Cell Phone SIM

[geonuc]

Dumb question time. I'm looking to buy another cell phone because my Samsung keeps crapping out, the camera won't focus and the face is cracked. I want the latest Samsung Galaxy because all the reviews say cats meow, bees knees. I don't know if I'm going to go the contract route again. In the past, I've gone into the ATT store, pointed at a phone and said I want it. They asked how much money I had and then charged me all of it. And then transferred all my data and contacts to the new phone.

But what if I buy the phone myself elsewhere? Do I just put the SIM card in the new one and voila! I'm good to go?

I'm so ignorant and Googling something like this is like drinking from a fire hose.

[SciFiFisher]

Dumb question time. I'm looking to buy another cell phone because my Samsung keeps crapping out, the camera won't focus and the face is cracked. I want the latest Samsung Galaxy because all the reviews say cats meow, bees knees. I don't know if I'm going to go the contract route again. In the past, I've gone into the ATT store, pointed at a phone and said I want it. They asked how much money I had and then charged me all of it. And then transferred all my data and contacts to the new phone.

But what if I buy the phone myself elsewhere? Do I just put the SIM card in the new one and voila! I'm good to go?

I'm so ignorant and Googling something like this is like drinking from a fire hose.

Yes... ish. The SIM card will essentially transfer all your AT&T account data to the new phone including the telephone number and your "unique ID". If all the data such as contacts, apps, etc you want to transfer is on an SD card then it would be just a case of take the SIM and the SD card and put them in the new phone and Waa La! But.... Most apps don't automatically save to the SD card. And your photos may or may not either. It depends on how your phone was set up when the AT&T guys helped you out.

The best thing to do if you have a Google Account is link your phone to the account and back up as much as Google will back up. This includes things like your contacts and apps. If you have photos on it it's usually better to save them somewhere before you switch phones. Google doesn't have a native photo transfer/backup feature yet. AT&T probably also has a back up feature and if you go into your local store they can help you set it up and save everything before you switch phones.

In fact, if you buy an AT&T compatible phone your local store will probably let you bring it in and they will switch everything for you.

Samsung also has software that you can back up to your PC and restore your Android with. There are also a couple of third party apps (software) that will do it. KIES is one third party product. I have no knowledge of how well it does or doesn't work.

And of course, there is the Samsung direct method which requires you to have a Samsung Account IIRC http://www.samsung.com/us/smart-switch/

[Rommie]

The answer is basically it depends, as not all the info these days is always put on the SIM card. Further, I have no idea how old your current phone is, but they now have a smaller SIM card (from the past year or two), so you may need a new one.

That said, if your contract is still with AT&T, I'm pretty sure if you take the new phone to the store they'll help you with the SIM card. I've had various random issues getting my phone purchased in Europe and my American SIM card, and they've always been helpful.

[Sigma_Orionis]

Even if you keep all yer contacts on the SIM (which is NOT done by default) and yer stuff on the SD Card, you'll need to backup your personal data (and installed apps) to the SD card and restore them on the new phone. The Android OS comes with software to do that.

[geonuc]

Thanks. I have a Galaxy S4. I don't keep photos on it that aren't already downloaded to my computer. I don't use it for music. It's the contacts and apps I need to save. I can reload apps but I'd have to set them all up again.

I'll google how to get the Android OS to do this. It isn't apparent from looking at what's on the phone.

[Sigma_Orionis]

Well, MY Cheap Chinese Android Phone has a "Backup and Restore" App. Odd that yours doesn't

[Cyborg Girl]

Also, just so you know, because nobody told me: phones using SIM cards can never, ever work on non-SIM networks such as Sprint. Sprint (and other major networks) use some kind of internal hardware lock. Phones for Sprint plans have to be purchased through Sprint. Which sucks, because they offer dangerously obsolete versions of Android at hugely jacked up prices.

IOW they went and did just like phone companies used to, before the govt. told them to stop. Yay dereg!

[pumpkinpi]

When I went from Galaxy Note 2 to 5, it came with the app "Side Sync." I connected the two phones to each other and told it through the app what to transfer. I chose apps and contacts. I was guided through this in Best Buy, but it seems like something that can be done on your own.

[SciFiFisher]

Thanks. I have a Galaxy S4. I don't keep photos on it that aren't already downloaded to my computer. I don't use it for music. It's the contacts and apps I need to save. I can reload apps but I'd have to set them all up again.

I'll google how to get the Android OS to do this. It isn't apparent from looking at what's on the phone.

If you are upgrading to the S6 or S7 chances are you will need a different SIM card. I use Verizon and they are usually very accommodating about porting the data from the old SIM to the new SIM when I switched phones. I can't imagine that AT&T wouldn't be any different.

[geonuc]

Thanks. I have a Galaxy S4. I don't keep photos on it that aren't already downloaded to my computer. I don't use it for music. It's the contacts and apps I need to save. I can reload apps but I'd have to set them all up again.

I'll google how to get the Android OS to do this. It isn't apparent from looking at what's on the phone.

If you are upgrading to the S6 or S7 chances are you will need a different SIM card. I use Verizon and they are usually very accommodating about porting the data from the old SIM to the new SIM when I switched phones. I can't imagine that AT&T wouldn't be any different.

Maybe I'll just go into the AT&T store again. The S7 is pretty expensive but based on a crude estimate, it may be cheaper to buy the phone full price without a contract. I say that because when my last contract expired a few months ago, AT&T reduced my monthly cost significantly.

By the way, I found out how to fix the camera focus issue. Seems that the S4 doesn't do that well in 'spot' metering mode so I changed it to matrix mode. It focuses properly now. Not sure what changed in the past couple of months or so to make it not focus. Maybe I inadvertently changed the metering setting.

So my remaining issues are the severely cracked screen, which has been that way over a year and is held together by the protective film I had applied before it shattered. It still works but is sometimes annoying if a crack obscures text. The other issue is that the phone occasionally and sometimes often, decides that the SIM card has been removed and demands a restart. That can be really annoying because I learn about the latest hissy fit when I pull out my phone and want to use it only to have to wait a couple of minutes for a restart. Maybe I'll pull out the SIM and clean the contacts. Probably isn't that simple, though.