ptnik
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: 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

by ptnik,Solvedanswer
ptnik ptnik
Level 1 (0 points)
A:

It's a miracle, Apple really did notice us. New updated iOS 5.0.1 that fixes the Invalid SIM issue! (don't know why they didn't push it via air update nor even changed the version number)

 

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4148

Posted on Dec 15, 2011 5:04 PM

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Q: Invalid SIM Card on iPhone 4S (5.0.1)

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  • by mnovakov,

    mnovakov mnovakov Dec 20, 2011 12:21 AM in response to ptnik
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 12:21 AM in response to ptnik

    I am having the same problem "Invalid SIM" on my brand new iPhone 4S from Croatia (VIPNET operator), I think this has got something to do with the user unable to turn of 3G signal. 3G signal is very weak here and after a while phone just reports "invalid SIM" message. I will try to download the update to 5.0.1 and will report the results.

  • by iShamim,

    iShamim iShamim Dec 20, 2011 12:38 AM in response to ptnik
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 12:38 AM in response to ptnik

    Hi frnds...

     

    If you have done a Full Restore using iTunes, please restart or turn ON/OFF  Airplane mode multiple times to see if it is still working for you. I did a Restore and it worked for me, but when I restared teh phone, faced the same issue of Invalid SIM.

     

    I strongly feel that the issue is not with network or location or the SIM card. It is the SIM electrical interface/communication channel of the  iPhone 4S. The difference between 4 and 4S is the modem chipset which also handleing the SIM interface. In 4S, it is a QC stack and it looks like, it is not supporting older SIM chips (or certain kind of chip).

     

    Only change of the SIM card will not resolve the issue. I'm trying to figure out what kind of  chip my SIM card has. It supports 4G network also. After changing the SIM card, it has been more than one week,  I've not faced any issue.

     

    SIM bounce is a typical technical problem which is very difficult to resolve. In this case, the SIM will stop to respond, but the system will still detect the SIM. I think, this is what happening in this case.

  • by vikunj bareja,

    vikunj bareja vikunj bareja Dec 20, 2011 5:13 AM in response to ptnik
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 5:13 AM in response to ptnik

    5.0.1 (9a406) is still having sim problems it works for 5-6 hrs perfectly nd den again it shows the sim failure .. ! *** is this ? atleast this is nt expexted from apple.hope they fix the problem soon .!

  • by momneedscoffee,

    momneedscoffee momneedscoffee Dec 20, 2011 5:46 AM in response to vikunj bareja
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 5:46 AM in response to vikunj bareja

    Not that I don't believe you guys, but you're all absolutely certain you're on 9a406? I'm on it and have not had the SIM issue since.

     

    Is there anyone else on AT&T in this thread? I'm in the US also.

     

    Wondering if there are other things at play as well.

  • by Jiri Cervenka,

    Jiri Cervenka Jiri Cervenka Dec 20, 2011 5:51 AM in response to momneedscoffee
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 5:51 AM in response to momneedscoffee

    I believe them since it’s exactly what I have here – have upgraded to the latest build but the „Invalid SIM“ plague keeps apperaring overnight.

     

    I contacted Apple care and was told they would give me a new phone. I still belive it is a firmware-related issue, though.

  • by patrickfromorpington,

    patrickfromorpington patrickfromorpington Dec 20, 2011 5:52 AM in response to momneedscoffee
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple Music
    Dec 20, 2011 5:52 AM in response to momneedscoffee

    My 32gb iPhone 4s has had this problem from day one. The update to version 9A406 of 5.0.1 seems to make the problem even worse for me! I've had the invalid sim message at least 10 times today.

     

    Doing a factory reset seems to make the problem go away for about 24 hours but it always comes back. I have to say that both Orange and Apple telephone support have been next to useless and have pretty much denied that any problem exists.

  • by momneedscoffee,

    momneedscoffee momneedscoffee Dec 20, 2011 6:09 AM in response to Jiri Cervenka
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 6:09 AM in response to Jiri Cervenka

    The new phone did nothing for me. Just the 9A406 update fixed me thus far. It's been a few days now, which is why I asked. I'm also curious about carriers and locations - perhaps that comes into play as well.

  • by jose geraldo,

    jose geraldo jose geraldo Dec 20, 2011 6:10 AM in response to patrickfromorpington
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 6:10 AM in response to patrickfromorpington

    I believe that we must make this public, so Apple will hear us and fix it.

    Let´s put this on twitter, Facebook, etc.

  • by arturofromméxico,

    arturofromméxico arturofromméxico Dec 20, 2011 6:20 AM in response to jose geraldo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 6:20 AM in response to jose geraldo

    Agree with the idea of make it public. I´m not a Twitter expert, but if we could make this a ¿TT?, maybe Apple will speed up the things! Yesterday I change my SIM, and today, early in the morning, again the same, annoying "Invalid SIM" message! Help!

  • by patrickfromorpington,

    patrickfromorpington patrickfromorpington Dec 20, 2011 6:23 AM in response to arturofromméxico
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple Music
    Dec 20, 2011 6:23 AM in response to arturofromméxico

    twitter tag #invalidsim and #iphone - that's what I've just used.

  • by MarcoMedeiros,

    MarcoMedeiros MarcoMedeiros Dec 20, 2011 6:25 AM in response to ptnik
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 6:25 AM in response to ptnik

    I've done the second change of model, the first because of theyellow screen issue and came with the SIM card. changed and thatnow is not the problem, but ALL are with the yellow screen.

    APPLE ashamed ... WILL SWAP FOR A ANDROID

     

    BRAZIL TIM

  • by jose geraldo,

    jose geraldo jose geraldo Dec 20, 2011 6:34 AM in response to patrickfromorpington
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 6:34 AM in response to patrickfromorpington

    Great. Let´s use that! Let's make some noise.

  • by MarcoMedeiros,

    MarcoMedeiros MarcoMedeiros Dec 20, 2011 6:53 AM in response to ptnik
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 6:53 AM in response to ptnik

    BRAVO FOR SAMSUNG ... BRAVO TO GOOGLE

  • by ptnik,

    ptnik ptnik Dec 20, 2011 7:16 AM in response to ptnik
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 7:16 AM in response to ptnik

    Well, Apple has already acknowledged there's an issue. The 9A406 was exactly for "fixing invalid SIM problems", and indeed it did seem to work for some.

     

    But we can see there's still lots more to be done - not only for the remaining Invalid SIM issues, but for the lost connection as well.

     

    Even with a Apple approved microSIM, and although I have stopped receiving Invalid SIM errors, I still get a fake signal indicator from time to time (every 2 or 3 days). It says it has 3G connection, but I get no data, and trying to make a phone call results in call failed (takes 15 or 20s to "fail"), and only then the iPhone drops the signal indicator, goes to network search mode, and comes back online again.

     

    Meaning: I think the 4S has ruined the trust I had in cellphones, thay showing a "signal bar" was enough to know if we were connected or not. Ever since I got the first 4S issues, I can no longer rely on that, and have to constantly ring someone, or use a data connection, to see if my iPhone is "alive" or not...

     

    It's unbelievable...

  • by jannee,

    jannee jannee Dec 20, 2011 7:59 AM in response to ptnik
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2011 7:59 AM in response to ptnik

    Well re my last post. Was I wrong no fix..... But now been soaking test for two days and.. Seems fixed, will try 3G enabled tomorrow report comming soon on that. Still leaving phone lock pin off. Testing with location services active today! So far all good. I have been trying to tickle it to failure and here is what I found.

     

    1. Enable sim pin chane pin nr then change back then leave it on. No failure! Turn sim pin off, leave screen up then turn phone off... Wait and wait 2 hr in this case and fail!

     

    2. In this state I tried to turn off sim pin switch and it worked! Normally when invalid sim pops up and I go tho phone/simpin settings it shows pin on but sliding results in no response. Note I had sim pin OFF  and after failure it's switched on and greyed out!

     

    3. Today I came home and tried to instigate failure.. Turned off sim pin, then turned it on again. Then changed pin nr, but, last night I did that and put in a nr that was not memorized; so I got the wrong pin nr so... The attempts left counter decrements and surprise not by one but by two!! Instead of two tries left I only had one left!! This was the aha moment as to why the fix is to enable your sim pin( this caused issues in 5.0). The reason is the sim is resetting and it demands pin nr but never asks user for nr. If sim pin is off the phone must give some four digit code which fails and bam invalid sim. Now I am certain that this is it cause, remember I have one attempt left now to unlock my sim card; so I tested it with a bogus nr to force it to lock till puk mustbe entered. Got puk hours later( feed, bath and read story put kids to bed)  put code in and it said unlocking.... Wait an hr still unlocking! Switch off and then switch on phone, worked.

     

    So turn on sim PIN Change to your favorite pin nr then enjoy. Ps have not had failure excepted for puk induction test described above. Now running battery to zero, meaning till phone just self powers off then will recharge.. Should calibrate my batt meter too. FIX IT-TURN ON SIM PIN but it's not total confirmed yet. If I get 48 hrs including recharge ing and no fail then me thinks it's good will test for three more days and post success or fail so keep your eyes open

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