No SIM Card - Emergency Calls Only

[ScHouse]

Hi there,

Helping a friend who is with PM (I am too, but not experiencing any issues). 

About 3 weeks ago, her phone started displaying the above subject message. We have restarted the phone numerous times, and maybe 1 out of 10 times the SIM card comes back online. I took out the SIM card for 5 minutes, and it seems to detect it (ie. texts arrive) for about 5 minutes then the message returns. Is the SIM card finished/kaput?

I took the phone to an after market place to have them clean the SIM contacts and SIM ports professionally, but to no avail. He advised that because the phone is so old (Sony Xperia - 6 to 7 years old), that the networks upgrade to 5G recently and the phone may not be able to support the new systems. Is this true? I think he may be trying to sell me a refurbished phone, but just want to make certain before tossing this phone.

Any ideas?

[BlueB]

That's great to hear @ScHouse!

Thanks for reporting back.  For bad contacts, an old method is to use a rubber eraser to clean the contacts (but be careful not to break/crack anything).  A pure alcohol swab may help as well.  If your solution is working well, I wouldn't try anything else.  Otherwise, these are some ideas in case it happens again.  🙂

[ScHouse]

So, after trying the SIM card in one of my old phones (where it worked fine), my husband suggested that maybe the contact inside the phone was bad. Because the SIM card fits in a tray, and I couldn't access the inside contacts, I put a folded over piece of paper into the phone (where the tray ought to be), and moved it around against the inside contacts like a piece of light sandpaper... and now it works! Bad contacts after all.

Thanks to everyone's great suggestions!

[ScHouse]

Great suggestions! Next time I visit her, I will pop it into my phone for a test, then the tape suggestion, then reach out to a moderator to check the account.

Will let everyone know what happens...

Cheers!

[hTideGnow]

5G is  on the market now.. but won't be on PM (not of many years ..).  Also, even 5G is widely used in Canada, the system will still compatible with older phones for a long while.  So, likely the person trying to sell you a new phone only.

However, given that you have the issue on and off for so long, it could be the phone or SIM.  If you can get a secondary phone for a week or two to try with your current SIM and confirm no issue, maybe it is really time to get a new phone (or at least another used phone)

[BlueB · Accepted solution]

@ScHouse 

We can try and narrow it down - whether it's a SIM card issue or a Phone issue.  She can try and put a small piece of tape on the back side of the SIM card to add some thickness in case of a bad contact.

@Dunkman made a good suggestion to try it in another phone.  If it works, then it's a phone issue (maybe because it's old and failing, not because of the 5G network).

If she still see problems, it's either a SIM card issue or an account issue (more likely the former).  She can replace the SIM card with a (new) SIM card and have a Moderator (staff!) switch it over for them - this is not available as Self-Serve due to fraud issues.  She can always check with a Moderator to ensure it's not an account issue.

She can reach a moderator by clicking on the chat bubble (lower-right corner) and opening a ticket.  Or, she can message a moderator directly at:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/privatenotespage/tab/compose/note-to-user-id/22...

[Dunkman]

@ScHouse 

You could try your friend's PM Sim card in another working phone.  That helps determine whether hardware issue versus PM service problem.  If hardware issue, try to reboot phone and network reset.  If still not working, might be time to get another phone.  

PM does not have 5G network, so that should not be a factor.  Need to distinguish between hardware issue versus PM service problem (ie. SiM card)