 Re: Using a 3G USIM in a 2G phone?
James Lewis wrote:
> On Jun 13, 3:04 am, "Steve Terry" <gFOUR...@tesco.net> wrote:
>> "Rick Marks" <d...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:je1354ditjqf3d8hfjjuiptf6rqfbdvkjn@4ax.com... > Can a USIM for, say, Orange 3G service be used in a Orange (or
>>> otherwise unlocked) 2G phone to make calls?
>>> My plan:
>>> ISTR from this newsgroup that the Orange £1/day data applies to Orange
>>> 3G USIM as well as to GPRS albeit with some limit on use, granted.
>>> I want to use the USIM in a USB high speed data modem with a PC, but
>>> I need a way to add the £1/day Orange Extra. However, I don't own a
>>> 3G phone and plan to use use a 2G phone if I can.
>>> Is there a flaw in my plan?
>>> TIA
>> To start with, very few 2g phones will accept a USIM,
>> Nokia 3220 is one of the few i know that can.
>>
>> Just buy a cheap used unlocked 3g phone something like an old NEC
>> or LG U8xxx shouldn't cost more than 20quid
>>
>> Steve Terry
>
> I've not had any problems using an Orange or O2 USIM in any of my 2G
> phones. Even my old Nokia 6210 works fine...maybe the newer 3G sims
> are backward compatible?
USIMs have a different file structure to standard SIMs, however they can
(at the networks option) include the necessary file structure to work on
2G devices. AFAIK, all networks with the exclusion of '3' do this -
certainly from experience Orange and T-Mobile do. '3' chose to not do
this as they do not have a 2G network, and therefore do not want their
3G USIMs being used in 2G handsets.
In some cases, networks only give out USIMs (with backwards
compatability to 2G) - T-Mobile is one of these.
D
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