topic 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max in SIM cards & Porting

5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

gbotley — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 19:27:10 GMT

I’ve got a 16 Pro Max, on a plan purchased in September 2024 (after the 5GSA was cited as supported) and can’t enable it on my device. The iPhone says the sim is not supported and to contact EE. EE wants to shift me to a eSIM, but I’m not too confident in them after issues with work devices. Is this the only way to get it? I’m in Bristol, which is in the coverage area.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

bristolian — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 19:58:38 GMT

There is no published requirement for an eSIM rather than physical SIM to access 5GSA, I think you're absolutely right to be sceptical and I would recommend questioning that further.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

Chris_B — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 21:21:19 GMT

@gbotley What tariff do you have ? you need to have a All Rounder or Full Works tariff to have this.
And you also need to be in one of these locations to have use of this

** The launch cities announced today are: Bath, Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Sheffield.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

shaunjenks215 — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 22:10:49 GMT

SA definitely does work on the iPhone 16 PM as I have that phone and it works for me. It must be either your sim or plan. You’ll need to be on either an all rounder or full works plan started after August 29th. Also if you’re using a physical sim how old is the sim? It could be that the sim needs replacing as older sims don’t support Standalone.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

bristolian — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 22:18:20 GMT

What's your technical basis for claiming that "older SIMs don't support standalone"? Do you have anything to substantiate this?

The purpose of the SIM is to provide authentication onto the network via central databases. Physical SIMs are quite capable of enabling access to 5G- NR layers, SA & VoNR are then device-dependent.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

shaunjenks215 — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 07:21:51 GMT

You’ll need an r15 sim to access standalone services. EE have been issuing these for a few years now, however if someone has just upgraded plans and kept the same sim then they may still have an older sim and will therefore need to swap to an r15. It’s quite well known, just do a google search for the r15 sim. O2 are very bullish at mentioning this for standalone.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

bristolian — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 08:13:38 GMT

The technical requirements are well documented, both at a device & network-level, for 5G-SA & VoNR.

Have you found any EE help pages which specify a potential SIM swap required? The scenario is easily tested using a 2way SIM-swap if any user has specific issues.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

gbotley — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:45:26 GMT

How would I know which sim type I have? The call advisor was rather pushy with an eSim, (and also trying to sell me broadband, which I don’t care for when I call for support) but I’d prefer a physical sim for various reasons.

EE’s app and website help sections offer little in the way of help for 5GSA. Many haven’t been updated for the 16 series being out yet either.

Is it easy enough to get a replacement newer sim?

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

shaunjenks215 — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:52:31 GMT

Unfortunately it’s not easy with EE to see if it’s your sim. O2 have sims that specifically say r15 on them and have SA ready written on the packaging. If you have iOS 18 installed, and are confident you are on a compatible plan then I’d certainly try a sim replacement next. You can replace your physical sim in any EE store or order one through my EE or app for delivery. They do charge £1.50 for replacement physical sims though. I would check all the other things first. For instance if your plan supports SA then it will say that you have SA and network boost in the add on section of your account.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

gbotley — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:55:23 GMT

Yeah it shows it in the add on as enabled. It’s a new plan taken out in the last week.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

bristolian — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:59:46 GMT

@shaunjenks215 wrote:

Unfortunately it’s not easy with EE to see if it’s your sim. O2 have sims that specifically say r15 on them and have SA ready written on the packaging.

Getting into terminology such as R15 with CS - quite possibly unnecessarily - is a complication that in the vast majority of cases will not be needed.

In any situation where you suspect your SIM is the cause of any service issue, there are easy ways to check this. The SIM serial number will be a record of when it was issued, or a 2way SIM-swap in a retail store will also suffice.

The vast majority of physical SIMs in circulation are of a compatible standard - be aware but don't overcomplicate until problems arise.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

shaunjenks215 — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:00:48 GMT

Should be able to see the toggle in cellular settings then. Out of interest how old is the SIM card that you are using? This is my cellular settings page then Voice and data on the iPhone 16 PM. Guessing you don’t see this toggle?

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

gbotley — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:05:27 GMT

How it appears for me. reckon I’ve had the sim since the 12 Pro came out, which was my last handset.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

shaunjenks215 — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:14:00 GMT

Can’t see the picture sorry. So the sim is a few years old. I would definitely do a sim swap and see if that makes any difference. If you do it in store just say that you’ve been asked by support to do a sim swap to see if that resolves an issue. They may not charge you then. As Bristolian says above there’s no need to get into the specifics of r15 sim and Standalone because the chances are store staff will have limited knowledge of that side of things.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

gbotley — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:16:11 GMT

Thanks all,

I’ve requested a replacement on the app. I can understand the store staff not knowing, but customer services (“tech support”) should probably know.

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

bristolian — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:20:36 GMT

@gbotley wrote:

I can understand the store staff not knowing, but customer services (“tech support”) should probably know.

That depends on your understanding of "technical"

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

MasterWill — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 16:25:53 GMT

Hi @gbotley . The reason tehy recommended the eSIM journey as it would be almost instantaneous for you to receive the sim and available services. I have been using eSIM for the last 3 years without issue. Kind regards

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

MasterWill — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 16:28:12 GMT

Hi all. You can remove the physical sim and see if states "EE1501" on the SIM card itself. Kind regards

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

MasterWill — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 16:33:25 GMT

Can you check the SIM card - does it say EE1501 on the card? if not, it's not R5 release sim card. Kind regards

Re: 5GSA iPhone 16 Pro Max

gbotley — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 14:30:27 GMT

An eSIM was activated on my account and as service on the regular sim disconnected soon after I had no choice but to use the eSIM as the physical one hadn’t arrived.

That said, 5GSA is working on the eSIM fine now.