[Q] NFC SIM in a Non-NFC Phone

[hikersc]

I recently purchased a used Motorola Droid Ultra to replace my current Droid Bionic. I am on Verizon and went to the local corporate store to obtain a nano SIM for the Ultra. The SIM provided was not NFC and when I went on-line to activate with the Verizon website, I received an error that the SIM card was not compatible. I ordered a new NFC SIM from the website and am awaiting its arrival. Here are two questions that I have concerning the new NFC SIM.

1. Once activated in the Ultra can the NFC SIM be removed and activated in the Droid Bionic using a nano to mini SIM adapter? If so, can I just swap the NFC SIM or do I need to go on-line and input the MEID and NFC SIM ID? By the way, I do realize that the NFC SIM would not give the Bionic any new powers with relation to NFC.

2. Is it possible to leave the old mini SIM in the Droid Bionic and simply reactivate using the Verizon Website for times that I want to use the Bionic instead of the Ultra. I have read elsewhere that there is some kind of deactivation after some time period whereby the old SIM is dead and cannot be reused on my account or any other account. Does anyone know if this is true and if so, what are the timeframes?

Thanks, in advance, for any help on these questions.

 

[yay pie]

I recently purchased a used Motorola Droid Ultra to replace my current Droid Bionic. I am on Verizon and went to the local corporate store to obtain a nano SIM for the Ultra. The SIM provided was not NFC and when I went on-line to activate with the Verizon website, I received an error that the SIM card was not compatible. I ordered a new NFC SIM from the website and am awaiting its arrival. Here are two questions that I have concerning the new NFC SIM.

1. Once activated in the Ultra can the NFC SIM be removed and activated in the Droid Bionic using a nano to mini SIM adapter? If so, can I just swap the NFC SIM or do I need to go on-line and input the MEID and NFC SIM ID? By the way, I do realize that the NFC SIM would not give the Bionic any new powers with relation to NFC.

2. Is it possible to leave the old mini SIM in the Droid Bionic and simply reactivate using the Verizon Website for times that I want to use the Bionic instead of the Ultra. I have read elsewhere that there is some kind of deactivation after some time period whereby the old SIM is dead and cannot be reused on my account or any other account. Does anyone know if this is true and if so, what are the timeframes?

Thanks, in advance, for any help on these questions.

"NFC SIM" just means it's got a NFC secure element on it, to facilitate Isis payment transactions.

Otherwise, swap it around at will. I do both Android and iPhone development at work and I'll bounce between an iPhone 5 or my Droid Maxx depending on what project I'm working on that day. I routinely swap the (NFC-enabled) nano-SIM between my Maxx and my iPhone 5 without trouble, so I can't imagine why you'd have any trouble with an adapter in your Bionic.

I believe they have fixed the deactivation period issue. I know when I did some device shuffling on my account even a year ago, it seemed that if you "deactivate" a SIM, it's put on hold for ~24 hours, and then after that point it can be used again. That was contrary to my experience back in 2011 where it was most definitely the case that if you deactivated a SIM it was pretty much burned for good.

 

[hikersc]

"NFC SIM" just means it's got a NFC secure element on it, to facilitate Isis payment transactions.

Otherwise, swap it around at will. I do both Android and iPhone development at work and I'll bounce between an iPhone 5 or my Droid Maxx depending on what project I'm working on that day. I routinely swap the (NFC-enabled) nano-SIM between my Maxx and my iPhone 5 without trouble, so I can't imagine why you'd have any trouble with an adapter in your Bionic.

I believe they have fixed the deactivation period issue. I know when I did some device shuffling on my account even a year ago, it seemed that if you "deactivate" a SIM, it's put on hold for ~24 hours, and then after that point it can be used again. That was contrary to my experience back in 2011 where it was most definitely the case that if you deactivated a SIM it was pretty much burned for good.

Thank you for this information. This was what I was thinking but have not tested the NFC SIM in the Bionic. My understanding is that it is basically identical to a standard nano SIM with some extra information to support secure NFC transactions via Isis wallet.

I did determine that I can continue to use the Bionic in WiFi mode both with and without the old SIM card installed. If no SIM is present, you get a warning on bootup and can then function as usual on WiFi. With the SIM installed, it shows network strength but, of course, no calls or data. I am interested in leaving the card in the Bionic because it is a booger to swap. It requires removing the back, the battery, and SD card to just get to the SIM which then does not seem to want to slide out. My thought was to just use the online activation tool without swapping the SIM if I need to go back to the Bionic for a period of time. If anyone has a similar experience with using this method for swapping phones, it would be great to know.