Want to know “If I put my SIM card in another phone will it transfer everything?”. This guide, which covers important things you need to know and provide a way to transition smoothly.
If I put my SIM card in another phone will it transfer everything
I buy the latest iPhone, want to transfer my old iPhone 13 to the new one. Can I put my SIM in a new phone and use it like a new phones and not transfer all the data as this would fill up my new phone?
- Question from Reddit
Before you take out SIM card and put it to your new iPhone, here are something you need to know.
There are two types of SIM cards, one is a physical SIM card and the other is an eSIM card.
A physical SIM card is a tangible SIM card that you can insert into your phone and pop out at any time. It contains all your contact numbers, some text messages, and network data. If both of your iPhones use a physical SIM card, you can just pop it out of the previous phone and insert it into the new phone, and it can transfer the data stored in it to the other phone.
An eSIM is different from a regular SIM card. It is embedded in the hardware of the iPhone and you can't insert or pop them out. It stores all contact IDs, phone numbers, and carrier information. You can use the same eSIM on multiple phones, but the same carrier must be activated on both phones.
It is worth noting that you may not find space for a SIM card in iPhone 14 of US and later iPhones. These new models require an eSIM to configure the line.
If you buy iPhone 14 or later iPhones outside of the US, you'll still get one physical SIM slot and two internal eSIM cards. In this case, you can continue to use your physical SIM card.
For the question of “if I put my SIM card in another phone will it transfer everything”, you may encounter the following situations:
Some SIM cards are locked to specific carriers or devices. If the new iPhone is not compatible with your SIM card or carrier, you may experience network connection problems.
🌟Tip 2:Your cellular data plan and apps may not transfer automatically. You may need to set up the new iPhone with mobile data settings and re-download apps.
🌟Tip 3:If your contacts and messages are stored on the SIM card, you may be able to access them on the new phone. However, most smartphones store contacts and messages on the phone device itself, so you may not see all your contacts and messages when you change iPhones.
From the above content, you already know that there are two forms of physical SIM and eSIM cards. To move them, there are different operations. You can refer to the steps below.
Since SIM cards and eSIMs are mainly used to carry phone numbers and network service settings, they cannot transfer app data, message history, photos, videos, etc. If you need to transfer other data to a new device, you can check the next section.
If both phones use physical SIM cards, you can remove the SIM card directly. First, using the SIM-eject tool to take the SIM card from your old iPhone. Then remove your SIM card from the tray and insert it into your new iPhone. You would better be careful to avoid damaging the SIM card.
If you bought an iPhone in the United States, it does not come with a SIM tray. This means you cannot insert a SIM card into your new device. In this case, you can follow the steps below to transfer a SIM card to a new iPhone eSIM.
If you haven't set up your new phone yet, you can transfer SIM card to new iPhone eSIM during setup.
Step 1. Set up new iPhone until you see the Set Up eSIM screen > Tap Transfer from Another iPhone to continue.
Step 2. When you see a pop-up message on your old iPhone, tap Transfer SIM.
Step 3. Enter the code shown on your new iPhone on your old iPhone.
Step 4. Double-click the side button on the old device to confirm > Once it’s done, tap Continue to complete this process.
If you have already set up your iPhone, you can learn in this article: [2024 Guide] How to Transfer eSIM to New iPhone 15/14
Transferring SIM cards and eSIM is mainly used to transfer phone numbers and network service settings. If you need to transfer other data, such as photos, app data, etc. to a new iPhone, we recommend you use this professional iPhone data transfer tool - AOMEI FoneBackup.
When you need to transfer everything from one iPhone to another iPhone, you can choose AOMEI FoneBackup's one-click transfer function. It can transfer all kinds of important data, such as Apps, files, videos, photos, iPhone settings, game settings, passwords, etc.
Step 1. Download and open AOMEI FoneBackup > Connect two iPhones to the computer via USB cables.
Step 2. Go to Phone Transfer > Choose iPhone to iPhone > Tap Start Transfer.
Step 3. Confirm the source iPhone and the target iPhone > Enable backup encryption > Then tap Start Transfer.
If you don't need to transfer all the data from old iPhone, you can transfer files as you like selectively. Let's take transferring photos as an example.
Step 1. Install and run AOMEI FoneBackup > Connect your source iPhone to your computer> Tap Phone Transfer option > Choose iPhone to PC > Click Start Transfer.
Step 2. Check the Photos icon > Select all photos or only choose specific photos you need > Tap OK to continue.
Step 3. Decide a default location on Transfer Settings > Click Start Transfer.
Step 4. After that, unplug the old iPhone and plug in the new iPhone > Choose PC to iPhone option > Select the pictures you wish to transfer on the computer.
Step 5. When everything is OK, you only need to tap Start Transfer.
This article answered this question: If I put my SIM card in another phone will it transfer everything. Actually, no, because the SIM card mainly stores your contacts and carrier information. If you need to transfer other data, such as photos, messages, etc., you can choose the iOS data transfer tool, AOMEI FoneBackup to
help you. In addition, it also supports you to transfer all data to the new device in one click.