My carrier was very clear in an e-mail it sent after I ordered my iPhone 13 Mini at the cell phone store. I must activate the SIM card included in the box with the iPhone as the phone and cell phone network is coded to recognize my SIM and IMEI number together. If I wasn’t sure how to do this, I could go back to the store and they would be happy to activate with the new SIM card.
Kelly On 1/13/22, Dennis Long <[email protected]> wrote: > I upgraded to a 13 pro from a SE 2020 I am happy with the upgrade. > > > > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of > [email protected] > Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2022 6:53 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: my upgrade experience > > > > This message may run a bit long, but I’m not really asking any questions > here. Rather, I’m just making several observations about the process of > upgrading my iPhones. > > > > My reason for upgrading: I believe I mentioned before that, while I did > indeed have some newer iPhones, I was using my older first generation iPhone > SE and my iPhone 7 as my primary phones, intending to run them to see just > how long they would last before their batteries finally died. However, when > the Walmart delivery from store came to my area, including delivering > perishable groceries, I was very pleased. Thus, when Walmart had their Black > Friday promotion where they offered the E-gift cards if one upgraded their > phone, I jumped at the chance to do so. True, one had to sign on with a > carrier and choose one of their unlimited data plans and pay a $30 upgrade > fee per line, but I already was on an unlimited plan with AT&T, anyway, so > that wasn’t a problem for me. And while I had to enter into the installment > agreement, the AT&T terms and conditions did say that I could pay off the > installment agreement at any time. > > > > The upgrade process: it was actually pretty straightforward. I started my > purchase in the Walmart iPhone app, but then was directed to the Walmart > website to finish things after I selected the phone and carrier I wanted. > There were several screens of terms and conditions I had to go through, and > then the phone got added to my cart and I could check out. I actually > ordered one phone on November 22, and then I ordered the second one on > November 25 right after I received the first phone. Yes, believe it or not, > FedEx actually delivered that phone to me on Thanksgiving Day. > > > > Activating the phones: I was told when I ordered the phones that they would > be coming with a SIM card, but since I didn’t recognize the type of SIM card > they mentioned, I wasn’t sure if the phones were coming with an E-sim or > regular one. But when I tried to activate one of the phones and was told > that it needed a SIM card in order to be activated, I took the SIM out of > one of the phones I was then using and put it in the new phone and activated > it, and then I did the same thing when activating the other phone. And > wouldn’t you know it, it was only after both phones were activated that I > thought to take one more look in the box. And, sure enough, I found a SIM > card for each phone in its respective box. > > > > Since one of the conditions for getting the gift cards was that the phones > be activated, I wanted to make sure that they were activated with their > correct SIM cards. This was especially true when I checked in the settings > for one of my new phones and there was no 5G option, which didn’t really > surprise me as this SIM card came with the AT&T iPhone 6S plus I purchased > from Apple in 2015. So I went online and was able to activate the SIM card > for one of the phones, the one that originally had the old 2015 SIM in it. > However, I had put a SIM card in the other phone that I had obtained in > August of 2019, and I’m guessing since it already showed the 5G when put in > the new phone, that’s why I was told the phone was already activated. Thus, > I had to call AT&T to get the phone to work properly with the new SIM card, > as it just said cellular no signal when I put that new card in the phone > until I called. > > > > Transferring the data from my old phones: that actually went well using the > quick start feature or whatever it is called and just transferring from one > iPhone to the other. You might recall, though, that my only internet here is > provided by my cell phones, thus I quickly learned that I couldn’t use the > hotspot feature on the phone which I was transferring the data from to get > it to the new phone, so I had to remove the SIM from one older phone and put > it in another older phone to get the process to work. > > > > No home button and Face ID: as of right now, I think I am better with the > gestures that replaced the home button than I am with Face ID. Also, to me > right now, using the home button just seems so much faster than using the > Face ID. In the daytime, though, Face ID does seem to work for me about 80% > of the time, while it works much less than that at night when I’m in bed and > reach for my phone. > > > > Using the internet and personal hotspot: this does seem a lot faster to me. > I couldn’t believe how fast apps downloaded from the app store, for example. > Web pages seem to load faster as well. And I just love being able to back up > my phone using cellular data as well as being able to update the iOS without > having to put my SIM in an Android phone to do it. > > > > I did run into some issues using personal hotspot though. First, although > the hotspot feature works just fine with my computer, I did have to turn on > the maximize compatibility setting in the personal hotspot settings to get > it to connect. Second, although I’m not quite sure of why, but the personal > hotspot feature now no longer works with my Braille Sense U2 Mini on these > new phones. The U2 sees the phone, but it shows the encryption type as WEP > rather than WPA2PSK and just doesn’t connect. However, if I remove the SIM > from the new phone and put it in my iPhone 7, then the hotspot works with my > U2 without a problem. But since, the one time I did this, I couldn’t seem to > get my iMessages to then work properly on the 7, I’ve just kept the SIM card > in the newer phones. > > > > A couple of side effects from no longer being able to get my email on the U2 > Mini: it forces me to learn much more about getting email other ways like > with my iPhone and with the Outlook included in my Microsoft 365 > subscription or with the mail app included with Windows 10. And second, > grin, since I’m no longer using an outdated U2 to get my email, I’m saved > from having to reset my U2 most every time I receive an email from Richard T > when coming from this list. Of course, other than the word I said to myself > as I pressed that reset button on the U2, I didn’t complain since I was the > one using the older equipment, but I never could figure out why I had > problems with his messages on this list but not usually with messages he > sent to other lists. > > > > Obtaining my gift cards: that turned out to be kind of a process. I admit I > was a little concerned when there was nothing in the body of the message > about the gift card for my order on November 22, but there was for my order > on November 25. I finally did receive one E-gift card on December 18, but I > had no idea for which phone. And when I called Walmart customer service on > December 23 to ask about the matter, I was told that the gift card was for > my first order, the iPhone 13 Mini, as there was a picture of the phone with > a gift card beside it in my delivery confirmation email, but there was no > such picture with the delivery confirmation email for the iPhone 13 I > ordered on November 25. When I pressed the issue and told him the body of > that second order specifically said I would get a e-gift card within 25 days > of the phone being shipped, he finally said he would forward my inquiry to > the gift card department and to call back if I hadn’t heard in 48 hours. > > > > When it had been a week and I had heard nothing back, I called Walmart > customer service again, and they gave me the gift card department phone > number. And I was finally told by that department that the gift card issued > was for the iPhone 13 and not the iPhone 13 Mini and to contact Walmart.com > or my carrier to find out the issue. I then called AT&T and was told things > were fine with my account, and not wanting to deal with customer service > again, I looked on Google and found an email address for Walmart and sent an > email to them explaining my issue. Then I got back an email saying that the > email address to which I sent my message was no longer being used, was given > a website to use for future, but was told they would forward my inquiry to > Walmart customer service. And believe it or not, just two days later, I got > the other E-gift card, got the email and they also put the card in my > account this time. I can’t tell you just how pleased I was to receive that > other gift card. Sure, I would have survived without it, but it was also the > principle involved, meaning only having 14 days to return the phone but > having to wait 20-25 days for a gift card and then be told it wasn’t coming > without explaining why. So I was really impressed and ecstatic to get the > thing. > > > > The iPhones I have now: my main phones are now the iPhone 13 Mini and the > iPhone 13, as those are the two I purchased and was required to activate > them and enter into the installment agreement and unlimited data plan with > AT&T to get the $300 e-gift card for each. Walmart actually had a limit of > three, but I just have the two phone lines and don’t want any more. My two > backup phones that I keep updated and ready to go are the SE 2020 and the > iPhone XR. As for my first generation SE and my iPhone 7, I’ll figure out > something to do with them. And as for my iPhone 12 Mini, the one I ordered > on the first day I could and never even took out of its shipping box, seeing > as I now have the 13 Mini and I hadn’t given my sister-in-law an iPhone in a > while, she now has that phone for a few minor considerations, as I just > couldn’t completely give it away, what with it never being used before and > having AppleCare and all. Actually, I originally thought to just try the > iPhone 13 to confirm it was too big for me and then give that to her. > However, what with the 13 not being quite as big as the 8 Plus that I didn’t > like, the longer battery life in the iPhone 13, and it’s a little fuller > sound, not to mention my problems with getting the gift card, I decided to > keep the 13 for myself and continue with its installment agreement for now. > And I didn’t offer her the XR as I didn’t figure it would be much of an > upgrade from the 8 Plus, and I didn’t want to part with the SE 2020 as I may > want to use touch ID from time to time. The 13 Mini is generally the one I > carry in my purse with me and take most calls on, while the 13 is used more > for YouTube and the AT&T DIRECTV app and the like. > > > > All in all, I’m quite happy with how things turned out. I have my new > iPhones that no longer require me to have an Android phone to update them or > back them up, my iPhone 12 Mini has a new home, although I guess she will > have some adjustments going from the 8 Plus to the 12 Mini although I did > ask her several times to make sure she wanted to do this, and I have my two > $300 E-gift cards in my Walmart account so I can do some shopping without > having to get into my bank account. > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone > list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you > can reach Cara at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> . > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/022301d8080f%249179cd40%24b46d67c0%24%40gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/022301d8080f%249179cd40%24b46d67c0%24%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone > list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: > [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at > [email protected] > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/00ed01d808c7%2435ca8ad0%24a15fa070%24%40gmail.com. > -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/CAOQRLb8n%3Dcz3rWHYx0ENwpzDpFw-nxn7aREokerQUHUBvkFO9g%40mail.gmail.com.
