You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Use old iPhone 3G as iPod Touch

I just replaced my iPhone 3G with the new 4S and would now like to continue to use my old phone as an iPod Touch. I've read many posts about this, as well as articles both within and outside of Apple support, but the advice is conflicting among these sources and I've reached a dead end.


I first erased and restored the old iPhone to factory settings and then turned the phone completely off. Next, I removed the SIM card. Then I turned the phone back on and placed it in my dock to connect to iTunes on my computer. But I get a message stating that a SIM card must be inserted in order to proceed further.


However, I don't want to set it up as a phone; only as an iPod Touch. Shouldn't I be able to continue with this process without a SIM card? Won't putting the SIM card back in make iTunes think it is a phone?


Thanks in advance for assistance. There is a lot of conflicting information out there on how to do this and it would be good to have a simple, straightforward explanation.

Posted on Oct 16, 2011 2:16 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 16, 2011 2:25 PM

You can't restore/activate any iPhone without a valid sim card in the phone. The sim need not be active, but it must be present. Put the sim back in the phone, then activate the phone. You can then use it as a touch. I recommend you leave the inactive sim in the phone. It will just display no service, but you may need it in the future.

8 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 16, 2011 2:25 PM in response to robcar

You can't restore/activate any iPhone without a valid sim card in the phone. The sim need not be active, but it must be present. Put the sim back in the phone, then activate the phone. You can then use it as a touch. I recommend you leave the inactive sim in the phone. It will just display no service, but you may need it in the future.

Use old iPhone 3G as iPod Touch

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.