I want to switch my phone carrier online but i’m a little confused on some things and I don’t want to mess something up.
As far as I know you just sign up to the new carrier online and you can port your phone number. After that though I hear they will mail you a new sim card? I guess i’m not sure what a sim card really does so i’m confused why I need a new one? And will I still be able to use my phone while I wait for the new one to be mailed? And does the old one just get thrown out?
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First you need to see if your phone is e sim compatible.. if it is you don’t have to worry about a SIM card… you also need to get the carrier unlock code from the carrier you have now .. from there you go to your new carriers site, new account , it will ask you information about your phone, your unlock code and other stuff .. don’t worry it will explain every step .. if you have trouble you can also call them too and they will help .. I just did mine from T-Mobile to mint a few months ago .. it’s real easy
SIM card is like a security pass to access a provider’s network. It uniquely identifies you, the subscriber of the mobile service (hence Subscriber Identity Module).
Yes, you just sign up to the new provider, and select the correct options so they know you are porting an existing number, you’ll need to tell them what number it is. The new provider will deal with contacting the old one to switch your account, it’s mostly automated these days. It won’t be immediate, there will be a period of time where you’ll continue using the old SIM. You’ll get a notification when the new SIM is able to be used (probably before you even receive it in the mail), with steps to activate it. Providers generally walk you through this whole process.
After you switch accounts the old SIM is no longer needed, destroy it first then bin it.
If your phone is locked to the existing provider (eg. you bought it on a fixed-term contract), you will first need a device unlock code from the current provider before you can sign up to a new one. They will verify that you are eligible to transfer to another provider.