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Swap back and forth between to phones

zoxxo

zoxxo

Android Enthusiast
I have a RAZR Maxx that I use on a daily basis and a Bionic that is sitting around going unused. If I needed or wanted to use the Bionic, is it as simple as swapping the SIMM card, or do I have to do some other voodoo to get it to work? Will swapping phones affect my plan (I don't want to lose that unlimited data plan)?
 
technically i would say yes just switch the sim but in reality i'm not sure. Also not sure how it will affect your plan
 
As long as they take the same size SIM card, or you can use an adapter, it should just be a matter of moving the card. No impact on your plan since they are both 4G phones. You only need to call in or use the website if moving from 4G to 3G or vice versa.
 
Ask your carrier about a second SIM with the same phone number, so you can use both phones on the same data plan.
With t-mobile I use a SIM on the old phone and a microSIM on the new phone :)

Harry
 
just be aware that there is a limit on how many times you can swap a sim in your billing cycle. I don't remember how many times that is.
 
I just checked the sim's on both phones and the RAZR has the micro-sim, while the Bionic has the larger sim. I guess I'm going to have to check with Verizon for my answer.

Thanks for the feedback, I'll report back on what Verizon says about the matter...
 
If your switching between two 4g phones, all you have to do is switch the sims and the new phone will automatically activate and be ready for use.
 
The sim's are different sizes. Is it a matter of pulling one sim out and putting the other sim in the other phone or will I have to call Verizon and get both sims registered?
 
I'm not sure if you can have two SIMs registered to your account at once. To simplify things, the first thing I would check is if you can use an adapter to fit your microSIM into the Bionic.

If the only way to make it work is two different SIMs, you'll have to call Verizon and see if the un-used SIM will stay tied to your account, or if you'll have to contact them each time you want to swap.
 
spottedcatfish said:
I'm not sure if you can have two SIMs registered to your account at once. To simplify things, the first thing I would check is if you can use an adapter to fit your microSIM into the Bionic.

If the only way to make it work is two different SIMs, you'll have to call Verizon and see if the un-used SIM will stay tied to your account, or if you'll have to contact them each time you want to swap.
Click to expand...
I've got to wait around for the DirecTV guy today (Tuesday), so I'll have plenty of time to call Verizon and get the final word from them...
 
bob60626 said:
How do you do this?
Click to expand...

T-Mobile (Germany) calls it multiSIM, up to three SIMs are possible.
In/out calls are on all phones at the same time, SMS only on one phone, you have to choose a phone, but switching is easy.

The marketing names of these SIMs and the conditions of other carriers are slightly different, but in general all phones get the same phone number and are on the same data plan.

Harry
 
zoxxo said:
The sim's are different sizes. Is it a matter of pulling one sim out and putting the other sim in the other phone or will I have to call Verizon and get both sims registered?
Click to expand...

Use My Verizon and enter the information there. It should ask you if you'll be activating a device that you had previously. It should ask for the MEID and ICCID. If not a quick call to *611 with those numbers ready will get it swapped over very quickly. Once the phone powers up and gets information it needs from the switch you are off and running.

You can find the MEID (starts with 99 or a) and ICCID (starts with 8914) in Settings>About Phone>Status. IMEI also works, FWIW, if you don't see the MEID.

If both phones used the same size SIM then you could easily swap them back and forth. You can only have one SIM number active with VZW at a time, so others suggesting you just have two SIMs isn't going to work for those us tied down to the CDMA giant in the US.
 
So if I understand your post correctly, Dex, if I want to use 2 different phones with the same SIM card I still need to activate the second phone either through My Verizon or calling in?

A friend ugraded phones and gave me their old Droid Razr. I tried just swapping my S3's SIM and after a few minutes it dropped connection. If I activate the Razr to the line then would I be able to switch back and forth?
 
Dex said:
Use My Verizon and enter the information there. It should ask you if you'll be activating a device that you had previously. It should ask for the MEID and ICCID. If not a quick call to *611 with those numbers ready will get it swapped over very quickly. Once the phone powers up and gets information it needs from the switch you are off and running.

You can find the MEID (starts with 99 or a) and ICCID (starts with 8914) in Settings>About Phone>Status. IMEI also works, FWIW, if you don't see the MEID.

If both phones used the same size SIM then you could easily swap them back and forth. You can only have one SIM number active with VZW at a time, so others suggesting you just have two SIMs isn't going to work for those us tied down to the CDMA giant in the US.
Click to expand...
Each phone has a different size sim, so from what you're saying, I will have to go through Verizon every time I switch sims. Does Verizon have any limitations as far as switching sims? Do I have an unlimited amount of times I can swap sims or does Verizon cap the number of sim swaps?
 
zoxxo said:
Each phone has a different size sim, so from what you're saying, I will have to go through Verizon every time I switch sims. Does Verizon have any limitations as far as switching sims? Do I have an unlimited amount of times I can swap sims or does Verizon cap the number of sim swaps?
Click to expand...

Depending on the size, you can get something that allows you to use the micro in a mini. Kind of like the old micro SD to regular SD converters. The adapters are generally cheap and easy to use. They very literally, just drop in. This is probably going to be the easiest way to manage this.

That being said, yes it is kind of a pain to swap them back and forth. There is a limit to how often you can do this as well. I believe the cap is incredibly low, something like 3 times in any 30-day period. I believe that limitation is only when swapping the SIM cards or going from 3G to 4G.
 
Dex said:
Depending on the size, you can get something that allows you to use the micro in a mini. Kind of like the old micro SD to regular SD converters. The adapters are generally cheap and easy to use. They very literally, just drop in. This is probably going to be the easiest way to manage this.

That being said, yes it is kind of a pain to swap them back and forth. There is a limit to how often you can do this as well. I believe the cap is incredibly low, something like 3 times in any 30-day period. I believe that limitation is only when swapping the SIM cards or going from 3G to 4G.
Click to expand...
Where can I get the sim adapter? I'll get in touch with Verizon to see what I have to do to set this up...

Thanks for the info!
 
Amazon has a nice selection of cheap adapters and cutters. I'm not familiar with the sizes in those phones, but you'd want a cutter and an adapter if you're starting with the big size, or just an adapter if you're starting with the small. Shouldn't run you more than $10 with shipping.


Amazon.com: sim card adapter
 
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zoxxo said:
Where can I get the sim adapter? I'll get in touch with Verizon to see what I have to do to set this up...

Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...

spottedcatfish is right on. Amazon has a great line up. What I would do is make sure that you are using the smaller one and get an adapter to make it work in a larger slot. That will be the easiest, IMHO.

Good luck and enjoy. =)
 
The price was very reasonable. I haven't ordered yet, but I will real soon! I'm lucky that I use the smaller one in my RAZR, so I can get the adapter and use it in the Bionic. Should work out OK!

Thanks for all the feedback!
 
zoxxo said:
The price was very reasonable. I haven't ordered yet, but I will real soon! I'm lucky that I use the smaller one in my RAZR, so I can get the adapter and use it in the Bionic. Should work out OK!

Thanks for all the feedback!
Click to expand...

No problem. Glad we could help. Enjoy. =)
 
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