iPhone users can't switch SIM with iPad

 

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By Stewart Mitchell and Reuters

Posted on 16 Jun 2010 at 08:40

Apple fans hoping to share a micro-SIM between their new iPhone 4 and iPad will be scuppered because the cards are not interchangeable between the devices, the company has confirmed.

In a blunt Q&A on its FAQ pages, the company states: “Are iPhone 4 and iPad micro-SIM cards interchangeable? No. Your iPad micro-SIM card will not work with your iPhone.”

This will come as a disappointment to consumers who, for example, might want to use spare data allowance from one device on the other.

Mobile carrier O2 explained that although data is data, the plans and SIMs for the devices are “quite different”.

“Both use a mini-SIM, but the iPad micro-SIM is not, for example, provisioned for voice, and focuses on flexible data,” a spokesperson for the company told PC Pro. “The micro-SIM for the iPhone is set up for voice and other functionality.”

The news comes after a rocky launch for iPhone 4 on both sides of the Atlantic, with technical glitches hampering sales and exposing customer data.

Due to a surge in pre-order interest, the Apple websites in the UK and US ground to a halt under the weight of traffic and users were greeted with an error message.

Meanwhile, in the US, AT&T customers looking to buy an iPhone 4 reported seeing account information of other subscribers, a spokesman for the firm said. Technical errors also prevented some customers from ordering the device on the Apple and AT&T websites.

The data leak problem marked another headache for AT&T, which last week said some iPad users had seen their personal information exposed via a network security flaw. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a probe into the alleged breach.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said the firm had received privacy complaints regarding iPhone purchases, but it was not clear what information customers had seen because it had not been able to replicate the issue.

“We've received reports of customers inadvertently seeing (other customers') account information during the iPhone 4 purchasing process,” Siegel said.

He added customers could not have seen social security numbers, credit card data or call records, but the company was still investigating.