How do you get the # for a SIM
I have an ATT SIM I want to replace , ATT store says they need the phone # assigned to the SIM. I thought I saw that on the ATT buy a session site for the SIM but can’t find it. Can’t find it on the spartan cam mgt or on the camera
I know I’ve seen ir somewhere ????
thx
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It used to show on BAS but I didn’t see it when I got a new plan recently.
Your probably don’t want AT&T messing with your account. They will screw it up. You can get a prepaid/postpaid bring your own phone or tablet SIM from Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon. They’re less than $10 apiece (sometimes a lot less).
All you need to do is to edit the device, replace the current ICCID (SIM) number with the new ICCID (SIM) number and save the device. Then purchase a new plan. I have done this several times, even changed ICCID while the plan was still active.
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Forgot to mention that when I bought the new plan, I got an email with the phone number in it. Is there any chance that you printed the email from when you bought the plan or that it’s still one your computer? You really don’t need it, though, and if AT&T gets it, they will likely sell you a plan that costs more and won’t work with the camera.
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I saw them on Amazon but wasn’t sure it was the right one. They seem to be 3 in 1 types and wasn’t sure.
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I can't vouch for that specific item, but I've bought ones like that from Amazon. Had a weird experience with one that I could use back in November and when I tried to use it last week, BAS said it was already in use, but another worked fine.
I put tape on the non-contact side of the SIM to try to keep the three parts together, just in case. -
I would avoid dealing with an AT&T store if at all possible. I have had nothing but trouble when I’ve tried that and I have helped people who have had the same experience. The people at the stores do not seem to understand what “session-based” or “Buy-A-Session” or “DataConnect” are. You are more likely to end up with some $25-35/month plan that won’t even work.
Is your current SIM bad? If not, go ahead and buy a new plan, then swap out the ICCID when you get a new SIM and are ready to put it in your camera.
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Phil,
In that case, you definitely want a different SIM.
Is that SIM one that was in a different (3G) camera? Normally, when you buy a plan and enter the IMEI, you get either a 3G or an LTE plan. Prices are the same, but the plans are listed differently. You can't enter a 4G IMEI on a 3G data plan and you can't enter a 3G IMEI on a 4G data plan. (Lots of experience with wrangling this situation.)
(Something may have changed in their system, but I don't know how you could have a 4G IMEI on a 3G ICCID. It's certainly possible but I've had no luck with that as I've made the switch from 3G to 4G cameras.)
Definitely don't buy a new 3G plan for that 4G camera. Your 4G camera will do much better on a 4G plan. My 3G cameras typically get one or two bars of signal. I ran some 4G cameras with those 3G SIMs and they got one or two bars (of 3G) signal. When I changed to 4G SIMs, those cameras got 5 bars of signal.
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Phil,
Please try renewing that plan (Manage Your Data, I think it is). When you get to the plan choices, do the 90-day, 180-day, and 1 year have "LTE" at the end. If so, that's a 4G plan. If not, it's 3G.
You may have an expired 4G plan. The key is whether the description of the amount of data has "LTE" at the end.
If it's LTE, you can go ahead and buy the plan. If not, just back out. You're in no danger of buying a plan you don't want.
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The buy a session doesn’t have LTE at the end. There’s a “Add Device” button and it asks for the IMEI and SIM card # , which is the same info under each device already added and working. Maybe it knows by the SIM card # if it’s 4G and takes you to 4G plans.
To recap what I’m doing and why.... I bought a 4G cam , but had data left on a 3G sim so I used that. Now I want to go to 4G , but use buy a session vs the sim that came with the cam.
I did find I can get the sim phone # for each cam in the notification history foe service expiration and renewal.ATT store claims they need the phone # to switch to 4G. Just want to make sure if I buy a sim on Amazon it’s the right one and will work. The reviews are horrible as if 50% of the time the sim doesn’t work. 🤕
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A little update which I think explains some things but not others. Recap- I got a new 4G cam and was using a sim from a 3G cam because it had data left. I then wanted to replace it with a 4G sim I could use on buy a session. Thought was a 4G sim was needed to get the MUCH better signal on a 4G cam.
Well, it appears the old 3G Cams had SIMs that are 4G compatible. Found an ATT help doc that said if the 9th and 10th digit on SIM is 27 , that’s a 4G SIM. The SIM from my 3G cam I was using has the 27. When I look at the SIM that cam with cam it also has 27. When I look at the SIMs on Amazon for 3G/4G Lte they also have the 27. I ordered 2 the other day.
So it appears the SIM cards for the 3G and 4G cams are the same. Which I guess explains why it’s working fine and sending videos and acting no different than the 4G cams I have using the SIM that cam with it. Other than signal strength. The ones I have that have all bars everywhere I’ve tried are the 3 ghost cams.
I guess I’ll take a ghost cam to the same spot and see it it has all bars but the reg 4G cam just searches. If it does, I’ll swap its SIM with the one searching and see if it gets all bars with the SIM that searches on the non ghost 4g. If it gets all bars after swapping that pretty much says it’s the ghost cam itself that is driving all bars and not the SIM. It’s a science project.
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The AT&T 4G cameras can run either 3G or 4G. If the IMEI on the SIM is for a 3G camera, the SIM has a 3G plan. If the IMEI is for a 4G camera, it has an LTE (4G plan).
I have played with 3G/4G SIMs in 3G/4G cameras. (meaning 3G plan/4G plan)
A camera with a 3G plan/SIM (even if it’s a 4G camera) can be made to take a photo now and send a status report now using text commands IF it is set to real time ONE. If you put a 4G (LTE) SIM/plan into even a 3G camera that is capable of doing real time, it will not.It’s not the SIM, per se (although there are some strictly 3G SIMs that I don’t think you can activate any more, even for a 3G IMEI), but the IMEI and the plan (LTE or not-LTE).
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You’re going to swap the Ghost SIM with the GoCam SIM? The Ghost SIM is not user accessible and it’s also not a full-sized SIM. Even if you manage to work around those two things, your Ghost is on an AT&T data plan (more than likely) and those link the IMEI and ICCID so swapping a Spartan AT&T SIM to a different camera isn’t going to work.
If you have a 4G GoCam with an LTE BAS account, try swapping SIMs between that camera and your other one. -
☝️ That’s right now that I think about it 🥵 the sim is inside vs external on the ghost. Which I don’t like.
They REALLY need to figure out a way to allow users to see available data. I may or may not download a video based on data status. Being blind is not good.
If the SIMs are the same “capability” for the 3G and 4G, SIMs and it’s only the service level at is 3G or 4G , how the heck does buy a session know which device (3 or 4) the SIM is going into to get the right data plan ? The IMEI and ICCID ?
Amazon sims come tomorrow so will start from scratch with a new sim (which says 3g/4g comparable) to see if inputting the IMEI and ICCID with the sim # gives a different choice.
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I agree with you on the data usage and I think that progress may be being made on that front.
BAS knows whether a camera is 3G or 4G based on the IMEI. I don't know anything about it's encoded in the IMEI, I just know that if I enter the IMEI for a 3G camera, I get plans that don't say "LTE" at the end and if I enter the IMEI for a 4G camera using the same ICCID, I get a plan that says "LTE" at the end. I also know that it will not let me change a 3G IMEI to a 4G IMEI to switch an existing plan from 3G to 4G so I can use the SIM in a 4G camera even though the plans are exactly the same options and price.
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When you get your SIMs, first pretend to buy another data plan for your camera that has the 3G camera in it. Do the choices include "LTE" at the end? If they do, then it's already a 4G plan.
You can also add a device to your account. Add the camera's IMEI (AT&T doesn't seem to care about having multiple ICCIDs with the same IMEI) with one of the new SIMs then go through the first steps to buy a data plan and see if it shows LTE at the end.
If your camera already has an LTE plan, try editing the info and substituting a new ICCID for the old one. You may have a bad SIM and swapping out for a new one on that plan may fix the problem.
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