[Barnz]

OK so as it stands I have a Curve 8900 on Orange UK which is EDGE powered (had it around 3 - 4 months).....But I am about to obtain a sim free Bold which i intend to use, which as you will all know is 3G.

My question is this...will my current sim card, which came with my 8900, allow me to access oranges 3G service with my new Bold? or is it limited to EDGE services? I have a data plan and everything so perhaps my sim will be 3G compatible already?

cheers guys

Barnz

[Rayford Booth]

Should be fine. But depends on the version of your SIM card. Some SIM cards are out of date for the new phones. But when you buy a new sim if you need it. YOu can also try calling Orange if you are running into trouble and get them to send you a new sim for free

[Barnz]

iv literally had this sim card 3 months at the most! i always thought it was the phone that did the 3g/edge stuff? surely its the same data being received, just faster!?

[Rayford Booth]

The only thing that would cause a problem is if the new BB uses a different Sim transfer process. For example: THe iPhone uses a streamed transfer process between the phone and the SIM card. Where as the general BB uses a compressed transfer process between the Phone and the Sim card

[raji.t]

You most likely won't face any problems. If you've recently obtained the SIM card, then it will definately work with the Bold. No reason why it should not. But make sure that you do a PIN transfer on Orange's BIS website, so as to continue receiving your BBM emails and your contacts get updated with your new PIN.

[savioAMG]

The only thing that would cause a problem is if the new BB uses a different Sim transfer process. For example: THe iPhone uses a streamed transfer process between the phone and the SIM card. Where as the general BB uses a compressed transfer process between the Phone and the Sim card

Umm... FYI, iPhone SIM cards work in BB's and vice versa...

[Rayford Booth]

Umm... FYI, iPhone SIM cards work in BB's and vice versa...

yes it does. But when you make the switch it CAN (not does, but can) cause unexpected results so as network switching, dropped calls, and the phone not ringing when someone calling you.

These results occur because of the two different ways the Iphone and the BB connect/Read to the SIM card

[Barnz]

ok cool, so i shouldnt face a problem realistically, i cant imagine Orange would have a different sim card they use for the curve 8900 and the bold!? forgive my ignorance lol but will it say 3G in the corner like it does EDGE or will it say hdspa or whatever it is?

i.e. will it be obvious to me if im getting 3G signal or still only getting EDGE?

[sasan]

good info...gotta love the site...

[savioAMG]

ok cool, so i shouldnt face a problem realistically, i cant imagine Orange would have a different sim card they use for the curve 8900 and the bold!? forgive my ignorance lol but will it say 3G in the corner like it does EDGE or will it say hdspa or whatever it is?

i.e. will it be obvious to me if im getting 3G signal or still only getting EDGE?

If you're getting 3G it'll say "3G" and if you're getting EDGE it'll say "EDGE"

[Jen.Babe.87]

I'm not sure if other carriers are this way, but I do know T-Mobile has a restriction with 3G services. If you were to use a BOLD or IPHONE on T-Mobiles network, you dont have the option to use the 3G services, even if T-Mobile offers 3G in your area. Not really sure of the reason, but if your BOLd or IPHONe is set to 3G, you wont be able to use the phone, you have to switch to 2G or EDGE. Hope that helps..

[Barnz]

even if im not able to get onto oranges 3 g network i reckon theyd be foolish not to let me for whatever reason, just means more data running thru my fone in less time than with my curve....at no extra cost to them!

[jasonlitka]

I'm not sure if other carriers are this way, but I do know T-Mobile has a restriction with 3G services. If you were to use a BOLD or IPHONE on T-Mobiles network, you dont have the option to use the 3G services, even if T-Mobile offers 3G in your area. Not really sure of the reason, but if your BOLd or IPHONe is set to 3G, you wont be able to use the phone, you have to switch to 2G or EDGE. Hope that helps..

It's not an arbitrary restriction, it's a technical limitation (one I believe is exclusive to their network). T-Mobile uses a different frequency for their 3G service (1700MHz), a frequency that the Bold, iPhone, and most other phones not explicitly made for T-Mobile do not support.

[Barnz]

so i went into the orange store and he looked at my sim card and told me it was 2g or 2.5g ...i cnt remember lol! this doesnt make sense to me! does this mean orange ship a different sim card with the bold than they do with the curve?

[iamtim]

These results occur because of the two different ways the Iphone and the BB connect/Read to the SIM card

Ok... this makes no sense to me. If the data on the SIM card is consistent it shouldn't matter how the phone reads the data. Can you explain this?

[jasonlitka]

so i went into the orange store and he looked at my sim card and told me it was 2g or 2.5g ...i cnt remember lol! this doesnt make sense to me! does this mean orange ship a different sim card with the bold than they do with the curve?

Could be. If you get a 2G phone from AT&T it will come with a 2G SIM in the box. All their replacement SIMs are 3G though.

[DangerMouseUK]

Depends on the sim orange supply

Unfortunately there are a fair few 2G sims still knocking about, O2 were good enough to label their sims in the actual sim identifier with either 2G or 3G in the string, not sure about Orange sims I think they're just one big long number.

If you originally bought the unit pay as you go and migrated to contract there's a good chance the sim is 2G

Getting them to send out a new 3G compatible sim shouldn't pose any problems though. Well if you can get through to someone who knows what they're doing that is . . .