Can an AT&T Phone work without a SIM Card?

[cyrus buelton]

Well, I have one that does.

As most know, I do mostly Corporate Treasury, but also manage about 1000 AT&T Mobile Phones.

So a few weeks ago I ported over our Global IT Service Desks off duty phone to AT&T. The phone is a Nokia 6530 (or something like that) with international calling and text block. Nothing special.

Well, the phone is already make the beast with two backsing up. It randomly turns on and off, so we need to warranty replace it.

I did this for them today and took it back over.

I get an IM from one of the guys who has it this week and he was like "what the make the beast with two backs did you do to the SIM Card? It isn't in the phone."

Sure as shit enough, the SIM was never in the phone............but yet it works.


How the hell is that possible??


It should say "SIM II Not Provisioned"

But it fully works.



Bueller?

[Monsterlover]

that phone is the debil!!!

[il d00d]

It could be a GSM/CDMA phone that is registering on the CDMA network?  I am not sure how the specifics of that work (how it is provisioned, and what would show up on your phone  if you are connecting to a non-ATT CDMA tower) but it looks like Nokia has a few of these on the market now.  It could also be da debil.

[SacDuc]

Definitely the Debil. Throw a puppy at it.

sac

[mitt]

Definitely the Debil. Throw a puppy at it.

sac

   

[Veloce-Fino]

Definitely the Debil. Throw a puppy at it.

sac

Then proceed to steal a bulldozer and park it in downtown Germany.

[derby]

It could be a GSM/CDMA phone that is registering on the CDMA network?  I am not sure how the specifics of that work (how it is provisioned, and what would show up on your phone  if you are connecting to a non-ATT CDMA tower) but it looks like Nokia has a few of these on the market now.  It could also be da debil.

no cdma iphone exists (in the wild).

[il d00d]

no cdma iphone exists (in the wild).

This is a Nokia phone, right?  Or do you mean ATT is not CDMA?  I'm saying if the primary carrier is GSM (ATT) and they buy CDMA roaming (say, Verizon) it would be a VZB (ie not ATT) CDMA tower they would connect to sans-SIM.

[derby]

This is a Nokia phone, right?  Or do you mean ATT is not CDMA?  I'm saying if the primary carrier is GSM (ATT) and they buy CDMA roaming (say, Verizon) it would be a VZB (ie not ATT) CDMA tower they would connect to sans-SIM.

i misread the original post. and thought it said "iphone" in there somewhere.

at&t isn't cdma at all. i also don't think that nokia offers a non-gsm 6530.

[Monsterlover]

See?  Debil phone.

Burn it!  Burn it alive!!!

[ducatiz]

Where is the user?

Old Dobson, Cellular One and Western Wireless networks have CDMA (Don't know if they still do) prior to being eaten by AT&T.  THey would have to honor connection contracts and phone services for legacy users.

My old boss had an AMPS phone -- a Motorola StarTAC -- that he refused to give up.  He kept getting letters from AT&T (The old AT&T) and finally they said give it up or else.. he told them to FU and the network worked for another year...