topic Re: removing sim card as troubleshooting measure??? in Get Support

removing sim card as troubleshooting measure???

mimmo — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 09:02:47 GMT

hey all, occasionally i see people suggest or say they have removed sim card and reinserted it as generic troubleshooting method? I am curious if this is a valid step and why?

I can understand if the phone says no sim card or they are the sim in a different phone to determine hardware vs account issues.

The only reasoning i can think of is that it takes time to do (keeps phone off longer) but the sim can also be removed with the phone still turned on.

anyways just curious if anyone had some thoughts.

Re: removing sim card as troubleshooting measure???

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 04:09:15 GMT

The only thing that comes to mind is bad contact with the phone. Removing it and reinserting it slightly scratches(cleans) the contacts. However, unless the phone and or SIM have been exposed to moisture, or other harsh conditions, the contact shouldnt normally 'go bad'.

Re: removing sim card as troubleshooting measure???

will13am — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 05:00:54 GMT

My family has gone through around 2 dozen phones over the years that used a SIM card. I cannot think of one instance where a SIM card has failed to work. I face palm every time I see suggestions of taking out the SIM card and reinserting it. I suppose it is less injurious than suggesting a factory reset. As for removing and inserting a SIM card with the phone ON, I would not do that. I don't like the idea of hot swapping anything other than USB storage.

Re: removing sim card as troubleshooting measure???

Jorno — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 08:40:45 GMT

Re: removing sim card as troubleshooting measure???

computergeek541 — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 09:03:04 GMT

Removing the sim card isn't going to do a thing unless there is a problem with the sim card making proper electrical contact with the phone.

It's just like the old antics of carriers telling you to replace your sim card if you call in to complain about anything. While it's not entirely impossible for sim card replacement to fix something, it has turned into just a way for the carrier's customer service line to get you off the phone. It's Freedom Mobile's favorite line for any complaint that a customer may have.

In the rare, rare case, these types of things might help but usually, it's a wild goose chase.

Re: removing sim card as troubleshooting measure???

kav2001c — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 14:04:25 GMT

@mimmo removing SIM while device is powered is dangerous. Static and other things can damage phone so this is never recommended by any brand.

The only advantage of removing SIM is that on some models it forces a hard reset but really if you know how your phone operates you should not need to do this.

Or I suppose if phone got wet and you are trying to make sure no moisture inside the device.

SIM failure is pretty rare (even when it has happened in past I am more suspect of something Public did in system that caused the failure)

Re: removing sim card as troubleshooting measure???

sheytoon — Sun, 04 Feb 2018 03:08:30 GMT

I agree it's pointless. Enabling and disabling airplane mode is the simplest way to re-attach to the network.

Some phone glitches may be resolved by rebooting the phone, but SIM card removal should have no impact.

A SIM replacement, though technically unnecessary, could trigger re-provisioning of the account, which could resolve some issues. It's a simple and cheap procedure for customer service representatives to do, instead of escalating to engineering teams for advanced troubleshooting.

I've also never heard of damage being caused by removing a SIM while a phone is powered. I do it all the time and no issues so far (though I enable airplane mode before ejecting the SIM tray).

Re: removing sim card as troubleshooting measure???

Korth — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 00:00:54 GMT

I agree with what's been said here.

But I can see two special instances where removing the SIM card might help:

1) The SIM card wasn't properly installed or isn't making proper electrical contact in the first place. If phone service simply (or suddenly) isn't working for no apparent reason then this could be worth trying, especially after a hard drop/impact which might have rattled the internals. Exceedingly rare to shake or jar a SIM loose, but not impossible.

2) The phone's software simply refuses to proceed past a certain point unless it detects a "new" SIM card. You just gotta do what they want you to do in the order they want things done if there's absolutely no other way to move forward with (re)configuring a device. Not mentioning any iPhone models here, of course.