US operator AT&T says it's their way or the highway

Oct 26, 2014 10:31 GMT  ·  By

Someone or other isn’t making it clear enough that customers choosing AT&T with their supplied SIM card for iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3 will be locked to the carrier’s network, unable to switch to another operator’s services.

The Apple SIM was originally conceived with the customer in mind, but at least two partnering carriers are not playing ball.

What’s the story with AT&T and Verizon?

Initially chosen as the primary iPhone carriers, AT&T and Verizon are now refusing to cooperate in the Apple SIM initiative that allows you to swap operators on the go without replacing your SIM card.

Verizon is opting out altogether, while AT&T gives the impression that it wants to play ball. In reality, it forces customers to stick with their service. Users who choose to enable the Apple SIM with an AT&T plan and then decide to move to another carrier are locked.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere has done his best to explain the fiasco in a tweet-storm, as he called it, essentially slamming AT&T for their practices. Legere makes it clear that customers who initially choose to activate their Apple SIM with T-Mobile or Sprint have the ability to opt out at any time.

In short, don’t choose AT&T if you’re unsure whether or not you plan to stick with them. If you change your mind, you’ll need to go to the Apple Store and get another SIM (for $5 / /€5, we hear).

The T-Mobile boss also explains what customers can expect when buying their tablets from their operator's stores, not Apple's.

Apple’s documentation says it loud and clear

Apple, for its part, is making it clear for the customer what to expect from the Apple SIM. According to Support document HT6499, “Apple SIM gives you the flexibility to choose from a variety of short and long term cellular data plans from select carriers, right from your iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3.”

It adds, “The carriers you can choose vary by country, whether you've purchased your iPad from a carrier retail location, and whether you've already previously signed up for a cellular data plan.”

It then proceeds to explain the discrepancies between the services offered by partnering carriers. The company states loud and clear that AT&T is the only one whose policies do not allow users to revert to the Data Plan Activation screen on their iPads (emphasis ours).

“Using Apple SIM, you can choose from different cellular carriers and their various programs. The data plans vary by carrier. For instance, in the United States, you can choose a domestic plan from either Sprint or T-Mobile and also pick an alternate plan from the other carrier as needed. When you choose AT&T on iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, AT&T dedicates Apple SIM to their network only.”