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Sim Card Failure No Sim with iPhone 4S Anyone Else?

Got the new 32GB iPhone 4S today from AT&T, activated the phone was working all morning, I started experimenting with Siri and a couple minutes later the phone was hotter than usual and I get Sim Card failure, and Bad SIM messages. The phone now only says No Sim. I get home take out the SIM card and put it in my previous iPhone 4 and it works just fine. I then put in a blank micro SIM into the new iPhone 4S, but it still says NO SIM. Thinking the SIM reader got fried some how already.



Anyone else have this problem maybe a bad batch out there, or I just got an unlucky lemon?



I made an appointment for the genius bar tomorrow, but I seriously doubt they will have replacement stock of the 4S already. Guess I will find out what my next course of action will be tomorrow trying to get a replacement since new orders are taking 30 days to ship I am afraid I will have to wait awhile to enjoy the new features of my already paid for phone 😟

Posted on Oct 15, 2011 1:53 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 15, 2011 4:55 AM

I'm having the same issue... 😟

1,365 replies

Dec 27, 2011 10:35 AM in response to robsdoghouse

Here are some observations and a suggestion.


1) I mentioned before, that the number of views of this discussion forum is fast approaching 100,000. I suppose relative to all iPhones sold that is not a great percentage, but 100,000 still sounds pretty impressive to me. Consider also that many people probably have this same Sim problem and are not viewing this discussion forum because thay do not know it exists. How many people are REALLY experiencing this problem? Who knows. But I suspect it is more that 100,000.


2) To the best of my knowledge, Apple does not consult these forums as a guide to awareness of product performance. It may be company policy, but most of the time when I speak to an Apple employee they seem remarkably unaware of the "Top Stories" in the Apple Discussion Forum. This, despite the fact that my personal experience with customer service at Apple is excellent. So, as much as we of this discussion forum are confident SOMEONE important at Apple is reading all our posts and taking them to heart...I am not so sure.


3) I have been told over and over that the best way to gain Apple's attention regarding a problem is to post a comment on their Feedback Site. One comment about a problem is pretty worthless. 100,000 comments on the same issue, I'm guessing, will really get their attention.


4) Some folks have mentioned a recall to address this problem. Although such a thing is always a possibility, I don't see it happening. Why? When the brakes on a Toyota don't work, or that Toyata starts to accelerate without driver intention...well, that involves human life and the stakes are quite high. For many reasons you would see the automotive industry eventually be forced into a recall program under such a situation. But, a phone APPEARS to not nearly be such a life and death device. Or is it? My daughter's iPhone 4S developed a "SIM FAILURE" on the same day her car broke down in the middle of the very rural area we live at around 10:00 pm. She is 17 years old and was coming home from high school play practice. You can imagine the anxiety I and her mother felt when she did not arrive home on time. She eventually walked about a quarter mile to a house of a stranger and had to ask to use their phone to call us. Now, I am not saying that strangers where I live are not to be trusted. But, in addition to being worried out of my mind, I was not happy that an inoperative iPhone 4S caused my daughter to be put in this situation. My biggest concern now is...when will my daughter's iPhone become inoperative again due to SIM FAILURE?


5) The more folks in this discussion forum who post a comment about this issue in Apple's feedback site the more pressing this issue is going to be perceived by Apple. So, I like others, encourage all of you to do so. If this seems like a lot of effort, I offer you these few sentences below that you could just copy and paste into the feedback site.


The link to feedback site is: http://www.apple.com/feedback/


Feel free to use copy/amend/whatever the following as you wish:


Dear Apple,


I wish to register a strong concern about my iPhone's unpredictable inoperability due to failures somehow associated with it's SIM technology. For me, I do not consider this just a significant lack of convenience, but a significant safety issue. Should I need my phone in an emergency situation where it is experiencing a SIM FAILURE, I believe the iPhone will have put me at risk. I would ask you to please give fixing this problem your greatest priority and effort.


Sincerely, XXXX

Dec 27, 2011 1:45 PM in response to robsdoghouse

I agree it is a security issue. Experienced the "no sim error" while riding my bike in the forest yesterday night, nothing serious happened, just wanted to tell my wife that I will be late. BUT if I had a problem...


Agree to give feedback to Apple directly, the link to feedback site is: http://www.apple.com/feedback/


Feel free to use copy/amend/whatever the following as you wish:


Dear Apple,


I wish to register a strong concern about my iPhone's unpredictable inoperability due to failures somehow associated with it's SIM technology. For me, I do not consider this just a significant lack of convenience, but a significant safety issue. Should I need my phone in an emergency situation where it is experiencing a SIM FAILURE, I believe the iPhone will have put me at risk. I would ask you to please give fixing this problem your greatest priority and effort.


Sincerely, XXXX

Dec 28, 2011 6:38 AM in response to iCooperBoy

Another update: talked to Apple and they recommended to update to 5.0.1, tried, with the following error: "..your iphone cannot be updated because your firmware is not compatible..." (not exact wording).


Talked to Apple again and restored my iPhone (see Placing your device into recovery modehttp://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808 ).


Now I have 5.0.1 (9A406).


Still working. Since 5 minutes. Keeping the fingers crossed.


This is definitelly my most expensive phone ever :-(

Dec 28, 2011 8:34 AM in response to arturofromméxico

it might be that apple sees this problem as a 3rd party issue and not a device problem.This is the same kind of bad press apple is avoiding thus not makeing a 4g phone yet,4g is not ready yet the bugs are widespred and people would only blame apple for networks 4g problems.this sim card deal seems to me as a 3rd party problem same as if you plug bad memory chips in your computer and have problems.The sim i got with my phone was clearly garbage and these were installed by verizon after the phones are deliverd.They also carry the verizon name not apple.Again my phone was one of the first 4s its been 11 days now witha new sim no problems.

Dec 28, 2011 11:47 AM in response to cygn

Cygn,


Thanks for your contribution to this never seemingly ending nightmare and the links that you posted to the other sites that have been keeping tubs on whats been going on.


I would also thank Mr. Luigi for also suggesting we all kind of change out tactics to get Apples attention by including our frustrations as part of the feed back..in the feedback link...and intend to put in my twenty cents


I do have one spanner to throw at Apple...according to the tabloids they sold 4 million Iphone 4s' in the first weekend I & the 93,000, so far, being a contribution to that overrall figure. So in that sense I agree with Mr. Luigi we are not a significant number so to speak for them to be too concerned....at least judging from the lack of communication from them...but if we were to take a look at the same numbers in terms of disatisfaction the rule of thumb is usually that for every one disatified client ten potential new clients go with him....94,000 people at present are not giving a positive spin to Apple right now but a negative one with all the people they interract with which sort of goes from 94,000 to 940,000 not including the ones they discourage also....can Apple afford to ignore this with the competition breathing down our necks to look at their options which do almost all the staff now that the Iphone does at almost half the price!


Anyway its not my place to say as they, Apple, call all the shots.


Cygn I admire you for wanting to keep pushing the envelop and you should being in a country where Apple originates from and is therefore close to source....for me out here in Kenya/Africa the phone conks out again because of software/hardware and the supplier will tell me that its unfortunate but there is nothing they can do but wait it out till Apple puts out an official bulletin or that they would need to send the phone back to the U S & wait to hear back from them and that isn't a risk I am willing to take as we're too far out, & besides, being out here I really don't need to be all the way up there on the cutting edge of technology....so apart from the aforementioned battery issue - I am willing to just wait out Apple to hopefully sooner rather than later provide a solution...but this is got to be the most expensive & most embarrasing Public Relations disaster/screw up I have ever experienced...BAR NONE!


For now I will add my weight to the cause by follwing Mr. Luigi's request & I hope that others will consider doing so as the more we are the more like that someone will at some point seat up and finally pay attention!


So Sir would you care to repalce your existing Apple smart phone with our latest Apple smart phone....eeeeehhhhhh....mmmmmm.....hmmmmm...😕😠😁.

Sim Card Failure No Sim with iPhone 4S Anyone Else?

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