GAIT Phone and SIM Chip Question and Clarification

It is my understanding (they told me so) that June 12 is the big day
for Cingular to unveil and have about 25 new GSM phones. The small
choice of GAIT phones is just to get by until then.

I don't want to buy a new GAIT phone since i won't be keeping it
longer than 6 months. After the initial offering i want wait a month
or two and see which phone we all think is the latest & greatest and
buy that.

So, i'm going to buy a used GAIT phone, talked to local cingular guy
and he said that was fine. (I am not currently a customer).

BUT, that he would need to supply me with a SIM chip even if my used
phone had one. He said info was "burnt" into the SIM. The chip would
be $25. I thought the SIM chip could be re-programmed, so one of us
does not know what we are talking about, could be me and that is OK
too. The used GAIT phones without SIM chip appear to be cheaper than
the ones with one. I'm just wanting to get started cheap for about 6
months and then buy the top of the line of the Cingular offering.

So, is the SIM re-programmable or not, am i wrong, does he just want
to sell me a chip or does he not know what he is talking about. And if
he does not know what he is talking about, how can i tactfully tell
him what he needs to do. Also, what info does the SIM hold and how
transferable is it going to be between cingular phones in 6 months.

thanks,
painfully new
Clarification

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› See More: GAIT Phone and SIM Chip Question and Clarification

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| It is my understanding (they told me so) that June 12 is the big day
| for Cingular to unveil and have about 25 new GSM phones. The small
| choice of GAIT phones is just to get by until then.
|
| I don't want to buy a new GAIT phone since i won't be keeping it
| longer than 6 months. After the initial offering i want wait a month
| or two and see which phone we all think is the latest & greatest and
| buy that.
|
| So, i'm going to buy a used GAIT phone, talked to local cingular guy
| and he said that was fine. (I am not currently a customer).
|
| BUT, that he would need to supply me with a SIM chip even if my used
| phone had one. He said info was "burnt" into the SIM. The chip would
| be $25. I thought the SIM chip could be re-programmed, so one of us
| does not know what we are talking about, could be me and that is OK
| too. The used GAIT phones without SIM chip appear to be cheaper than
| the ones with one. I'm just wanting to get started cheap for about 6
| months and then buy the top of the line of the Cingular offering.
|
| So, is the SIM re-programmable or not, am i wrong, does he just want
| to sell me a chip or does he not know what he is talking about. And if
| he does not know what he is talking about, how can i tactfully tell
| him what he needs to do. Also, what info does the SIM hold and how
| transferable is it going to be between cingular phones in 6 months.
|

A used SIM would work (as long it was a CIngular SIM of course), but if
there was any balance due on the previous owners account, you would have to
pay it. Also, you would have to get the SIM pin codes from the original
owner and trust he is giving you the right ones. I definately think it would
be woth the $25 to go ahead and get the new SIM. When you get the new phone,
your it is as simple as transferring the SIM from old phone to new phone. If
you store your contacts onthe SIM, they even go to the new phone with the
SIM. The SIM is strictly for the GSM side of the phone though. Cingular will
still need the ESN number off the phone for the TDMA and analog to function.

You don't have to buy a GAIT phone to do GSM. Cingular currently has
several nice GSM phones to select from, but there are only two GAIT phones
currently in production. You only need a GAIT phone if you need to fall
back to non-GSM digital or analog service. For example, I regularly travel
to the wilds of Iowa, which only has GSM in a band along the Interstates.
So I need a GAIT phone so I can fall back to analog once I get away from the
Interstate. Supposedly, once all of the phone networks get updated to GSM,
GAIT won't be necessary any more.

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> It is my understanding (they told me so) that June 12 is the big day
> for Cingular to unveil and have about 25 new GSM phones. The small
> choice of GAIT phones is just to get by until then.
>
> I don't want to buy a new GAIT phone since i won't be keeping it
> longer than 6 months. After the initial offering i want wait a month
> or two and see which phone we all think is the latest & greatest and
> buy that.
>
> So, i'm going to buy a used GAIT phone, talked to local cingular guy
> and he said that was fine. (I am not currently a customer).
>
> BUT, that he would need to supply me with a SIM chip even if my used
> phone had one. He said info was "burnt" into the SIM. The chip would
> be $25. I thought the SIM chip could be re-programmed, so one of us
> does not know what we are talking about, could be me and that is OK
> too. The used GAIT phones without SIM chip appear to be cheaper than
> the ones with one. I'm just wanting to get started cheap for about 6
> months and then buy the top of the line of the Cingular offering.
>
> So, is the SIM re-programmable or not, am i wrong, does he just want
> to sell me a chip or does he not know what he is talking about. And if
> he does not know what he is talking about, how can i tactfully tell
> him what he needs to do. Also, what info does the SIM hold and how
> transferable is it going to be between cingular phones in 6 months.
>
> thanks,
> painfully new
> Clarification

I live in SW Florida and in my area anyone selling cingular only
offers the two GAIT phones if you want the national plan. Funny thing
is my girlfriend went to Pennsylvania over the holidays and used her
non-GAIT phone just fine with cingular. I don't really understand all
I know.

thanks,
painfully new

>You don't have to buy a GAIT phone to do GSM. Cingular currently has
>several nice GSM phones to select from, but there are only two GAIT phones
>currently in production. You only need a GAIT phone if you need to fall
>back to non-GSM digital or analog service. For example, I regularly travel
>to the wilds of Iowa, which only has GSM in a band along the Interstates.
>So I need a GAIT phone so I can fall back to analog once I get away from the
>Interstate. Supposedly, once all of the phone networks get updated to GSM,
>GAIT won't be necessary any more.
><snipiped>

Theoretically SIM cards are programmable. But, as far as I know, once a SIM
card has been programmed with a phone number, Cingular will not reprogram
it. They require that you purchase a new SIM card. So that means that it's
useless for you to buy a used SIM card because it will not work -- you need
a new one from Cingular.

If you live in an area with good GSM coverage, why not just buy a GSM phone?
They are smaller and better than GAIT phones. You need a GAIT phone only
if you travel to areas with no GSM coverage.

If you live in Florida, I think you'd do well with an 850/1900 MHz GSM
phone. You can easily get one on eBay if you don't want to sign a contract.
Then after Cingular comes out with the phones you want, you can sign the
contract and get your desired phone.

PS: I have a GAIT phone but use it only when going to some remote area. I
use a GSM-only phone everyday.


<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> It is my understanding (they told me so) that June 12 is the big day
> for Cingular to unveil and have about 25 new GSM phones. The small
> choice of GAIT phones is just to get by until then.
>
> I don't want to buy a new GAIT phone since i won't be keeping it
> longer than 6 months. After the initial offering i want wait a month
> or two and see which phone we all think is the latest & greatest and
> buy that.
>
> So, i'm going to buy a used GAIT phone, talked to local cingular guy
> and he said that was fine. (I am not currently a customer).
>
> BUT, that he would need to supply me with a SIM chip even if my used
> phone had one. He said info was "burnt" into the SIM. The chip would
> be $25. I thought the SIM chip could be re-programmed, so one of us
> does not know what we are talking about, could be me and that is OK
> too. The used GAIT phones without SIM chip appear to be cheaper than
> the ones with one. I'm just wanting to get started cheap for about 6
> months and then buy the top of the line of the Cingular offering.
>
> So, is the SIM re-programmable or not, am i wrong, does he just want
> to sell me a chip or does he not know what he is talking about. And if
> he does not know what he is talking about, how can i tactfully tell
> him what he needs to do. Also, what info does the SIM hold and how
> transferable is it going to be between cingular phones in 6 months.
>
> thanks,
> painfully new
> Clarification

I have a GAIT phone (6340i), can I use the sim in a GSM phone? I would like
to carry both phones when I travel and only use the 6340i when no GSM signal
is available, Has anyone encountered issues doing this? I get a lot of
dropped calls with the 6340i when it is switching between TDMA and GSM
(which it seems to switch often).
Thanks in advance to all who reply.
DC


"Richie" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Theoretically SIM cards are programmable. But, as far as I know, once a
SIM
> card has been programmed with a phone number, Cingular will not reprogram
> it. They require that you purchase a new SIM card. So that means that
it's
> useless for you to buy a used SIM card because it will not work -- you
need
> a new one from Cingular.
>
> If you live in an area with good GSM coverage, why not just buy a GSM
phone?
> They are smaller and better than GAIT phones. You need a GAIT phone only
> if you travel to areas with no GSM coverage.
>
> If you live in Florida, I think you'd do well with an 850/1900 MHz GSM
> phone. You can easily get one on eBay if you don't want to sign a
contract.
> Then after Cingular comes out with the phones you want, you can sign the
> contract and get your desired phone.
>
> PS: I have a GAIT phone but use it only when going to some remote area. I
> use a GSM-only phone everyday.
>
>
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > It is my understanding (they told me so) that June 12 is the big day
> > for Cingular to unveil and have about 25 new GSM phones. The small
> > choice of GAIT phones is just to get by until then.
> >
> > I don't want to buy a new GAIT phone since i won't be keeping it
> > longer than 6 months. After the initial offering i want wait a month
> > or two and see which phone we all think is the latest & greatest and
> > buy that.
> >
> > So, i'm going to buy a used GAIT phone, talked to local cingular guy
> > and he said that was fine. (I am not currently a customer).
> >
> > BUT, that he would need to supply me with a SIM chip even if my used
> > phone had one. He said info was "burnt" into the SIM. The chip would
> > be $25. I thought the SIM chip could be re-programmed, so one of us
> > does not know what we are talking about, could be me and that is OK
> > too. The used GAIT phones without SIM chip appear to be cheaper than
> > the ones with one. I'm just wanting to get started cheap for about 6
> > months and then buy the top of the line of the Cingular offering.
> >
> > So, is the SIM re-programmable or not, am i wrong, does he just want
> > to sell me a chip or does he not know what he is talking about. And if
> > he does not know what he is talking about, how can i tactfully tell
> > him what he needs to do. Also, what info does the SIM hold and how
> > transferable is it going to be between cingular phones in 6 months.
> >
> > thanks,
> > painfully new
> > Clarification
>
>

"DC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| I have a GAIT phone (6340i), can I use the sim in a GSM phone? I would
like
| to carry both phones when I travel and only use the 6340i when no GSM
signal
| is available, Has anyone encountered issues doing this? I get a lot of
| dropped calls with the 6340i when it is switching between TDMA and GSM
| (which it seems to switch often).
| Thanks in advance to all who reply.
| DC
|

Will work perfectly.

"DC" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I have a GAIT phone (6340i), can I use the sim in a GSM phone? I would like
> to carry both phones when I travel and only use the 6340i when no GSM signal
> is available, Has anyone encountered issues doing this? I get a lot of
> dropped calls with the 6340i when it is switching between TDMA and GSM
> (which it seems to switch often).
> Thanks in advance to all who reply.
> DC

No issues yet switching from my 6340i to a 6590i and back.

The phone number can be changed. When I added a phone for my wife they
issued a phone number in the same area code but opposite end of the state.
It was a long distance call to call her cell phone from my local calling
area. I got a Cingular rep on the phone and they changed her number while I
was on the phone with them. All she had to do was power her phone off while
they did it. I don't know what they might do for new service but it is
technically possible to change the phone number without replacing the sim.

"Richie" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Theoretically SIM cards are programmable. But, as far as I know, once a
SIM
> card has been programmed with a phone number, Cingular will not reprogram
> it. They require that you purchase a new SIM card. So that means that
it's
> useless for you to buy a used SIM card because it will not work -- you
need
> a new one from Cingular.
>

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> I don't want to buy a new GAIT phone since i won't be keeping it
> longer than 6 months. After the initial offering i want wait a month
> or two and see which phone we all think is the latest & greatest and
> buy that.

This is a good plan, but you'll want to keep that GAIT phone to use if you
ever travel outside of the GSM coverage area. There are still vast areas of
the U.S. with good TDMA and AMPS coverage, but no GSM coverage.

As to the SIM issue, they typically give you a new SIM whenever you bring
your own phone. A used SIM could present some problems, as others have
explained.

I do the same thing, and I have also configured the "supposedly gprs only"
6590i to see the plain old WAP wireless web like I use on my 6340i. I also
have a 3595 that I can d/l ringers and wallpapers and I dont have to worry
about paying the rediculous gprs charges, i only use the minutes.

RJ

"HF" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "DC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > I have a GAIT phone (6340i), can I use the sim in a GSM phone? I would
like
> > to carry both phones when I travel and only use the 6340i when no GSM
signal
> > is available, Has anyone encountered issues doing this? I get a lot of
> > dropped calls with the 6340i when it is switching between TDMA and GSM
> > (which it seems to switch often).
> > Thanks in advance to all who reply.
> > DC
>
> No issues yet switching from my 6340i to a 6590i and back.