After buying your new phone, the common instinct is to insert a sim card or connect to Wi-Fi. You can sign into your email and social media apps and call friends and family. If you travel frequently, you will not have 24/7 Wi-Fi access. You may also get tired of the bills or give up your data plan; therefore, knowing whether you can still use your iPhone without a cell service provider or carrier is necessary.
So, can you use an iPhone without a cell service provider or carrier? Your iPhone will work well without a cell service provider or carrier. If connected to Wi-Fi, you will access app functionality and VoIP calls. VoIP calls are possible through third-party apps like Skype. However, you should note that you will not make cellular calls without a carrier since such plans give you access.
Whether you are a frequent traveler or spend most of your time indoors, you need to connect with your family and friends. At times, subscribing to carrier services may not be ideal.
You may buy an iPhone and you are unwilling to incur the service bills, especially if you are on a Wi-Fi connection. Knowing if you can save up on such bills by using your iPhone without a cell Service provider is vital.
You can use your iPhone without a cell service provider or carrier, and it will work fine, only that you will not be able to make cellular calls. This is because a service plan enables you to make cellular voice calls, and without which, you are limited to other services accessible via Wi-Fi.
If you plan on using your iPhone without a carrier, you will first unlock it. Your iPhone will pop up the No Sim Card or Sim Required Message when it connects to your Wi-Fi during Setup. If you are using IOS 11.4 and later, you can dismiss the pop-up message and complete consecutive steps without requiring a sim card. It will be impossible to dismiss the No Sim Card message in older iPhones, preventing you from completing the Setup.
If you are using iOS 11.4 and later, start by turning on your iPhone by
- pressing the power button
- then slide right to start the Setup
- Select Language
- Country
- tap the Setup Manually option
- select your Wi-Fi network
- enter your password
- tap Ok to dismiss the No Sim Card message on the screen.
On your next screen,
- tap Continue to accept Apple’s Data and Privacy conditions
- then set up your Touch ID and your Lock Screen Passcode.
While on the Apps and Data screen, select the Set Up as New iPhone option, and input your Apple ID and Passcode on the next screen. Agree to Apple’s terms and conditions and tap Continue to complete the Setup process as per the onscreen instructions.
Since your old iPhone will not allow you to dismiss the No Sim Card message, you will use iTunes to set up your iPhone without a service provider or carrier. Start by connecting your iPhone to a PC or Mac with iTunes installed.
Once your PC or Mac detects your iPhone, it will prompt you to download the latest IOS update for your model. You can then select Setup as New option and tap Continue. By following the onscreen instructions to the latter, you will complete the Setup process.
How Can I Use My Old iPhone Without Service Carrier as a Wi-Fi Only Device?
Using a Sim card implies a contract with a service carrier, hence paying taxes, monthly subscriptions, and other expenses. By using your old iPhone without an active Sim card as a Wi-Fi-only device, you can avoid these charges.
You can use your old iPhone without a service carrier as a Wi-Fi-only device to send and receive iMessages, track location with Google Maps, browse the internet, and play movies and videos. Some carriers even allow calling and texting over Wi-Fi when you are out of their cellular coverage, while other apps do not require an internet connection to function.
Almost all apps preloaded on your iPhone and require an internet connection to work. These include Weather, Safari, iTunes Store, App Store, FaceTime, and Mail. Third-party apps like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram will also retain full functionality with a Wi-Fi connection.
Maps will use Wi-Fi for locations, but this is unreliable when traveling as you will drive in and out of stable locations. Also, a few functions such as cellular phone calls and texts will not work, so switching to iMessages is ideal.
The first step to using your old iPhone over Wi-Fi only will be activating it. Older iPhones, iOS 11.3 and below, require you to insert a sim card to activate. Hence, the solution will be to borrow a sim card and complete the activation process. However, if you do not want to undergo this hassle, you can activate your iPhone via iTunes.
To do this, connect your iPhone to a PC or Mac with iTunes installed. Once detected, you will receive a prompt to download the latest IOS version. You will click the Set as New option and tap continue to finish the Setup process by following subsequent onscreen instructions.
The iMessage service lets you send iMessages and make FaceTime calls to Apple Device users. Fortunately, you can activate iMessage with your Apple ID, hence no need for a phone number to send and receive iMessages. If your family or friends do not own Apple devices, it will be impossible to use iMessage or FaceTime.
Fortunately, you can stay in touch with anyone without an Apple device with VOIP apps like Telegram, Skype, Google Hangouts, and WhatsApp. With a Google Hangout, you will only need your Gmail Account, hence no need for a sim card or cell phone number. Skype will enable you to call other users on skype for free, and messaging on WhatsApp is free regardless of the other party’s location.
In addition to the above communication channels, you can enjoy offline Apps on your iPhone without requiring a service carrier. These include photos, videos, music, notes, and reminders. If you want to sync content from these apps with other devices, you will require an internet connection. Similarly, you will listen to your saved music on Spotify while offline. The good thing is that you will receive an alert from these apps when you are about to use a feature requiring an internet connection.
To access the internet on your old iPhone, you can use Safari or Chrome as your default browsers. While at this, fulfill your entertainment and learning needs by streaming or downloading context from Netflix, YouTube, and App Store. With a Chromecast device, you can project these movies from your iPhone to a larger screen.
How Can I Use My Cell Phone Without a Service Provider?
Most people purchase cell phones intending to use them with a service provider. Your sim card holds the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and authenticates you with your service provider. It is the database of a subscriber’s information for the specific network.
Your cell phone can work without a service provider as long as you remain connected to a Wi-Fi network through which you will call and text friends and family. With Wi-Fi calls and texts, there is no routing through the operator’s network, hence no need for a sim card.
Without a service carrier, other things you can do are communicating on Facebook Messenger, Skype, and Google Hangouts, downloading and listening to music, watching music and videos, and sending or receiving emails. Hence, if you spend most of your time in a home or office with a Wi-Fi connection, you do not have to pay cell phone bills but switch to using your phone with Wi-Fi.
One can classify the above ways of using an iPhone without a service carrier into two, with the Google Voice way being the main option. You can install apps like WhatsApp and Skype for communication, but you should note that individuals without these apps cannot contact you. This will work for you if you want to maintain communication with family and friends, but inefficient in business dealings.
As the name suggests, the Google Voice option involves using Google Voice in call forwarding, voice and text messaging, forwarding, and voicemail services. Start by registering on Google Voice to get a number for your phones. With this number, you can make calls and send and receive texts without paying any service carrier.
The calls will appear on the other party’s end as coming from your Google Voice number, and you should share the number with family and friends. To set this number, navigate to the Google Voice homepage on your PC and click Get Google Voice.
On the dropdown, click Web and enter your address when you receive the prompt. You should note that Google does not give this number for all locations, and you may have to select a closer town if yours is not on the list.
In the initial Google Voice setup, you will need to link a cell phone number to Google voice, but you can unlink it later if you aim to remove the cell service completely. Hence, click the Next tab and enter this number, and you will receive a six-digit text to confirm. Google will also notify you that your number is confirmed.
With the above Set, you can start communicating with friends and family. However, you may experience challenges using Google Voice, in which case, switching your notification to Hangouts could resolve the problem.
There are two tabs on Hangouts on your Android cell phone, one for messages and the other one for calls. Navigate to the Settings, select your account and find the Google Voice section. You can then enable Incoming Phone calls to allow ringing on your phone when someone calls you.
Equally, toggle the Messages option if you want to use Hangouts for your text messaging. By choosing Hangouts for your text messages, all the devices you have installed this app will get your notifications, and you can text or call normally only that this time, you will use Hangouts instead of the message or dialer apps.
As stated earlier, there are similar apps such as Messenger and WhatsApp that you can use and get what Google Voice is giving you, but Google Voice remains the universal way to use your cell phone without a service carrier.
It offers an all-in-one solution with the ability to text and receive calls. Facebook Messengers offers a great way to call and send messages to the people you know through your Facebook account, and you will not have a phone number in this case.
While you can download most apps without a sim card, the case is different with WhatsApp requiring your phone number to send the verification code and activate your account. However, you will not need the Sim Card to text or call after this process. Hence, you can use the sim card on another phone to communicate with friends or family who are not on WhatsApp.
Viber is another option you can explore, especially if you are a frequent traveler to call or send messages over Wi-Fi, but you will incur costs to call a non-Viber number over Wi-Fi. As a Skype user, you can contact other Skype users over Wi-Fi. Skype is advantageous as it works on almost all cellular devices, making it easy for most individuals to communicate.
Wrap Up
If you want to save up on service carrier chargers, avoid them altogether by switching your iPhone to Wi-Fi-only operations. This way, you will access VoIP calls through third-party apps like skype. However, you will not make cellular calls without a carrier. If using an old iPhone, complete the activation process through iTunes, download the latest IOS version, and finish the Setup to access other iPhone features over Wi-Fi.
Calling and texting through your cell phone over Wi-Fi is possible through Google Voice. If you have challenges with notifications, you can change your settings to receive them via Hangouts. Other services you will access on your cell phone without a service carrier include WhatsApp, Skype, and Facebook Messenger. With the above possibilities, huge utility bills can now be a thing of the past, especially if you are always on stable Wi-Fi.
