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iPhone 4G stuck in "Unlocking Please Wait"

So when i put my simcard in the iPhone i get prompted to unlock the sim card.

When I do so the phone does not get past "Unlocking Please Wait".

Nothing happens, I tried to wait for like an half hour but still no result.


Anyone have any experience with this problem?

iPhone 4

Posted on Nov 22, 2012 10:21 AM

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Posted on Feb 12, 2017 11:56 PM

This is a very old thread, but maybe this might still be helpful.

I´ve had the same problem after replacing the home-button in an iPhone 4.

For the repair, I´ve had to unplug the battery.

After reassembly, the device had forgotten date and time (was set to Jan 1st, 1970)

After setting the correct time (by connecting to a wireless network and enabling "set time automatically), the SIM unlock worked as usual.

11 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Feb 12, 2017 11:56 PM in response to Barrynator

This is a very old thread, but maybe this might still be helpful.

I´ve had the same problem after replacing the home-button in an iPhone 4.

For the repair, I´ve had to unplug the battery.

After reassembly, the device had forgotten date and time (was set to Jan 1st, 1970)

After setting the correct time (by connecting to a wireless network and enabling "set time automatically), the SIM unlock worked as usual.

Jan 31, 2013 3:45 AM in response to Barrynator

I have the same problem with my iPhone 5. I've been trying to get past the "Unlocking... please wait" screen for half an hour now. Tried restarting, taking the SIM card out and putting it back in, etcetera. Connected to the Mac, not connected, doesn't matter. Even took the SIM card out while the iPhone was on, it said no SIM card was installed, then when I put it back in, the Sim Lock message came back. But I still can't get past the unlock screen.


Meanwhile I've upgraded to iOS 6.1, but that did not change anything.


I also tried giving it an incorrect pin just to see what would happen, but even then I'm not getting any reply, just "Unlocking... please wait". And on the next attempt I still have 3 tries left.


I can get out of the "please wait" screen by using the off-button, then on again, and selecting "Cancel" on the numeric keypad, but the message "Simlock active" comes back after 10 seconds or so. Even if I simply dismiss it with, it keeps coming back. And of course there's no network, just "Simlock". The phone does work as an iPod, though.


In the Telephone settings, Sim Pin code, everything is light gray with the "sim pin code" switch off ("0")?! It seems like the phone is having trouble communicating with the sim card? Both the phone and the SIM card are only three weeks old. Worked at one time, but then I did not use it for a few weeks and the battery had drained all the way.


Any ideas, anyone?

Jan 31, 2013 4:19 AM in response to fromsouth

First of all, I'm not with AT&T but with Orange in France.


Second, I did not enter three wrong pin codes. In fact, whenever I get to the pin entry screen, it tells me I still have three tries left. I mentioned having entered a wrong code once, as an experiment to see what kind of reaction that would give after having tried many other tricks that did not work. But that's definitely not the reason I'm stuck on the unlock screen. It already got stuck before I ever tried an incorrect pin.


I did manage to get past the unlock screen once just a few minutes ago, but then the phone could not find a network and the SIM-related settings were still grayed out. I then restarted yet again, and got stuck on the unlock screen yet again.

Aug 19, 2015 9:24 AM in response to Michel Colman

I've got the exact same problem and I'm with Free Mobile in France. My iPhone 5C was working perfectly and then out of the blue I got a black screen with the Apple logo. When the locked screen appeared again it was saying « Activation required » and « SIM card locked». I tried to activate the phone again but it failed. When I tried to enter the PIN code to unlock the SIM card, it froze on the « Unlocking... please wait ».

I managed to unlock it once for a few minutes then it started again.


I tried with my brother's SIM card and I got the same problem.


Any idea how to resolve this problem?

Sep 3, 2016 1:27 PM in response to Barrynator

(SOLVED) - Caused because no available memory on the phone


I had the same problem with iPhone 4!


To resolve this error, I just restarted my phone, and before trying to unlock the sim I deleted some application that I didn't need any more so as to make some free space on the phone's memory. After that, I unlocked the sim and everything works fine!


I hope to work this, also for others...

iPhone 4G stuck in "Unlocking Please Wait"

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