Putting A Verizon SIM card in an AT&T iPhone
Verizon and AT&T are not only the biggest service providers out there but their rivalry as competitors is no secret. They are offering packages and services to win the tech war ever since their beginning and it doesn’t seem to cease in the known future. If you are aware of AT&T phones, you must have noticed that there is a logo on the phone as well. Even if there is no logo, if you purchase a phone from AT&T or Verizon you cannot use the SIM from the other company in it legally.
The SIM would not work on it either as they both are using different technologies that are poles apart, and the phones offered by either of them have the technology from other services blocked on these phones. To understand it better, let’s have a look at what technologies they are using and what conditions are involved
The difference
Verizon uses CDMA that is opposite to GSM technology being used in AT&T phones. That means you cannot use Verizon SIM in any device that is not CDMA compliant. All AT&T phones are GSM compliant and they do not have the option to connect with CDMA hence, your CDMA Verizon SIM will not work on them. Even in modern smartphone days, there are different versions and frequency ranges for 4G and 5G technologies, but both Verizon and AT&T use the total opposite technologies that mean you cannot use one SIM on another phone.
The obligations
If you have bought the phone under a contract from AT&T that means that your phone is at the lease and you just have paid an upfront amount to have the phone assigned. You will be paying the rest of the amount as a part of your monthly bill for the service and that is going to cost you a lot more. Until you have a contract with AT&T on your phone, you will not be able to use Verizon or any other carrier’s sim in your phone. It will simply not work as the carrier is locked on such phones and you can only use AT&T sim on your phone until you have the contract with them.
The options
However, if you want to change your carrier from AT&T to Verizon without having to change your existing phone or you are a Verizon subscriber but you are getting a deal on some phone from AT&T that is simply too good to resist, you are not in a fix at all and there are some options that can help you around the way.
Buying an unlocked phone from AT&T
The best option for you is to buy an unlocked phone from AT&T without any carrier lock on it if you plan to use it for some other carrier in the future. This means that you might have to pay a little extra on the phone because carrier-locked phones that you buy from AT&T or any other carriers are a bit expensive than unlocked phones.
You might have to pay a little extra but you cannot put a price on freedom of choice and this way, you will have the liberty of using any SIM from any of the carriers you want in that phone until the frequency of that specific carrier is supported by your mobile phone.
Payoff your contract and have your phone unlocked by AT&T
If you have a phone on a contract from AT&T and still want to have it unlocked, that is not quite impossible at all. You just have to end your contract with AT&T or pay for your phone in full to them so they can unlock the phone for you. Be mindful that it can cost you a lot more than the actual value of your phone as they would not want to lose an active customer that is generating them revenue. But if it means that much to you that you want to keep your phone but change the network to Verizon, this is the only feasible option for you that will not land you in any sort of legal mess.
There are some illegal software and hardware means that might enable you to use another carrier sim but they can cause you to have consequences too.