topic Re: iPhone not recognizing SIM that has been installed for years in Get Support

iPhone not recognizing SIM that has been installed for years

AndreaSmith — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 18:15:02 GMT

Hello all,

I was recently outside of Canada for over a year, and though I continued to be billed for my Public Mobile service I could not send or receive SMS or phone calls while away. I just returned to Canada yesterday but my phone is not recognizing my SIM, which has been inserted the whole time. I did try to use an eSIM while away, but have since removed it. I expected my service to kick back in once we returned (as my PM account has remained active this whole time) but my phone is not recognizing that the SIM exists. I have restarted my phone, removed and cleaned and replaced the SIM card, and checked for phone updates. No success.
Do SIM cards expire? (My husband’s PM SIM reconnected no problem). I’ve tried to get help from Apple too, no answers yet.
Not sure what to try next. Help!

Re: iPhone not recognizing SIM that has been installed for years

Chalupa_Batman — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 18:18:46 GMT

Hey @AndreaSmith

If your account has been active all this time, then just go into your settings and find Network Settings and simply reset them. This forces your phone back on the network. Then reboot.

Public Mobile only works in Canada US and Mexico. Nowhere else.

Also, if you can log into your account, make sure your account is actually active.

Re: iPhone not recognizing SIM that has been installed for years

BKNS27 — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 19:49:17 GMT

@AndreaSmith

Call 1-855-4PUBLIC to check on the status of your account. Hopefully if you are on AutoPay and there was no glitch in withdrawing your monthly bill.

If the system indicated that your number is not in the system then your account was closed, SIM will no longer work and your number will be returned to the carrier you got the number from. Contact a CS_Agent for further assistance.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

Re: iPhone not recognizing SIM that has been installed for years

RavingRaven — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 23:11:15 GMT

@AndreaSmith

Check under your phone settings that you have disabled the e-sim that was used and check for any VPN that may have been used and remove it. Reboot phone and reset network settings again if necessary.