Switching phones/SIM cards/Nexus 5X

clouds0222

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I purchased a Nexus 5X from Google, and I called and asked AT&T if I could use my current phone number on the Nexus once I receive it. My current phone number is currently being used on an iPhone 6 Plus, with Next installments still due. They told me I can't use my current phone number on a new Nexus unless I pay off the installments that are due. My question is, won't they just send a new SIM card that I can then switch between devices? I am confused. I switch out between iPhones all the time. But these iPhones are all tied to the AT&T Next program. Does anyone have any advice? It's looking like I am going to have to cancel my order for my Nexus 5X....
 

minnemike

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You are talking about phone payments?

This is what works with Tmobile - not sure if it applies - but you can buy the sim at Best Buy and then go online to make the phone switch without talking to anyone. Again - not sure if ATT has the same sort of web site based service.

Edit: and yes, if the sim is already a nano sim, you should just try popping it in and see what happens.
 

austriak

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I purchased a Nexus 5X from Google, and I called and asked AT&T if I could use my current phone number on the Nexus once I receive it. My current phone number is currently being used on an iPhone 6 Plus, with Next installments still due. They told me I can't use my current phone number on a new Nexus unless I pay off the installments that are due. My question is, won't they just send a new SIM card that I can then switch between devices? I am confused. I switch out between iPhones all the time. But these iPhones are all tied to the AT&T Next program. Does anyone have any advice? It's looking like I am going to have to cancel my order for my Nexus 5X....

Unless they changed things in the last couple months, you were given bad information. You should have no problems popping your sim out and using it in the nexus, regardless of whether you are on next or not. I have done it a ton of times.
 

clouds0222

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They must have changed things up. I was told adamantly by two agents that I can't use my current SIM on a Nexus device, or any device that I have purchased and bring myself, unless I pay off the remaining installments. That's why I was confused, I switch them out between iPhones all the time. So I just cancelled my order for my Nexus. Maybe next year.
 

austriak

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My 2 cents on the nexus 5x for you. There are two reasons for an iPhone user to go for the nexus 5x. 1. You really like Android and 2. You want to save money by getting a budget phone. My experience has always been that stock android is way better than the skinned versions; however, don't expect to get the same quality as an iPhone or Samsung at the nexus price. Nexus phones have always had corners cut to keep the cost down. The Nexus 5 looked great on paper but the camera was terrible, battery life was weak, the 1080p screen was washed out, and the cellular radios were weaker than most other phones. I also think the manufacturer does this so that people keep buying their regular phones at the higher margin.

Based on early reviews, the camera seems to improve quite a bit. Battery life has been mixed and almost all reviews say that the phone does not feel premium. I'm curious to hear whether you keep it or not. It is definitely tempting.
 

co.ag.2005

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They must have changed things up. I was told adamantly by two agents that I can't use my current SIM on a Nexus device, or any device that I have purchased and bring myself, unless I pay off the remaining installments. That's why I was confused, I switch them out between iPhones all the time. So I just cancelled my order for my Nexus. Maybe next year.

you did get somewhat bad information. I used to be on AT&T since the Cingular days. I just moved to Verizon in July but sim swapping always worked on AT&T, even if you had a device payment. However, the one thing to keep in mind is that AT&T's system sees Android vs iOS as slightly different entities. Meaning that, your data plan stays the same (amount of GB / $ / month) each time you make the sim swap, but their system has an iPhone data plan and a all other phone data plan. The data that you are subscribed to stays they same, they just have to make slight modifications in the system for everything to work correctly.

So, you are all setup on iPhone and everything is working as it should. You take that sim, pop into a Nexus (or any Android device) and everything will also work exactly as it should. Voice, SMS/MMS, data, etc. works just fine. But, if you put that sim back into the iPhone, some things like personal hotspot won't work until you call 611 and tell them to update the IMEI of the phone on your line. This is how it worked for me. I didn't always have to call when I was sim swapping, but noticed things got a little wonky from time to time going back from Android to iOS (without updating the IMEI with AT&T).

sorry to see you cancelled your Nexus order. This is a fabulous device. I do love iOS too and might pick up a 6s to tinker with but you are missing out on a great phone. If you do ever want to try the 5x (or any other android device), make sure you follow the instructions to degister your phone number from iMessage before you put your sim card into the android device. Also do the same on any iPads or Mac computers that have iMessage and FaceTime with your phone number enabled. https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage
 

clouds0222

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you did get somewhat bad information. I used to be on AT&T since the Cingular days. I just moved to Verizon in July but sim swapping always worked on AT&T, even if you had a device payment. However, the one thing to keep in mind is that AT&T's system sees Android vs iOS as slightly different entities. Meaning that, your data plan stays the same (amount of GB / $ / month) each time you make the sim swap, but their system has an iPhone data plan and a all other phone data plan. The data that you are subscribed to stays they same, they just have to make slight modifications in the system for everything to work correctly.

So, you are all setup on iPhone and everything is working as it should. You take that sim, pop into a Nexus (or any Android device) and everything will also work exactly as it should. Voice, SMS/MMS, data, etc. works just fine. But, if you put that sim back into the iPhone, some things like personal hotspot won't work until you call 611 and tell them to update the IMEI of the phone on your line. This is how it worked for me. I didn't always have to call when I was sim swapping, but noticed things got a little wonky from time to time going back from Android to iOS (without updating the IMEI with AT&T).

sorry to see you cancelled your Nexus order. This is a fabulous device. I do love iOS too and might pick up a 6s to tinker with but you are missing out on a great phone. If you do ever want to try the 5x (or any other android device), make sure you follow the instructions to degister your phone number from iMessage before you put your sim card into the android device. Also do the same on any iPads or Mac computers that have iMessage and FaceTime with your phone number enabled. https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage

Thanks everyone for your input and advice. I cancelled my order for the Nexus 5X and will just stay with my iPhone for now. Disappointed....I was looking forward to trying the pure android experience.....but didn't know after what AT&T told me if I would be able too. So thanks everyone!
 

Ry

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Just swap the SIM.

(Turn off iMessage first)

Posted via the Android Central App
 

Zendroid1

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Thanks everyone for your input and advice. I cancelled my order for the Nexus 5X and will just stay with my iPhone for now. Disappointed....I was looking forward to trying the pure android experience.....but didn't know after what AT&T told me if I would be able too. So thanks everyone!

You got bad info. Simple as that. If you let your new potential purchase be derailed by one random rep then I doubt you really want/need the 5x.
 

bhatech

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Lol your sim has nothing to do with what phone you use and that's the beauty of GSM networks... Don't talk to useless clueless carrier reps, pop your existing nano sim onto the 5X and enjoy the phone. Switch sims between different phones as you please no need to ask AT&T for it.
 

bhatech

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You got bad info. Simple as that. If you let your new potential purchase be derailed by one random rep then I doubt you really want/need the 5x.

Exactly really doubt how one can believe a random rep ... A simple google search would also would have given the answer needed as well. Top of that lots of people here said it will be fine but still didn't believe.
 

clouds0222

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Yea well I came here asking for advice and other people's experiences, I didn't ask for smart aleck comments to be thrown back at me. And just for the record I talked to two different reps, not just one random rep as someone so nicely put it. Thanks to everyone else who were nice and respectful in your comments. This will be the last time I post to Android Central.
 

TheEdge65

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Yea well I came here asking for advice and other people's experiences, I didn't ask for smart aleck comments to be thrown back at me. And just for the record I talked to two different reps, not just one random rep as someone so nicely put it. Thanks to everyone else who were nice and respectful in your comments. This will be the last time I post to Android Central.

Don't let a couple of comments put you off posting. If you want the 5X then just get it and swap out your sim, it should be as simple as that. When I visited Vegas a few years ago I went to an AT&T store and bought a Go plan sim but couldn't get it to work with my Nexus device. It took about an hour for the store rep to fix the issue but he clung on in there. It was to do with AT&T's systems not recognising the device as one of theirs. In the end he simply added my phone's IMEI to their database and it was up and running, so anything is possible. Stick with it.
 

Zendroid1

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Yea well I came here asking for advice and other people's experiences, I didn't ask for smart aleck comments to be thrown back at me. And just for the record I talked to two different reps, not just one random rep as someone so nicely put it. Thanks to everyone else who were nice and respectful in your comments. This will be the last time I post to Android Central.

Sorry I wasn't trying to be a smart aleck . You came asking for advice, got a lot of advice saying to just swap the sim, then you replied saying it won't work and sorry 5x, maybe next year. People here are smart and probably know much more than the AT&T reps. If you have a sim and just swap it out, it will work, as others have said.
 

rdickert

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I'm in a similar situation - have an iPhone 6s on NEXT as well as a paid off Galaxy S6 Edge +. Switching the sim works fine for voice and data but the hangup seems to be with voicemail. The last time I did this I was on the phone with tech support for an hour - apparently the mailboxes are provisioned differently between iPhone and everything else. Once I got the right person (that took a lot of time), he was able to reprovision the mailbox and take care of the VVM. All in all, it is more of a pain than it's worth - I would like to just casually switch phones based on my mood but it does take some 611 time to get everything sorted (and back again).
 
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Koert

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I realize that this post was from a long time ago, but I found myself in the same position - wanting to use both a Nexus 5X and an iPhone 6S Plus with the same SIM. I haven't got if completely sorted out yet, but it looks feasible.

Anyway, if you're still interested in the Nexus 5X, you can get one for only $199 through Project Fi. You do have to activate the 5X through Project Fi, but then you can cancel immediately (and pay a pro-rated charge of dollar or two) and keep the $199 5X.

I really like the 5X better than the 6S Plus in so many ways. The camera quality is near-equal, Ok Google is superior to Hey Siri and the fingerprint reader is positioned perfectly, so the phone just turns on when you pick it up. Give it a try!
 

smsmith1975

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They must have changed things up. I was told adamantly by two agents that I can't use my current SIM on a Nexus device, or any device that I have purchased and bring myself, unless I pay off the remaining installments.
This is true and not true.

1 - Yes, you have to finish paying off your NEXT payments. You could return the iphone early, but you have to pay a penalty, that happens to equal your remaining payments.

2 - This doesn't mean you can't use another phone while paying off your payments. Just take the SIM out of your iphone and use it in the Nexus.

My Nexus works as expected on ATT (LTE, ATT wifi whenever I am near one of their wifi stations, etc). While I haven't put the SIM back in the phone I am still paying for, I would expect it to work as it did before, too.

Basically, they are telling you the scary part only so you don't buy a device unlocked, which gives them less persuasion over you.
 

Koert

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So, what happens if I give my iPhone to a family member to use with their own SIM? Shouldn't be a problem, right? But then, how about if I sell my iPhone to a stranger? I'm sure we'd both be okay so long as they just popped a SIM in it and used it normally, but if they called up AT&T to "activate" it, would AT&T know that it was a phone linked to a Next agreement and refuse to activate it, or worse, would they consider my Next agreement violated?
 

smsmith1975

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As long as they have an already registered ATT SIM, no problem, though I would refrain from selling somebody something you don't technically own. If they need to contact ATT for a new SIM, yes, they would know it wasn't theirs, but if you keep making your payments, I can't see why they would care, but there's probably something in your Next contract that would say otherwise. You'd be better off giving it to a family member with an already working SIM until the payments are complete.

I have a phone on 12 month Next. I can give it back after the 12 months, but I MUST buy my next phone from ATT unless I want to pay a penalty. The penalty is 8 months of NEXT payments, which is why after 20 months, I can keep the phone and walk away.

There are similar terms for the 18 and 24 month plans.
 

Koert

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Thanks Smith, I didn't really understand how the Next program worked and just went for the two-for-one figuring that it could be undone within 14 days.

Do you know how the Get-One-Free deal works with upgrades, in terms of cost? Is it that I could trade in my iPhone after twelve months, get the new one and then keep receiving the BYOGO credits on the new phone?

(A store employee tried to explain it in as being similar to leasing a car, where you have to make the decision whether it's better to buy it and then privately sell it, or to turn it in. But the more he talked the more confused he got himself. Hey, incidentally if you're on AT&T, I just got a pretty good deal through retentions - 20GB of shared data with rollovers for $100 plus $15 per line.)
 

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