topic Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM in Get Support

SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

lindseyc — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 18:47:53 GMT

Hi all. This is a weird one. I am an active Public Mobile customer and have been for almost two years. I am using an iPhone 5S and have been using the same phone (unlocked from Rogers) the entire time I have been a PM customer. My SIM card is the same one as well and up until today I have never had any issues.

I went to check my phone an hour ago and I get a message I need to activate it. Then I get an error that my SIM is not supported. I popped in an old Rogers SIM (not currently active) and I am able to activate but as soon as I switch SIM cards back to the PM SIM, the process starts over again.

I restarted the phone (with and without the SIM in), reset Network settings, did a soft reset, updated my iPhone software, all to no avail. My phone has not experienced any trama and at the time of this happening I was actually streaming to my AppleTV with no issues.

I'm at a loss, is it possible that my PM SIM just suddenly died? I checked the Apple Activiation server and it's online. The only thing I have not done is restore my phone and I would like to avoid that if possible. I am working form home today and being without my phone is going to cause some havoc.

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

CaNuCk07 — Thu, 18 May 2017 17:28:19 GMT

@lindseyc It is very possible your SIM just stopped working. Who knows why, but sounds like thats what happened.

Best thing to do is send a private message to the moderators, have them check out your service, and if nothing is wrong then it must be your sim.

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

Luddite — Thu, 18 May 2017 17:36:29 GMT

If you are near/willing to come to Mississauga send me a private message; I have a spare SIM you may have.

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

lindseyc — Thu, 18 May 2017 17:43:42 GMT

Thanks. I sent a message to a moderator as you suggested! Appreciate the help.

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

lindseyc — Thu, 18 May 2017 17:44:37 GMT

Thank you, but I'm in Oshawa and technically on the clock so I won't be going anywhere soon. I appreciate the offer though. 🙂

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

Luddite — Thu, 18 May 2017 17:50:51 GMT

If you have another unlocked phone handy, try your PM SIM in it. This is always the ultimate test of phone vs SIM/account issues.

Meanwhile, if you need to make phone calls try an application like that from fongo.com. It provides free calling across Canada from wherever you are connected to wifi, or on cellular data.

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

will13am — Thu, 18 May 2017 17:53:52 GMT

This is a good warning for all customers to have a spare SIM handy. It is small price to pay to have one available on hot standby. I have one spare, wondering if that is enough because I have a number of accounts.

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

srlawren — Thu, 18 May 2017 18:18:55 GMT

@Luddite great to have you back! Rock solid work, as always!

@will13am definitely agree. I keep a spare around, and always make sure anyone I refer keeps a spare as well. If only I could talk to everyone before they order! 🙂

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

srlawren — Thu, 18 May 2017 18:26:57 GMT

@will13am you inspired me to create this idea: http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Public-Lab/Double-up-on-all-SIM-card-orders/idi-p/154489#M6471.

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

kinchattack — Thu, 18 May 2017 19:05:21 GMT

95% sure your SIM took a nosedive. I had an issue where I couldnt make outgoing calls, but everything else was totally fine. Was told by folks at the apple store it could be a device issue, but that I should try a new sim first. Worked like a charm. Best to keep a SIM card hanging around the house in a safe spot to make this kind of problem an easy fix if it ever happens!

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

Acekiller — Thu, 18 May 2017 19:22:26 GMT

i would either try your sim on a different phone or try a different sim on your phone

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

lindseyc — Thu, 18 May 2017 19:22:32 GMT

Yep, sounds like my SIM is dead. I tried it in an unlocked Android device and it would not work. I have messaged a moderator and they are going to send me a new one I believe. Lesson learned I will be ordering a second spare. I have had a cell phone for 21 years, first time a SIM died on me. 🙂

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

Samianauman — Thu, 18 May 2017 20:14:50 GMT

Just curious when this kind of issues happen does pm offer free sim to ops or you have to pay for sim even its just suddenly stoped working

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

kinchattack — Thu, 18 May 2017 20:29:17 GMT

I imagine its unlikely but possible. Never hurts to message an mod/admin.

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

lindseyc — Thu, 18 May 2017 20:35:13 GMT

The moderator I contacted (Mary) was very helpful and she is sending a replacement SIM for free. She was great, answered super fast and the instructions were very clear.

Fingers crossed this this fixed it.

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

lindseyc — Wed, 24 May 2017 17:47:37 GMT

I have a solution!

Public Mobile sent me a new SIM card and after activiating it, my phone was still not working. On a whim, I checked my new Public Mobile SIM in an unlocked Android phone and it worked fine, whereas the original PM SIM did not work in the same phone when I was initially troubleshooting. Clearly my initial SIM card "went bad" but why was the new one not working in my iPhone, but fine in an unlocked Android phone?

I contacted Rogers (my old carrier who had originally unlocked my phone) and after speaking to three different reps, one finally unlocked my phone again and 20 minutes later my new PM SIM is now working.

I called Rogers back for an explanation and they said sometimes iPhones just spontaneously relock, usually after a restore or major update (not that I did either of those things) or if a SIM card stops working and Apple tries to activate a few times in a row.

Considering all the troubleshooting that was done, this does seem to be the explanation for what happened. My original SIM died, my iPhone tried to activiate a dozen times when I was troubleshooting and suddenly my unlocked phone was relocked. Rogers did not charge me to perform the service again, but they did give me the run around for over an hour.

Public Mobile has been awesome the entire time, trying to troubleshoot with me and escalating up the chain. No complaints there.

Hopefully this helps out someone in the future. I have never heard of a relocking phone, but it appears to be a thing. Who knew!

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

srlawren — Wed, 24 May 2017 18:05:17 GMT

@lindseyc thank you for sharing your solution with us! Sorry it was so much hassle. To be clear, only iPhones can spontaneously re-lock. There are some Android phones that initially ship unlocked but then lock to the network of the first SIM that's inserted into them (such as unlocked Samsung phones from the Samsung Experience retail stores); however, once an Android phone is unlocked, it stays unlocked. On the other hand, Apple mantains much more control on your iPhone devices for their entire lifetime and they can indeed do this. This is why it's also more expensive to unlock an iPhone and why you can't just buy a cheap 3rd party unlock code online like you can for Android. It's because Apple maintain their own database of their devices and their lock status, and to unlock an iPhone requires updating that database. And, as you'v experienced, it's not necessarily a permanent one-way street!

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

Fatou1 — Wed, 24 May 2017 18:51:17 GMT

My sim card is not supported. Its been two days that nobody can reach me. Please vélo me

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

stonechucker — Thu, 25 May 2017 02:05:18 GMT

@srlawren, this is crappy customer service on the part of Apple and Samsung. When I buy an unlocked device, I expect it to remain unlocked. If I purchase the service to unlock my device because I bought it as a locked device, I also expect it to remain unlocked.

i hope carriers stop selling locked phone, and I hope manufacturers stop allowing the locks to happen. As a consumer, I find these shady practices.

Re: SIM Not Supported - been using this phone for 2 years with PM

will13am — Thu, 25 May 2017 05:50:08 GMT

@stonechucker wrote:
@srlawren, this is crappy customer service on the part of Apple and Samsung. When I buy an unlocked device, I expect it to remain unlocked. If I purchase the service to unlock my device because I bought it as a locked device, I also expect it to remain unlocked.

i hope carriers stop selling locked phone, and I hope manufacturers stop allowing the locks to happen. As a consumer, I find these shady practices.

Hope is not a solution. Join me in avoiding carrier phones. Be a rebel with cause.