Level 1

1 points

Invalid SIM Card on iPhone 4S (5.0.1)

Seems to be a widespread problem, from what I'm seeing in the discussions:

I have an unlocked iPhone 4S (bought in France) and use it with Vodafone in Portugal. I was using the same SIM card that worked perfectly fine for over a year on my previous iPhone 4, and it also worked just fine in the 4S... until I updated to iOS 5.0.1.

The very next day I started having connections issues and invalid SIM card errors - requiring a reboot to temporarily fix it for a few minutes, until it lost connection again - the iPhone would still show it had a few bars strength, but was actually unable to make calls or use data. After a while it would go back to invalid sim message.

I replaced my old SIM card, and I though that was it... It was working fine.. until after 3 or 4 days, I find once again that I had a Invalid SIM message.

I've read reports suggesting that this might actually have to do with using other chargers than the official Apple 4S one - it sound kind of crazy, but just in case, I was also using a 3rd party charger when those issues arised for the first time. Anyway, I was now using my previous official iPhone 4 charger when I got the new error with the new SIM card.

Also, although the iPhone recommends using a non-locked SIM Card, mine has always had a PIN, and always worked through activations without a problem.

Other than being a real hardware problem with my new iPhone 4S (crossing my fingers it isn't!) my guess is that this is a software related incident - as this has just popped up after upgrading to iOS 5.0.1, and it would have been an amazing coincidence for SIM cards to go bust, or for the iPhone 4S to suddenly malfunction, afterwards.

Hope you guys can fix it soon, as well as the phone numbers not showing up the callers name in the contacts (that was a problem I was having from the very beginning, with iOS 5.0.0).

Posted on Nov 16, 2011 2:18 AM

366 replies

cygn

Level 1

4 points

Dec 25, 2011 6:49 AM in response to ptnik

Thank you

i can't work without wifi or when out 3g mobile - so trying to get stability without these is effectively useless, alas

jhelliwell86,

thank you for your phone swap info - looks like i'll be heading to an apple store - hope they'll have stock. Have been taking screen shots, too, of the failures. WIll do more to have the series.

Glad to hear that this, as a solution, worked for you and you've not had a recurrence.

i've been loath to believe this is a hardware thing. Guess it is sufficiently hardware to cause the problem.

Apple store. week after christmas. ugh. oh well - as long as there's a solution...will wipe the phone at the store with the reset, i guess

many thanks again

Thank you,

cygn

ps - i do think the data over the network is involved: the sim failure from keeping 3g data off has meant much longer periods between fails, but agreed jannee that is not a fix; in fact, it rather *****.

best of the day to all

cygn

Level 1

4 points

Dec 27, 2011 5:08 AM in response to cygn

Just as a follow up

allow me to quote from another thread where i've posted

(https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3390945?answerId=17109156022#17109156022)

as per the council above on swapping phones, this seems to be a working solution:

i called the express lane at apple to create a case, an apple person phoned me back at the appointed time, agreed that the only thing for it if the upgraded firmware did not work, would be to go swap the phone.

Yesterday with a scheduled genius appt, it took about 10 mins to get the phone swapped. no fuss no muss.

went home and upgraded to 5.0.1 - no problems. The firmware is still 405, not the tweaked 406, but since the phone is behaving appropriately, don't see why need to do another full restore.

The model i have now is md261b - i'm sorry i didn't think to check models - so i don't know what the previous one was, but it had a higher serial number (current one that i got starts with a C; the original started with a D)

I should also note that i was a bit surprised that this is not a "new" phone out of the box but one that has already been "refurbished" by apple - but still under full warranty.

best

cygn

ptnik Author

Level 1

1 points

Dec 27, 2011 5:29 AM in response to ptnik

Well. Bad news.

After a couple of weeks without issues - other than the ocasional "fake signal strength indicator", that seemed to be showing up increasingle in the past few days - yesterday I got my first Invalid SIM once again.

This is the 3rd micro SIM, and again... if all goes according to my previous experiences, it should soon start to get increasingly worse to the point that it shows up several times each day.

Before I consider sending it back and being replaced it with a refurbished 4S; I'll have to be completely certain that this is a hardware problem... which until now... I'm not really sure. Apple has acknowledged that they have bugs in iOS, by releasing the "silent" update for that reason alone - but unfortunately it seems it still doesn't fix the real issue.

And, if this is something that can take weeks to show up... I will be very diffcult to track down.

All I know is that for a batch of iPhone bought at the same time, I have 2 that experiencing this problem, on the same network (Vodafone), and with Apple approved SIMs. And there are 2 other friends, with different operators, that say they haven't had any problem so far.

Dec 27, 2011 1:53 PM in response to ptnik

See also https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3390945?answerId=17112134022#17112134022 and 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 27, 2011 2:03 PM in response to iCooperBoy

It's worsethan you think...

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3396554?start=645&tstart=0

Dec 28, 2011 2:58 AM in response to MarcoMedeiros

i hope that i am able to use my iPhone 4s 😟

Dec 28, 2011 6:52 AM in response to ptnik

Oh man. 😟 I'm still good *knock on wood* after the OS update, but like I said earlier somewhere in this thread, I'm not holding my breath. Mind you, I have NOT changed my SIM card. I have only changed my 4S.

Dec 28, 2011 8:13 AM in response to ptnik

Almost a month, and only silence from Apple... if we sum all the forums, there are more than 100,000 views... it´s not enough for you? Have you ever considered that is the same number of Apple fans that, at this moment, are considering not get any other Apple product? It doesn´t matter to you?

jurajpe

Level 1

0 points

Dec 28, 2011 2:03 PM in response to ptnik

hello, i wrote the same post in another thread as well, sorry about that...

hello everyone,

i had the same issue, very frustrating...I tried everything on the web to resolve this, everything...no luck. I resulted to the idea to just downgrade to ios5.0, which to my surprise opened another Pandora's box and ended up as not possible...

Actually with the ios 5.0.1 the 5 version it was happening sporadically, but with the 6 version it was constantly off, I literally could not use the phone, so i started to use the old 3g iPhone...and that worked with the same card just fine, some people were saying to get the sim replaced, so i did that...

I realized that i had smart sim 64E and got it replaced with smart sim 128a. Since the exchange my phone is working just fine on ios 5.0.1 no drops nothing. So I am happy, at least so far, touch wood and it is a week...

for me the biggest disappointment apple yet...this caused me a lot of rubbish time...

so what i wanted to say is that it is apparently sim card issue, not phone issue, that is probably why is apple silent about this...

anyway, upgrading the software to the new 5.0.1 resolves nothing about the sim drops, in fact it makes it even worse. nor all the silly step by step guides do this and that three times change the pin...and put in airplane mode and back...as I said silly.

So first of all get a 128 k-whatever that is smart sim, and then update the phone, and if you're still not lucky, then my advise is of no use to you, sorry...

so to avoid this stick to ios 5.0, or get a smart sim 128k...

marry Christmas

janba

Level 1

8 points

Dec 28, 2011 11:26 PM in response to jurajpe

recently i got new (replaced) iphone 4S 64GB

and it works with my OLD and CUT SIM card no problem!!!

not like my previous experiences

Just ask Apple to change your iDevice!

and battery lasts much longer than my previous iPhone 4

Dec 29, 2011 2:17 AM in response to janba

it looks like i am left with the only option of changing the device:/

edykho

Level 1

0 points

Dec 31, 2011 2:48 AM in response to MuGeN PoWeR

Hi,

I bought my 4S in singapore last month and since I upgraded it to the newer ios, its keep give invalid sim error.

Anyone know whether I can change the Iphone 4S that I bought in singapore into Hongkong store?

Thanks

Jambuxo

Level 1

0 points

Dec 31, 2011 4:39 AM in response to edykho

You should consult with apple. Check out the express lane on 's website. I found that very easy. They called me within 15-20 mins.

hide-

Level 1

20 points

Dec 31, 2011 9:40 AM in response to ptnik

bought an iPhone 4S with iOS 5.01 (Singapore) a couple of weeks ago.

encountered "Invalid SIM" 4 times already! I swapped SIM card with my ipad, and I'm still getting the same problem.

Can anyone clarify if this is a HARDWARE or SOFTWARE problem?

I'll be ****** if its a hardware problem AGAIN! Have to waste time traveling to apple care, backup/restore and money for new screen protector.

Every of my Apple product - iphone 3G, iphone 4, ipad 2 HAD BEEN exchanged before due to hardware problems.

Frustration aside, of all the problems this "Invalid SIM" problem is the most unacceptable - risk of losing telecommunications at dire situations.

I hope to hear an explanation from Apple, besides having me to exchange a set again (in which we don't know if problem is fixed).

Tomoscan

Level 1

10 points

Dec 31, 2011 9:46 AM in response to hide-

After 2 weeks of test and checks I've replaced the phone and now everything seems to be ok, the phone is working fine now since 3 days.

The guy in the Apple Store told me that something is wrong with the sw 5.0.1 that doesn't write the firmware well and then the phone can't exit the "loop" even if you restore it again....

With my previous iPhone I've done everything:

update ( restore ) to 5.0.1 9A406

2 different Vodafone sim ( Italy )

tape on the sim

new sim tray ( "stolen" from the iphone of my friend )

no sim pin

"manual selection" of the operator

reset network settings

My suggestion is to try first the things above or at least the upgrade to 9A406 and a new sim and then go to the Apple Store to replace the unit.

My "new" iPhone, probably refurbished but perfect, is now rel. 5.0.1 9A405 but I'll not do anything!!!

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Invalid SIM Card on iPhone 4S (5.0.1)