Q: iPhone 4 Message:SIM Required (in phone that has no SIM card slot)

THanks   I'm trying that, too

Thanks BenjamimL for posting this. This is very helpful. I am ready now to have my turn at AppleCare. I will try the chat first.

I'm new here and I would just like to share my experience on this matter... I received my iphone (pre-loved) from my aunt last November 2014, and immediately tried to personalize and reset the iphone, then I came to the Activating Iphone part.  I dont have my aunt's apple ID and password yet (too shy to ask), so I patiently waited for her visit here in the Philippines (February 2015) to ask her personally for the apple id and password.  When I already have her ID and password and very ready to activate the iphone -- the iphone now tells me that "SIM Required" problem.  I looked into the posts here and saw that they were posted only recently... maybe the problem just started recently, or maybe it just started this year 2015... I am just hoping that my post will add up to the number of posts here and catch the attention of whoever can solve this.  thanks and more power.

i suggest reading the last couple of pages of posts. The problem can be resolved, but you have to take action, just waiting won't work.

rosindabow wrote:

 

Hey Ksdavis.  There was never a mention of a $30 fee ... It confirms my suspicion that they now realize there's an issue and have decide to charge the newcomers a fee to fix.  This is a problem that Apple caused and frankly, in my opinion, they should fix for free.  I still am not convinced that going to the Apple Store will do anything.  They do not have Senior level technicians there let alone Senior level engineers.  I think you might be better served doing this via phone. Either way, you just have to be insistent and point the technician to the pre-existing case numbers that have had solutions (mine is in this thread a ways back) - there are at least 4 maybe 5 case numbers now.

 

In any case - I wish you luck!  Post back either way ...

Totally incorrect.  This is based upon a faulty carrier settings update, and that's from the carrier, not from Apple.  What the Engineers are doing (and there's no such thing as a Senior Engineer; they're just Engineers) is coordinating with the carrier to direct them on how to resolve the issue.  The Engineers themselves aren't usually actively doing anything, except in rare cases where the device has to be assigned a totally new IMEI/MEID, and when that is required, it's because the carrier settings update fouled something up for the original IMEI/MEID.  In essence, the Apple Engineers are simply guiding and consulting the carrier techs; they're acting like Technical Advisors for them.  Sort of like when you call into Apple Support and they walk you through how to do something to fix your issue; but in this case, it's at a higher level.

Secondly, the $29 support fee is applicable after the first 90 days of free support (unless you have AppleCare/AppleCare+), but is not applied in many situations.  Essentially, it's supposed to simply be for issues that the user could resolve on their own, but instead of using the provided resources and support articles, they want someone to do it for them or give them a verbal walkthrough.

This situation doesn't apply.  It's not something the user can resolve.  Therefore, if a support fee was mentioned, then either there was a misunderstanding of the stated situation, or the Apple advisor was mistaken about when such a support fee should apply.

I've heard people say, on this forum, that they've been quoted $29 to resolve an Apple ID password issue.  But you don't even need to own a physical Apple product to have an Apple ID.  I can use my Apple ID/iTunes account with a Windows computer running iTunes.

And all you have to do is reference this article:  If you see 'No SIM' alert on iPhone - Apple Support, confirm to the first Advisor that you've done all those steps, and request to speak to a Senior Advisor.  You don't have to reference anyone else's case numbers.  In fact, no one should be posting any Apple Support case numbers on this forum.  It's a violation of the Terms of Use, as well as your personal, private information.

Butcher_Cover wrote:

 

I'm so sorry for the confusion, my wife told me she had the back glass replaced while I was deployed. Again I apologize for the confusion.

Where did she get the back glass replaced?  Through Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or someone else?

I got the "No SIM Card" issue fixed yesterday, without having to call Apple or going to an Apple store. It was done entirely through the Chat. I did not have to pay any fees. I asked an exemption and then selected "Upgraded to iOS 8" as the closest option available to describe my problem (in fact, the latest iOS version available to iPhone 4 users is 7.1.2). They resist a little initially, but once you make clear that you know what you're talking about (mentioning this thread and using the proper technical terms), you will be escalated to a senior representative. In my case, the senior representative quickly wrote a ticket to engineering, and, in a few hours, the issue was resolved. I was able to get past the "No SIM card" screen and complete the setup process. I will not post the service order number because it is being redacted throughout the thread. I hope this helps.

TJBUSMC1973:

I must echo rosindabow's comments.  I am a VERY long-time Apple product owner and user, and someone who is worked in IT long enough to understand that things get borked.  (My initial hunch early in this thread that something got "borked" somewhere in the nexus of Apple and Verizon operations has, indeed, rung true.)

Those of us who have spent literally hours on this issue -- I just got back from my SECOND visit to the Apple Store in a week, to say nothing of a couple of hours spent at Verizon -- are not terribly interested in recitations of board terms of services, any more than we were terribly interested in hearing how the sheer act of resetting a device could cause it to break, in some macabre Infinite Loop reinterpretation of a Monty Python spontaneous human combustion skit.

I'm familiar with ticket and case systems, and confess to being somewhat skeptical that a case number represents PII, since presumably only an agent with access to the ticket system would be able to pull our user information based on it.  In other cases, members of our thread have used these case numbers to "encourage" Apple Genius, AppleCare, and Verizon reps to TAKE SERIOUSLY that there is an actual problem in place here, not just unrelated incidents.  (I am using problem and incident in the precise meaning intended under ITIL best practices; my word choice is not casual.)

Frankly, this is my second time 'round with Apple discussion fora; the past attempt came when researching an odd Airport issue.  I was impressed then at the dedication of many senior members; let equally "impressed," or perhaps "impressed upon," by an overly dialectical bent and a seeming belief in the infallibility of the knowledge base and the conventional wisdom.  Encouraging loyal, good customers to TOS-RTFM isn't a way to encourage customers to remain either.

Of course, my umbrage is coming with the assumption that one is upbraiding us from the vantage of an Apple employee, to whom I would remind the importance of thrilling and surpassing customers and their expectations.  If you, as it were, are a "civilian" unaffiliated with Apple, I let this thing pass, but would caution that others will interpret your comments as blaming customers in the midst of an extraordinarily frustrating situation.

ksdavis27701 wrote:

 

 

Of course, my umbrage is coming with the assumption that one is upbraiding us from the vantage of an Apple employee, to whom I would remind the importance of thrilling and surpassing customers and their expectations.  If you, as it were, are a "civilian" unaffiliated with Apple, I let this thing pass, but would caution that others will interpret your comments as blaming customers in the midst of an extraordinarily frustrating situation.

No one posting in ASC is an official Apple employee, with one exception (noted below). We are all Apple users, here to try to help other users. Most participants in this thread have done an outstanding job in tracking down this issue, over the initial skepticism of many forum regulars ( including me). I hope you stay and continue contributing.

The exceptions to the "no Apple employees" are Community Specialists. You won't see any here, because they only respond to posts that have had no responses in over 24 hours. And their responses are limited to quoting Apple tech support articles. You can recognize them by the Apple logo under their IDs.

Well I contacted apple since I'm having the same problem, the senior supervisor said he'd talk to the engineers in fixing the problem for me. Here's to hoping they are successful at fixing this for me 

PPhone is fixed.  Used chat via the ISO 8... Button and got a tech rep.  Explained the problem and the known solution as has been discussed above.  Mentioned this forum thread and was transferred right to a supervisor who seemed familiar with the issue.  He got with the engineers right away and sent me an email when it was fixed lettng me know to connect the phone to iTunes.  Got a message the phone had been "unlocked" and then restored it from a backup.  Seems to be working fine now.   The whole process took a couple of hours but went very smoothly.  And the Apple people who worked with me were great.  No hassle at all. 

non functional iphone ...no responsibilty... no respon ....where are they ( tech support ) sleep??? BAD SERVICE !!! hahaha a very company with no solution

THINK TWICE TO BUY IPHONE`S NEXT GEN!!