Activating a sim card

[bcnaz]

I tried to activate a new un-activated AT&T PrePaid sim card in my Brave Heart phone with Mobian running on it without succeeding.
 The phone does see the new AT&T sim,  but it will not dial out to the 611 number to activate.

The B.H. phone does function with a sim card I removed from my Android phone.
 But,
         The Android sim card does have a problem with data,
> an AT&T tech had previously suggested replacing that sim card when I called AT&T to fix the Android phone.

So I was hoping I could just activate a new sim card in my BH Pine phone directly.

Apparently Android has an app that makes it possible to activate the sim card.?

Is there an app I can put on Debian to activate a new sim card, or should I activate the card in the old Android phone, then move it to my Pine phone..?

Thanks,  B.C.

[LazLong]

It would be great to get some guidance on this and to hear people's experiences with this process with various carriers.

[bcnaz]

I did see some posts say they bought pre-activated sim cards.

[RTP]

I tried to activate a new un-activated AT&T PrePaid sim card in my Brave Heart phone with Mobian running on it without succeeding.
 The phone does see the new AT&T sim,  but it will not dial out to the 611 number to activate.

The B.H. phone does function with a sim card I removed from my Android phone.
 But,
         The Android sim card does have a problem with data,
> an AT&T tech had previously suggested replacing that sim card when I called AT&T to fix the Android phone.

So I was hoping I could just activate a new sim card in my BH Pine phone directly.

Apparently Android has an app that makes it possible to activate the sim card.?

Is there an app I can put on Debian to activate a new sim card, or should I activate the card in the old Android phone, then move it to my Pine phone..?

Thanks,  B.C.

Your best bet might be activating the guarunteed to work old Android phone. After the SIM card works successfully on that, transfer that SIM card into the Pinephone and boot it up. Myself I used a working AT&T SIM card which I had switched multiple times on different Android cell phones.

I have heard of users on this forum talking to the *right* AT&T representative and giving them the IMEI directly from the Pinephone for activation directly. If you try this make sure to make clear you know it is a compatible phone for AT&T. Some less educated employees might say "it's not on their list" but they should have no problem activating with the IMEI if they know what they are doing.

There is a webpage for activating SIM cards for AT&T. You could try that and input the pinephone imei number while selecting a phone on their list.

Knowing there could be problems depending on the staff member, might be easier to activate that Android and transfer it over to make it go as smooth as possible.

[bcnaz]

Using the online automated system, you can activate much easier if you just accept a new phone number.

It seems if you want to activate a new sim in a new phone, the automated system will make it very difficult to keep your existing phone number.

While the Pine phone may not be on any approved lists yet,  I believe the modem is on some approved lists.

I think the simplest, safest way to activate a new sim in your Pine phone may be to visit your carriers approved retail store.
  But with the Covid related problems that is not an option for some Pine phone users.

In my personal experiences some AT&T retailers are pretty helpful,  while at least one of them simply REFUSED to help me because it was a "PrePaid" sim card.
(The rotten AT&T store is just 3 miles from my home, while the good store is 33 miles from my home)

SO  a pre-activated card is probably a pretty good option...!   (moving a working sim card to your Pine phone seems to usually work)

I started this thread hoping to see and share more suggestions and options.  Both successful and unsuccessful attempts.

Thanks Forum members