32k SIM Card - The Truth?

Greetings,

Thanks again to everyone who responded to my question concerning purchasing
a Motorola T720 (GSM) for use with Cingular. Yes, I did purchase the
phone - it was a good deal - but now I have a question concerning what I was
told by the proprietor of my local Cingular store here in town.

First off, he told me that he didn't carry the 32k SIM cards anymore so I
would have to find one on my own. That's no big deal - however, he also
told me that I would not get good service using a phone with a 32k SIM card.
He stated that the 32k card would not allow my phone to talk with all of the
towers on the Cingular network (specifically the towers they acquired
because of the merger with AT&T).

Was he telling the truth, or is he just blowing smoke at me in order to
convince me to purchase a new phone from him (and get sucked into another
contract, which I don't want to do)?

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.

Cheers - Jonathan

---

› See More: 32k SIM Card - The Truth?

As I understand it, 64K SIMs do not improve your signal strength directly.
However, if your problem is that Cingular has better signal than AT&T
or viceversa in your area, then switching to a 64K SIM will allow
Cingular to tell your phone which of the two networks it should prefer.
As a result, your phone can be put on the strongest of the two
networks, therefore giving your phone a better signal.


"Jonathan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Greetings,
>
> Thanks again to everyone who responded to my question concerning
> purchasing a Motorola T720 (GSM) for use with Cingular. Yes, I did
> purchase the phone - it was a good deal - but now I have a question
> concerning what I was told by the proprietor of my local Cingular store
> here in town.
>
> First off, he told me that he didn't carry the 32k SIM cards anymore so I
> would have to find one on my own. That's no big deal - however, he also
> told me that I would not get good service using a phone with a 32k SIM
> card. He stated that the 32k card would not allow my phone to talk with
> all of the towers on the Cingular network (specifically the towers they
> acquired because of the merger with AT&T).
>
> Was he telling the truth, or is he just blowing smoke at me in order to
> convince me to purchase a new phone from him (and get sucked into another
> contract, which I don't want to do)?
>
> Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.
>
> Cheers - Jonathan
>

"Jonathan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Greetings,
>
> Thanks again to everyone who responded to my question concerning
purchasing
> a Motorola T720 (GSM) for use with Cingular. Yes, I did purchase the
> phone - it was a good deal - but now I have a question concerning what I
was
> told by the proprietor of my local Cingular store here in town.
>
> First off, he told me that he didn't carry the 32k SIM cards anymore so I
> would have to find one on my own. That's no big deal - however, he also
> told me that I would not get good service using a phone with a 32k SIM
card.

The question is moot. You should be using a 64K SIM in the Motorola T720
(GSM) on the Cingular network. Why would you even bother to look for a 32K
SIM? If Cingular told you that the T720 wouldn't accept a 64K SIM, then the
Cingular salesman LIED. We both used 64K SIMs in ours. -Dave

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Sat, 10 Sep 2005
14:34:44 GMT, "Jonathan" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Thanks again to everyone who responded to my question concerning purchasing
>a Motorola T720 (GSM) for use with Cingular. Yes, I did purchase the
>phone - it was a good deal - but now I have a question concerning what I was
>told by the proprietor of my local Cingular store here in town.
>
>First off, he told me that he didn't carry the 32k SIM cards anymore so I
>would have to find one on my own. That's no big deal - however, he also
>told me that I would not get good service using a phone with a 32k SIM card.
>He stated that the 32k card would not allow my phone to talk with all of the
>towers on the Cingular network (specifically the towers they acquired
>because of the merger with AT&T).
>
>Was he telling the truth, or is he just blowing smoke at me in order to
>convince me to purchase a new phone from him (and get sucked into another
>contract, which I don't want to do)?

He's probably just uninformed -- very few salespersons understand the real
difference in SIMs.

The Truth is that the *only* difference between 32K and 64K Cingular SIMs is
that the latter supports ENS *when* used with an ENS-capable device. Since
your T720 isn't ENS-capable, a 32K SIM will work *exactly* the same as a 64K
SIM.

An ENS-capable device (only available within the past year) with a 64K (ENS)
SIM can be manually Homed OTA (over the air) by Cingular Tech Support (not
Customer Care) to prefer either "orange" or "blue" which could be an advantage
for you if "blue" signal is better than "orange" signal in your area.

Regardless of SIM, your non-ENS T720 will be Homed on the "orange" (old
Cingular) network. It will have free roaming on the "blue" (old ATTWS)
network, but will select "orange" if there is any usable signal even if
there's a much better "blue" signal. (That's basic GSM operation.) So *if*
"blue" is better than "orange" in your area, then you may not get as good call
quality as an ENS-capable phone Homed on "blue", but you will still have
exactly the same network coverage.

The two networks are expected to be merged into a single network by sometime
next year, which will eliminate any need for or benefit from ENS.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

"Jonathan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Greetings,
>
> Thanks again to everyone who responded to my question concerning
> purchasing a Motorola T720 (GSM) for use with Cingular. Yes, I did
> purchase the phone - it was a good deal - but now I have a question
> concerning what I was told by the proprietor of my local Cingular store
> here in town.
>
> First off, he told me that he didn't carry the 32k SIM cards anymore so I
> would have to find one on my own. That's no big deal - however, he also
> told me that I would not get good service using a phone with a 32k SIM
> card. He stated that the 32k card would not allow my phone to talk with
> all of the towers on the Cingular network (specifically the towers they
> acquired because of the merger with AT&T).
>
> Was he telling the truth, or is he just blowing smoke at me in order to
> convince me to purchase a new phone from him (and get sucked into another
> contract, which I don't want to do)?
>
> Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.
>
> Cheers - Jonathan
See John's answer to this one....Copy it to your hard drive and paste it
into a response to the question when it comes up again in a couple of days.
It is the CORRECT answer to the question. ENS is for Cingular to use to
reduce network load NOT to improve reception, and if the phone doesn't have
ENS, a 64K SIM does zilch over a 32K.

Mark

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who replied to my post. Truly, helping is what
groups like this are for, and I very much appreciate the assistance I have
received here.

I also contacted Motorola and Cingular customer support and got the same
answer from both of them - the fact is a 64k SIM card will work in my T720G
phone but I will not receive any added benefit from it not even extra space
for phone book entries). Cingular even informed me that if they have a
customer who has an older 32k SIM that goes bad, their standard answer is to
send them to a local franchise and have them install a 64k card in its
place.

For what it's worth, I did purchase a brand new 32k SIM card for use in my
phone, and I will have the local Cingular store program it. I can't really
tell if the proprietor of the store actually knew this information and was
just trying to push me into buying a new phone, or if he honestly didn't
know. Either way, he talked himself out of my purchasing a new card from
him at $35.00 and instead I got one for $6.00. His loss.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Cheers - Jonathan

"Jonathan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Greetings,
>
> Thanks again to everyone who responded to my question concerning
> purchasing a Motorola T720 (GSM) for use with Cingular. Yes, I did
> purchase the phone - it was a good deal - but now I have a question
> concerning what I was told by the proprietor of my local Cingular store
> here in town.
>
> First off, he told me that he didn't carry the 32k SIM cards anymore so I
> would have to find one on my own. That's no big deal - however, he also
> told me that I would not get good service using a phone with a 32k SIM
> card. He stated that the 32k card would not allow my phone to talk with
> all of the towers on the Cingular network (specifically the towers they
> acquired because of the merger with AT&T).
>
> Was he telling the truth, or is he just blowing smoke at me in order to
> convince me to purchase a new phone from him (and get sucked into another
> contract, which I don't want to do)?
>
> Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.
>
> Cheers - Jonathan
>

>
>The question is moot. You should be using a 64K SIM in the Motorola T720
>(GSM) on the Cingular network. Why would you even bother to look for a 32K
>SIM? If Cingular told you that the T720 wouldn't accept a 64K SIM, then the
>Cingular salesman LIED. We both used 64K SIMs in ours. -Dave
>
>
>
>
Actually, because the T720 doesn't support ENS, it won't make a
difference if your SIM is 32k or 64k. He may have been confused about
ENS not working in the T720, thinking it was the entire 64k SIM.

TH

Tropical Haven wrote:

> Actually, because the T720 doesn't support ENS, it won't make a
> difference if your SIM is 32k or 64k. He may have been confused about
> ENS not working in the T720, thinking it was the entire 64k SIM.

If I understand what's being said, then, I should be able to get my old ATT
V180 (which had a 32k SIM) unlocked & switch my new Cingular 64k SIM to it
without any damage to either the phone or the SIM. Or am I missing
something? It certainly would make my life saner for those times when I'm
going somewhere a camera phone isn't allowed.

Bill K

The Truth is that the *only* difference between 32K and 64K Cingular SIMs is
that the latter supports ENS *when* used with an ENS-capable device. Since
your T720 isn't ENS-capable, a 32K SIM will work *exactly* the same as a 64K
SIM.

Give that man a prize. Although they are a tad different. The 64k hold a much longer network list than the 32k and may or may not hold a few more sms's.

If your sim is set to prefer the weaker network, then ens won't help you grab the stronger network. You can either enable manual network selection, if your phone doesn't already have it. Or take the easy way out and keep a working voicemail notification by calling cingular and requestion a color change. When you get a rep on the line and give your account info, ask to be transfered to level 2 support asap, becouse level 1 can't help you. I unlocked the advanced features on my razr so I was able to half way test reception by changing networks even though it will switch back on it's own in around 3 minutes. I had them change me from 410 (orange) to 380 (blue) and also cutt off half bit rate. Full bars and crystal clear reception with no half bit rate echos ever since.

Originally Posted by Tropical Haven

>
>The question is moot. You should be using a 64K SIM in the Motorola T720
>(GSM) on the Cingular network. Why would you even bother to look for a 32K
>SIM? If Cingular told you that the T720 wouldn't accept a 64K SIM, then the
>Cingular salesman LIED. We both used 64K SIMs in ours. -Dave
>
>
>
>
Actually, because the T720 doesn't support ENS, it won't make a
difference if your SIM is 32k or 64k. He may have been confused about
ENS not working in the T720, thinking it was the entire 64k SIM.

TH

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <j7aVe.2315$R9.1351@trnddc02> on Mon, 12 Sep 2005 07:29:19 GMT, Bill Kraski
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Tropical Haven wrote:
>
>> Actually, because the T720 doesn't support ENS, it won't make a
>> difference if your SIM is 32k or 64k. He may have been confused about
>> ENS not working in the T720, thinking it was the entire 64k SIM.
>
>If I understand what's being said, then, I should be able to get my old ATT
>V180 (which had a 32k SIM) unlocked & switch my new Cingular 64k SIM to it
>without any damage to either the phone or the SIM. ...

Correct.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 14:34:44 GMT, "Jonathan"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Greetings,
>
>Thanks again to everyone who responded to my question concerning purchasing
>a Motorola T720 (GSM) for use with Cingular. Yes, I did purchase the
>phone - it was a good deal - but now I have a question concerning what I was
>told by the proprietor of my local Cingular store here in town.
>
>First off, he told me that he didn't carry the 32k SIM cards anymore so I
>would have to find one on my own. That's no big deal - however, he also
>told me that I would not get good service using a phone with a 32k SIM card.
>He stated that the 32k card would not allow my phone to talk with all of the
>towers on the Cingular network (specifically the towers they acquired
>because of the merger with AT&T).
>
>Was he telling the truth, or is he just blowing smoke at me in order to
>convince me to purchase a new phone from him (and get sucked into another
>contract, which I don't want to do)?
>
>Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.
>
>Cheers - Jonathan
>
He was having some fun at your expense. All the size on the SIM
determines is how many phone numbers, and SMS messages can be stored
in it. There are some issues with some very old SIM's (5 Volt),
because few current phones support 5 Volt Sim's, however at this
point, most 5 Volt SIMS are long past their design life, if you walk
into a service provider store with one, it will generally be replaced
without charge. Most 5 Volts SIMS are 2kb anyway.

The function of the SIM relative to the network is to provide an ID to
the service provider, No more, and no less. So whether it has 0kb or
100gb makes no difference to the service provider, all they care about
is the ID on the SIM.

Anything else is strictly optional features. So bigger SIM's allow
more SMS messages, and phone book entries, period, end stop. The
storage capacity is unrelated to the ability to connect to the
network, period, end stop. I was actually using a 5 Volt SIM until a
couple years ago. I asked my service provider to replace it so I could
use a newer phone. They were only too happy to copy the contents into
a new SIM, disable the old SIM, and enable the new one on their
system.

Anything else is strictly optional features. So bigger SIM's allow
more SMS messages, and phone book entries, period, end stop. The
storage capacity is unrelated to the ability to connect to the
network, period, end stop. I was actually using a 5 Volt SIM until a
couple years ago. I asked my service provider to replace it so I could
use a newer phone. They were only too happy to copy the contents into
a new SIM, disable the old SIM, and enable the new one on their
system.





You need to check your facts before you post matt. There is no difference in phone book entries, and the storage capacity has everything to do with the connection to the network. The entire 32k difference of the 64k sims is used for nothing but load balancing. There is a slight difference in amount of sms storage and fixed dial storage, but phone book storage is exactly the same. They are nothing more than a temporary fix during integration. They do not switch to the strongest signal, they stick to the home network until the signal is lost or very week. that's the whole reason behind having to get a color change/network change, because if your house is in an area where your home network is very week, the phone will hold on to that week home network even if there is a different network tower across the street. I know, I just got moved from orange to blue after almost a year of dropped calls at home when I knew from enabling manual network selection, that blue would give me full bars.

a picture is worth a thousand words.....

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/3...ription8zi.jpg

If you really want to know, check out the 4 or so 20 page threads on HOFO.