iPhone 5 or earlier Does an Iphone have to have a sim to play music only?

[OriginalSlim]

Does a working sim have to be installed to use an Iphone as an MP3 player? I have pretty bad Tinnitus,and would like to be able to play some of those "white noise etc" mp3's to cover all the noise my Tinnitus makes while trying to go to sleep at night. I'd use blue-tooth to power an external speaker. Can this be done without installing a working sim card? If so, how long might you expect a fully charged battery in new condition to run an MP3? Maybe 8 hours possibly? In the event the phone couldn't play that long, could you plug it into your charger to power it? Hauling a laptop into the bedroom every night and then hauling it back out in the morning is getting bothersome.

Thanks.

 

[secretk]

I have not tested it myself but I don't see why it should not work. As long as you have the audio files transferred to the phone (through iTunes) and add them on the music app it would work.

You can charge your iPhone while playing music on external Bluetooth speaker. That would not be an issue.

No idea about the battery life though as I guess it would depend on the specific device. Different iPhones have different battery lives.

 

[drlunanerd]

iPhone doesn’t require a SIM card to play music.
You should easily get 8 hours playback time - most iPhone models are rated for at least 40 hours audio playback time on battery.
I also have tinnitus. Enjoying listening to music really helps

 

[ericwn]

iPhone needs a SIM to activate and to use cellular services after. In all other scenarios WiFi should do fine for networking and the SIM card wouldn’t be required.

 

[now i see it]

A running fan is a great tinnitus masker. Also the more you think about it, the more it will bother you.

 

[OriginalSlim]

A running fan is a great tinnitus masker. Also the more you think about it, the more it will bother you.

No doubt about it..but when it is roaring,it's kinda hard to ignore..

I have not tested it myself but I don't see why it should not work. As long as you have the audio files transferred to the phone (through iTunes) and add them on the music app it would work.

You can charge your iPhone while playing music on external Bluetooth speaker. That would not be an issue.

No idea about the battery life though as I guess it would depend on the specific device. Different iPhones have different battery lives.

Just as long as it would last through my sleep cycle, I'd be happy.

iPhone doesn’t require a SIM card to play music.
You should easily get 8 hours playback time - most iPhone models are rated for at least 40 hours audio playback time on battery.
I also have tinnitus. Enjoying listening to music really helps

Only down I can see is what ericwin noted. That is concerning. Being able to do 40hrs of playback would be great!

iPhone needs a SIM to activate and to use cellular services after. In all other scenarios WiFi should do fine for networking and the SIM card wouldn’t be required.

I am inexperienced here. I use the prepaid cards for service on my SE..(Tracfone..Total Wireless.etc). Does needing a sim to activate mean I have to purchase a card to activate the phone? Is there a workaround? The phone I am planning on using has not been previously activated. I'd prefer not having to buy a $25 service plan only to activate the phone. In this particular instance,the phone would essentially be used as an MP3 player. I plan on using it also as my Mexico travel phone,as it is unlocked and can be used with a Mexican prepaid service plan while visiting there.

A running fan is a great tinnitus masker. Also the more you think about it, the more it will bother you.