What to do with the old cell phone?

[ChrisGreaves]

All I know about cell phones is that idiots use them, in chorus, to say "I'm on the 'bus".
Whatever did they do before cell phones?

My friend Betty got a new cell phone from Rogers, the local communications company.
I inserted a SIM card, then the battery atop that, closed the case, plugged it in, and called Rogers.
They activated the SIMM (over the phone no less) after I read out a card number to them.
It works just fine.

Last night at Betty's I played with the old phone.
All her old contacts, recent calls etc are there, but when I try to dial out it says "SIMM not activated" or similar.

That makes sense to me; the new phone is now connected with her account, and the old phone/SIMM was disconnected (over the phone no less) .

But what to do with the old phone?
I'm against recycling.
If I clear off all the numbers etc. is the phone usable to any group - like dropping old spectacles in the box at the back of the church?
Might a local school be able to use it?

Could Betty get the phone re-activated and have TWO cell phones on the same account/phone number?
That would make sense to me if we ran a business and either one of us wanted to pick up the phone to deal with an incoming call.

Is the phone usable if one opened a new account, say, with BELL, the alternate supplier in this city?

Worst comes to worst I will dismantle the device out of curiosity prior to trashing it.

The new phone came with a set of bags and dockets, presumably for shipping the old phone to a recycling center, but I'm against recycling except as a last resort.

[StuartR]

You can usually use an old phone, you just need to put a valid SIM in the slot.

I try to keep one spare, unused, phone in the house. This is then available for anyone in the family to use while their phone is being repaired.

[Leif]

I'd suggest keeping it as a spare in case the new one is damaged or dropped in the washing up, etc.
I usually keep my previous model and always have a PAYG SIM card in case of emergency, or need to lend it to a visitor, etc.
Older ones get sent for re-use/re-sale by charities.

Technically, I do not believe it is possible to have two SIM cards with the same number - what happens if both try to call out at the same time?

[StuartR]

...Technically, I do not believe it is possible to have two SIM cards with the same number - what happens if both try to call out at the same time?

I know that Vodafone in the UK used to offer this as a service, but it was very expensive and looking at this web page I guess it is no longer available.

[Leif]

...this web page I guess it is no longer available.

Your link is certainly no longer available!

I suspect the issue of (illegally) cloned SIM cards had a bearing on this as well...

[Bowlie]

This is what Swisscom has to say on the subject:

Extra card
One number. Two mobile phones.
The second SIM card for your existing NATEL ® number

Do you often call using two different mobile phones with the same NATEL® number? Do you always keep one mobile phone with you and one in the car? Then it is a good idea to get a second SIM card so you are not continuously changing SIM cards.

Charges for extra card
Subscription for extra card: Cost per month CHF 10.-
Second SIM card (extra card): One-time fee CHF 40.-
All prices include VAT, prices are subject to change without notice.

Important information

For smooth functioning of the extra card, only one mobile phone can be switched on at a time (for example, either the one with you or your car phone). If both devices are inadvertently switched on, this can lead to incoming calls being sent to the wrong card.

Additional services such as call forwarding; call waiting, caller ID display or blocking outgoing calls can be configured individually on either of the SIM cards or on each of the two mobile phones.

The extra card cannot be combined either with a Mobile Unlimited Data subscription or with a prepaid card.

So, if you have a monthly subscription, you can have a second card for a fee, and an extra monthly charge. I think the CHF40 one-off fee is the same as the cost of the first SIM card. If you only have pay-as-you-go, this wont work.

[StuartR]

...
Your link is certainly no longer available!
...

Woops, it was one of those search results that timed out after a while. Try a web search for Vodafone multiSIM

[ChrisGreaves]

... you just need to put a valid SIM in the slot.

Hi Stuart.
Does that mean that the old SIM that's in Betty's phone needs to be replaced?
Or is it just a matter of getting it re-assigned to a phone account?

I try to keep one spare, unused, phone in the house. This is then available for anyone in the family to use while their phone is being repaired.

That is close to what I was thinking - if Betty had a guest who was going shopping, Betty could say "Take this cell and call me {on my landline} if you get confused".

[ChrisGreaves]

... always have a PAYG SIM card in case of emergency, or need to lend it to a visitor, etc.

Hi leif, and thanks for the response.
A Pay-As-You-Go(is that right?) SIM suggests to me that the old SIM that is sitting in the card is a now-useless piece of silicon & gold

Technically, I do not believe it is possible to have two SIM cards with the same number - what happens if both try to call out at the same time?

I would imagine that what happens is the same thing that happens when two people try to call out at the same time on the mobile phones hooked up to my landline. There would be a few seconds of "No, YOU go first" once both parties realized what was going on.
After all, a phone is a phone in terms of when-in-use, right?

[ChrisGreaves]

... "Do you always keep one mobile phone with you and one in the car? Then it is a good idea to get a second SIM card so you are not continuously changing SIM cards." ...

Hi Bowlie, and thanks for the quote.
This would make sens to Betty - keeping one cell phone in the car and one in her home.
Obviously each cell phone would need to have a SIM card in place.
And presumably, both phones would respond to the same number.

This is close to my idea that two people working for the same organization might each possess a cell-phone wired to the same number, so that either one could respond to incoming calls.

... only one mobile phone can be switched on at a time ...

This would not be an inconvenience in Betty's case; she NEVER has the car in the 5th-floor apartment!

On the other hand, it would mean that two people working for the same organization could not both be waiting for incoming calls.

The "switch on" makes me think that it's all to do with satellites. If a satellite is tracking NOT the phone, but the phone NUMBER, then switching on both phones (if their SIMs were programmed to the same number) would make the satellite tumble out of the sky.
(Hmm! .....)

I can see that a satellite would get confused over a series of signals that said "Toronto, Toronto, Toronto, Airport, Toronto, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Toronto, Atlantic ocean, Toronto, London UK, Toronto, ...."

[Leif]

A Pay-As-You-Go(is that right?) SIM suggests to me that the old SIM that is sitting in the card is a now-useless piece of silicon & gold

Yes - PAYB = Pay As You Go. No, your original SIM is in your new 'phone, your PAYG SIM is in your old 'phone, waiting for an emergency.

Technically, I do not believe it is possible to have two SIM cards with the same number - what happens if both try to call out at the same time?

I would imagine that what happens is the same thing that happens when two people try to call out at the same time on the mobile phones hooked up to my landline. There would be a few seconds of "No, YOU go first" once both parties realized what was going on.
After all, a phone is a phone in terms of when-in-use, right?

Landlines, yes. GSM, I don't think so.
As you move about, the service provider has to keep a track of you, and as long is your mobile is on and in range, it is registered within the 'cell' covered by a particular transmitter. As you move from cell to cell, the service provider has to monitor this to know, for example, if a call can be put through or to divert the caller directly to voice mail.
Although possibly do-able, I would imagine the logistics of keeping track of multiple 'phones would be more trouble than it is worth. Imagine two mobiles with the same number and within the same cell are registered with the SP. One is on a call, the other not. One moves out of the cell to another - which mobile should the call be connected to now?

Call diverting is much more practical and can generally be done with a couple of button-presses on modern mobiles, and some even have conference calling capabilities.

[StuartR]

The Vodafone multiSIM service allowed either phone to make outgoing calls, or both at the same time if you wanted. You had to decide which one was the recipient for incoming calls, but you could change this at any time.

[BobH]

Good evening, Chris!

Our local sheriff's department takes donations of old cell phones. They have an arrangement whereby they give these phones to women who have been battered or who have protection orders against abusers. They somehow make this phones useful only for contacting law enforcement.

You might call your local police and ask about a similar program.

[stuck]

They somehow make this phones useful only for contacting law enforcement.

I think all phones with a SIM card in them can dial the international emergency number (i.e. 112), i.e. that number works even if the SIM card is not associated with a service provider.

Ken

[StuartR]

I think you can dial 112 even without a SIM card

[stuck]

There's an echo in here

[StuartR]

I am now confused.

You said:

I think all phones with a SIM card in them can dial the international emergency number...

I replied

I think you can dial 112 even without a SIM card

Pointing out that you don't even need the SIM card, and you replied:

There's an echo in here

[stuck]

I misread your post, I missed the 'out' in 'without'.

Time to go into

[StuartR]

...
Time to go into

Can I join you? Work is being very troublesome today.

[stuck]

Can I join you? Work is being very troublesome today.

:irony: Just tried to make a post about there being plenty of room behind my PC only for the Internet connection die and the post to get lost in the ether.

You are still welcome to join me but looks like my work has it's own troubles today.

Ken