5G is already beginning to change the way we interface with our mobile devices; our networks are transforming, and new 5G phones are becoming the norm on the market. A change like this comes with many questions, as the hardware and software available on the market are changing.
Since they were created, one staple of mobile phones has been SIM cards, which begs the question; will 5G require us to get new SIM cards?
What Is a Sim Card?
A SIM card is also known as a Subscriber Identity Module card, which ties a person’s singular identity to their phone. Your phone number is tied to your SIM card, and it connects you to your carrier and provides you with your individual contact information.
All phones have a SIM card as they are currently the only way to connect to a cellular network. Whether you have a smartphone or a flip phone, your cell phone has a SIM card.
What Does Your Sim Card Do?
A SIM card is a physical card in your phone that carries your contact list, text messages, and personal info. When you purchase your phone from a phone retailer, that phone will be “unlocked,” meaning that you can use it with any carrier.
If you purchase your SIM card from your carrier, on the other hand, it will usually be tied to that carrier, meaning you can only use it with the company that provides your phone plan. This can be changed, but it requires no small amount of effort and coordination.
Without a SIM card, your phone might as well be nothing more than a small computer. Your phone cannot connect to a cellular network without it, and you cannot take calls since your identity is not registered to a SIM card in the device. The SIM card is basically the brain of your phone, making the machine worthless without one.
Do You Need To Switch Sim Cards for 5G?
The easy answer is no; You will not need a new SIM card for 5G. Most modern phones support both 4G and 5G, and switching to 5G is as easy as making sure your plan is 5G compatible.
However, if you currently use a phone that is not 5G compatible, you may need to get a new phone entirely if you want to use 5G.
Depending on the type of SIM card, it might be impossible to carry over your SIM card to the new device, necessitating a complete overhaul.
Traditional SIM cards
A traditional SIM card is a card you can physically remove from your device. If you have multiple compatible devices, you can swap a single SIM card between them while still retaining your personal info, such as your phone number and contact list.
A traditional SIM card will go in a SIM card slot in your phone, which takes up space in the device. If your phone does not have a traditional SIM card slot, you will not be able to use the two technologies together. Traditional SIM cards are a much older form of technology, and many phones still use them instead of eSIM cards.
eSIM Cards
While you might think an eSIM is an electronic SIM card, the “e” actually stands for “embedded.” eSIM cards still take up a lot less space in your phone, but they are indeed still a piece of hardware in your device. The difference is that eSIM cards are rewritable instead of removable, and they will never leave your phone.
Because the information is rewritable, you can switch providers without switching out any hardware; you simply change your existing eSIM. You can temporarily change carriers if you need to, making travel more manageable.
On the other hand, switching devices is more challenging as you cannot just take your SIM card out and put it in another phone. Whichever phone is tied to your identity is set in stone unless you have your carrier change it.
It also means that you can’t remove your SIM from your phone, which is something many like to do when they don’t want to have any hardware that can track them.
What Is 5G?
5G is the latest generation of cellular networks, replacing 4G LTE, the standard across the country for the past decade. The 2020s have marked the emergence of 5G, with most major telecommunications companies committing to making 5G the primary form of cellular internet over the next few years.
Compared to 4G LTE, 5G has higher speeds, higher capacity, and lower latency. It gives users the ability to stream video at a higher quality than ever before possible, and it allows more users to utilize a network without slowdown.
Which Phones Support 5G?
5G is a relatively new technology, and not all phones have adopted it.
The iPhone 12 series was the first Apple device to be 5G compatible. As a result, all iPhones in the iPhone 12 and 13 series’ are fair game when it comes to connecting to a 5G network. This also includes the most recent iteration of Apple’s iPhone SE.
It is much more difficult to list all of the 5G compatible Android devices because there are many Android phones on the market. In general, if a phone comes out in the 2020s, it is worth checking to see if it is 5G compatible. If the phone came out before 2020, there is a good chance that it will not be.
Wrapping Up
5G is brand new, and no one knows how much it will change how we use our phones. In time, you may need to get some new hardware if you want to utilize 5G connections on your device. However, if you have a 5G compatible phone, there is no need to buy a new SIM card to support 5G.
If you're interested in exploring plan options, our widget below compares hundreds of options from the top carriers to find you the best plan for the best price in seconds.
