How To Bypass "SIM Card Required" Page

Here are the steps needed before selling a device. Activation Lock may also be an issue if the previous owner did not follow the steps below.

What to do before selling or giving away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

An iPhone requires a sim card for activation yes.

This has nothing to do with Activation lock. Nor is it related to what the previous owner may owe anyone. Nor do you need to contact the previous owner for it.

All you need to do is insert a sim card from your cellular carrier in the iPhone to continue. Do you not have one?

If the iPhone is locked to a particular carrier, then the sim card needs to be from that carrier. Otherwise any correctly sized sim card will work.

The message means just what it says. There is no SIM card installed. That is, there is no way for the iPhone to talk to any carrier (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.) until you purchase your own cell phone plan and insert the supplied SIM card.

You can also take the iPhone to any carrier near you and do that in the store. They'll setup the plan you want and install a SIM card so the phone actually does something. As Phil0124 noted, if the iPhone was originally setup as a Verizon phone (example), that's the only carrier it will work with. Unlocked, it will work with any carrier that supports an iPhone 6.

If the previous owner still owed someone for the cost of the phone, they'll have to make up that cost themselves with what they got from you on the sale. There's nothing you need to do to pay their bill.

If you don't mind my question, where did you buy this iPhone? Was it from a source you trust? If so ignore my question. The reason I ask is that many used phones are either lost or stolen devices that have Find my iPhone turned on and when the buyer tries to activate it, it asks for the old owner's credentials. If the phone came from a reliable seller this is not an issue.

elcpu wrote:

If you don't mind my question, where did you buy this iPhone? Was it from a source you trust? If so ignore my question. The reason I ask is that many used phones are either lost or stolen devices that have Find my iPhone turned on and when the buyer tries to activate it, it asks for the old owner's credentials. If the phone came from a reliable seller this is not an issue.

But there's no Activation lock issue here. It's only the iPhone requesting a sim card.

If it did have Activation lock, it would have requested that before the sim card error was ever shown.

AT&T has no idea what they are saying.

All you need to do is insert a sim card. The Sim card carries with it the number, and plan information. Remove that and the iPhone has no idea anything is owed because there is no connection to the carrier or account without a sim card.

Insert a different sim card, and it should work.

Even an iPhone where nothing is owed will show the message of needing a sim card if there is no sim card installed.

If they phone was purchased through the Next plan AT&T can tell that money is owed on that phone through the IMEI number when the OP tries to activate the phone. If the OP is going to try to use AT&T they are either going to have to get the OP to pay off the phone or return it and get their money back. AT&T does know what they are saying and as to taking it to another carrier I would guess that AT&T has blacklisted the IMEI besides the fact it is locked to them.

Fine they can block it by IMEI, however I find it extremely unlikely they'd block the actual device. The service plan may owe money, but AT&T has not reason to block a person trying to get a new service plan from using a device with them. Its in their interest for the new person to be able to set up a service plan with them so they get their money.

Also at this point all we know is the iPhone is requesting a sim card. This is not out of the ordinary at all. Once the sim card is in place we can then assess what other issues it may have.

For now, requesting a sim card is something any iPhone will do after being restored whether money is owed on a plan that it was attached to before or not.

The fact money is owed by the previous owner to AT&T is not all that relevant yet. Getting a sim card for it does not need not be this melodramatic.

The OP says they already talked to AT&T so the money owed on that iPhone is pertinent. AT&T does not do subsidized phones anymore so the service plan will not repay them for the cost of that phone. This may be an incorrect assumption but I think the OP already has AT&T service so if AT&T activates that phone they will be writing off the cost of it. I seriously doubt that is going to happen. Either the original seller needs to pay off the phone, the OP needs to pay off the phone or the OP needs to return the phone to the seller and get their money back.

I think you're right, deggie. Here's the main page. Reading the fine print, you get the phone for nothing, but the cost of it is then added in monthly installments to your service bill. Only when the phone is paid off at least 50% of its original value on a two year plan, or 80% on a 30 month plan, do you get a new one. But that requires turning in the old phone so it can be refurbished and sold.

So, it sounds like this phone has not been at least 50% paid for, and yes, someone owes AT&T for the balance. The question is, who? It should be the person who had the Next account. A new SIM would be tied to a new user account and a new phone number. But as you mention, it will carry the same IMEI number and they could still block the phone.

The only choice here may be to return it for a refund. Or, check with the seller to see if they paid off the balance with what RickGtl paid for the phone. That kind of the depends on whether or not the seller knew they weren't supposed to sell the phone as if it belonged to them. Honest mistake? They should pay the balance. On purpose? They'll try to keep the cash and stick RickGtl with either paying off the phone, or having it remain unusable.

I did just realize we have no idea what AT&T plan was being used. A Next plan is an assumption at this point. The OP hasn't told us anything about that yet, other than it's an AT&T locked iPhone.

Given that AT&T hasn't offered subsidized phones for at least 3 years (it is possible but quite difficult to do) then any phone on an old plan would be long paid off. Given the different clues dropped here and there regarding the chats with AT&T I would say it is a safe assumption.

Is there something saying that a sim card should not be tried in the iPhone for any reason?

I believe trying a sim card in the iPhone is the next logical step before assuming AT&T has locked the actual iPhone in any way.