My MIL has an old Motorola smart phone and is needing a replacement, and I'm trying to steer her towards a refurb iPhone SE as that is already more phone than she needs.

Will she be able to pull the SIM card out of her old phone and put it into the iPhone, or will she have to get a new SIM card that is specific to Apple products?

Thanks in advance!

It should, but some carriers will want you to replace the SIM.

The Iphone SE uses the Nano SIM, which is the smaller size SIM. If the old phone uses that, it should switch right over.

My last four sim cards were free at the U S cellular store.

It is up to your mobile provider, but I was able to swap SIMs from an Android phone into an iPhone XS without even having to notify the carrier, completely seamless.

OTOH, when I went from 4G LTE to 5G, I needed a new SIM.

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll need to pull the SIM from the old phone and see what size it is first. My wife has been dealing with this up until now, so I haven't seen the SIM card yet...

Just take the phone to the new carrier's store and let them work it out. They might want to put you on a E-Sim, don't fight this part I don't know that there is anything to gain.

quote:

Originally posted by Timdogg6:
Just take the phone to the new carrier's store and let them work it out. They might want to put you on a E-Sim, don't fight this part I don't know that there is anything to gain.

The carrier isn't changing. They bought Consumer Cellular from Target, and Target isn't exactly what I consider a "cell phone store" like an Apple store would be, so I have limited trust in what the person behind the counter might try to do. The MIL is already having a freak-out over replacing the old phone, and she is one of those who doesn't need to be around a smartphone or computer, or pretty much anything electronic because it's all "too difficult"!

If the carrier is Consumer Cellular, their customer service number is (888) 345-5509.

They also have a "chat" facility on their web page.

They should be able to answer all your questions, and send you a new SIM if one is required, although I'll bet that you can just remove the SIM from the old phone and stick it in the new one although if the new phone is an iPhone SE second generation or later, it can use an e-sim.

To answer your other question, SIM cards are not specific to the phone manufacturer.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
If the carrier is Consumer Cellular, their customer service number is (888) 345-5509.

They also have a "chat" facility on their web page.

They should be able to answer all your questions, and send you a new SIM if one is required, although I'll bet that you can just remove the SIM from the old phone and stick it in the new one although if the new phone is an iPhone SE second generation or later, it can use an e-sim.

To answer your other question, SIM cards are not specific to the phone manufacturer.

Thanks for the specific information, "V", I do appreciate it! The "new" phone is a 2nd gen SE, so I will look into the e-sim option if I have issues with the physical one from the other phone.

I purchased a new android phone for my grandmother, since my grandmother's iphone died. Low and behold the iphone was using and eSIM so no SIM card to be found. I took my mother (the account holder) to their local cell provider who piggybacks off one of the big brands, I forget, and they said their SIM cards weren't compatible. I said, "That's strange. My mother has been using the exact same phone the last six months with your SIM card." The associate looked as if I slapped her across the face. She dejectedly returned to the store room, obtained a new SIM card, and popped it in. Worked fine. Who would've thought? Free of charge, too.

They really wanted me to purchase one of THEIR run of the mill basic android phones, instead of the run of the mill unlocked android phone I had brought.

Some carriers lock the phone to their SIM. You can usually get the phone unlocked after 2 years or so, or once it is paid off if financed. New phones only have programmable eSIMs including iPhones.

If you need the smaller SIM card, you may be able to cut down the one you have. Trace the smaller size onto the old card, avoiding the actual traces, and cut with a sharp scissors.

On the other hand, if she doesn’t want or need a smart phone, I’d highly recommend one of those basic phones with big numbers. Dial, send, end. Why torture her?

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Some carriers lock the phone to their SIM. You can usually get the phone unlocked after 2 years or so, or once it is paid off if financed. New phones only have programmable eSIMs including iPhones.

I bought a refurbished phone that is already on Consumer Cellular (her carrier), so it shouldn't be a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by honestlou:
<<snip>>
On the other hand, if she doesn’t want or need a smart phone, I’d highly recommend one of those basic phones with big numbers. Dial, send, end. Why torture her?

That was suggested, but there are several things she claimed that she HAD to have which the simpler phones do not provide, so "smartphone" was needed! We wanted to get her a Jitterbug or similar that is simple, but she wouldn't have it.

You know, it's just software. I fail to see why the phone manufacturers don't have a simple configuration toggle that turns a "smart" phone into a simple one, basically, by disabling the fancy stuff. A finer grained simplification would be even more practical,as long as it is easy to do. I suspect with a certain amount of time and effort it could be done on existing platforms, but...time and effort...

It's like they want their consumer base to be confused and overwhelmed all the time.

Carriers have websites that allow you to enter the IMEI number of your phone to see if they can/will support its use on their networks. It needs to be unlocked, of course. So check and unlock if needed. Your currrent carrier will have an unlock procedure if you are eligible and not restricted by your contract with them. If you are changing carriers, the new carrier will need to provide you with one of their SIM cards, either a physical SIM card or an eSIM number.