[Jeff Mendoza1]

I have an AT&T iPhone SE coming my way. AT&T is instructing me to activate the phone when I receive it. Do I have to do that? Or can I just insert the SIM from my current 5S and continue along my merry ways?

[TwitchyPuppy]

You can do that

Unless your carrier requires you to register your device's IMEI into their system in order to provide some sort of support.

But usually, you just out the sim card in and you're good to go!

[jburke82]

Mine came with a new SIM card...I just activated it, restored from backup and I was good to go. Didn't have to swap sims

[Jeff Mendoza1]

You can do that

Unless your carrier requires you to register your device's IMEI into their system in order to provide some sort of support.

But usually, you just out the sim card in and you're good to go!

Do I swap in my current sim card before I turn the phone on for the very 1st time? Or turn phone on, then swap sim?

[TwitchyPuppy]

I always put a sim card in while the phone is turned off.

[Gregory Ryan]

Either will work just fine. If you activate the new sim, your old card will cease to operate

[mnlangrehr]

Went to ATT and asked whether I should just put my current sim in the phone I'm getting from Apple or should I come in and get a new Sim from them. I was told go-ahead and put the old Sim and the phone remains unlocked. The ATT person told me that if you get AT&T to put a new Sim in the phone it will be locked for six months and after that you can request that the phone be unlocked. Also was told that AT&T no longer sells phones outright. You must now buy them on the NEXT program.

[boomer0127]

I can confirm in the case of TMobile that swapping SIM resulted in unlocked phone after iTunes restore. Which made me very happy since i bought phone outright and was on a bring your own phone no-contract plan.

[Jeff Mendoza1]

Thanks for the responses. I know activating the new SIM will work, but was hoping I could just pop in my current SIM, as that gets me up and running a bit quicker

[mbranscum]

Also was told that AT&T no longer sells phones outright. You must now buy them on the NEXT program.

Not true. I bought my Apple SE outright. No new contract.

[mnlangrehr]

Not true. I bought my Apple SE outright. No new contract.

Must be the store because I was told by the manager of the store that I had to use the Next program.

[LCW]

I bought a T-mo iphone SE from the Apple Store on Monday. They were out of SIM Free models so the apple guy gave me that option. "Device Only" option he referred to it as. I assume same with AT&T? I just had to take out the T-mo SIM and use my own SIM (AT&T), and ignore the T-mobile activation message.

In any case, to the OP... I'd use an old SIM. I think if you activate a new one, it might lock the phone to that carrier. With an old SIM, it would be unlocked. At least I think so. That's how it worked for me.