Apple SIM question OCT 2015

I suggest you telephone AT&T Wireless support at (800) 331-0500. This number is staffed 24x7. I suspect the answer would be the same as if you had a cellular telephone with this SIM.

I would recommend buying an "Apple SIM Kit" from your local Apple Retail Store, to get a fresh one to use in Italy.

Yes, it does, but AT&T has chosen to impose those restrictions, and I don't know of any other carrier that will tie the Apple SIM to them when you sign up.

jma814 wrote:

You're right, I might have to buy a second Apple Sim. It kind of defeats the purpose of Apple's selling point..."And with Apple SIM, you can choose a plan quickly and easily in over 90 countries and territories."

Not really. You did "choose a plan quickly and easily", it is just that you are reading into the statement that you can "change" quickly and easily. I don't' believe that to be the case.

So have you tried to choose a plan with another provider? It seems you should be able to switch back once you return to the US, I would think that it would still register to AT&T, but then I've not tried it. And I would think that we would need to hear from someone that has. If you go to another country that supports the Apple SIM, unless you hear from someone with experience, you would need to contact an Apple SIM partner. Since you have just added the device to your current data plan with AT&T, that does not constitute a commitment. You are just paying, like I am, an additional fee to add the device to my shared plan. I do not use the Apple SIM, but I have an AT&T SIM that allows me to use AT&T data from my shared plan. I pay an additional fee to have that device on my plan, it is not a contract. I can cancel it at any time.

jma814 wrote:

AT&T sells an international plan which makes me think that their ability to LOCK THE SIM may extend to Italy.

Yes, I was going to suggest that as well. Check AT&T's "Passport" plan. I've used it with an iPhone (not an iPad, but I think it's similar).

But have you tried to change to Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.? It sounds as if since you have registered currently with AT&T you are locked. I'm not sure that is completely true. However, this is my interpretation of the situation, since I don't have the Apple SIM in my iPad Mini. Yes, AT&T sells and international plan, but then you are not trying to use an Italian carrier with that, you are just allowing it to roam with whomever AT&T's partner is. While I agree you are currently with AT&T, I don't believe you are locked to AT&T, unless this removes the ability for you to make a selection from the iPad. I guess what I should be asking you is, what makes you believe you are locked into an AT&T contract with the device?

Okay, if you say so. I've not seen this information, but since I don't have the Apple SIM, I won't continue. I'm just trying to understand this myself in case it comes up again. You've received information from AT&T that you are locked into them and cannot leave, is that correct? What if you leave, are they going to charge you an ETF? Yes, stevejobsfan0123 mentions that AT&T locks you and I know he generally knows what he is talking about, so I guess I'll just take what he says at face value. I don't use much cellular data with my iPad, and I certainly don't travel outside the US, so I'm guessing this is really not something I should be concerned with, but since I'm an AT&T customer, I like to know everything I can about their practices.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be argumentative about it, I just figured since I could just remove my iPad at anytime that you would be able to as well. Guess I'll do some searching for more information about how AT&T handles the Apple SIM.