UICC Compatibility Matrix

[halcyoncmdr]

Thank you for the matrix, it is helpful.

 

I was given a SIM that is not in the matrix, I was wondering if you guys know what it is compatible with: SIMGWW216R. 

 

Thanks.

 

I'm fairly certain that's a plian old Sprint 3G 1FF GSM SIM card. Not related to LTE or anything released within the last 3 years. That's for The old school Blackberries and Windows phones that were world mode capable like the BB 8830 and Touch Pro 2

[c2med]

I'm fairly certain that's a plian old Sprint 3G 1FF GSM SIM card. Not related to LTE or anything released within the last 3 years. That's for The old school Blackberries and Windows phones that were world mode capable like the BB 8830 and Touch Pro 2

 

Thank you.

[gnoj]

Is there a good reason for why there are all these different types of SIM cards? There should just be two types at this point- micro SIM (SIMGLW206R) and nano SIM (CZ2114LWC). As I understand it, UICC cards can operate as either USIMs or CSIMs depending on the device they are put in to. Every other type of card therefore seems inferior and/or redundant.

[halcyoncmdr]

Is there a good reason for why there are all these different types of SIM cards? There should just be two types at this point- micro SIM (SIMGLW206R) and nano SIM (CZ2114LWC). As I understand it, UICC cards can operate as either USIMs or CSIMs depending on the device they are put in to. Every other type of card therefore seems inferior and/or redundant.

 

You are also forgetting devices capable of GSM and those not. I do not believe these SIM cards are interchangeable, hence the duplication. Really that's the only thing that causes so many different cards, they are all duplicated because of the GSM-capable devices versus CDMA/LTE only.

[ericdabbs]

I assume by now we know what the LG G2 uses for sim card correct?  I assume the one that is listed in the matrix is correct.

[mm2kay]

Is it possible to swap between a Note 3 with a Nexus 5 whenever you wanted?

[halcyoncmdr]

Is it possible to swap between a Note 3 with a Nexus 5 whenever you wanted?

 

The network still requires both the UICC and phone MEID to be setup correctly. Yuo cannot simply swap your UICC card from one device to another.

 

However, you can quickly activate phones at www.sprint.com/activate, from within the Sprint Zone app on the phone you want to activate, or by going to the Activate This Phone link in your Android phone's settings (old phones won't have this link). None of these methods require talking to a representative or chat, unless your account is setup in a weird fashion or you have an obscure discount methodology for your employer (theoretically, never seen this in reality).

[ericdabbs]

The network still requires both the UICC and phone MEID to be setup correctly. Yuo cannot simply swap your UICC card from one device to another.

 

However, you can quickly activate phones at www.sprint.com/activate, from within the Sprint Zone app on the phone you want to activate, or by going to the Activate This Phone link in your Android phone's settings (old phones won't have this link). None of these methods require talking to a representative or chat, unless your account is setup in a weird fashion or you have an obscure discount methodology for your employer (theoretically, never seen this in reality).

If u have SERO plan then you need to call each time u want to switch to a new phone. The sprint.com/activate method doesnt work since i tried and it fails since it cant find the plan.

 

Sent from my LG G2 LS980 using Tapatalk

 

 

[gnoj]

You are also forgetting devices capable of GSM and those not. I do not believe these SIM cards are interchangeable, hence the duplication. Really that's the only thing that causes so many different cards, they are all duplicated because of the GSM-capable devices versus CDMA/LTE only.

 

Yes, but why aren't they interchangeable? Assuming Sprint allowed the use of an international-capable SIM in a CDMA-only device, what could go wrong? Wouldn't the phone just ignore the GSM part of the SIM since it doesn't have that radio?

[S4GRU]

Yes, but why aren't they interchangeable? Assuming Sprint allowed the use of an international-capable SIM in a CDMA-only device, what could go wrong? Wouldn't the phone just ignore the GSM part of the SIM since it doesn't have that radio?

Because they don't want to. That's what I believe.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[halcyoncmdr]

Yes, but why aren't they interchangeable? Assuming Sprint allowed the use of an international-capable SIM in a CDMA-only device, what could go wrong? Wouldn't the phone just ignore the GSM part of the SIM since it doesn't have that radio?

 

At this point we don't know for sure. There must be a specific reason for having several nearly identical cards other than they simply want to... SIM/UICC cards are not cheap (and Sprint doesn't charge for them).

[halcyoncmdr]

Just got the chance to update the file again. Updated with all the Sprint Spark released handsets, the Galaxy S4 Refresh SKU (L720T), and a couple Virgin devices.

[halcyoncmdr]

Updated to add LG G Flex to the list, it usees the same UICC as the G2 unsurprisingly.

[ericdabbs]

Updated to add LG G Flex to the list, it usees the same UICC as the G2 unsurprisingly.

 

When do you think Sprint will start implementing CSIM sim cards?  It would be nice to be able to swap LTE phones within Sprint without having to reactive the device each time.

[anthony.spina97]

When do you think Sprint will start implementing CSIM sim cards? It would be nice to be able to swap LTE phones within Sprint without having to reactive the device each time.

I think the iPhone 5S uses CSIM for Sprint.

 

-Anthony

[ericdabbs]

I think the iPhone 5S uses CSIM for Sprint.

 

-Anthony

 

I understand that but I guess my question was geared towards at which point will all Android, iPhone, Windows phones will use ONLY CSIM cards. We have yet to see an Android phone run CSIM.

[halcyoncmdr]

I doubt there is going to be a large push to implement CSIM on a wide scale. I don't know of any major advantages that CSIM offers compared to standard UICC cards other than simply swapping cards, and that's not something that has been possible in the past with CDMA so most people don't even think about it.

 

Why bother complicating things more than they already are? Some phones you can, others you can't, it would just add an entirely new layer to what's already there that the average person has issues with currently.

[S4GRU]

Sprint is most likely using the fact that SIM cards cannot be swapped between devices now as a means to protect it from hotspot unlimited abuse.  Sprint is preventing hot swapping SIMs and requiring that the MEID be registered on their network to a specific device and that device be linked to a specific plan.

 

There is probably another way Sprint could stop smartphone plan SIM's from being inserted and used in a hotspot, but the system Sprint is using now does prevent this problem from occurring.  I wouldn't expect this to change any time soon.  Unless, perhaps, if unlimited is done away with.  With allowing iPhones to do it, limits the issue to just iPhones.  And Apple doesn't do hotspots.

 

Robert

[happyGuy]

Sprint is most likely using the fact that SIM cards cannot be swapped between devices now as a means to protect it from hotspot unlimited abuse.  Sprint is preventing hot swapping SIMs and requiring that the MEID be registered on their network to a specific device and that device be linked to a specific plan.

 

There is probably another way Sprint could stop smartphone plan SIM's from being inserted and used in a hotspot, but the system Sprint is using now does prevent this problem from occurring.  I wouldn't expect this to change any time soon.  Unless, perhaps, if unlimited is done away with.  With allowing iPhones to do it, limits the issue to just iPhones.  And Apple doesn't do hotspots.

 

Robert

 

what would happen if i bought a phone off ebay and it did not come with a sim card?  if the phone is locked to a specific sim, then wouldn't that basically make most used phones paperweights?   on a related note, i bought a sprint phone off ebay and surprise, it didn't come with a sim card.  So its kind of getting me worried i wont be able to use it at all.  I'm having a devil of a time getting a SIMGLT207R sim.  i've tried a few hours running in circles with no luck.  if anyone can give me some tips, please send me a pm.   thanks

Edited February 17, 2014 by happyGuy

[S4GRU]

what would happen if i bought a phone off ebay and it did not come with a sim card? if the phone is locked to a specific sim, then wouldn't that basically make most used phones paperweights? on a related note, i bought a sprint phone off ebay and surprise, it didn't come with a sim card. So its kind of getting me worried i wont be able to use it at all. I'm having a devil of a time getting a SIMGLT207R sim. i've tried a few hours running in circles with no luck. if anyone can give me some tips, please send me a pm. thanks

A quick call to Sprint and they can tie your SIM card to another device. They just won't let you do it yourself. It's not permanently locked.

 

A Sprint SIM card will only work with the device it is tied to in the system. But they can change it at anytime to any device you like, should you want to put your SIM card into another device. There just is two catches, though.

 

The first is the device MEID must be in the Sprint database. Only devices originally sold by Sprint, N5's from Google and Sprint iPhones from Apple are in this database. Second, if the existing plan tied to that SIM card is not compatible with the new device, you will need to authorize a plan change. Like if you put your smartphone SIM tied to an unlimited data plan into your hotspot. They will make you change to a hotspot plan with a data tier before they will link your SIM to the new MEID.

 

If you buy a device and it doesn't come with a SIM, Sprint will give you a new one free of charge. They will delink the old SIM card that was previously attached to the phone and link your new SIM to the newly purchased phone. Then that SIM card cannot be used with any device except the one it is now linked to. If you put it into another device, it will just fail to authenticate.

 

You should be able to get a SIM card from any corporate store. If they refuse, call Sprint Customer Service or the International Dept. If you bought a Nexus 5, be sure it is not a T-Mobile store sold unit. It cannot be registered on the Sprint network. Sprint only has the MEID's for N5's sold by Sprint or Google in their system. And Sprint does not add MEID's to their system on request. Only directly from the OEM.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

[halcyoncmdr]

[snipped]

 

Almost correct.

 

The only thing is that the Sprint system is still designed withthe device MEID being hte main authentication. That is what determines the plan required, etc.

 

The SIM card that is active on the account must also match the SIM in the device for it to finish authentication correctly. If both of these do not match the system values, it will fail validation and not work. The SIM card is never the primary authentication point, the device MEID is; this is why you can't just swap them around like GSM devices where the SIM does function as the primary network authentication.

[halcyoncmdr]

Updated to new Google Sheets system, old link may not work anymore, and will no longer be updated. New link updated in original post, please update bookmarks if you have them set.

[halcyoncmdr]

Changed first post to embed the spreadsheet itself into the post. I can't get it squished together enough to fit into the site's fixed width, but I've gotten it as close as I can.

[halcyoncmdr]

Just so everyone knows, now that I no longer work for the company, I don't have access to direct info about new phone releases and the compatible cards anymore. Unless another employee is willing to forward me this information going forward, the updates to the list will be more sparse, and I'm going to have to rely on user reported updates.

 

So... if there's anyone that does work for Sprint that knows how to access CEBU and get me the info to update the PRL and UICC/SIM Compatibility charts, it would be much appreciated. 

 

The Compatibility matrix is already out of date, but I can't find any direct information publicly on the compatibility like I had access to before, to be able to update it properly.

[S4GRU]

Just so everyone knows, now that I no longer work for the company, I don't have access to direct info about new phone releases and the compatible cards anymore. Unless another employee is willing to forward me this information going forward, the updates to the list will be more sparse, and I'm going to have to rely on user reported updates.

 

So... if there's anyone that does work for Sprint that knows how to access CEBU and get me the info to update the PRL and UICC/SIM Compatibility charts, it would be much appreciated.

 

The Compatibility matrix is already out of date, but I can't find any direct information publicly on the compatibility like I had access to before, to be able to update it properly.

Thank you for all your efforts!

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro