Q: iPhone 5 and "NO SIM CARD INSTALLED" error

I've had my iPhone for maybe three or four months now, had to get it as a replacement for the old one, as it just randomly started switching itself off and back on again whenever it felt like it. So I was out of the country the past few weeks, and my phone would no longer recognise my sim card, just kept showing the "No Sim" message. Could be in connection with the very humid weather we'd been having, but I'm headed down to my provider this afternoon to get a new sim card. If that doesn't work out, I'm off to the Apple store to get a replacement.

I had the same problem with my iPhone 5s after about 2 months of having it. Turning the device off then back on had no effect so I took the sim out and cleaned it very gently with a spare cleaning cloth for my glasses and it is working again now.

solved the problem by cleaning the sim and applying cellulose tape on the back side of both the sim card and the tray. even getting a better signal too. happy trying.

My nevernding case...

it turned out that it is some problem on the mainboard.

the first repair center told me that they changed the sim try reader.

but the problem appeared again, about 1 time each month.

Most of the time next day it was working again.

Last time the problem appeared it stayed and iphone could not be used with sim card (no sim installed)

then repaircenter 2 told me that there might be an issue with an chip (soldering problem).

but they said they tried but was not succesfull!

and he told me that the sim card reader tray was NOT changed, but also he never had an issue with that.

Today intried the trick with the "oven".

heated to 80 degree celsius, and voila, sim was recognized (after cooling down the device).

-> There is some issue on the main board and with some heat the electric curcuits are fine again.

let's see how long it will last...

So I was problem-free for about a 10 months after asking VZW to change my SIM card. Two days ago the problem came back. I already have had three episodes of NO SIM CARD problem. But you know what? It's time for me to upgrade my phone. I think Nexus 6 looks good.

Why do people seem to think that any of the other users here care what type of phone they buy?

Same issue here, iPhone 5S.  Seems like after phone is "sleeping" for a while, next time I turn it on, I get "No SIM installed".  Spoke with Rogers, got usual runaround about resetting phone, that they "never heard of this before".  Taking the card out, wiping it, blowing some air into the SIM slot, then reinserting it solves the problem every time.  I will go to get a new SIM card and see if that works but I've never had this problem on any other phone, including an iPhone 4, 4S, or 5.

Note that this has only started happening since I updated the phone from 7.2 to 8.0.2.  Am currently updating to 8.1 so I will see if it still occurs.

Sounds like it is an issue for many.

In your own religious fervor over iPhone you missed my point completely. Here it is: I can't rely on this device for my communication needs. I don't want to keep checking it compulsively every few minutes to make sure my kids can reach me in an emergency. This is an unacceptable situation for me. I am tired of having to deal with this, so I will be switching to a more reliable device. Take it easy.

No fervor at all, still don't care what you buy.

Same thing here with factory unlocked iPhone 5 and German SIM. Apple is doing a great job ignoring the problem.

Probier mal die Ofenmethode.

Ca 5-10 Minuten bei 80 Grad.

Meines funktioniert seitdem problemlos!

Now i have again an interesting case.

As Apple change my SIM cart tray (i have now color space grey as SIM tray), i order a silver one.

When i now put in the silver SIM cart tray it DOESN'T WORK!

When i use the space grey SIM card try it WORKS!

How is the difference?

Is there any magnetic-contact that the iPhone detects that SIM card tray is inserted?

longtom99 wrote:

 

Now i have again an interesting case.

As Apple change my SIM cart tray (i have now color space grey as SIM tray), i order a silver one.

When i now put in the silver SIM cart tray it DOESN'T WORK!

When i use the space grey SIM card try it WORKS!

 

How is the difference?

Is there any magnetic-contact that the iPhone detects that SIM card tray is inserted?

There is your answer

Apple does not sell parts for its phones

What you ordered and got was probably fake - ergo it does not work

Yes, BUT in an other iPhone it works, SO?

Had this issue with wife's 5C. Resets would get it working for a few days then "No Sim", finally that stopped working. Went to Verizon and they basically said you are "S.O.L.". Ordered a new phone so in the mean time I started messing with it doing a full wipe and attempt to restore. Did not realize if there is the "No Sim" error you can't reactivate it to restore. Now it is a brick.

Decided to remove the sim card again and got out the hair dryer and put it on full heat. Aimed the hot air into the simcard slot for a few minutes until the phone got hot but not super hot. Reinserted the sim card and presto it works again. I was able to restore the phone and it is still working. Not sure how long it will last but at least it is restored back to her last point. We planned to give it to our 7 yr old daughter to use as an Ipod and such.

I suggest you try this and see what happens. Cant hurt and worked for ours.