports iPads and offers data service plans for them.

It comes with a SIM which is put in by Apple so the device is ready for activation. But Apple does not provide the cellular network to use it on, not do they provide a cellular service account for you to connect to a cellular service account. You set up cellular service with a cellular service provider, not with Apple. The so-called "Apple SIM" is just a universal SIM provided for your confidence in setting up Service with the carrier you ultimately choose.

If you purchased your iPad without a SIM it is identical to the ones sold with a SIM and you can set up service with any carrier, anywhere on the planet, who supports the device and who you wish to get service from. Apple does not sell SIM cards separately because they are NOT a cellular service provider. The factory in Chine installs the "Apple SIM" in those units sold with a SIM so that buyers can then just activate service with the carrier of their choice - it's a convince feature for buyerS, nothing more.

In the USA the included "Apple SIM" will allow you to initiate service with certain carriers, one of AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile. You actually have to get a separate SIM if you wish to use Verizon service. But if you wanted that universal SIM you needed to buy it with the device. As far as I know you cannot just buy the SIM, but you can still,use your device with any carrier anywhere. And in the USA activation with AT&T reportedly locks the SIM to AT&T and it is no longer universal (that's the SIM only, not the device - you can still,swap SIMs).

p.s. I was just told that while they may not show up in the online store, Apple SIMs have been seen in some retails stores (e.g. One of my two local Apple Stores). Apple sells them here reportedly becasue activation with AT&T locks the SIM to them when service is activated with them, so Apple has begun selling replacements for those cases so people can have a second one for travel or other accounts. Note that the only carriers opting in thus far are the three U.S. Carriers and EE in the UK so anywhere else in the world you still need to swap SIMs to get local service.

because of that limited carrier support, they are only available in the USA and UK - Choose a cellular data plan with your Apple SIM installed - Apple Support

so you may want to look in, or call an Apple Store when you are in the USA or UK and see if they have them.

THe the device won't matter as they are all the same. It really should not be called an Apple SIM as Apple has nothing to do with the cellular service. It simply is a non-carrier specific SIM And such things are not new or novel, just new to iPads.

Actually, Apple sim was meant to allow you to hop carriers using daily or monthly plans so you could use the one that best served your needs.

Get Started with your Apple SIM - Apple Support

ssschmidt wrote:

Actually, Apple sim was meant to allow you to hop carriers using daily or monthly plans so you could use the one that best served your needs.

Get Started with your Apple SIM - Apple Support

In theory sure. But you only have 4 carriers and two nations currently participating. And one of those carriers actually does lock the SIM to their network once used on it so then defeats the whole idea. As I mentioned, non-carrier specific SIMs are not new, but they've never gained much traction as they require the participation and cooperation of the individual carriers, most of whom I think don't see much reason to get onboard with such programs.

So unless you live in the USA and travel frequently to the UK, or vice versa, the whole Apple SIM seems pretty much non-significant to most users, who will find they still have to swap SIMs every time they switch carriers or travel somewhere. And in the USA the single largest carrier, verizon, has chosen to not participate at all.

Apple Sim, like Apple Pay, has to start somewhere. I agree that when a carrier (AT&T) elects to lock the sim on use, it defeats the purpose. But Apple Sim was intended to allow you to use different carriers at a whim (specifically in the US). But the carrier decision to lock the sim card is beyond Apple's control. So you have to spend money to get a different sim, and keep them with you and swap the sims when you wish to swap carriers. That is still better than choosing an iPad, and having to pick the ONE carrier that will provide your service.

My opinion.

iPads, at least those sold directly by Apple, have never been locked to a carrier. You've always been able to carry around multiple SIMs and swap them at will.

I disagree. Previously, when you purchased an iPad 4 (iPad with Retina), if you chose the cellular model, the product page specifically stated you had to choose the carrier that you would use - and you would not be able to switch. The product pages have likely been changed since the release of the Apple SIM, but if you check the clearance and refurbished section, you may note that you have to pick whether the iPad is for Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile.

ssschmidt wrote:

I disagree. Previously, when you purchased an iPad 4 (iPad with Retina), if you chose the cellular model, the product page specifically stated you had to choose the carrier that you would use - and you would not be able to switch. The product pages have likely been changed since the release of the Apple SIM, but if you check the clearance and refurbished section, you may note that you have to pick whether the iPad is for Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile.

They are sold preconfigured for a specific carrier. But GSM iPads have never been sold locked to a particular carrier unless purchased from certain carriers at a carrier discount. Peoplle have been swapping SIM cards at will and changing service providers at will with iPads since the first iPad. The original iPad and iPad 2 had hardware limitations that restricted them somewhat in terms of compatibility with some carriers 3G. But all iPads ever sold directly by Apple have never been locked to a GSM carrier, merely preconfigured for one.

refurbished iPads have always been sold preconfigured for the carrier they were originally sold with, but they are not locked to that carrier (if you plan on using T-Mobile, why would you want an iPad delivered with an AT&T SIM in it - then you have to go out and get yourself a T-Mobile SIM).

IVe owned an iPad 4 and never had any problems popping SIMs in and out as I needed or wanted to, depending on where I was and who I wanted to have service with.