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A wiki for prepaid (iPhone compatible) SIM cards around the world
Here's a great resource for any iPhone user who frequently travels. The Pay As You Go SIM with Data Wiki provides an ever-growing list of disposable SIMs that will work with the iPhone all over the world. The project's goal is to collect a list of iPhone (and Android) compatible pay-as-you-go (PAYG) SIMs from around the world. Since the card is pre-paid, they're useful for someone who will be traveling for a brief time. To make the list, a card must be capable of handling data as well as voice. For example, in France you can get an Orange card called "Mobicarte," which provides 30 days of unlimited data for 12 euros, or a subscription from LFR called "La carte" which provides unlimited data for 9.90 euros. Voice and text are charge separately on a graduated scale. Of course, the iPhone 4 has a micro-SIM, and they're more difficult to find on the PYAG shelves. Fortunately, there are ways to make a full-sized SIM fit. We posted about one method not too long ago. Basically, you can buy a kit to help you physically cut a standard SIM down to size. There's also a hardware cutter that resembles a stapler, which all but guarantees a proper cut every time. Plus, it comes with an adapter that will let you re-use the diced card with a full-sized device. Some SIMs are locked to a given provider. The wiki provides information on how to deal with that, too. The whole thing seems well-curated and timely. Add it to your travel plans and avoid coming home to an iPhone bill equal to one month's salary. [Via Nik F.]
Cut a standard SIM down to iPhone 4/iPad size
I just got off the phone with Victor Agreda, a call I made on my iPhone 4 using a third-party rebranded AT&T SIM. As you can see from the screen shot above, I wasn't using a standard iPhone SIM. Instead, I placed my call via a $10 Best Buy SIM, which displays as O2 in the US. How did that happen? After all, a standard SIM doesn't fit in the iPhone 4. I used a Noosy SIM cutter provided by MicroSIMCutter to resize the card to microSIM proportions.
How-to: resize your SIM, change your APN, and drink the sweet nectar of mobile freedom
Myriam Joire (tnkgrl) was born wearing combat boots and holding a keyboard; moments later she picked up a soldering iron. She's been stomping, typing and hacking ever since. In her regular series, she'll share her tips, tricks, and mods on everything from phones to netbooks -- and be sure to catch her weekly on the Engadget Mobile podcast. Things used to be simple: you either had a CDMA device with no SIM, or a GSM device with a SIM. If your GSM device was unlocked you could swap SIMs between carriers, and if was locked, you could swap SIMs between accounts on the same carrier. Basically, an unlocked phone meant mobile freedom. At first, the only complication was the different frequencies used for GSM in different parts of the world, which was remedied with quadband radios. Then 3G was introduced, with different frequencies used by different carriers in the same geographic area, like North America. Today, this proliferation of bands makes it difficult to build universal radios, and makes it less appealing to switch carriers. In fact, the only phone that currently supports all 3G frequencies used in North America is the upcoming pentaband Nokia N8. The second obstacle was the introduction of special data plans, either requiring additional service layers (such as BlackBerry or Sidekick plans) or restricting the types of devices permitted as the iPhone and iPad plans do. What used to be as simple as changing APNs is now a Kafkaesque nightmare, complete with nasty "you are using the wrong data plan and we are going to send you a bill" text messages from carriers. Strike three was the micro SIM (also known as the 3FF SIM), popularized by Apple's iPad and the iPhone 4. This smaller form-factor SIM is electrically compatible with the standard SIM we all know and love -- and as such, it's easy to convert a standard SIM into a micro SIM and vice-versa (but still, it's one more hurdle standing in the way of happiness). Let's dive in and take a look at how it's done.
MicroSIM adapter moves your service back to an earlier iPhone
Yesterday, I went to lunch with a dozen or so Apple enthusiasts, all of us with our new iPhone 4's. And, yes, the topic of conversation was (as you would expect) the awfulness of the signal issues. There were various bumpers and other cases at the table, along with empirical testing. It was very clear that while the bumper added some protection against signal degradation in weak signal areas, the iPhone 4 would not perform well when held with the left-hand kung-fu grip of doom, even with the bumper. With earlier models of the iPhone, it was easy to switch service from one phone to another. Starting with the 3G, you could pop in any AT&T SIM and expect it to work. But the iPhone 4 changed the rules. Its smaller form-factor MicroSIM doesn't fit earlier models, making it more difficult to move your service. Enter the Micro-SIM adapter. Sold by the MicroSIM Shop, the €5.99 adapter (it is sold from Vienna, Austria) allows you to pop your iPhone 4 or iPad 3G SIM into a plastic shell that lets you use it in the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. It works in the first generation iPhone as well, but requires a jailbreak hacktivation to use the SIM without activating through iTunes. You can also pop that same SIM into many other AT&T phones or into an unlocked third party phone. Read on for more of TUAW's review.
Does adjusting or trimming the iPhone 4's micro SIM fix the antenna issue? Probably not.
Ever since Apple decided to do little about the iPhone 4's pronounced reception issues except suggest that users hold the thing differently and / or buy a nice case, the voodoo engineering remedies have been flying in full force -- sure, we'll admit we tried sticking some tape over the side of our phone (no dice), but we stopped short when people suggested we try a couple coats of nail polish (insanity). Even we have limits, after all. But the latest snake oil fix is definitely the craziest we've heard so far: according to a 13-page (and growing) thread at MacRumors, the iPhone 4's reception issue can be fixed by adjusting or even trimming the micro SIM so the contacts don't touch the metal tray. The popular belief is that touching the side of the phone somehow shorts across the micro SIM, causing (mumble mumble) and leading to dropped signal. Making things more interesting, Apple and AT&T are apparently using several different types of micro SIMs, including one with a significantly larger contact area -- you can check a shot of two of our iPhone 4 micro SIMs side-by-side after the break. So does all this hocus pocus actually work? In a word, no. We tried it on a few of our particularly bad iPhone 4s -- the ones that consistently demonstrate the issue -- and achieved no meaningful results. We even went so far as to line the edge of one of our trimmed micro SIMs in electrical tape (pictured above) to ensure that no contact was being made, and we were still able to flatline the phone using the "death grip." Sorry folks -- we wanted this to work too, but it looks like people are just being hopefully optimistic. We'd say the real fix is going to have to come from Apple -- and given the growing discontent over this relatively severe issue, the sooner the better.
Cut My SIM does as its name commands
In case you haven't noticed, all the cool kids are using Micro SIMs nowadays. But help is at hand if you're stuck with an old and busted Module, thanks to this stainless steel SIM trimmer. Painfully simple to use, it accepts old school chips, smashes down on them with the full force of modernity, and spits out an appropriately streamlined Micro SIM. But wait, you can reverse the modification too -- just use the included "back to normal" kit to turn back time and restore compatibility with your dated gear. The first batch of 500 has already sold out, but the next is expected to ship by the end of this month at a price of $25 or just under €20, depending on where you reside. What else do you need, a written invitation?
Making your iPad 3G work in Canada
If today's news about Rogers' rate plans for the iPhone left you feeling a bit cold about your 3G options for an iPad in Canada, perhaps this BoyGeniusReport story will warm you up. BGR walks you through the steps necessary to make your iPad work with various providers in Canada. As the old saying goes, "Everything is easy when you know what you're doing." BGR has done the hard part for you, including figuring out the various APN settings for different carriers. The most challenging part of the process will be cutting down a SIM card to (mini) size. There are lots of instructions around to help you but in the end they're your fingers and your card, so be careful. The instructions cover Bell, Fido, Rogers, and TELUS.
How to cook (and cut) with the iPad
Honestly, we kind of just wanted to post the video above (in which Jake Gyllenhaal uses Apple's magical and revolutionary device as a cooking board, and then decides to make it the main dish), but it turns out that you can use a kitchen utensil on the iPad to some success. Another British man got a 3G iPad from the States, and really wanted to use his Vodafone SIM on it. So he grabbed a meat cleaver, and got to cutting. He chopped off enough of the SIM card to fit it in the iPad's microSIM slot, and when he plugged it in, it reportedly worked. That's a little nuts -- we definitely don't recommend that you foreigners a) start chopping up SIMs, and b) try sticking chopped-up SIMs in the iPad's card slot. But The Register claims it should work, since most of the body of a SIM card is just plastic handle rather than the important electronics. And who knows -- if you do break things, and brick your iPad in some way, at least you'll have a very sturdy glass cutting board.
How to create your own Micro SIM card using a chef knife and some scissors
We told you you could shave down your old and busted SIM cards and turn them into minty fresh Micro SIMs, didn't we? An industrious Londoner by the name of John Benson has gone and proven that concept with the help of some cutting implements and an original Micro SIM to use as a reference. His saintly patience resulted in his being able to negotiate the Vodafone SIM you see above into his iPad 3G (imported from the USA) and riding the waves of Voda's network as if Apple never decided to encumber its portable device with a silly new standard. The 3FF (Micro) SIMs and the bulkier original ones are electrically identical, so there's no threat of harm by using them interchangeably, though we can't say the same thing about the tools that get you there. As always, we advise trying to rope someone else into doing the work for you -- less chance of hurting yourself that way. Hit the source for more. [Thanks, Brandon]
iPad 3G works on T-Mobile, can be hacked to send text messages
Here's a pair of interesting iPad 3G hacks for your lazy Sunday -- first, Apple's tablet is apparently unlocked out of the factory, so trimming a T-Mobile SIM to micro SIM size will get you up and running on EDGE with no further hassle. Not terribly useful in the States, but good news for Europeans who'll have several carrier options right out the gate. Secondly, MuscleNerd of the Dev Team has discovered it's apparently possible to send text messages from a jailbroken 3G iPad using a T-Mobile or non-iPad AT&T SIM -- the stock AT&T SIM restricts SMS and calls, apparently. Check videos of both hacks after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
AT&T's micro SIM card is the matryoshka doll of micro SIM cards
Alright, well played, AT&T: you've sort of managed to undo Apple's unfortunate move of eschewing nearly two decades' worth of deeply-entrenched SIM card standards in favor of a new one that literally nobody in the consumer cellphone world is using -- and for that, we thank you. We're being told that these new SIMs are now being sold in AT&T stores for $15 and will work both with the iPad 3G and... well, literally every other GSM device you've ever owned, thanks to a couple of well-placed perforations that can turn the standard SIM into a micro SIM. This is presumably a preemptive strike to support the next-gen iPhone, too, but otherwise, you can go ahead and use the big card without busting out the little one. Trust us. Update: Our tipster wrote back in to say that they're actually not being sold in stores yet, so if you've formed a line outside your local brick-and-mortar, go ahead and turn in for the evening. Sorry, folks!
Micro SIMs can probably be fashioned from shaved down traditional SIMs
We've finally found ourselves a solid, confirmed shot of a micro SIM in the wild, thanks to an FCC filing from Lok8u -- the company that just inked a deal with T-Mobile -- that shows the innards of its GPS watch torn asunder. Over on the right there is one of the micro SIMs in question, and as you can clearly make out, the contact pad is identical to the one you'd find on a traditional SIM (that shot of an AT&T unit that we'd posted earlier was actually a mockup by our own Sean Cooper, you see). In other words, if you were really hard up to get that iPad up and running on a network that isn't providing micros, you could probably shoehorn a traditional SIM in there with a little elbow grease and handiwork, which happily matches up with information we've been hearing from several contacts of ours. Who knew Lok8u would be so important in this investigative process? Update: The ETSI has also confirmed to CNET UK that micro SIMs are electrically identical to their older counterparts, so that's a promising sign, and Boy Genius tells us that he used to shave down SIMs to micro SIM size back in the day for dual SIM adapters -- in other words, you're probably not going to damage the chip by trimming (and even if you do, it's a simple replacement from your carrier). Thanks, Matthias!
Rest easy, iPad roamers: O2 and Orange have micro SIM orders, too
Steve mentioned in his iPad preso yesterday that he was pretty confident the company would have international data deals locked up by June or July of this year -- but since the thing uses some wacky new micro SIM standard, carriers that intend to support it are going to need to get the new chips in stock after having used traditional SIMs for nearly twenty years. That makes moving your iPad around between carriers and your SIM between devices that much harder, but we've got a sliver of good news here: we're hearing from a tipster with connections at supplier Gemalto that O2 and Orange both have micro SIM orders in the pipeline. That doesn't necessarily mean that Apple is going to be trumpeting them as iPad partners with special data plans, of course -- but even if they aren't, at least they'll have the necessary equipment ready for you if you want to use your unlocked tablet on their airwaves. Gemalto also has outstanding orders with T-Mobile and AT&T (of course), so yeah -- it might be a long road, but we're hopeful that these will start to become commonplace over the next few years. [Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Apple iPad's 'Micro SIM' explained
While the news of Apple's iPad having 3G wasn't exactly a surprise, the move to a new format for the SIM certainly was. The SIM -- that tiny card that holds your contact info and account information that you find in your GSM handset -- is a 15 x 25mm plastic card whereas the new Micro SIM (also known as a 3FF SIM) is a diminutive 12 x 15mm, about 52% smaller. Needless to say, it's not physically compatible with your current phone. This card was developed by the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) to offer things like more storage space on-chip for provider applications, increased control and security functions -- over what, we don't know -- and the new smaller form factor allows it to fit in tiny devices. Frankly, we wouldn't call the iPad "tiny" and we have absolutely no clue what justification Apple had to switch to it other than a desire to be different -- this is the company that pioneered Mini DisplayPort, after all -- but the long and the short of it is that you're going to have a hard time finding a carrier offering Micro SIMs in the short term since the GSMA doesn't appear to be actively spearheading a mass conversion. In fact, from AT&T's perspective, this is better than a software lock in some ways -- you're not going to be able to download a hack that gets you on another network, so you're totally at the mercy of your carrier at choice for providing a compatible card. Intentionally evil? Perhaps not -- all standards have to start somewhere -- but it's an awful pain in the ass. Update: T-Mobile (in a partnership with Lok8u GPS devices) announced they were bringing the 3FF SIM to US shores back on January 6th of this year. See the source link for more info. [Thanks, Brian]
