sim card question

well on the iPhone 4s if you have the latest update it will  in areas where they have put hspa+ say 4g due to the iPhone 4s can run on hspa+ , and AT&T's 4g is considered hspa+ then theres 4g lte which the iPhone 4s does not support yet.  A 3g sim card i believe works on 3g only then theres AT&T's newer sim cards like the ones found in the iPad 3 that support 4g and 4g lte, but usually AT&T sim cards some of them are like universal they work on 3g and 4g and below depending on what area you are in and the coverage there. It is good you have an unlocked phone means you don't have to sign a 2 year contract and can use any gsm service provider you want like AT&T ,tmobile and on. The reason why it seems like your paying more sometimes is due to no contract and not being on a family plan with someone you have to pay for 1. a data plan 2. voice plan 3. messaging plan. A way to save money with unlocked one is go to someone like straight talk etc where you are paying for it all bundled together with unlimited with straight talk you can use that phone and they send you a micro sim for it then activate it , and pay only $45 a month for unlimited everything including unlimited data or you may be able to also use it on vergin mobile to. AT&T is one of the most best but expensive phone providers unless on a family plan with someone, or have a discount on bill via fedex etc. The main benefit of having unlocked iPhone is no contract, and can be sold once you upgrade for that full unlock price due to its factory unlocked unlike other iPhones to use any service provider they won't be a need for a jailbreak etc or a ended contract. With that iPhone you can when the 5 comes out say you want to buy a contracted one so you get the cheaper price with that unlocked one you can, sell it full price especially if still in good condition then use that cash to buy new iPhone with accessories with extra cash. I basically am doing when the new iPhone comes out due to me being in a contract now buying it unlocked leaving forward i don't have to sign another contract, and by the time my contract expires a new one will be released or about to be, leaving forward can upgrade to the new one for discounted price instead of having to buy another full priced one or having to pay a termination fee on contract and more all while keeping the same low priced plan and same number.

 

p.s. all new sim cards by default work on 3g network or higher and depending on the phone as well to some phones work on 3g and below only like the iPhone 4 then some work on 4g but not 4g lte like the iPhone 4s

Buying an unlocked iPhone in the US is virtually worthless unless you're going overseas. You will never get away from the telecoms. If you buy an unlocked iPhone and try to use AT&T, they will see it on the network and forcibly change your plan to the iPhone plan.

Also, I'll translate what the other reply says, since no one on Earth could ever read that.

Paraphrased, "The most recent carrier update for AT&T has caused the iPhone 4S to report itself as having 4G when it is in an area of HSPA+ service."

To add to that, this is an abject lie. Not that AT&T is doing it, but that it is correct. It is not 4G by any stretch of the imagination. They are lying to you.

He's saying a "3G SIM" only works on 3G networks while newer SIMs support everything, which I don't think is true, as a SIM is a SIM is a SIM; the phone is what supports the differences.

Wow, you can actually read that. But as I said earlier, you cannot use AT&T and expect to keep using a plan that isn't an iPhone plan.

Again, paraphrased, "There are alternatives to AT&T, however, like Wal-Mart's Straight Talk plan, where you get unlimited voice, messages, and data (2GB) for $45 a month (and they also have a 1,000-1,000-30MB plan for $30)."

But you can't use it on Virgin Mobile, as they're CDMA.

No, he's just wrong here. Ignore that.

To reiterate yet again, NOT any carrier, and you're not going to be selling it for full price when you upgrade several years after you bought it.

Okay, you're on your own for this one.

Yep, sim-card has nothing to do with 3G or 4G or LTE ... that's all a hardware function (and, of course, signal coverage.)

 

The iPhone differentiates between 4G (labeled as such only because they changed the definition) and LTE (true 4G).  So when you're iPhone says "4G" you're really only getting "fast 3G" .. it'll say "LTE" when you REALLY get a 4G signal.

 

If you're concerned that you're no longer seeing the "4G" indication where you used to... either you're only in a 3G coverage area, or you may have turned 4G off in the settings.

As far as I am aware the iPhone 4S is not 4G compatible. Only Apple's iphone 5 is. The iPhone 5 takes what is called a Nano SIM and the 4S takes a slightly larger Micro SIM.