There are many things that can go wrong with your iPhone. You could have a voicemail notification that won’t go away. You could even have your iPhone stuck in headphone mode and not be recognized by your device.
But one of the worst things to have happen to your phone is for it to not realize that there inserted, when there actually is one in there. I say this is one of the worst because this issue prevents you from doing things with your iPhone.
This tutorial will briefly explain what a SIM card is and why it matters, but it will also provide a few ways you can fix the issue of your why your might be iPhone is saying it doesn’t have a SIM card inserted.
WHAT IS A SIM CARD?
Subscriber Identity Module is a tiny chip that stores data and helps distinguish you from all of the many other smart phone users out there. This chip also holds the authorization keys, which allow your iPhone to take advantage of voice, text, and data that comes from your cellular provider. Your SIM card also stores unique phone number.
WHY DOES MY IPHONE SAY NO SIM CARD
Just as with many issues that can present themselves on the iPhone, this problem could be either a hardware or software one. This means that there are many ways to go about fixing the issue and the best overall method will be the use of trial and error with the solutions that this article will present in the next section. The good thing is that this issue can usually be fixed by the user without any real hassle.
1. REINSERT IPHONE SIM CARD
One of the most basic ways to fix this issue is to find the SIM card tray and then eject it using either a SIM card removal tool, which often comes with your device, or some other small item such as a paper clip or stick pin. The card tray is located on the side of most newer model iPhones and can be identified by a single small hole. The older models will have this on the top of the iPhone.
2. TRY ANOTHER ACTIVE SIM CARD
For this step, borrow an iPhone SIM card from a willing friend and put it into your device. If the no SIM error goes away with your friends card, you’ll know that the issue is with the your card itself. To fix this, you can go to your carrier and ask for another sim because yours isn’t working. However, if the error remains, you might have a software issue.
3. CHECK FOR SIM CARD DAMAGE
After you have ejected the tray and removed the SIM card, check for any damage to the card or the tray itself. You should also clean off the card if it’s dirty because that could interfere with its communication to the device. If there was no damage, reinsert the card and turn on the phone. If the iPhone no SIM error goes away, your problem is fixed.
4. RESTORE IPHONE THROUGH ITUNES
The next step to fix this issue is to restore your iPhone. You can do this by connecting the device to iTunes and clicking restore device when asked. Be sure to restore it to factory settings. It is also important to back up any important files in iCloud.
PARTING WORDS
The no SIM card error on your iPhone can be tricky and really annoying, but there are simple ways to fix it. If the steps in this article couldn’t help the issue that’s plaguing your device, head to your closest Apple store because if it is not a software or physical card related problem. Then the issue may be with the sim reader inside of your device.
