Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sim

Hope me, Mr. Conductor!

hincandenza — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:28:55 -0800

Looking for good train sim software/railroad creation games... I know, I know- you'd think that a train simulator would be the most boring thing in the world- I mean, at least with flight simulators you can bank and fly all over the place, but a train simulator?! Meh!

However, I've developed something of a fascination with railroads lately, and think it'd be fun to find a good train simulator/railroad simulator. I've been to www.train-sim.com but the number of options are kind of confusing. What I'm looking for is a happy user's review of the best one to get as I figure among the teeming masses of MeFites there must be a few diehard train simulator afficionados to guide me. I'm seeking a combination sim and railroad creation game, and would like to:

Be able to freely lay out my own fictitious tracks and railroad lines anywhere in the world, either following well-known routes or inventing new ones- mostly in central Europe
Have a wide variety of train types (from early 20th century to modern high-speed rail)
A reasonably active user community of free and some pay add-ons and models (those appear to be found at train-sim.com, similar to flight-sim.com)
First-person driving and the ability to kind of "explore" my model railroad in-game, much like you'd explore something like this
Relatively recent would be good, since the graphics will at least be passable
Less important but desirable: be able to also have a "SimTrain" like quality of creating these fake railroads and crafting timetables and even budgets (provided there's still an unlimited money option)

There seem to be a number of options, the most recent and promising including "Trainz Simulator" and "Rail Works" (which may or may not be the same as Rail Simulator). I'd be running this either natively in Mac OS X 10.6, a VM Windows Vista/Windows 7, or rebooting to bootcamped Vista/Windows 7 as necessary. So platform shouldn't be critical, but native Mac would obviously be the best if unlikely option.

Dual sim chip cell phone

Juicylicious — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:08:13 -0800

Please help me figure out what brand/type of cell phone to get. I am in Qatar. I need to get a dual sim chip cell phone to use for the next year. Unfortunately, electronics here are very expensive. I would like to purchase one online and stay under $150.

I've seen quite a few dual sim phones on ebay, but they are all associated with a cell service, i.e. T Mobile. Can those phones work in Qatar? Do I just look for an "unlocked" phone that holds two sim chips?

Any recommendations on a phone with a qwerty keyboard, dual band, dual chip?

An Australian iPhone in the US of A

robcorr — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:30:49 -0800

I'm an Australian who is holidaying in the US and Canada in December -- from Sunday! I have an iPhone and I would like to know whether I can use it for 3G data while I'm there. I've waded through a number of telephony and travel forums to try to piece this together myself, but they're contradictory and circumstances seem to change constantly.

Let me set out what I *think* is the simplest way to do this, and hopefully you can provide either confirmation or corrections.

1. Network unlock my phone. (Done -- restoring as we speak.)

2. Change my credit card's address to my hotel address.

3. Buy an AT&T GoPhone Pay As You Go sim pack.

4. Put the sim into a phone -- not the iPhone.

5. Visit the AT&T activation site, entering the other phone's EMEI and my hotel's address.

6. While I'm at the AT&T site, buy a $20/100MB data pack.

7. Using wifi, visit one of the sites that allows me to patch the US carrier details into my iPhone.

8. Transfer the AT&T sim to my iPhone; cross my fingers.

Is this right? Does this mean I need to buy a throwaway phone just to activate the SIM? Is there an easier way?

For instance, some people say that T-Mobile has a better prepaid data offer that doesn't require hoop-jumping to activate in the iPhone (albeit Edge rather than 3G), but others say it's no longer available.

And finally, I'll be in Canada for about a week. I won't bother trying to get a Canadian sim for such a short period, but it'd be nice to know whether the US plan will work there.

Thanking you in advance.

3G SIM Card for 1 Month Trip to India?

Kerim — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:06:36 -0800

How to get a 3G SIM card for a 1 month trip to India w/out signing a 1 or 2 year contract? I have an unlocked iPhone, and my experience with internet cafes in India has been spotty. I would really like to have 3G access on my phone for a trip that will take me to at least 4 or 5 states across North and Central India. I have relatives in India who could help - but I'd like to avoid having to sign a year long or multi-year contract.

Prepaid iPhone data plan in Mumbai?

jesseendahl — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:40:15 -0800

Hi, I will be living in Mumbai for 11 weeks next summer. I have an unlocked iPhone 3G. What is my best bet in terms of carrier and plan for the cheapest and most reliable data access? I plan to do local calls over the cell phone voice network and international calls via Skype on the iPhone. Thanks in advance!

What to do with blank SIM cards?

msbutah — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:56:24 -0800

I have about 30 surplus SIM cards, all for AT&T. They are new and unused SIM cards. Is there any life for new SIM cards with no account on them? I routinely have piles of these unused SIM cards as a result of my job, about 30 to 50 a month. The reason is due to the fact that whenever we upgrade a phone, they send us the new phone with a new SIM included. Not wanting to deal with transferring accounts from SIM to SIM, the current user simply moves their old SIM and keeps their number, and we're left with unused, new SIM cards as well as the matching plastic cards that they've been punched out of.

The waste not want not person inside of me feels that there should be some way to put these to use, either by reselling them or donating them or doing something useful with them, other than throwing them out. Help?

Can you hear me now? NO I CANNOT BECAUSE I HAVE A TRACFONE.

headnsouth — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:11:53 -0800

Please hope me! The Tracfone I just bought to replace a broken AT&T phone will only allow emergency calls. My son broke the screen on his at&t phone a while back, and guys at two separate at&t stores told me I could just pick up a tracfone and switch out the sim cards no problem. So I picked up a tracfone and switched out the sim cards and the screen reads "sim lock code-1: emergency."

The phone comes with 10 minutes of setup time/support. Since I don't want to pay-as-I-go but rather use the at&t contract I'm already paying for, I don't want to register with tracfone and use those minutes. It also comes with an "activation card," with which you register that phone's serial number with tracfone. I haven't done that either, as again I don't want a tracfone account.

I've searched online but I'm frankly overwhelmed by all the technical information out there, and I'm sure that this is a simple thing that I'm just not getting. Is there an unlock code or something? How can I get this phone to work?

Can I use my Blackberry Bold AT&T SIM Card in an iPhone?

thankyoumuchly — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:34:38 -0800

Can I use my Blackberry Bold AT&T SIM Card in an iPhone? My internet research has left me with the following impression: If the SIM card is linked to a blackberry data plan, when I put it in the iPhone I will not have data, only voice. I have a Blackberry Bold with AT&T in the United States and I am curious if I can remove my Bold's SIM card on the weekends and use it in an iPhone. I'll have to buy an iPhone used / refurbished, but I'm willing to do that as long as my AT&T plan doesn't automatically have iPhone charges added.

The reason I want to do this? I have a Bold and an iPod touch (and love the touch) but I hate carrying both with me (I am required to have the blackberry for work, but hate the email after hours, and I'm an iPod touch fiend!). If this is possible, I'll leave my blackberry at work and put the SIM card in the Bold from 9AM-5PM.

On the nights and weekends, I'll put the SIM card and put it in my iPhone (I normally leave my iPod touch in the car when I go to work anyway and use my laptop for iTunes/music).

I've searched AskMeFi but haven't found an answer.

The internet has lots of answers, most of which are not for AT&T / United States plans (lots of European solutions but these won't help as it appears the answer depends on AT&T's servers realizing that my SIM is now in an iPhone).

Thus far, my internet research has left me with the following impression:

If my Bold's SIM card is linked to a blackberry data plan, when I put it in the iPhone I will not have data, only voice.

- - -

Will an iPhone data plan *automatically* be added to my AT&T bill (this would cause me not to execute my plan). Can I turn off the AT&T network data and only use AT&T's network for voice and the iPhone's WiFi for data (this would be ok with me on the nights and weekends since I get enough email from 9-5 on my blackberry that I don't want to see any email it after work).

Will I get charged any extra by AT&T once they realize my SIM is in an iPhone and not a Blackberry (aside from the data plan, any strange charges)?

Can anyone elaborate, share their own stories, have any of you done this? (AT&T employees, can you tell me what the policy on your end is? Will a black suburban show up outside my house in the middle of the night!?).

I'm looking to you, hive mind! Pour forth your knowledge!

Thanks in advance,

TYM

iPhone Swapping: A SIM is a SIM is a SIM?

pzarquon — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:23:03 -0800

Two iPhones, a 2G and a 3G, on a family plan. Adding a third, a 3GS. Can I just swap the SIM cards to get the phone numbers onto the devices I want them on, or does AT&T need to get involved? The scenario: I have two iPhones on my current family plan (actually, three, but one isn't going anywhere, so we'll leave that out of the equation). There's a 2G my wife uses, and my 3G. Miraculously, the 3GS comes out just when I started phone shopping for my daughter.

I want to get a 3GS, then "bounce" the SIMs/numbers down the line. In other words, I want the 3GS, my wife would get my current 3G, and my daughter would get the 2G. But my wife and I want to keep our numbers, and give the fresh, new number to my daughter.

In the shuffle, the new phone number SIM that comes with the 3GS would go into a 2G phone, the SIM from the 3G would go into the 3GS, and the the 2G SIM would go into the 3G. While the 3G and 3GS seem to be identical as far as AT&T is concerned, the 2G has a different plan/data with AT&T that's cheaper.

Provided all phones, including the new phone, are properly activated and running with AT&T, can I just put the SIM cards for our respective numbers into the phones I want them to be on?

My feeling is, since we'll still have the same mix of 3GS/3G/2G SIM cards running, it should all work out in the end as long as I pay. AT&T shouldn't care which SIM is in which phone. But, maybe not. Is there any need to involve AT&T in this merry-go-round, or is a SIM a SIM a SIM?

Going cellular in Germany.

Gordion Knott — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:58:53 -0800

I'm a cellphone noob, and I'm seeking answers on how to use my GSM phone in Germany. I currently own an unlocked GSM Motorola V195 cellphone that I use in the States with a prepaid SIM from T-Mobile.

I'm hoping that when I arrive in Munich in a few days, I'll be able to swap out the existing SIM with a German pre-paid SIM, and begin to make calls to the States. At least, I'm assuming that this is doable, based on my muddied readings on using GSM phones in Europe.

-Am I on the right track? Will I be able to buy a prepaid SIM, install it in the phone, and begin making international calls?
-If the answer's "yes," where's the easiest place to buy the SIM? Do airport kiosks exist, or will I have to wait till I arrive in town?
-What's the pricing scenario like for prepaid SIMs, and how much will I be paying for International calls?
-Are there any other tidbits of information I should know before I dive into this?

Cheap Cell Phone Service in Europe

mahoganyslide — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:52:05 -0800

What is the cheapest option available for using my iPhone (AT&T) in Europe? I will be traveling to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg in the coming summer and am curious what the best option is for voice and data usage on my (unlocked) iPhone. I would love to use Google maps to get around and be able to call family back home as well as friends coming along with me. However, if data prices are exorbitantly high, I can forgo my beloved Google maps and settle for voice usage alone.

So far, AT&T offers a $6/mo. + $1/min. under its World Traveler plan. Data is far worse at $25/mo. for 20MB and $0.005/KB thereafter. I do not know if incoming calls are free as they are under certain European plans (I doubt it).

Can I get anything cheaper if I were to use European providers? Would it be possible to use the same service/SIM/number throughout the 3 nations without having to switch with each one? I would like to purchase a non-contract only service (e.g. pre-paid).

Furthermore, if it is possible to get better voice/data rates using a European provider, where can I purchase service? I will be landing in Amsterdam Schipol Airport and will also be passing through Amsterdam Central Station.

Thank you so much for your help!

Help me find 3G data in the USA!

nafrance — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:40:50 -0800

I'll be in NYC and Boston for a couple of weeks, and I'd like to get a SIM card for Pay-As-You-Go 3G data. I have the requisite hardware, I just need the SIM. I have an unlocked USB 3G modem (UK O2 Huawei E160G), as well as my unlocked BlackBerry Bold.
I'd like to find a SIM card to pop in either one to get me some 3G data.

Clearly I want PAYG as I can't get a contract and am not in the US for long.
Speeds aren't so much an issue, nor is transfer - some emailing and light browsing is all I need.

Some Google research offered the ATT GoPhone as a suggestion, but it seems the unlimited-$20-a-month-data is out now.

Any suggestions, HiveMind?
(Somewhere to get the SIM or cheap phone package in EWR or BOS would be awesome too!)

Mobile phone for 5~ months in Berlin?

cmyr — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:19:25 -0800

My girlfriend and I are going to be living in berlin for the next 5 months, and we're going to want to grab german SIM cards. I'm having a hard time however finding any useful information. Which of the major carriers makes the most sense for us? We don't use our phones too too much, and have skype etc for international calls.

Does anyone offer short-term contracts? Are we stuck with pay-as-you-go?

Is there any chance I could get some sort of data-package without a multi-year contract? I have a 1st gen iphone and would like to be able to use the maps app while exploring around the city.

How does intra-euro roaming work? I'm going to be doing some traveling, and would love to have reasonable use of my phone during that period without having to keep getting a new number.

Thanks in advance, mefi.

will need a mobile phone in Germany for a two week trip, but need the number NOW

intermod — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:10:31 -0800

I will need a mobile phone in Germany for a two week trip, but need the number NOW; what are my options and how does that translate to SIM / top-up jargon? I am going to be traveling in Germany for two weeks at the end of the month. I will need basic mobile phone connectivity, including the ability to send and receive SMS text messages. My current phone (in the USA) won't work, and anyway I want a phone number local to Germany to reduce hassle while I'm there.

I've rented mobile phones overseas before, but it appears to be less common in Europe. I haven't been able to find a place to rent a phone in Germany. T-Mobile does NOT rent out phones.

I would be arriving in Munich and departing about 2 weeks later from Paris. That's right -- at the end of the trip we are actually heading over to Paris for a few days. So bonus points for the ability to return the phone in Paris.

Now, I'm not averse to spending $50 or so and just buying a cheap phone, as long as it can do texting. But I want the phone number assignment now, before we leave. In past mobile phone rentals (e.g. to New Zealand), I've received my phone number assignment immediately upon reservation, and so I've been able to give that number out to everyone before I leave.

So, if I'm going the buy-a-cheap-phone route, is there a way to get a phone number assignment now? Would I need to purchase a German SIM card (with German phone number) now and then buy the phone when I arrive? If I have a friend buy it now for me in Munich, will the phone number be printed on the card, or will they require a phone to learn what the number is?

Is a $50 price for a cheap new phone reasonable, or will I need to plow through the used hassle? Note no service contract, obviously.

Finally, I guess I'll be getting pay-as-you-go cards to "top up" my phone for service. What kind of cards / service / prices can I expect? SMS pricing? Incoming free? Forgive me, but I'm not very experienced with GSM ...

Holy GSM, help me find the cheapest cellphone for use in Europe!

theiconoclast31 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:25:46 -0800

Should I get the Motofone F3 or the Motorola V190 for my travels to Europe? I want a cheap (~50 USD) cellphone for my 3-week trip to Europe later this year. Reviews tell me that the Motofone and V190 are good phones, but some folks claim that they're locked. Why would people think this? If any of you own either the V190 or F3, what do you think? Would you guys recommend a different phone? I'd like something that supports all the GSM frequencies and can accept sim cards ("unlocked").

Thanks, and sorry to add to the growing pile of cellphone questions.

Help me txt and call around Europe without breaking the bank.

atmosphere — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:11:26 -0800

Best Europe wide roaming prepaid sim card? I am travelling through Europe for an extended period of time and am looking for a prepaid sim card that has decent roaming around Western Europe. I will only be staying in one country for a few weeks max at a time, so buying one for each country I visit isn't very practical, especially because I am travelling on a budget. I'd like mainly to be able to txt other European phones and call European landlines.

I recently purchased an Orange prepaid sim card in France where they told me it would work fine all over Europe, and they told me the fees which I now forget, but which were not bad. However, when I went to Spain, I could no longer call from my phone. I could txt / sms to France, but I could not call to mobiles or landlines in Spain or France. I was fortunate enough to return to France, where at an Orange store I was told they do not offer any roaming services, and that this is why I could not call. It doesn't feel like this is correct, but I don't really know where to go from here. The Orange website is hard to navigate when translated through google.

I am totally willing to buy another sim card, or fix whatever the issue is with my current one, either way thanks for the suggestions and advice hivemind.

Never a depression in the imaginary markets

Countess Elena — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:58:08 -0800

I want to make piles of cash, see my enemies driven before me, and hear the lamentation of their women. Can you recommend your favorite economic sim games? Free or free-after-trial is best. I have no preference as to online or offline, although offline is preferable for my sanity. Games that don't occupy too much memory are best for my PC. I also have a Wii.

I enjoy Monopoly, but online play isn't all that awesome; it feels like the kids' table. What I really liked, in '97 or so, was a space sim called Escape Velocity for Mac, in which you could trade commodities from planet to planet and become rich. I also enjoyed peaceful trading between towns in Sid Meier's Pirates (as well as that lame and easily gamed combat system). Clearly I am behind the times.

iPhone 3G on a different country's official SIM card?

DoctorFedora — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 05:52:03 -0800

Can I use a non-unlocked iPhone (3G if it matters) with another country's official carrier's SIM card? I have a Japanese iPhone 3G through SoftBank, and in the unlikely circumstance that there's no clear unlock available when I leave Japan and either go back to the US or wherever else, is it possible to use it with another country's SIM cards for the official carrier?

Basically, the long and short of it is whether I could, say, take the SoftBank SIM card out and replace it with an AT&T SIM card, or, perhaps, whether I could put it into recovery mode and get it into some sort of factory-restore mode where I can use it with the official carrier of a different country.

I haven't seen this addressed anywhere, so I'm curious about this, because in theory it shouldn't entail an unlock.

Ping Pong Cellular Telephony: Chinese phones and US SIM cards

msbrauer — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:13:41 -0800

Phone from China, SIM card in the US: what do I need to know to make sure I have a working cell phone when I return to the US for a month or two this summer? My girlfriend and I are currently living in China and will be returning to the US for a month or so this summer. We would both like to have cell phones while in the US without having to get on a plan or buying separate phones for the two countries. I've never dealt with SIM cards in the US.

The best solution I envision is being able to purchase prepaid SIM cards when we arrive in the US, pop it into our phones, and start making phone calls. How plausible is this? My cell phone is a Nokia 2100, which I believe is EGSM 900, GSM 1800. Because it works with both of the major providers' SIM cards in China, I believe it is also unlocked. What other specifications are important?

My girlfriend, on the other hand, needs to purchase a new cell phone and would like one that works in both countries. What specifications does the phone need to have so we can be assured it will work in the US?

Frenchy SIM in Windy City?

j-dawg — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:04:02 -0800

Is there anywhere in Chicago where I can buy a SIM card for France today? My girlfriend is borrowing my secondary GSM phone for use in France next week, but the French SIM card she ordered online failed to arrive in time. Is there anywhere in Chicago to get one today? (I know she can buy one in France, but according to her, sellers will be closed on Sunday, and she needs to coordinate some meetings that day.) Thanks!

Cheap Prepaid SIM in Canada?

JPDD — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:38:04 -0800

Prepaid SIM card in Canada? I have an AT&T cell phone in Louisiana but I'll be travelling to Ottawa Canada for the next few weeks - is there an easy/cheap way to get cell service using my current phone? I don't need to keep my number but I have a non-unlocked Nokia 6030 I could use as a handset. What are my options?

How can I make sure whatever phone I buy in Japan will work with my Roger's SIM card?

KokuRyu — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:36:10 -0800

I am in Japan and want to buy a new cellphone to take back to Canada. I have an existing plan with Rogers in Canada, and I want to take the SIM card from my crappy Motorola and put it into a new phone brought back from Japan. How can I make sure whatever phone I buy will work with my Roger's SIM card? Basically, I just want to buy a functional clamshell phone because I hate the Motorola phone I have - the ringer buttons are all on the outside of the phone body, so my ringer is frequently turned off. It would be nice to have my Japanese phone be able to do some text messaging, but it's not important. I just want to make phone calls.

Best PAYG SIM for short-term visit to UK?

fedward — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:06:46 -0800

How can I be as wireless for two weeks in the UK as I am year round in the US? We're going to the UK for two weeks. I have an unlocked, quad-band GSM phone with EDGE data. I also have an Option GT Max Express (or something like that), which is a global 3G card (HSDPA 3.6, downgrading to other GSM-based data services if necessary). I'd like to be able to use the phone for voice and data, and pop the SIM into my ExpressCard for data access while we're in London.

What's the best prepaid (PAYG) SIM to get for two weeks? Three (Hutchison 3G UK, that is) seems cheapest for phone and 3G data, but I can't find anything that says they even *have* EDGE. It looks like I need either Vodafone (ouch, £10 for 24 hours) or O2, but I'm not entirely clear on that either since I've read that O2 doesn't allow 3G data for PAYG cards, even with the web bolt-on.

And I thought the US mobile data market was bad. Am I just misreading their sites? Does Three have EDGE? Does O2 let you go 3G with a PAYG card? Can I speak complete gibberish? (Wait, I know the answer to the last one).

For extra credit, is there a good place to buy a SIM at Heathrow, or should I wait until we're killing time at Liverpool St. Station the day we arrive?

Advice for most "authentic" controllers for Microsoft Flight Simulator X

monkeyagent — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 12:51:35 -0800

I want to get my father "Microsoft Flight Simulator X" for Christmas and would like advice for which controllers (wheels, yokes, pedals, etc.) to buy for it. I don't know anything about flight controls or flight sims, but I'd like to get him the most authentic setup possbile. I'd like to hear what is typically considered a good set up for a cost of up to about $200 or so (excluding the cost of the game itself). His aeronautic interests are primarily in prop planes, but other configurations would work as well (jets, etc.)

Help me resell used cell phones!

fogster — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:30:56 -0800

Reselling cell phones? I've just won a lot of used Nextel phones at a bargain price. Most of them have SIM cards with someone's contact information, etc. on them. (Actually, seemingly, the Navy's!)

I'm intending to resell them, but wonder a few things:

1.) What do I do with the SIM cards? It doesn't seem right to me to pass it on with peoples' contacts and all onboard.

2.) Given that I have no contract, is it possible to somehow complete a test call? I read about 111/123 as two common test numbers, but both just give errors. (Presumably since I have no contract.)

3.) How do I (or should I?) check if they're stolen? Do I just call Nextel and ask?