Live traffic with built in sim card

b4u2

b4u2

Joined
Aug 20, 2022
Messages
50
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<img src="/styles/default/custom/flags/gb.png" alt="United Kingdom" /> United Kingdom
TomTom Model(s)
Go 6200
Apparently I heard that if you remove the built in sim card and replace it with another sim which is 4 or 5g then the live traffic and services should continue working, is that true and correct? Has anyone tried and can tell me what happened?
 
b4u2 said:
Apparently I heard that if you remove the built in sim card and replace it with another sim which is 4 or 5g then the live traffic and services should continue working, is that true and correct? Has anyone tried and can tell me what happened?
Click to expand...
I'm trying to figure out where people have gotten the idea that it's some magic in the SIM card that decides the frequencies and protocols possible by the phone (or TomTom).

That's like saying that changing a SIM card can change your radio from AM to FM. All the SIM does is store information.

So no, a SIM card cannot turn a phone (or TomTom) whose 'radio' is capable of only 2G into a 4G or 5G phone. I only wish that were true. They shut off 2G a while back here in the U.S., and we've been using WiFi or Bluetooth to get our traffic to our TomToms ever since.

That said, there have been some who have reported here who have replaced the TomTom SIM with a new one from a carrier that still supports 2G, and have had success with that.
 
My personal opinion, replacing the SIM card with another one is not the solution.
You should also think if you are traveling to another country where 2G has been removed.
 
canderson said:
I'm trying to figure out where people have gotten the idea that it's some magic in the SIM card that decides the frequencies and protocols possible by the phone (or TomTom).

That's like saying that changing a SIM card can change your radio from AM to FM. All the SIM does is store information.

So no, a SIM card cannot turn a phone (or TomTom) whose 'radio' is capable of only 2G into a 4G or 5G phone. I only wish that were true. They shut off 2G a while back here in the U.S., and we've been using WiFi or Bluetooth to get our traffic to our TomToms ever since.

That said, there have been some who have reported here who have replaced the TomTom SIM with a new one from a carrier that still supports 2G, and have had success with that.
Click to expand...
@canderson
Well I have been told by people who tried it that worked.
So obviously there must be truth behind it.
 
Why?
1st, you will pay two subscriptions when only one subscription on your phone can be suitable.

2nd, I don't know if your GPS will accept SIMs in 4 or 5G?

As I wrote, this is my personal opinion so everyone does as they wish.
 
b4u2 said:
@canderson
Well I have been told by people who tried it that worked.
So obviously there must be truth behind it.
Click to expand...
No. As I say, I wish it was true. Whatever they've tried that worked, it didn't include changing the base functionality of the cellular 'radio' embedded in their TomTom or phone. You can believe me, or do some homework on your own. For the latter, this isn't a bad read >> https://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-a-sim-card-3280844/

Let me try again with the analogy.

You can't change an AM-only radio into an FM-only radio by wishing for it. Your TomTom contains a cellular modem (radio) that is designed to operate ONLY at particular 2G frequencies and using 2G protocols.

It is no different for an old phone that was released when there was only 2G. The 'radio' internal to those phones also only worked on 2G frequencies with 2G protocols. No amount of SIM card swapping will make an old 2G phone work as 3G, 4G or 5G.

The SIM is, effectively, ONLY a memory card. Most important, the information on that card determines which carrier your device connects to on the network. The SIM card contains the information that identifies you as a network subscriber.
 
canderson said:
No. As I say, I wish it was true. Whatever they've tried that worked, it didn't include changing the base functionality of the cellular 'radio' embedded in their TomTom or phone. You can believe me, or do some homework on your own. For the latter, this isn't a bad read >> https://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-a-sim-card-3280844/

Let me try again with the analogy.

You can't change an AM-only radio into an FM-only radio by wishing for it. Your TomTom contains a cellular modem (radio) that is designed to operate ONLY at particular 2G frequencies and using 2G protocols.

It is no different for an old phone that was released when there was only 2G. The 'radio' internal to those phones also only worked on 2G frequencies with 2G protocols. No amount of SIM card swapping will make an old 2G phone work as 3G, 4G or 5G.

The SIM is, effectively, ONLY a memory card. Most important, the information on that card determines which carrier your device connects to on the network. The SIM card contains the information that identifies you as a network subscriber.
Click to expand...
@canderson
Interesting but who said true?
 
b4u2 said:
@canderson
Interesting but who said true?
Click to expand...
Me and anyone else who knows how the system functions. Helps to know what's actually IN a 'handy', as they call them in Germany. The 'modem' and RF parts in your phone are what decide what kind of service (2G/3G/4G/5G) you are capable of hitting successfully. I would next refer you to Qualcomm's web pages as an example. They make the 'modem' chips that actually handle the connection. They don't make SIM cards.

You don't want to believe me? Drop by a local store for your own phone carrier and try it (that the SIM determines whether the phone is physically capable of 2G/3G/4G/5G service) out on them, but be prepared for the same lecture.

I also again refer you to the article linked in my post above. Just trying to keep you from wasting your money on a solution that can't work to make a TomTom a 4G or 5G device.
 
Last edited:
I asked the question about SIM cards on the official Tomtom forum.
The moderator @WillU answered me
""So, there is no number like for a mobile but the SIM has an identifier.""
 

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