Invalid Sim

[wolhaiksong]

Hey all,

I just bought a PM sim and tried to activate it. At the very last stage to activate it, it took about a minute, and then it showed an error screen. If I recall correctly, it said something like generic error, try again.

After entering the sim # again, it said invalid sim. I'm guessing the initial activation meant it was no longer valid. I tried putting in the sim card to my phone and it said it needed to be activated.

Thanks

Just wondering what I can do or who I can contact.

[computergeek541]

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@wolhaiksong wrote:

OP here, I unlocked my phone and the iPhone re-activation worked fine. 

My account details I inputted during the SIM activation phase that failed seemed to not go through but payment has. I created a new account and all seems to be well.

I'm still of the opinion that the initial error was caused by having a locked phone.

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I'm happy that you're up and running. 

Your assumption isn't correct.  A locked phone  could not cause the Public Mobile activation site to generate an error message.  Public Mobile's system does not know if your phone is unlocked or not.  In fact, you don't even need a phone to activate your service.

[wolhaiksong]

OP here, I unlocked my phone and the iPhone re-activation worked fine. 

My account details I inputted during the SIM activation phase that failed seemed to not go through but payment has. I created a new account and all seems to be well.

I'm still of the opinion that the initial error was caused by having a locked phone.

[Mountainmaxman]

if you can get into your account there is a place there to change sim number and no need to make a new account. if you can't get into your account, then it never activated and you will need to switch sim cards and start over again creating a new account. Been there done that a few times now

[wolhaiksong]

I submitted a ticket and it appears that the payment did go through. The moderator suggested I do a power cycle on my phone to test to see if it works.

I'll unlock my phone tomorrow and give this a shot and I'll update then.

Thanks all that gave input!

[wolhaiksong]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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@wolhaiksong wrote:

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Yeah that's what it reminded me of.

Currently in the process of backing up my phone via iTunes.

I'm going to try to unlock the phone tomorrow via my old provider.

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There's also one other thing that you can check for clues.  Although the Public Mobile website may show and error message or a blank screen, sometimes, everything is completed just fine. If you try to log in with the self serve account that you told Public Mobile to create, are your credential accepted and does it let you into your account?

From what I've read from your messages, I believe that the most likely scenario is that Public Mobile did charge you but never enabled your service yet and also might not have enabled your self-serve account either.  However, you can still "activate" an Apple device even if your Public Mobile sim card isn't working, so that's why @Luddite and I are pushing to at least get your through that step first.

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I backed it up and tried to re-activate the iPhone. It says:

"SIM Not Supported

The SIM card that you currently have installed in this phone is from a carrier that is not supported under the activation policy that is currently assigned by the activation server. This is not a hardware issue with the iPhone. Please insert another SIM card from a supported carrier or request that this iPhone be unlocked by your carrier. Please contact Apple for more information"

So it does appear that the phone is still locked afterall. This might be why the sim activation resulted in an error.

[GinYVR]

@wolhaiksongActivation required usually means Apple needs to contact the Apple servers to verify whether your iPhone is unlocked or not. You will not be able to use the device unless you go through the process. Make sure you are connected to a wifi connection.

[computergeek541]

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@wolhaiksong wrote:

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Yeah that's what it reminded me of.

Currently in the process of backing up my phone via iTunes.

I'm going to try to unlock the phone tomorrow via my old provider.

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There's also one other thing that you can check for clues.  Although the Public Mobile website may show and error message or a blank screen, sometimes, everything is completed just fine. If you try to log in with the self serve account that you told Public Mobile to create, are your credential accepted and does it let you into your account?

From what I've read from your messages, I believe that the most likely scenario is that Public Mobile did charge you but never enabled your service yet and also might not have enabled your self-serve account either.  However, you can still "activate" an Apple device even if your Public Mobile sim card isn't working, so that's why @Luddite and I are pushing to at least get your through that step first.

[wolhaiksong]

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@Luddite wrote:

@wolhaiksong I think that is Apple telling you to activate your phone; as it does when new out of the box.

Try turning cellular data OFF, coinnect to wifi and see you can activate the phone or at least make a backup.

Did you recently unlock that phone, or update iOS?

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Yeah that's what it reminded me of.

Currently in the process of backing up my phone via iTunes.

I'm going to try to unlock the phone tomorrow via my old provider.

[wolhaiksong]

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@computergeek541 wrote:what does iTunes say when you connect your phone?  

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In the process of backing it up, but from what I remember, it said something like new provider details, with options to download now, cancel, and another I don't quite remember.

[Luddite]

@wolhaiksong I think that is Apple telling you to activate your phone; as it does when new out of the box.

Try turning cellular data OFF, connect to wifi and see you can activate the phone or at least make a backup.

Did you recently unlock that phone, or update iOS?

[computergeek541]

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@wolhaiksong wrote:

Funny thing is, it wouldn't accept my bank visa. Something along the lines of "cannot verify this card at the time". I can vouch that the card isn't locked and has no problems as I used it an hour ago.

I opted to use my walmart MC after several attempts to use my bank visa, and it seemed to work, until I got hit with the "generic error" which brought about all this.

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You'll surely want to ensure that you weren't charged multiple times. There are occassionally Public Mobile payment system issues.

[computergeek541]

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@wolhaiksong wrote:

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Yeah I thought my phone was unlocked but I'm not 100% certain. I'm thinking of calling up my old provider tomorrow to get it unlocked for sure. Perhaps this was the source of the problem x.x

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Perhaps, but what does iTunes say when you connect your phone?  

Your phone not being unlocked wouldn't have caused the problem on the Public Mobile website, but could explain why you haven't been able to use the Public Mobile service, at least it it did get activated.

[wolhaiksong]

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Also, when it comes to credit cards, most banks usually do show.pending charges immediately these days.  You can call your card issuer to ask. There's no need to wait.

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Funny thing is, it wouldn't accept my bank visa. Something along the lines of "cannot verify this card at the time". I can vouch that the card isn't locked and has no problems as I used it an hour ago.

I opted to use my walmart MC after several attempts to use my bank visa, and it seemed to work, until I got hit with the "generic error" which brought about all this.

[wolhaiksong]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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@wolhaiksong wrote:

I have an iPhone SE and when I put in the sim, a pop-up box comes up that says "Activation Required" and then a dismiss button. It then brings me to the iPhone activation screen which I'm scared to proceed further because I don't have a backup yet in case it actually goes through.I'm going to backup now and see what happens.

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On iPhone devices, "activation" isn't about activating your service but rather the device. Apple wants to check if your phone is unlocked. While you should be able to perform this process straight from your device, I would try connecting your phone via USB cable to iTunes.

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Yeah I thought my phone was unlocked but I'm not 100% certain. I'm thinking of calling up my old provider tomorrow to get it unlocked for sure. Perhaps this was the source of the problem x.x

[computergeek541]

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@wolhaiksong wrote:

I have an iPhone SE and when I put in the sim, a pop-up box comes up that says "Activation Required" and then a dismiss button. It then brings me to the iPhone activation screen which I'm scared to proceed further because I don't have a backup yet in case it actually goes through.I'm going to backup now and see what happens.

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On iPhone devices, "activation" isn't about activating your service but rather the device. Apple wants to check if your phone is unlocked. While you should be able to perform this process straight from your device, I would try connecting your phone via USB cable to iTunes.

Also, when it comes to credit cards, most banks usually do show pending charges immediately these days.  You can call your card issuer to ask. There's no need to wait.

[wolhaiksong]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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@wolhaiksong wrote:

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@antel wrote:

I encountered the similar problem when I activated my sim card. But I activated in a store and asked them to swap the sim card. You may need to return your invalid sim to your seller and get a new sim

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I'll probably go back to the store tomorrow and see if I can return it for a new one.

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I suggest against this, at least at this point.  First, it's very important that you check to see if you have been charged for Public Mobile service. If you have, getting a new sim card will get most people to try activating again and end up getting double billed.

I am curious about your phone telling you that your sim card needs to be activated. What model device is this and what's the exact message?

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That's true. The card I used for billing takes a while to update its transactions, so I'm stuck waiting. 

I have an iPhone SE and when I put in the sim, a pop-up box comes up that says "Activation Required" and then a dismiss button. It then brings me to the iPhone activation screen which I'm scared to proceed further because I don't have a backup yet in case it actually goes through.I'm going to backup now and see what happens.

[Dunkman]

@wolhaiksong 

Was your credit card charged?

If not, you can try again as described above.  Wait some time.  You could also clear cache, try a different web browser or incognito mode.  Chrome incognito works well.  

[computergeek541]

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@wolhaiksong wrote:

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@antel wrote:

I encountered the similar problem when I activated my sim card. But I activated in a store and asked them to swap the sim card. You may need to return your invalid sim to your seller and get a new sim

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I'll probably go back to the store tomorrow and see if I can return it for a new one.

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I suggest against this, at least at this point.  First, it's very important that you check to see if you have been charged for Public Mobile service. If you have, getting a new sim card will get most people to try activating again and end up getting double billed.

I am curious about your phone telling you that your sim card needs to be activated. What model device is this and what's the exact message?

[computergeek541]

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@antel wrote:

I encountered the similar problem when I activated my sim card. But I activated in a store and asked them to swap the sim card. You may need to return your invalid sim to your seller and get a new sim

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That would indicate defective sim card which is rare.  More likely, the system never provisioned the service, in which case, replacing it wouldn't fix things.

[wolhaiksong]

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@antel wrote:

I encountered the similar problem when I activated my sim card. But I activated in a store and asked them to swap the sim card. You may need to return your invalid sim to your seller and get a new sim

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Activate as in go through the entire activation process including payment and all that? The store where I bought my sim doesn't seem like the kind of store that would help with that to be honest. 

I'll probably go back to the store tomorrow and see if I can return it for a new one.

Thanks, that honestly did not occur to me ha.

[antel]

I encountered the similar problem when I activated my sim card. But I activated in a store and asked them to swap the sim card. You may need to return your invalid sim to your seller and get a new sim

[wolhaiksong]

Finished submitting payment info and then the error hit.

This makes sense to me honestly but I'm inclined to believe it hasn't been activated yet.

-I tried using the sim and it still says it needs activation

-I tried logging in to the self serve acc -> doesn't work, my email I used to activate it isn't in the system.

I read some other thread with a similar issue and it seems they had to order another sim. I wonder if I can get a refund for the sim that I already bought. hmm

[computergeek541]

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@wolhaiksong wrote:

I just bought a PM sim and tried to activate it. At the very last stage to activate it, it took about a minute, and then it showed an error screen. If I recall correctly, it said something like generic error, try again.

After entering the sim # again, it said invalid sim. I'm guessing the initial activation meant it was no longer valid. I tried putting in the sim card to my phone and it said it needed to be activated.

.

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If you never got to the step of submitting payment, wait an hour and then try again. 

If you did go through that step, your visa debit/credit card was probably already charged or your top up voucher used.  Go to your online banking and check for a pending charge from Public Mobile.  If that charge is there, check to see if your sim card works.  It may already be  actvated.

Phones don't usually display a message about a sim card needing to be activated.  Is this an iPhone device?