Sim Not Valid iPhone 5

Question

alihuta2002 Author

Level 1

1 points

Sim Not Valid iPhone 5

Hi,

I have an iPhone 5 that I got it on the first day it luanch in Canada from Apple Store at Sherway Garden, and the carrier that I have the phone is with Rogers.

What happen is that yesterday when anyone call me or if I call them the person on the other phone will hear my voice cutting off, but not all the time though....

So today I decided to call Rogers and see if it's a network problem, and the first time I called them they asked me to do a hard reset and they told me they will do something from their side. That one didn't fix, so I called them the second time and this technical support asks me to turn my phone off and he will do the network update from his side again, and told me if it didn't fix I should try restore the phone.

I did what he told me and after that I've tried again and the problem didn't resolve, so I decided to do a fresh restore to iOS 6.0.2

Now my problem is that after the restore I'm stuck on this screen says

"Sim Not Valid"

Only compatible SIM cards from a supported carrier may be used to activate iPhone. Please insert the SIM card that came withyour iPhone or visit the supported carrier's store to receive a replacement SIM card.

I called the technical suport again and this guy told me that my SIM card is affected one and I should get a replace SIM card from Rogers store, but today everywhere closed at the time I called, and tomorrow also they will be closed 😟

So I thought that my brother also using iPhone 5 with Rogers so I borrowed his SIM card and try to activate the phone and no luck even with his SIM card it still gives me the same error.

Now I'm wondering what could be the problem?

The Apple Activation server's problem maybe? or the phone?

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011), iOS 6.0.2

Posted on Dec 31, 2012 6:39 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Dec 31, 2012 6:42 PM in response to alihuta2002

If the phone is not jailbroken take it to an Apple store for diagnosis. If it is jailbroken you are out of luck.

Reply

Answer 2

alihuta2002 Author

Level 1

1 points

Dec 31, 2012 7:05 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

iPhone 5.... it can't be jailbroken anyway 🙂

The reason I asked here because I want to see if I can get any help or see if someone having the same issue because I don't want to be without phone for almost two days 😟

Reply

Answer 3

Sk8Dreams

Level 3

900 points

Dec 31, 2012 7:11 PM in response to alihuta2002

Try cleaning the sim that came with your phone. See this page: http://techtips.salon.com/problems-sim-cards-iphones-4466.html

Reply

Answer 4

alihuta2002 Author

Level 1

1 points

Dec 31, 2012 7:15 PM in response to Sk8Dreams

Thanks @Sk8Dreams, I have tried that and didn't help and even tried using my brother's sim card as well and no luck 😟

Reply

Answer 5

Sk8Dreams

Level 3

900 points

Dec 31, 2012 7:19 PM in response to alihuta2002

I'm sorry, but it sounds like you have a damaged/defective sim and are out of luck until a store opens. It happened to a friend of mine with her brand new iPhone 4, while she was away on vacation.

Reply

Answer 6

alihuta2002 Author

Level 1

1 points

Dec 31, 2012 8:36 PM in response to alihuta2002

I'm so confused right now.... I went to the site called imei.info and I checked my IMEI to see what carrier is locked to and before when I frist got my iPhone it says to Rogers and now it says to Telus???!!!!

SIM Locked: yes

Carrier: Canada Telus; Canada Service

Model: IPHONE 5 64GB BLACK

Status: Apple Limited Warranty

Coverage End Date: 2013-09-20

Estimated Purchase Date: 2012-09-21

Reply

Answer 7

Dec 31, 2012 11:43 PM in response to alihuta2002

I have the same problem. I just got a new replacement from apple store as my previous one had an issue which they can not solve. When I got home, I could not activate the phone, it keeps saying sim is not valid. But it is the same sim that I used before. I am assuming they gave me a locked phone while the one I originally purchased was unlocked from apple.com. The good thing is my local apple store is open tmr, I will go there to see a tech staff.

Reply

Answer 8

alihuta2002 Author

Level 1

1 points

Jan 1, 2013 5:57 AM in response to Jordanfox23

So sad that my phone suddenly locked to another carrier and even worst that today everywhere is closed :'(

Reply

Answer 9

Jan 1, 2013 7:32 AM in response to alihuta2002

IMEI.info is a scam site to get your money. They have no way of knowing the lock status of a phone based on its IMEI, as that information is only in Apple's database. Unless they hack Apple's database, of course, which I guess is a possiblity.

The lock status of a phone is not fixed, it can change over time, and it isn't tied to IMEI. For example, if you buy an unlocked phone from an Apple store they can take a locked phone and unlock it on the spot to sell to you.

You never said whether you purchased the phone as locked, unlocked, or SIM Free (the receipt should say). An Unlocked phone will always be unlocked for its lifetime; a SIM Free phone will work with any carrier when a SIM is inserted, but then will be locked to that carrier.

In any case as you describe the situation either someone made a mistake when you bought the phone or it is defective. In either case Apple will have to resolve it.

Reply

Answer 10

alihuta2002 Author

Level 1

1 points

Jan 1, 2013 11:30 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Hi Lawrence,

Thanks for the great information.

I got this phone with contract and the carrier I'm using is with Rogers. I bought this phone at the Apple Store and never try to use any other sim card than Rogers, so not sure if this is a problem from the phone or what is going on.

But I'm going to take it to the Apple Store tomorrow morning even though I didn't have the appointment because the first appoinment I can book is on the 4th. 😟

Reply

Answer 11

alihuta2002 Author

Level 1

1 points

Jan 1, 2013 3:35 PM in response to alihuta2002

I didn't know that Apple Store at Square One Mall they were open today, so I rush and went to the Genius Bar without an Appointment and the guy who usually stand to take up the appointment told me that it is full, but I might get in if someone cancel the appointment and I did explain what happened to my phone and he said don't waste my time to wait because I can call in the Apple Care and they have to file the ticket to the Engineer to fix my phone and get it done from there.

I have the calling schedule at 7:30 tomorrow morning and I hope that they can fix this issue for me.......

Reply

Answer 12

Feb 12, 2013 1:02 PM in response to alihuta2002

I nave the same issue and i took my sim out my phone and put it back in and it didn't say sim not valid any more in the corner !!! Do guys think its the phone or what?!?!

Reply

Answer 13

Feb 16, 2013 2:32 AM in response to alihuta2002

Hi i've got the same issue but i live in Italy and i've got an English SIM card and just a few days ago I was on a phone call and it ended the call and said in top left hand corner sim is not valid?!?! What do you guys think it is???

Reply

Answer 14

Feb 16, 2013 2:49 AM in response to alihuta2002

Hello alihuta2002,

We recommend you take your iPhone to one of the retail stores to get this problem fixed.

You may be able to go to your carrier to get the iPhone unlocked for you.

Reply

Answer 15

Feb 16, 2013 5:58 AM in response to ryanodonnell1998

Hi i've got the same issue but i live in Italy and i've got an English SIM card and just a few days ago I was on a phone call and it ended the call and said in top left hand corner sim is not valid?!?! What do you guys think it is???

Reply