1. PhilipC's Avatar
    I'm traveling to the islands in a few weeks. I have a few questions about using my unlocked, AT&T bold.

    1) Do i just stop by any cellular store and get a sim for the bold?
    2) Are they prepaid, contract free and just hold x amounts of minutes?

    3) Is there anything that I can do to still receive my emails and BB messages?
    4) Will I be able to use the web?

    In other words, can I do anything other than just make and receive phone calls?

    5) Do I just insert it and reboot?

    Thanks for the help. I've never used an unlocked phone, much less a BB; but at $2.50 a minute (with me being there 2 weeks), I'm willing to try!
    03-27-09 12:49 AM
  2. skyjackal's Avatar
    I've only used a sim card other than mine once but here are my thoughts:

    1 - Not all cell stores sell them. I had to visit several before I found one that did. So you may have to do a bit of research to find one that does in the areas you are visiting.

    2 - Yes, at least mine was. I prepaid and they put the number of minutes I bought on the card. I had to fill out a bit of paperwork for them to assign a phone number to it. Took about 10 minutes. Every time I used the new sim card a little message popped up telling me how much of a credit I had left.

    3 - I didn't test this but should have. Good question.

    4 - Yes, I was able to connect to the web with the new sim card.

    5 - Yes, just remove the original card and replace it with the new one. Once the phone reboots, you can go to Options, Advanced Options, Sim Card and you should see the new phone number associated with it.

    A word of caution. When I would switch cards, on multiple occasions I received several text messages and several voicemails from people I don't know. My guess, which was later confirmed by ATT, was that phone numbers generated for prepaid sim cards are regenerated after a certain amount of time. These messages were for people who had the number before me. Unfortunately, once I read and listened to the messages my account for the new card was charged for the airtime and text messages. I didn't get a credit for those charges but was told I could if I called a certain number and talked to someone.

    Hope that helps. I'm sure the gurus here have much more info. Have a great trip!
    Last edited by skyjackal; 03-27-09 at 01:08 AM.
    03-27-09 01:05 AM
  3. PhilipC's Avatar
    Thanks for the detailed info! Anyone know the answer to the email reception question?

    Thanks again
    03-27-09 01:35 AM
  4. janx's Avatar
    im going to assume no you can't get any email reception. a new sim card means a new phone number meaning a new plan. your phone number will not be registered on their network as a data device.
    03-27-09 03:22 AM
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