Mobile Phone SIM cards

[tim+]

Am I the only one who had to search to find out what a "feature phone" is?

Weird phrase for a device lacking in features.

Tim

[Nick Odell]

Help please! Everything I know about mobile phone SIM cards could be written on the back of a nano sim with a sharpie.

I've just bought a phone-and-text-only 4G featurephone to replace my 2G/GSM featurephone which will no longer work in some other countries and someday won't work over here either. The SIM card is original and must be about ten years old.

Is there any difference between the technology of an old SIM card and a new one? If they were the same size, is there any reason why putting a ten-year-old SIM card into a 2023 model featurephone wouldn't work properly? I'd rather keep my old number and phonebook etc and going to a mobile phone shop to have them change things over for me seems rather a faff.

Of course, the two SIMs aren't the same size, otherwise I'd have already tried swapping the old SIM into the new phone. So the next question is: have you any hints and tips for trimming a full size SIM card down to a nano size without risking destroying all the circuitry? Yes, I've seen how they do it on YouTube but a) you don't know how many attempts they took to do that perfect job and b) you don't know if the card is still working afterwards.

Thanks!

Nick [e-mail]

[Andy Burns]

Some UK networks have started turning off 3G, they will all complete that by the end of next year, but none have started turning off 2G yet (they might have re-purposed some 2G bandwidth for 4G though).

There are ways to force an Android phone to 2G mode, see below ...

Old 2G SIMs can run at up to 5 volts, new 4G SIMs (technically UICCs running a USIM) are between 1.7 and 3.3 volts.

There are templates for cutting down SIMs to smaller sizes, I've got away with cutting a mini down to micro size, but not tried mini or micro down to nano (most SIMs these days don't need cutting as they come with perforations to knock-out for all sizes).

Is the SIM from a UK provider? You might be able to get a new one for a couple of quid from a supermarket or phone-repair shop and transfer your number ...

[2G only instructions]

go into your dialler and "call"

*#*#4636#*#*

you should arrive at a testing menu, pick phone information

before doing anything else, take a careful note of what it says under "set preferred network type", maybe even take a photo of the screen just to be sure.

then change it to "GSM only" your new 4G phone is now demoted to 2G only

you'll probably want to put back whatever the setting was above after testing.

[Chris Hogg]

Be aware trimming the old sim card may not work anyway. When I bought a new (smart) mobile last year the shop had a little device that trimmed the card to the right size, but it still didn't work.

[Andy Burns]

Initially I thought you'd returned to the UK and the phone wasn't working here, other parts of the world have already binned 2G and 3G, requiring minimum 4G.

If that's the case, try and get hold of a new 4G SIM (people will look at you funny if you actually ask for a UICC) as an old higher voltage SIM is unlikely to work in a new low voltage phone even if you risk chopping it down.

[Colin Bignell]

You can get card trimming devices, which are probably more reliable than cutting by hand. Alternatively, you could ask your supplier to send you a replacement SIM, which will have the same number. When I have had to change phones in the past, the address book and other features had to be transferred by cable, rather than moving with the SIM card. Whether that will work with one as old as yours, I cannot say.

[charles]

when I changed phones to one that needed a smaller SIM, I simply went into a shop operated by my service provider and got a new SIM for nothing.

[Jeff Layman]

When I "bought" my new Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G in a Vodafone shop a couple of years ago, it actually came a couple of days later by courier. When in the shop, I gave them my ancient (1996!) sim and a new nano sim was generated from it and handed to me. When the new phone arrived, I found another nano sim card had been supplied with it (I was told that all new phones automatically get a new nano sim, but I've no idea if this is true or not). I had no use for the new sim, so fitted my "old" new nano sim in one of the two slots available. I never used the old sim.

I then spent 6 weeks trying to get my new PAYG account associated with my old PAYG sim number, as Vodafone would only associate it with the new sim number. I've no idea how many "chats", phone calls, and visits to the shop it took, all of which failed until I wrote a letter of complaint about their incompetence to the CEO of Vodafone.

And I still have £4.15 of credit from my old PAYG account which was transferred to my new PAYG account. I can't use it as the PAYG costs £10 every month, and I can only top up in multiples of £10!

[Brian Gaff]

You should be able to get a pak code and thus keep your number. I'd most certainly not attempt to trim a sim that was not meant to be trimmed. The world is working toward virtual sims in any case. It cannot come too soon as they are fiddly and often won't fit properly in my experience. Brian

[The Natural Philosopher]

I think this is the sensible answer. Your account is the thing - the sim is just a way to crystallize it.

[Andy Burns]

I know Nick is a bit of a globetrotter lately, not sure if he's talking about a UK provided SIM?

[Nick Odell]

Ah, you know me too well, Andy :^)

The old one is a Vodafone UK provided PAYG phone and SIM. Quad band GSM has worked for me wherever I have gone before but I'm off to Canada in a few days (brand new grandson to introduce myself to, since you asked) and since I was last there I believe Canada has already switched off everything sub-4G. I mostly only use the phone abroad to receive 2FAs but I'm hoping that it is easier to put the old number into the new phone than to contact every boodily organisation I 2FA with and give them a new number.

Nick [e-mail]

[alan_m]

Who is your sim/mobile supplier? When I wanted a new sim to go in a new phone I just got a new one from my supplier for free (which had precut knockouts for all sim sizes)and when I activated it I just selected the option to transfer the phone number. I did have a online account with the mobile PAYG supplier where my username was referenced to the sim/phone number and where the transfer of the number from one sim card to another took about`5 minutes to activate.

[Andy Burns]

aka "candy bar phone".

[Max Demian]

It has more features than a "dumb" phone. It will have a camera for stills and video, music player and perhaps an FM radio.

[Colin Bignell]

I have had an account with O2 since they were BT*. Over the years, I have needed two new SIM cards due to size changes, one due to a fault developing and one because they changed something on it. I've not once had trouble with the changes.

• I'm not sure that PAYG even existed back then.

[HVS]

On 15 Sep 2023, Colin Bignell wrote

Ditto here, with Three. I've been on SIM-only contracts with them for years, most recently using Moto phones which I've bought direct, rather than through Three.

My last couple of phones -- a G4 plus, later replaced with a G8 plus

-- downsized the SIM, and I found it easiest to drop into the Three shop where they did whatever was needed to swap my number into the smaller SIM.

For me, it's an advantage of having an account with one of the phone companies with a High Street shop, rather than a virtual provider.

[Roland Perry]

In message <pOKdncb_jd4Q-pn4nZ2dnZeNn [e-mail], at 15:17:48 on Fri, 15 Sep 2023, Colin Bignell [e-mail]> remarked:

O2 PAYG was introduced in around 1995. I don't recall if they were BT-owned then.

During that period I've ported my number from Orange to Virgin to GiffGaff. I might soon be porting it again, not because of dissatisfaction with their tariff, but O2 coverage isn't great where I live and have been travelling recently** and I'm also looking for a supplier who can also deliver my current landline service (incoming calls only would be OK) to my existing mobile number.

** And while I can live without voice/data when in not-spots, it's frustrating not to be able to receive 2FAs.

[Colin Bignell]

O2 didn't exist when I got my first mobile phone from BT. It was prompted by coming across a traffic accident in the middle of nowhere. One person there had a mobile phone and was able to call for help. Both having a mobile phone and having coverage outside large cities were unusual at the time, but it made me think it might be worth while carrying one for emergency use.

[Roland Perry]

When I got my first mobile phone, in 1988 [at ~£10k in today's prices], I wasn't even aware whose [analogue] network it was on. All that mattered to me was people dear to me in my private life could call me wherever(ish) I was. Later I identified it as Cellnet.