Help! iPhone says "No SIM card installed" [Archive]

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xpxixpy

07-13-2007, 07:23 AM

Platinum

07-13-2007, 07:37 AM

Hi.
My iPhone has been working fine but since last night I've not been able to use the phone or Edge. When I try to use the phone it says "No SIM card installed". On the upper left of the screen it says "No SIM." I turned the iPhone off and back on to no avail. I also removed and inserted the SIM card.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks,
An Anxoius iPhone Owner

You know the exact same thing happened to me yesterday... I had my phone about a week and no issues, then all of the sudden I wake up and it said "No Sim". I took it in and out a few times with no luck, then I went to the AT&T store and got a new SIM - went through the activation agian (which only took like 2 mins) and it was fixed. Maybe the heat from the phone damages the sim card or something. You should get a new sim and it should be fine.

xpxixpy

07-13-2007, 07:44 AM

You know the exact same thing happened to me yesterday... I had my phone about a week and no issues, then all of the sudden I wake up and it said "No Sim". I took it in and out a few times with no luck, then I went to the AT&T store and got a new SIM - went through the activation agian (which only took like 2 mins) and it was fixed. Maybe the heat from the phone damages the sim card or something. You should get a new sim and it should be fine.

My phone did seem especially hot last night. I attributed it to my leaving Wi-Fi on for hours even though I wasn't literally using it (some of this time it was in my pocket or I was charging it). In general, should the iPhone not be stored in your pocket?

I'll call my AT&T store when they open to see if they have the iPhone SIM card.

Thanks,
Ken

420greg

07-13-2007, 07:48 AM

I'll call my AT&T store when they open to see if they have the iPhone SIM card.

Thanks,
Ken

It is the same sim card they put in all of their phones. They will have one.

alb0zf1n3st

07-13-2007, 07:49 AM

I go between from leaving it in my pocket to my case .. it does get hot at times .. Many keep it in their pockets I hope this doesnt start to happen alot..

Platinum

07-13-2007, 07:50 AM

My phone did seem especially hot last night. I attributed it to my leaving Wi-Fi on for hours even though I wasn't literally using it (some of this time it was in my pocket or I was charging it). In general, should the iPhone not be stored in your pocket?

I'll call my AT&T store when they open to see if they have the iPhone SIM card.

Thanks,
Ken

I always leave my phone in my pocket and in the rubber InCase, Ill see if it happens agian. They will have a sim just go there, the iPhone uses a regular AT&T sim card which they have a ton of.

ccr78

07-13-2007, 09:04 AM

I doubt it is because of the heat.

It is not uncommon for cell phones of all makes and models to get the "Insert SIM" Message. I got it on my blackberry, slvr, razr, and multiple cheap flip phones.

Take your phone by the AT&T store and tell them it says "Insert SIM" and they will replace it with a new one. You'll be in and out in a few minutes.

xpxixpy

07-13-2007, 12:24 PM

Hi.
My iPhone has been working fine but since last night I've not been able to use the phone or Edge. When I try to use the phone it says "No SIM card installed". On the upper left of the screen it says "No SIM." I turned the iPhone off and back on to no avail. I also removed and inserted the SIM card.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks,
An Anxoius iPhone Owner

As a follow-up, I got a new SIM card, reactivated my iPhone through iTunes, and everything is working fine. Thanks for those that helped earlier today when I was very concerned.
The AT&T manager said that mine was the first iPhone to have a SIM problem she knew of, so hopefully it was a very isolated incident.
KK

alb0zf1n3st

07-13-2007, 12:28 PM

Congrats glad to see you got it working.. enjoy .. Just quick question was activation quick??

xpxixpy

07-13-2007, 12:29 PM

Congrats glad to see you got it working.. enjoy .. Just quick question was activation quick??

Yes, activation was very quick (< 60 seconds I think).

ColsTiger

07-13-2007, 05:52 PM

I had to replace my sim to get it activated on the 30th. Evidently there were a few that had problems on the initial batch.

truetrax

08-06-2007, 09:50 PM

As a follow-up, I got a new SIM card, reactivated my iPhone through iTunes, and everything is working fine. Thanks for those that helped earlier today when I was very concerned.
The AT&T manager said that mine was the first iPhone to have a SIM problem she knew of, so hopefully it was a very isolated incident.
KK

i been having the same problem all of the sudden my iphone wich was working fine says no sim card inserted so i call att they say its a phone problem so i go to the "genius" bar where the genius told me its an att problem so of course i asked for the manager n explaind to the stupid sim card came in the box i bought from them so they are responsibe for it so after that he coughed up a new sim card "which he said they dont do " so then i call att in the morning tell them i have a new sim they try to applie it to my account with no luck it turns out its registered to another i phone or some thing they tell me i have to go inperson to pick one up at a corporate store wich i do ... get home try to activate my phone with it n get a message saying i cant use an i phone with this account so i call att for the fifth time stay on the phone with them for hours noone there can figuer this
out they tell me to open a new account and that the "genius" at apple should of replaced my phone so 5 days 8 hours on the phone later no solution still have a 600$ brick with everyone helping me clueless im going tommorw to the istore and im not leaving until my phone is replaced or fixed on the spot and im thinking about persuing legal action against all partys and im contacting the better business bureau asap GOOD LUCK TO ANYONE WHO ALSO GETS THIS PROBLEM i will let u guys know how it goes

truetrax@aol.com

Hoosier

08-13-2007, 12:31 PM

I bought my iPhone yesterday and when I plugged it in to my comp the error message "No SIM card installed." appeared. So I went back to AT&T and got a new SIM card. Same error message. I am now on my third SIM card and am getting fed up. Does anyone have any advice?

dwhinz

10-31-2007, 06:36 PM

I had the same problem. Reading this area I took my iPhone back to the AT&T store. The tech there did the following to reset the device.

He held down the power switch at the top and the main selection button at the bottom. After a few seconds a new screen came up that said slide to the right to power off. He didn't do that instead he just waited until the silver apple logo came on the screen. Once the phone finished booting the "No Sim" message was gone and I had bars again. No new sim card or reactivation required.

bluelavaguy

03-26-2008, 08:31 PM

i just was confronted with the same problem. i figured out that if you goto settings and then goto general, then reset at the bottom of the list, and then reset your network settings you can solve to no sim installed problem in like 30 seconds or less. i dont know if there was a problem with your physical sim card but by just resetting the network settings it solved the problem for me.

jake2ba

08-09-2008, 05:01 AM

I tried the power reset AND the network settings reset to no avail. Mine still says "no sim card" ...

I'm curious if the problems are occurring after or because of one of these:

- Battery drained to power off
- Synced with wrong account on iTunes
- Synced before first upgrade (software or firmware)
- Sync failure due to passcode

If those who have a similar problem can reply back, I'd appreciate it. I'll be heading over to the AT&T store tomorrow for a new sim card...

Just to note, my battery was drained, I synced for the first time before setting up my iAccount, the initial sync failed without unlocking the iPhone with my passcode first, and it was using the initial software/firmware, which are now updated - second day failure, still "No sim card installed"

SmartLikaFox

08-28-2008, 01:23 PM

I was having almost the exact same problem. I tried everything suggested on this page (except go to an AT&T store) and nothing worked. What I did was I turned off my iPhone completely (holding down the sleep and menu buttons for a few seconds and sliding it off) and took out my SIM card. Upon studying my SIM card, I realized that there was a smudge on it, so i VERY gently cleaned the card. Then, before putting the SIM card back in, I turned my iPhone back on, waited about a minuet and put the SIM card back in. It took about 5 seconds and then I got the bars again. So maby these SIM cards problems are just smudges that keep htem from comunicating w/ the iPhone.

jake2ba

08-29-2008, 03:27 AM

Just to update my own situation: I went to the AT&T store and got a new sim card. All is well with the new card, and I'm now on my second software upgrade from Apple (2.0.2) with no problems.

The tech at the AT&T store said that there are bad sim cards sometimes, and the problem can happen at any time in any phone.

I don't doubt that dirt could cause connection problems, but I wouldn't hang my hat on that being the only cause. More than likely, we're all dealing with a similar issue that has different causes. Bottom line... when in doubt, suspect the card.

antioch

09-24-2008, 12:20 AM

I do not think it's isolated. I have had my phone since Saturday evening, it is now Tuesday evening and it just happened to me. A tad irritating since I just got this phone and was worrying about the thing dying on me (ie: battery, cracking screen, etc), i didn't expect it to be the SIM and now I see it happens to many others.

JEWISH_GOAT

09-24-2008, 01:04 AM

Hey Antioch...you from Antioch, CA??

krystella

10-01-2008, 12:28 PM

I had the same problem after my phone slipped off my bed to the floor. I went through the different fixes described in this thread except for going to the store, to no avail. Eventually I noticed that the SIM card slot was peeking out very slightly and gently pressed it back in. Sure enough, that fixed the problem for me. Yeah, I feel silly for not noticing that sooner, but the "peeking out" part was easy to miss unless you were specifically looking for it. Good luck to everyone else in resolving this problem!

espd

12-12-2008, 03:27 AM

I'd had my phone for only 2 days and was in the middle of a phone conversation when the call was dropped three times (nothing new to me, I've had ATT for years, and their coverage sucks bilge water), and then I got the "No SIM card" message.

What the below doesn't make clear is that you might have to _keep_ the buttons held down until you see the Apple logo. That's what I did, anyway, and it works fine now. For how long...? Who knows. we'll see.

----

I had the same problem. Reading this area I took my iPhone back to the AT&T store. The tech there did the following to reset the device.

He held down the power switch at the top and the main selection button at the bottom. After a few seconds a new screen came up that said slide to the right to power off. He didn't do that instead he just waited until the silver apple logo came on the screen. Once the phone finished booting the "No Sim" message was gone and I had bars again. No new sim card or reactivation required.

Randensc

12-23-2008, 09:54 PM

AHHH! Just got an Iphone a few days ago and I've had this problem for 2 of the 3 days i've had it. Not cool considering I gave up my Blackberry for these problems!! I am going to ATT tomorrow and getting a new card or a new phone. This sucks!

metropolitan

01-05-2009, 01:02 AM

jagojp

02-02-2009, 10:57 PM

Hey guys.. ive just had a similar problem...

phone just showed up "no sim", didnt drop it or anything like that so I have no idea why.

Tried resetting by holding down both buttons untill it was off.
Tried taking out the sim while it was off, replacing it and starting again.

Those didnt work.

I tried taking the sim out while the phone was on as suggested by someone ITT. After replacing it the phone found the sim and I got bars.

Thanks for your help, and i hope they fix this issue soon.

Pimpboy51

02-02-2009, 11:54 PM

Sounds like someone needs a restore or an apple appointment.

xxraach

02-09-2009, 12:10 PM

That's happened to me too.
All I did was turn on and off my iPhone, and it was back to normal.

Pimpboy51

02-09-2009, 08:13 PM

same with me with my V1

BigBrothaZ

06-25-2009, 09:19 AM

i just got the same problem and in a different forum it was recommended to take your sim card out and put it back in.
i just took it out, wiped it on my shirt in case it was dirty and put it back in. works like a charm.
how do you take the sim card out? you stick a paperclip in the little hole next to the headphone jack until a little drawer sort of peeks out. you pull that out and there's your sim card. then you just put the card back on the little drawer and push it back in.
i got the instructions from here:
http://www.maclife.com/article/how_to_remove_the_iphone_sim_card

good luck!
Hey, great reference! I just purchased the new iPhone 3GS two days ago. The phone dropped to the floor (about 2 ft) and the I go the "NO SIM" error message! I tried all of the tricks above, but none worked. Once I was able to reset the SIM (using the paperclip, etc.), my phone worked great. It took me re-inserting the SIM and "adjusting" it as I placed it back into the phone before it "recognized" it and started working.

Appreciate the tip! :smile:

pegasus1

08-17-2009, 01:56 PM

Same has happened to me lately on my 3G. Per my computer guru son's suggestion, I removed sim card (using paper clip); blew it off to remove dust/particles; reinserted. Has been a fine solution so far.

pegasus1

08-17-2009, 02:08 PM

http://www.maclife.com/article/how_to_remove_the_iphone_sim_card

ripul

08-23-2009, 01:56 AM

LeeMajor78

08-28-2009, 04:41 AM

Hi all,

I have been experiencing same problem quite for some time now, i have done everything suggested on this page now. Switched on and off , manual reset by pressing home and power buttons, restoring from itunes , removing sim and cleaning dirt particles, but no sucess, my sim works on other mobile but other sim wont work on mine ( I dont have contract with ATnT ). please help!

let me know if you find something that works. I am exactly in your boat, I can't figure this out. i've done everything as well and still get "no sim card installed".

ripul

08-31-2009, 05:44 AM

let me know if you find something that works. I am exactly in your boat, I can't figure this out. i've done everything as well and still get "no sim card installed".
yeah sure! mean while you can check my blog post and confirm ..

http://wackao.com/no-sim-card-installed-iphone/

ripul

09-17-2009, 04:26 PM

yeah sure! mean while you can check my blog post and confirm ..

http://wackao.com/no-sim-card-installed-iphone/

check out the next Part

http://wackao.com/eureka-my-iphone-works/:ok:ok

astiat

09-18-2009, 10:17 PM

you can check my blog post and confirm ..

DJLilly

09-26-2009, 01:17 AM

This happened to me three times in the past three months. I solved it each time by rebooting (holding down home button on front and power button on top right). This last time it took a few tries.

stecrscri

10-04-2009, 10:13 PM

I am exactly in your boat, I can't figure this out.

leggoman

11-03-2009, 07:17 PM

Im in the UK, got my new phone today, got home put in the sim card yep you got it no sim card.
Just great £560.00 for the phone and i cant get it working, not very good start.
Back to the shop tomorrow let them sort it.

put my sim in from my other o2 phone that works OK but i don't get internet.
Oh well hope its sorted tomorrow.

but any help would be great.

thanks