1] *#06# brings up IMEI and MEID numbers on my phone screen.

2] Sprint and Verizon operate under the CDMA network (AT&T and T-Mobile fall under the GSM network). So if I can talk my m.i.l. into upgrading, her iPhone8 will work for me. Both use Nano-SIM and Sprint should be able to activate the new phone to my number.

Last week my SE went bonkers; the power button became unresponsive; I had another SE with 100% battery in the "electronics-in-waiting" drawer; after the SIM was squared away, I was amazed to have a "new" fully-operating cloned phone. iCloud backup was flawless.

Welcome to 1999, Woodman.

Wut?

quote:

Originally posted by Woodman:
2] Sprint and Verizon operate under the CDMA network (AT&T and T-Mobile fall under the GSM network). So if I can talk my m.i.l. into upgrading, her iPhone8 will work for me. Both use Nano-SIM and Sprint should be able to activate the new phone to my number.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your info is out of date.

Verizon hasn't sold CDMA devices for a while and won't activate then if you find one. I'm not sure whether it has actually happened or not, but they planned to have completely shut down their legacy CDMA network by now.

Everything is LTE now.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your info is out of date.

Oh. That is why my phone never rings and cannot call out.

The moral of the story: Stuff you do not yet know, you really don't need.

Just for clarity, Woodman, your Mom's Verizon iPhone 8 will still work on your Sprint plan (and vice versa).

Even though Verizon no longer sells CDMA phones and will no longer activate CDMA phones...that iPhone 8 has both the CDMA and LTE antennas. So, whatever Sprint or Verizon may currently be using, the iPhone 8 from either carrier will work. A Verizon or Sprint iPhone 8 actually has all three antennas (GSM/CDMA/LTE) and will pretty much work on any network.

The only backward compatibility issue you will find is with a GSM/LTE phone (T-Mobile and ATT) moving over to Verizon and Sprint AND where Verizon and Sprint does not yet have LTE. I doubt you will ever encounter this situation, but it's possible.

Verify that your phone is unlocked. Your 8 and SE are quad band. Not all phones are. Some phones gets lost in the 850 / 900 changeover.

I have an old Nokia from Germany that not only shows the band that it is receiving from the towers, it shows all of the carriers and the signal strength for each. Some manufacturers have dual SIM phones so you won't have to keep two of them.

Hearing that the T-mobile signal is being turned off soon. They are bing converted to the Sprint network without the Sprint name. A legacy from the Southern Pacific Railroad.

OK, the "new" iPhone is operating perfectly. Now I need a backup. And learned another new thing.

https://sndeep.info/en will tell me the age of an iPhone. My current is 4 years 1 month and the battery is 100%. Some of the phones offered on swappa are listed as "mint" but have batteries in the 70%-80% health.

An iPhone7 has my eye. 32GB would be double my current 16GB. Hate having to limit applications or Libby audiobooks ...