att sim card phone for use with verizon?

[ameriblue]

apologies in advance for a question that i'm sure has been answered 10,000 times before (tried to find old threads... im a terrible searcher).

simple question - i have an old iphone 4 (maybe it's a 4s) laying around that my dad bought about a yr ago to send abroad to his nephew in russia. in the box is an att sim card and the phone has a sim card slot (dont mean to sound like an idiot but does this mean its international or something? i've only ever had my iphone 4 which doesn't have a sim card slot so i assumed other US phones dont either?). the gift idea for the nephew fell through so it's just been gathering dust. last wk he called att to ask if he can use this phone on our family verizon plan and they said no its not compatible.

is there something i can do to make it work for us? its a particularly simple case because my dad doesnt want or need the data plan so it would strictly be used for calling. long story short - can an att sim card phone be changed to work on a verizon plan (phone only, no data?).

thanks everyone

 

[willerz2]

The SIM cards are completely different. AT&T and GSM networks use a SIM card, CDMA networks like Verizon use CSIM cards. They're similar yet different technology. Each carrier uses their own SIM cards for their network.

As for using the Verizon network without data AND using an AT&T SIM with Verizon, it's not possible. They'll find out that you're actually on a Verizon iPhone that requires a data, so they'll start charging you regardless. With regards on using an AT&T iPhone 4 on Verizon, that's not possible because of different bands. An AT&T iPhone 4 cannot support the CDMA EV-DO band that Verizon uses, and a Verizon iPhone 4 does not have a SIM tray, so you can't use that on Verizon.

To check whether your iPhone is a 4 or a 4S, check to see if there's a SIM tray. Second would be the band strips on the outer metallic edge of the iPhone. If there's a black strip on the metallic edge right next to the earphone port, then it's an iPhone 4.

 

[ameriblue]

thanks man. it has a band near the earphone port so i guess its a 4s. just want to make sure i understand - you're saying there is no way of using this att sim 4s phone on a verizon network in any way (no sim card / sim card / jailbroken / whatever) ?

 

[willerz2]

No. You would need a Verizon SIM card. And if it has a band on the top of it right next to the headphone port, then it's a 4, not a 4S. The 4S does not have any bands on the top metallic edge of the iPhone. Since it's an AT&T iPhone 4, it cannot be unlocked to Verizon's network. You would need a Verizon specific iPhone 4, or any iPhone 4S to be able to use it on a different network. The underlining thing that you have to have, is that carrier's SIM. Each carrier has its own SIM