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New Member

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1 Message

Thursday, October 21st, 2021 6:44 PM

Switched SIM to old phone and back to newer one, now cell data isn't working.

Yesterday I took my iPhone 8 Plus in for a battery replacement. Since I had to leave my phone and pick it up later, I took my SIM card out and put it in my old iPhone 5s. When I did this, I got a notification on the 5s saying "our network is being upgraded and the cell phone you tried to activate will no longer work". I got my 8 Plus back last night and switched the SIM back but now I can't get the cellular data to work on it. What do I need to do to get it activated again?

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

ACE - Sage

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111.1K Messages

2 years ago

Call or chat to reactivate service.  AT&T will want your IMEI.  

The oldest phone you can use is an iPhone 6. IPhone 5S 5C and older are no longer eligible to be activated on AT&T or Verizon.  

Former Employee

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32.9K Messages

2 years ago

you need to call and have your sim reactivated

ACE - Expert

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64.6K Messages

2 years ago

@Constructive The sim wasn’t deactivated, service was suspended. You can’t reactivate a deactivated SIM card. If it had been deactivated, a new SIM card would be needed.

ACE - Master

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8.4K Messages

2 years ago

Where does it say that the service was suspended?  Nothing in the OP says that.

ACE - Expert

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64.6K Messages

2 years ago

@dwill05 I realize the OP only said data doesn’t work but suspending service is generally what ATT does if you put your SIM card into an unsupported phone, so I made an assumption. Whether service was suspended or not, my main point was the SIM card wasn’t deactivated. It also doesn’t make sense that only data would stop working so service being suspended was to me the obvious conclusion.

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