Did you pre-order an iPhone 5 from Apple? If you’re in a major city, according to this map from Apple your delivery should arrive on Friday, September 21st, launch day.
For existing users on Rogers, Telus and Bell, you will need a nano SIM if you pre-ordered unlocked from Apple. There are two ways to acquire yours:
1. Get one for free from an Apple Store (they offer all carrier SIM cards free of charge; show your receipt if you run into any problems).
2. Visit a Rogers, Telus or Bell store or dealer (ie Future Shop, Best Buy, Wireless Wave, etc) and pay $9.99 for a nano SIM.
As for activation on Rogers, Telus or Bell, you can call into customer service and get them to make the switch. We’ve been told online activations should be ready for the launch by Rogers for existing customers. I would probably call in to activate nano SIMs until we can get confirmation you can do it online on launch day.
Some dealers I called on the phone actually have nano SIM cards in stock as of right now, and they are available for purchase. If I were you, I’d get mine ahead of time and start waiting by the door for Friday to arrive.
Let us know if you are successful in acquiring a nano SIM in advance of your pre-order from Apple.
Update: Bell emailed us to say activations can only be done in-store or by calling in to Customer Care.
Update 2: Note that third party Rogers dealerships are NOT authorized to sell nano SIM cards outright–they’ll charge you a $35 activation fee. You will need to find a Rogers Plus store in your area or a Best Buy or Future Shop.
Update 3: Here’s a picture of a Bell nano SIM acquired at Wireless Wave today (thanks @_kegan_!):
Update 4: Apple commented nano SIM cards will be available at Apple Stores tomorrow and carrier stores; however they would not comment on whether unlocked iPhone 5 pre-orders would be getting one for free in-store.
Update 5: Here’s what a Telus nano SIM looks like (thanks Imran!):
Also, the Future Shop and Best Buy locations we called on the phone noted they would not be selling nano SIM cards separately. Best to try your luck at finding a nano SIM for your unlocked iPhone. We do know Wireless Wave has been selling them.
Update 6: Here is what a Fido nano SIM looks like (thanks @MatLeGeek):
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Phones ordered from the carriers (eg. Rogers Reservations) should come with a free nano sim, no?
yep
How can that be confirmed?
i dont think a phone bought from a provider would be of much use if the provider didnt include a sim card
I meant whether we have to pay an extra 10$ for those who reserved with rogers
Confirmed by me
right on, although i preferred the snarkyness of philippe 😛
oh, sorry my bad
if its from a carrier, youll get a free sim, thats not a problem
this article is about those who did the preorder and where they can get sims (unlocked)
i got the same answer from apple canada.
Which dealers have nano sims already that you know of… looking for a Fido nano sim.
“1. Get one for free from an Apple Store (they offer all carrier SIM cards free of charge).”
not this year, they are only providing sims to carrier locked activations (went and asked the st-catherine street store in montreal)
im also hounding rogers to release them early so those who will be receiving unlocked on friday wont have to go add to the chaos that will be friday
Good to know. Can anyone else confirm this on the west-coast?
I just talked to the Eaton Centre Apple Store. They said they are providing nano SIMs free of charge, as long as you purchased the phone from them. Looks to be like some conflicting info out there from these stores.
ill call the st-cath one to see what they say gary
on the phone they now told me that they will, BUT, because they are only selling contract phones on that day, the chances of available sims will be unclear
Maybe when they say “..
as long as you purchased the phone from them.” they mean you go in and get an activation through them and not that you buy an unlocked one online from them.
You have to wonder if maybe this is another reason for not selling unlocked phones on Friday in their stores. Maybe there is a shortage of sim cards?? LOL
I dont know why they cant just sell the NANO sims. why is a SIM card release directly involed with a phone release? How DUMB are these Rogers/Telus and bell execs that run this crap? really lets have Mass hysteria from already pissed off ppl that wont be able to get a phone and lets add in ppl that just want to pick up a sim card to use the Iphone 5 they recieve friday.. Hmmmmmm DUMB move.
$10 for a sim when I’m already a customer? WTF?
My local Rogers store confirmed they have them on hand and then refused to sell me one. They’re worried they’ll have 1 for every iPhone 5 they sell and no extras!!
I called two bell stores, they wont sell the Nano Sim card untill Friday..not very happy
hyesterical, just had a live chat with a rogers tech on their website
just called 3 TELUS stores in Montreal…
2 of them said they’re not allowed selling before Friday, the other one said they start selling them Thursday…
Hey Peter! I’m in Montreal as well and called different Telus store and they all said the 21st, can u please tell me which store is it that will start selling on thursday please?
the one in Place Cote-Vertu! they did tell me to call Thursday to make sure though since they won’t get it in stock until then
Two years ago when I bought my iphone 4 from apple, I had a hard time getting my sim card from Bell and I had to get one from BestBuy so I hope this time will be easier!!
With TELUS, simply get the Nano SIM from a TELUS store or apple store and then visit your online account and swap it yourself free of charge, than pop it into your brand new i5 and you are ready to go ! no need to call, and it’s free to swap online , takes 3 mins
Can you tell me, how to swap it myself from the Telus Mytelusmobility.com?
You would go to change equipement and enter the imei number of the new sim card
i can just go to the Telus store to get the Nano Sim card ?
Yes
I’m in Ottawa, I had a very hard time finding a Rogers wireless store that would let me buy one, they ALL said they wanted to keep them for NEW iphone 5 customers to rogers, wtf! And that they would sell them separately ONLY if they had let overs after the big launch on friday. BUT after 20 phone calls all over town, i was able to find a Rogers Store with very nice clerks that just gave me a nano sim card away on saturday!
I’m in Ottawa as well. Can I ask you which Rogers Store you went to? Thanks!
11 Selkirk Street, Ottawa
Thank you so much! I went to that location right after seeing your message and I was able to buy one. Now waiting for the phone! 😉
I bought one on Friday at the Rogers store on eagleson, right beside the beer store. The dude in there didn’t know he had them in the drawer.
Wow! This is great news. I live in Orleans so it will be a bit of a drive, but beats not using my phone on Friday when the servers that Rogers uses for SIM activation inevitably crash. It is a much smarter idea to get a NanoSIM activated in advance!
i talked to online chatting ppl at apple canada, they said nano sim comes with the phone, free of charge… lie or not?
Conversation between me and the person on online chat at apple canada…
okay if the nano sim comes with the phone, i don’t need to pay extra 10 bulks, i assume?
Not as long as you purchased through your carrier, no worries.
yes
but this article is for those who didnt
Bought an LTE NANO SIM from a Rogers store on Yonge St. For $10 plus tax yesterday!
I’m
Recieving my 64GB on Friday and I won’t have time to go through the chaos .
There’s a picture of the card on my twitter
@AndrewKharrazi
“Only confirmed followers have access to @AndrewKharrazi’s Tweets and complete profile. Click the “Follow” button to send a follow request.”
thats a bit of a sneaky way to get followers 🙂
Which store? Yonge is a long street!!
Was told the Apple Stores in Edmonton will not have/release the nano sims until launch day. Similar info from Rogers stores/kiosks. Anyone finding anything different in the Edmonton area? Would love to have it BEFORE Friday’s onslaught!
Rogers said the nano sim should come with it with free of charge…just live chat with them.
So do apple retail stores have them now or no ?
I called apple at mapleview mall they said they won’t have them till Friday ..
Which dealers in the Vancouver area have them in stock and are willing to sell them?
Bell at Richmond Center
Best Buy futures shop and 3 bell stores in Kitchener have them but wont sell until friday. bell mobility in cambridge have them and Joseph is just giving them away.
is there only one Bell store in Cambridge? if not which one
I was told by a Bell rep in-store (in downtown Toronto) and a CSR that if you pre-ordered from Apple, you can only get your sim card on Friday in a store…they will not sell you one early. Told company wide email was sent out this morning about it….anyone else on Bell who pre-ordered unlocked have any luck getting one?
Yes, At Bell in Richmond Center
I was just told by the Pacific Centre Mac store that all phones pre-ordered online from Apple need to get their SIM from your service provider. They said all SIM cards they will have in store are matched to the number of phones they have so they will not have extra ones to give out to those who ordered their phone online.
Wrong.
Actually, that’s what they told me too over the phone.
I called my Rogers store and they said the same thing; that they only had enough Nano SIMs for the phones they are selling. He said to call Rogers CS and ask them to mail me one.
How did you find out the SIMs would be available at the Apple store?
i just called rogers again and they said they cant mail them out
to go pick one up in store
friday is gonna be fuuuuuuuuuuuuun
Apple will have them for you.
I just got my Rogers nano sim from the Apple store. Just bring the e-mail to prove you purchased through online pre-order.
Called Rogers CS and they said they had no idea what was going to happen. She couldn’t even find Nano SIMs in their catalog. I called the Oakridge Apple store and they told me I could just go in on the day and get one but then when I told him what the Pac Centre store said he told “To be honest, this is all new so we don’t know what is going to happen. I can’t promise you anything. Give us a call on the 21st.”
Go to Apple and get it. It’ll be fine.
I will never doubt you again.
Yeah- Rogers Live chat just told me they’re not available until Friday. If anyone in Vancouver has managed to get one please post where!
If anyone finds a Rogers store that will sell them in Montreal please let me know!
There are micro-to-nano kits on ebay, I’m not sure of their efficiency but given the positive(ish) feedback I’m reading online, if I can’t get my hands on a nanosim when my unlocked device arrives Friday, I’m going to give it a try.
Who’s with me! 🙂 (it’ll also let me see if I can’t cut my T-Mobile sim down, I have a great pay-as-you-go rate with them for when I visit the US that I do not want to lose)
One Bell store where I live told me the SIM card will be free and ditto for the activation. Over at The Source, owned by Bell, they wanted $5 for the card.
Just talked to a TELUS rep on twitter, and anyone who pre-ordered on TELUS website will receive a Nano sim with the phone. Also, you can transfer from your old phone to iPhone 5 using their website. No need to call.
If I can get a nano sim for free at the Apple store, I may as well drive 35 min to the nearest one. As for Rogers charging an extra $35 activation fee, go to hell.
Gerry, the article said a third party Rogers dealer meaning if it isn’t a Rogers store but they sell Rogers products like wireless wave or something.. The reg Rogers store is just 10 dollars which is still dumb anyway lol. Apple store FTW!
Good news for ppl use Virgin. At Oakridge Centre, Vancouver, you can get the nano sim card from two different stores. Wirelesswave will sell for 5.00, while the Virgin kiosk is free. Unfortunately I’ve gone to Wirelesswave first and paid for it, then found out Virgin kiosk was free. Maybe it’s because I bought my kid’s phone/plan from her a couple of months ago or maybe it my charm. lol.
Virgin in Waterloo charged $5.
just live chatted with Rogers – was told nano sim cards will come out on Friday when the phones are released AND they (Rogers) are definitely charging $9.99 for each sim card. I told him ‘no way’ will I ever pay for a sim card when Apple will provide to me for free. Absolutely ridiculous that you pay almost a $1,000 for an unlocked phone and then they’re gonna charge for a sim card??? Really???
Got my nano sim at wireless wave.. She had a ton of them and are selling for $10.. Give them a try.. Hopefully I can activate it on Rogers’ website on Friday.
Which wireless wave & thank you
Not in Vancouver, just checked their stores they do not have the nano sim card for Rogers yet. They hope to have them by Thursday.
I live a little about 45 minutes from my nearest Fido dealer or reseller and a good hour and a half from the Montreal Apple store. I tried the closest ones including a Future Shop and the basically told me they weren’t sure if they were going to have any extra to sell.
I am hoping that either they just aren’t sure or they are just trying to avoid massive crowds. It really would suck to actually get the phone on Friday but not be able to use it.
I really wish that apple could belike the US store and just get it from them on contract or not. But I imagine that has more to do with the carriers blocking them?
Spoke to Southgate Apple store tonight. I was told I could come in on Friday and pick up a Nano sim for my online purchased unlocked phone. Was told I would not have to wait in line, just let them know I only need a SIM.
Going to bring receipt just in case.
just checked out rogers website http://www.rogers.com/web/Rogers.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=support_results&No=10&Ntt=sim&N=4294966681%2042%2011 2nd last option… according to this sim cards are free
With a new contract yes.
Well, not free but Virgin Kiosks have Nano Sims in stock. I picked one up today for $5.. price gouging since everyone needs one.. better grab them before they are hard to get.
i called in Apple and Rogers in Toronto and hey said they are noting giving out or selling any Nano sim cards until friday. anyone know places where they are?
I got my Rogers nano sim yesterday from wireless wave I went to the rogers store they said it wouldn’t be available till Friday and then i went to best buy mobile she said they are in stock but not in the system until Friday I paid 10.00 but I don’t care its less hassle and if my phone comes from Apple on Friday I will avoid the line ups
Just called St Catherine store in Montreal. nano sims will be available for online order customers on Friday.
Picked up 2 nano-SIMs for Fido from Tbooth in the Eaton Centre just now – $10 each.
The Fido Store said they didn’t have any and had no information about them.
The Fido booth (lower level near the Sony Store) didn’t have any.
Gadgets ‘n Things in Scotia Plaza was willing to sell them to me, but said he wouldn’t have them until they were delivered “from the warehouse tomorrow”.
Hmm, just called Tbooth, they said “tomorrow”. I will call again tomorrow.
Really. Hmm I just called Tbooth in the Eaton Center, they told me tomorrow. I will call again tomorrow.
I just called the Wireless Wave in the Toronto Eaton Centre. They are now selling nano SIM’s for $10, plus tax. Enjoy, folks.
I called, they told me to wait until the launch day.
Picked up a Rogers nano lte sim today at Wireless Wave in Mic Mac Mall, no issues.
$11.49 taxes in.
If anyone has picked up a Nano Sim that will work with Rogers in Toronto? If from a wireless Wave or a Rogers store, Please post location where you got it. Thanks.
Wireless Wave at the Toronto Eaton Centre.
I called, but they said they wont be selling them until launch day…….
Rogers Store @ Leslie and Lakeshore in the Canadian Tire Plaza
On live chat with Bell, they told me that I could get my card only when I receive my new phone and not before that!!!!
I can’t believe this, the guy thought that the iphone 5 had the same sim as the iphone 4!!!!
Snagged one at Wireless Wave, Sherway Gardens, at lunch. Dude sold it to me without hesitation. $10. Came in a little plastic bag with a terms of service booklet. Invigorating reading, to be sure.
Rogers Plus, on the other hand, told me they weren’t selling them at all.
Anyone have luck in Calgary?
Bell Store in Richmond Center for 5$. They weren’t sure about it but sold it to me anyway.
OK. I give up! Anyone in Vancouver getting a Roger’s nano sim card?? Wireless Wave said they had them, went there on Granville and then said – oops, don’t have them yet!
According to Rogers, Wireless Wave or any authorized Rogers dealer, they don’t have and won’t get until Friday!?!? Vancouverites with Rogers – step up and let me know. This is ridiculous!!
I’ve had the same issue. And most say they are keeping them for new activations only! I phoned the apple store in Richmond Centre yesterday who told me she wasn’t sure, but it should be like last year to just come in a pick one up. I thought best to confirm this, so I phoned today and the guy said they are only providing nano sims to in store purchases as they have “limited numbers”….
Just picked up two Rogers nano sim cards at Wireless Wave:
2698 Granville StVancouver, BC (604) 677-4054
I was told by a wireless wave store they are not authorized to sell the nano sims period. I was told by a Rogers dealer that they can’t sell them until friday but that they aren’t sure if they will get more nano-sims than they do iPhone 5’s so they wont know how many they will be able to sell until Friday. This is looking like its going to be extremely frustrating!
Yes, looks like Wireless Wave sent out new memos after works leaked they were selling nano SIMs early. A store I talked to backtracked after confirming on the phone they would sell me a nano SIM. I’m going to hit up Future Shop or Best Buy on launch day for my nano SIM.
Unfortunately for me the nearest futureshop is an hour drive away. If my local Rogers store doesn’t get enough and wirelesswave wont sell them it looks like I may be out of luck! I guess it wouldn’t be an iPhone launch if everything went smoothly!
That is true. I’m going to be heading out early to secure my nano SIM.
The Barrie Rogers Store feed me a line that they have only enough nano sim for the iPhone 5 they are selling no extras.
Market Mall Calgary:
Wireless wave has NanoSims but only for new activations they sell
Rogers Store has small number of sims reserved for new activations on Friday (suggested I come in on Thursday because he was expecting a large order of sims)
Apple Store has no sims currently but says they will get lots and will start giving to Apple-purchased phones as soon as they are available
Just called the apple store @ fairview mall toronto before they closed he said you have to get the sim card from your carrier…they’ll only be giving sim cards with activated in store bought iphone 5’s..gonna call tomorrow and see if this changes.
I was told by the Newmarket Apple Store they will have extra nano SIM card, but you have wait in line just like everyone else, even if have a iPhone 5 in hand.
Why can’t apple pre-order can not sell sims on there site,
Wait ipad has sims free with it.
Also thats another way the phone company fucks many people over is charging for the sims. I can understand 5 bucks okay. but ten is pushing it
I’ve had to buy replacement sims because my stupid friends fucked mine up with the puk code.
I do like the ideia of sims. but I think there should be a better approach where you can just log in with a ID to the network like how you connect to wifi networks (Like the menu where you pick the wifi name and password). and not require the simchips at all. and you still would have a imei number and you can use multiple phones at once.
but remain compatible with sim systems some how. I guess the mobile providers could make a sim generator on the phone and have it work in a sim legacy mode, I doubt it would be even hard to do that.