Apple Inc. designed and developed the iPhone 12, succeeding the iPhone 11, and released it on October 23, 2020. The iPhone 12 has many major upgrades over the iPhone 11, and many people prefer the upgrade because of the interesting new features. If you have bought the iPhone 12 and you are about to set it up, you might be wondering if you need to get a new SIM card or use your old SIM card.
So, do I need a new SIM card for iPhone 12, or can I use the existing SIM card? You need a new SIM card for your iPhone 12 because of the 5G service. You could not access the 5G service if you used a SIM card that does not support the 5G feature. If you bought the iPhone 12 from Apple, use the new SIM card that came with the phone when setting up the device. If you bought the iPhone 12 from another dealer, you would have to contact your cellular carrier to upgrade your SIM card.
A SIM card is very important when setting up or using your device because you cannot access cellular services such as calling or texting through a cellular network without it. There are different types of SIM cards, and you need to find one that fits your device.
You just got your new iPhone 12, and you are excited and ready to use it. During the initial setup, you need to insert a SIM card into the iPhone 12 to use it to make calls or text through a cellular network when you are done setting the device up. Because you already had an iPhone or any other phone before, you might be wondering if you can use the existing SIM card or need a new one.
You need a new SIM card for your iPhone 12 to get 5G service. iPhone 12 has a 5G connectivity which requires a SIM card with 5G support to work. If you do not use a 5G SIM card, you will not be able to access that service, and you will have to use 2G, 3G, or 4G LTE connectivity.
When you buy the iPhone 12 from Apple, it comes with a new SIM card, which you can activate and transfer your previous phone number to the new SIM card. However, if you buy your iPhone 12 from a third party, for example, your friend, you will have to get a new SIM card that supports 5G from your cellular carrier. If your cellular carrier does not support 5G, you will have to switch to a carrier that does so to enjoy the service.
5G connectivity is a recent network upgrade, and not all cellular carriers have 5G support. If you intend to buy the iPhone 12 to use the 5G service, you should ensure that your cellular carrier has 5G support.
When most manufacturers released devices with 4G support, users were required to get new SIM cards with 4G support. Ultimately, the same is happening with the 5G service. As more smartphone developers roll out 5G-enabled devices, cellular carriers with 5G support require users to change their SIM cards to those that support 5G.
The iPhone 12 uses a Nano-SIM card that is small compared to a Micro-SIM card or SIM card. If your previous iPhone or any other phone were using a Micro-SIM card or SIM card, you would have to get a new SIM card for your iPhone 12.
Some cellular carriers usually provide you with a sim card that has already been cut into three different sizes; therefore, to use it, you take out the size required for your phone and insert it into your phone. However, if the SIM card does not have any cuts, you will have to go to your cellular carrier and change your SIM card or Micro-SIM card to a Nano-SIM card.
Long before the introduction of the 5G service, people used to cut their SIM cards to fit the size required for their new iPhone. For example, if you had an iPhone 4 using a Micro-SIM and bought an iPhone 6, it would be impossible to insert your existing SIM card due to size differences.
An iPhone 6 uses a Nano-SIM card, hence you had to change your SIM card, and most users opted to cut the Micro-SIM card to a Nano SIM card. Since the iPhone 4 and iPhone 6 use the same connectivity, you did not have to upgrade your SIM card. However, cutting the SIM card is a delicate procedure, and if you make any errors, you might destroy the SIM card.
When You Get a New iPhone Do You Need a New SIM card?
The iPhone is one of the most popular brands of smartphones globally, and it is always exciting when you unbox a new iPhone. During the set-up process, you will be required to insert a SIM card, which is important for providing a cellular network. If you have purchased a new iPhone, you might be wondering if you need a new SIM card to use it.
You only require a new SIM card when you buy a new iPhone and your existing SIM card does not match the features of your new device. If your previous iPhone was using a Micro-SIM card and your new iPhone also uses a Micro-SIM card, there is no need to get a new SIM. However, if the new iPhone uses a Nano-SIM card, you will have to get a new SIM card.
Connectivity will also determine if you can retain the existing SIM card or get a new one. If your new iPhone has 5G service and your existing SIM does not support 5G, you will have to get one that supports 5G from your cellular carrier.
When looking for a new iPhone to buy, you need to check the device’s features and see what you are required to have to use it. Most iPhone models share the same features making it easy to use accessories from the old iPhone with the new iPhone.
However, sometimes Apple Inc. makes major changes to the new iPhone model that impact the accessories used with the previous iPhone model. For example, a Micro-SIM card is required if you have the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s. If you buy an iPhone model that is iPhone 5 or later, you will be required to get a new Nano-SIM card.
Apple Inc. usually sells unlocked iPhones, but if you bought your iPhone through a cellular carrier, the carrier might lock it. Cellular carriers usually lock iPhones people bought from their stores to ensure the users fulfill the contract.
If your iPhone is locked, you will only use the cellular network of the carrier you purchased the device from. If you try to use a SIM card from another cellar carrier, your iPhone will not work. You have to contact your cellular carrier and request them to unlock your iPhone before you can change the SIM card. Your cellular carrier will only unlock the iPhone if you have fulfilled your part of the contract you signed with them when purchasing the device.
You will have to insert your SIM card during the initial setup to set up your cellular account. If your old iPhone and new iPhone use the same type of sim card, remove the old SIM card from the old iPhone. Insert the pin or paperclip into the small hole in the SIM tray and press it.
After the SIM tray pops up, pull it out of your iPhone. Place your old SIM card or the new SIM card on the SIM tray and re-insert it in the SIM slot. The SIM card fits only one way on the SIM tray; therefore, when placing the SIM card on the tray, pay close attention to the notch in one corner of the SIM card.
Since Apple Inc. released the first iPhone 14 years ago on June 29, 2007, they have released more iPhone models, with the current model being iPhone SE (3RD generation), released on March 18, 2022.
The size of SIM cards used in these iPhone models has also changed, and it is important to know which type of SIM card the iPhone model you want to buy uses. The iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3Gs used a normal size SIM card.
The Micro-SIM card was introduced in the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s models. All iPhone models Apple released after iPhone 5 require a Nano-SIM card. Some iPhone models also use eSIM, such as the iPhone XS with iOS 12.1 or later. You will need a carrier that supports eSIM to activate the eSIM on your iPhone.
Do You Need 5G SIM Card For iPhone 12?
5G is the fifth-generation technology standard for cellular networks that some cellular carriers have begun rolling out to users to succeed the 4G network. Apple Inc. has begun developing and selling iPhone models with 5G service support, and the iPhone 12 is one of them. If you are planning to buy an iPhone 12, you might be wondering if you will need a 5G SIM card.
You will need a 5G SIM card for your iPhone 12 if you intend to use the 5G network. The iPhone 12 supports 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, and 5G networks, meaning that it can work with any SIM card supporting any of these networks. If you want to use the 5G network on your iPhone 12, you must get a SIM card with 5G service support.
If the SIM card you have inserted in the iPhone 12 does not have 5G service support, you will have to use the other available networks, such as 3G or 4G. If your current cellular carrier does not support 5G, you will have to get a new SIM card from another cellular carrier that has 5G support.
You should note that the 5G network is fairly new, and not all cellular carriers have made it available to their customers. If your cellular carrier has 5G support, you need to contact them to know how you can get the service.
Some cellular carriers will upgrade your SIM card to 5G remotely, while others will request that you buy a 5G SIM card from them. If your current cellular carrier does not support 5G, you can switch to a carrier that has 5G support.
Some of the carriers in the United States that have 5G support include Ting, T-Mobile USA, Sprint, Spectrum, AT&T, Visible, and Verizon Wireless, among others. You will also have to upgrade your cellular plan to a 5G cellular plan to start using the 5G network.
The iPhone 12 is a great smartphone, and not using the 5G network would be limiting its full potential. There are several benefits of using the 5G network, the first one being faster download speed.
The 5G network can increase the download speed up to twenty times that of the 4G network. The speed also makes browsing the internet and using apps that require an internet connection easy.
The 5G network has few users, hence the towers are less congested than the 4G network. You will not suffer any bad reception when you want to make calls using the 5G network on your iPhone 12.
Low latency is another benefit of using the 5G network on your iPhone 12. The high speed ensures that your iPhone 12 receives and responds to commands faster than a 4G network. If you are playing a mobile game on your iPhone that requires an internet connection, the 5G network will highly reduce latency when you play the game.
The iPhone 12 also gives you the option of choosing when to use the 5G network. The 5G network can impact your battery’s life; hence, it would drain faster if you leave it on throughout. You should select 5G Auto, enabling your iPhone 12 only to use the 5G network when necessary.
Finally
When you buy a new iPhone 12, you will require a new SIM card if your existing SIM card does not match your device’s features. The iPhone 12 uses a Nano-SIM card, hence if your existing SIM card is not nano, you have to get a new one.
You should also get a SIM card if the existing one does not have 5G support and you want to use the 5G network on your iPhone 12. You should always check the features of the iPhone you want to buy to confirm if they have support for accessories used on your previous iPhone.
If the SIM card does not match, you can make the changes yourself and make it fit or contact your cellular carrier and ask for a new compatible SIM card.
