Please Help: Simple Cell Phone Problem Made Complicated
 

I am trying to solve a simple problem that is being made complicated

I hate having 2 phones: a US Cellular local phone and my international unlocked, quad band, dual SIM Nokia phone

I tried today to get US Cellular to give me a SIM card so I could place it in my world phone and thus just have one phone---a much simpler way to go

US Cellular has 4G LTE SIM cards to give away but they just enhance current phones. They do not work like SIM cards one buys overseas. In fact, the sales person told me their phones really don't have SIM cards.

Why is this so difficult? Is there any other place online, etc., one can go to to buy a good U.S. SIM card so I can accomplish my goal of having just one phone?

Thank you

Because US Cell's network is CDMA.

You can switch to a GSM carrier and they will give you a SIM card. In the USA, you can choose from AT&T and T-Mobile.

To expand this a bit.... OP, your US Cellular phone runs on a type of network, CDMA, that doesn't use a SIM card to store your account number. You can accomplish what you want but you'll have to switch to a GSM network like AT&T or an LTE network like Verizon. If you choose Verizon, make sure to get an LTE phone.

US Cellular doesn't have as large as selection of phones but they now sell iPhones, which are quad band world phones. They are unlocked for international use but not domestic use. You have to purchase a Sim and swap it out for international use but that is usually the cheapest option.

Info can be found here:

http://www.uscellular.com/cell-phones/world-phone.html

US Cellular is CDMA, not GSM. I think you meant to type CDMA. Brain fart! :)

To further complicate things, the GSM Association's 3G and 4G standards - UMTS and LTE respectively - actually use CDMA as the air interface. So in a sense, it's all CDMA these days. :)

Rats. I wanted to express that as simply as possible and merely succeeded in adding to the confusion.

I didn't want to go into too much detail though. I think most purchasers are served well enough if they associate GSM with SIM cards.

I just went to our local AT&T store. They tried installing one of their prepaid AT&T SIM cards in my international phone but it did not work. It showed it was connected, etc., etc., but simply would not make a call. They could not figure out why.

Thank you for the suggestion about getting a world phone from US Cellular and then getting SIM cards once in country. I need a new US Cellular phone anyway (mine keeps cutting itself off and they cannot figure out why). You suggested an IPhone. My only concern---Don't they use smaller SIM cards than the normal ones sold overseas? And if so, wouldn't it be difficult finding SIM cards at overseas street stands, etc., that would work in that IPhone??

Yes, the new ones use a Nano SIM card. It is smaller than usual.

However, don't worry about finding Nano SIM cards overseas - most places will have them due to the prevalence of the iPhone 5. Asia and Europe are easier to deal with in terms of cell service/phone service than the USA, to be sure. Most roadside vendors will even cut the SIM to size if they do not have a Nano SIM handy.

Which international phone do you have?

I'd second the "just get one from US Cellular" recommendation if you're staying with them.

Nano sims are a tiny bit thinner so may need to be sanded down a little bit after cutting. I have an ipad mini and Nano sim cut from Micro sim fits into the device better after thinning.

Something to consider if you swap sims often as I would not want to wear out the sim slot of my iOS device prematurely.

Nokia 225 Dual SIM
 

Thank you for the suggestions.

I would like to try one more thing first, though, on my simple quest of "One Man, One World, One Phone"

My international phone is the Nokia 225 Dual SIM. The regular 225 is only dual band. The 225 Dual SIM is Quad Band. Yet, as I mentioned before the folks at AT&T were not able to get one of their SIMS to work in it, and even my Mobal SIM (www.mobal.com) which works in 190 countries to include the U.S. would not work in it.

Is their something we are missing about the Nokia 225 Dial SIM to make it work here in the U.S.? A certain setting? etc, etc.???

It's 2G only...perhaps there wasn't 2G service where you were? I don't know if companies have started scaling back 2G.

Former USCC associate here (hopefully I can help.)

Not sure why they tried to give you a SIM card, we were all told very early that they were data only cards. There is a GSM network in NH and ME, but the engineers use AT&T phones for testing (it was built out for AT&T and T-Mobile). What I had suggested for people who were travelling (outside of Canada or Mexico) and wanted a phone was to get one, plus google voice or vontage. Forward the USCC number to GV (there's no cost) and then forward the GV to the new carrier.

As for your Nokia, it could very well be region locked. I couldn't find anything showing it to be, but those have been starting to creep into the world. The Moto G has a dual sim option, and has been getting great reviews overall.

AT&T uses 1900 MHz and 850 MHz for GSM 2. According to GSMarena your phone is 1800 MHz and 900 MHz. Your phone won't work in the USA.

Thank you, but, the band specs you cited were for the Nokia 225 and not the Nokia 225 Dual SIM which I have. The band specs for the Dual SIM version is different and does include the bands AT&T uses. See: http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_225_dual_sim-6287.php

And yet, the phone does not work here in the U.S. (perfectly last week in Europe, just not here) ???

I tried calling Nokia today but the recording says their service only works Mon-Fri so I will wait and call them then.