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-   -   Moving to a new phone - advice needed. (https://www.cableforum.uk/board/showthread.php?t=33706961)

heavyside 18-10-2018 12:15
Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Apologies in advance for a bit of a novice question. I am currently on a sim only contract with Virgin Media. This deal is adequate for my needs. However, my mobile - a Samsung Galaxy Ace - is getting past its usefulness. I have seen a good deal on an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S8 that I am thinking of buying to replace the Ace.

My question is, will moving over to the S8 be simply a matter of removing my sim from my old phone and putting it into the new one? Will this mean that the new phone will then have my existing mobile number? Will the sim from my aging Ace even fit into the S8 or will I need a new one?

Additionally, will all of my contact numbers and existing texts move over to the new phone along with the sim or will these need to be moved separately?

Is there anything else I need to know?

Any advice gratefully received.

BenMcr 18-10-2018 12:33
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by heavyside (Post 35966945)
My question is, will moving over to the S8 be simply a matter of removing my sim from my old phone and putting it into the new one? Will this mean that the new phone will then have my existing mobile number? Will the sim from my aging Ace even fit into the S8 or will I need a new one?
Yes, it should immediately make the new phone the one that rings.

Quote:
Additionally, will all of my contact numbers and existing texts move over to the new phone along with the sim or will these need to be moved separately?
It depends on how your existing phone is set up. As long as your contacts as on your Google account then they will be available once you sign on your new account.

But I'd suggest looking at this for Samsung to Samsung updates:

https://www.samsung.com/uk/getting-s.../smart-switch/

heavyside 18-10-2018 14:59
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Thanks for the reply, Ben. And thanks for the link. I'll take a look at it when I have a bit more time.

---------- Post added at 13:59 ---------- Previous post was at 11:59 ----------

I've just discovered a complication. It seems the size of sim used by the Galaxy S8 is only half the size of that used by my existing Galaxy Ace. Will Virgin Media supply me with a new, smaller sim to fit the S8 so that I can continue with my current sim only plan? Will any new sim have my existing mobile number or is there an additional process needed to transfer it?

Stephen 18-10-2018 15:03
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
If you only have a micro SIM, then yes. Call VM who will issue a new multi SIM that can be used. It has bits that break off to make the SIM the correct size. Nano SIM is the current size used by most newer phones.

heavyside 18-10-2018 15:05
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephen (Post 35966973)
If you only have a micro SIM, then yes. Call VM who will issue a new multi SIM that can be used. It has bits that break off to make the SIM the correct size. Nano SIM is the current size used by most newer phones.
Thanks, Stephen. And what about retaining my existing mobile number with the new nano sim?

BenMcr 18-10-2018 15:20
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Virgin always ensure the correct number is associated with any new SIM they send out.

But I'd also just double check you don't already have a multi-SIM. They've been issued for a few years now.

Stephen 18-10-2018 15:27
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
The new SIM would be activated with your existing number.

Usually when sending out a replacement SIM, it comes blank or unregistered. Yuo then follow the instructions sent with the new SIM to activate it and activate it with the number. There for removing the number off the old SIM.

As Ben states it may have been a multi SIM already. If so the micro SIM will have a smaller bit in the middle with the chip that would just push out revealing it as a nano SIM.

heavyside 18-10-2018 15:45
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Thanks Ben. Thanks Stephen. It all seems much more straightforward than I anticipated. Hands up for overthinking this.

The larger sim I have looks to be in one piece. It's probably six or seven years old now. When I get the new phone I'll get in touch with Virgin and take it from there.

Thanks again for your help.

BenMcr 18-10-2018 17:25
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Final thing to point out.

The Galaxy Ace is a 3G phone, the S8 is 4G.

So if you're phoning up for a new SIM, you might want to consider whether a new 4G plan would be better for you. They're all 12 month deals rather than 30 day contracts, so that would have to be part of your consideration.

But I'd expect you may get more for the same money these days than the 3G plan you're on.

heavyside 19-10-2018 08:38
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BenMcr (Post 35967014)
Final thing to point out.

The Galaxy Ace is a 3G phone, the S8 is 4G.

So if you're phoning up for a new SIM, you might want to consider whether a new 4G plan would be better for you. They're all 12 month deals rather than 30 day contracts, so that would have to be part of your consideration.

But I'd expect you may get more for the same money these days than the 3G plan you're on.
Thanks, Ben, I'll bear that in mind and see what kind of deal I'm offered.

Hom3r 20-10-2018 21:27
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
I have all my contacts saved to my google account, so that when I get a new phone it downloads the details automatically to my new phone.

It was a pain re typing some contacts but woth it in the end.

heavyside 05-11-2018 17:07
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Well... I got the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the nano SIM and it is now up and running. Thanks to everyone who offered advice on this.

The new phone is sleek and responsive with one exception that I have been struggling with all weekend. I copied my music files from my PC to a new micro SD card but no matter what I try I just cannot get them to show up in any music player. The card is properly seated and inserted and I have verified that the files are saved on the SD card both via the 'My Files' app on the phone and via the PC but, so far they cannot be seen by a music player - I've tried several. I have tried the same with a smaller micro SD card that was loaded with my music files which worked faultlessly in my old Galaxy Ace with the same result. The Android software is up to date for that model of phone. I'm beginning to fear that this is a bug.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Can anyone please offer any advice on this?

SnoopZ 05-11-2018 21:51
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by heavyside (Post 35969318)
Well... I got the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the nano SIM and it is now up and running. Thanks to everyone who offered advice on this.

The new phone is sleek and responsive with one exception that I have been struggling with all weekend. I copied my music files from my PC to a new micro SD card but no matter what I try I just cannot get them to show up in any music player. The card is properly seated and inserted and I have verified that the files are saved on the SD card both via the 'My Files' app on the phone and via the PC but, so far they cannot be seen by a music player - I've tried several. I have tried the same with a smaller micro SD card that was loaded with my music files which worked faultlessly in my old Galaxy Ace with the same result. The Android software is up to date for that model of phone. I'm beginning to fear that this is a bug.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Can anyone please offer any advice on this?
A few thoughts.

Did you format/mount the sd card in the phone as i think you need to do that?

You also have to give permission for the player app to access the SD card like any other app, can't remember how you do that though.

heavyside 06-11-2018 09:49
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnoopZ (Post 35969375)
A few thoughts.

Did you format/mount the sd card in the phone as i think you need to do that?

You also have to give permission for the player app to access the SD card like any other app, can't remember how you do that though.
Good suggestions, Snoop. Unfortunately, they don't work. To be doubly certain I reformatted the SD card, unmounted and mounted it again. The reformatting wiped the tracks that I had previously saved so I transferred some again from my PC. I then downloaded another music player, gave it permission to access the files but still nothing. The tracks are definitely there on the SD card but nothing I can do makes them visible to any music player. I'm out of ideas.

heero_yuy 06-11-2018 09:55
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
What format did you do the SD card to?

For most non-pc devices FAT32 is the requirement.

heavyside 06-11-2018 10:12
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by heero_yuy (Post 35969409)
What format did you do the SD card to?

For most non-pc devices FAT32 is the requirement.
I formatted the SD card with the phone.

SnoopZ 06-11-2018 10:56
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Have you given apps permission to access the SD card as newer versions of android require this?

heavyside 06-11-2018 12:09
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnoopZ (Post 35969414)
Have you given apps permission to access the SD card as newer versions of android require this?
Yes, I've done that too, SnoopZ. This morning I wiped the cache but nothing has changed.

SnoopZ 06-11-2018 13:43
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
If the phone can't see the SD card best try another card of the correct type.

heavyside 06-11-2018 15:01
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnoopZ (Post 35969430)
If the phone can't see the SD card best try another card of the correct type.
It was the very first thing I tried, SnoopZ. I had been listening to music on my ancient Galaxy Ace without problems for years. When I got the S8 I retrieved the micro SD card from the Ace and put it into the S8 naively thinking that the music would be available on the new phone. Sadly, the tracks on the original card are also invisible to the S8. Two different SD cards, the same result. As I said, I'm out of ideas.

BenMcr 06-11-2018 15:51
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
I've just downloaded a track from a cloud account to the SD card in my S8.

Both Amazon Music and Play Music can see the track and play it from the SD Card.

SnoopZ 06-11-2018 16:30
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by heavyside (Post 35969445)
It was the very first thing I tried, SnoopZ. I had been listening to music on my ancient Galaxy Ace without problems for years. When I got the S8 I retrieved the micro SD card from the Ace and put it into the S8 naively thinking that the music would be available on the new phone. Sadly, the tracks on the original card are also invisible to the S8. Two different SD cards, the same result. As I said, I'm out of ideas.

Exactly what is the make and model of SD card you're using and what happens when you first put the card in the phone does it ask you to do anything?

https://www.samsung.com/ph/support/m...xy-s8-s8-plus/

heavyside 06-11-2018 17:14
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BenMcr (Post 35969451)
I've just downloaded a track from a cloud account to the SD card in my S8.

Both Amazon Music and Play Music can see the track and play it from the SD Card.
I wish my S8 would behave like that. It's so frustrating. Neither Play Music nor any other music player I've tried so far can see my SD card. I can see all the files on the card but for some reason the music players cannot. It's doubly frustrating because they played normally on the Galaxy Ace I upgraded from. I'm guessing it's either a bug or there's some hidden setting that is preventing this. I've contacted the Samsung UK help desk but they are taking an age to get back to me.

---------- Post added at 15:45 ---------- Previous post was at 15:42 ----------

OK, the mystery deepens. I have just taken a photo and saved it to the SD card. And there it is, visible in the gallery. Obviously everything is working as it should but, for some unknown reason, not my music tracks.

---------- Post added at 16:14 ---------- Previous post was at 15:45 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnoopZ (Post 35969455)
Exactly what is the make and model of SD card you're using and what happens when you first put the card in the phone does it ask you to do anything?

https://www.samsung.com/ph/support/m...xy-s8-s8-plus/
It is a Sandisk 64 Gb card. The one that came from my previous Galaxy Ace was a Sandisk 32 Gb card. There is a message on the pull-down from my start-up screen that says 'SD Card. Tap here to transfer media files'. When tapped this takes me to the files on the SD card where I can find my music files. The problem is that none of the music players can see them.

In my earlier reply to BenMcr I noted that photos saved to the SD card are all present and correct. It's all a mystery to me.

heero_yuy 06-11-2018 18:15
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
I don't know if it's relevant but I had a problem with the media server on my PC sharing files by "genre" This attribute was not set in the files headers and the smart TV couldn't see anything. Changing this to "folders" fixed it. Maybe something similar in your media players?

SnoopZ 06-11-2018 18:35
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by heavyside (Post 35969457)
I wish my S8 would behave like that. It's so frustrating. Neither Play Music nor any other music player I've tried so far can see my SD card. I can see all the files on the card but for some reason the music players cannot. It's doubly frustrating because they played normally on the Galaxy Ace I upgraded from. I'm guessing it's either a bug or there's some hidden setting that is preventing this. I've contacted the Samsung UK help desk but they are taking an age to get back to me.

---------- Post added at 15:45 ---------- Previous post was at 15:42 ----------

OK, the mystery deepens. I have just taken a photo and saved it to the SD card. And there it is, visible in the gallery. Obviously everything is working as it should but, for some unknown reason, not my music tracks.

---------- Post added at 16:14 ---------- Previous post was at 15:45 ----------



It is a Sandisk 64 Gb card. The one that came from my previous Galaxy Ace was a Sandisk 32 Gb card. There is a message on the pull-down from my start-up screen that says 'SD Card. Tap here to transfer media files'. When tapped this takes me to the files on the SD card where I can find my music files. The problem is that none of the music players can see them.

In my earlier reply to BenMcr I noted that photos saved to the SD card are all present and correct. It's all a mystery to me.

Are the music files in regular mp3 format?

Have you tried other music players like, Musicolet? https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...colet&hl=en_GB

heavyside 07-11-2018 08:12
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by heero_yuy (Post 35969474)
I don't know if it's relevant but I had a problem with the media server on my PC sharing files by "genre" This attribute was not set in the files headers and the smart TV couldn't see anything. Changing this to "folders" fixed it. Maybe something similar in your media players?
Quote:
Are the music files in regular mp3 format?

Have you tried other music players like, Musicolet? https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...colet&hl=en_GB
Mystery solved! :) I started over from scratch, deleted the music folder on the SD card and made a new one using the utility on the Samsung rather than my PC which I had used previously. Now the music folder on the card is visible to my music player. If there's a moral to this story it's that not all folders are created equal.

Thanks, again, to everyone who has helped me troubleshoot this problem.

SnoopZ 07-11-2018 17:09
Re: Moving to a new phone - advice needed.
 
Glad you finally solved it.


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