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Activated my new SIM 5 hours ago and phone still says "No SIM"

angiejordan
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@CS_AgentI really need my phone to work tomorrow. I activated my new Public Mobile SIM 5 hours ago and ported my existing number from Koodo and it still reads "No SIM". I did all the following "fixes" for it which include:

 

1.) Confirming that my phone (iPhone 6S) is indeed unlocked. (I was able to use a T-Mobile SIM card on it, and have checked the IMEI number on the Public Mobile website)

2.) Turned the phone on and off.

3.) Removed the SIM card and put it back in.

4.) Deactivated the phone as "Lost or Stolen" and reactivated it again 10 minutes later.

5.) Updated to the latest iOS, and turned the phone on and off again.

6.) Turned airplane mode on and off.

7.) Confirmed on the self-serve page that my account is indeed "Active".

 

The self-serve topics all say that it should take 3 hours, but its now past that. Please assist.

13 REPLIES 13

angiejordan
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@CalgaryBenthanks for all the help. I contacted Koodo as you suggested, and they offered me a plan similar to the plan I intended to get with PM so I switched back. It was just easier as I already wasted too much time trying to figure out how to fix the botched porting process and didn't want to risk it anymore. 

CalgaryBen
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@angiejordan, it appears you did everything right (although, for the benefit of other readers -- I always recommend taking a temporary "throw-away" phone number from PM during activation, first, and then porting over your number once the service is up and running to your satisfaction).

 

It seems like you had the misfortune of a bad SIM, and for some reason a botched port (both rare in my experience).

 

Are you able to contact Koodo and ask them to reactivate the account, explaining that the port failed? That might be the best way in securing your phone number, at least, before all else. I totally understand the value in keeping your number (I've had mine for 22+ years), and I think Koodo might provide the highest likelihood of success and expediency.

 

angiejordan
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Hi CalgaryBen and thanks for responding.

 

I have also read somewhere to check if the number ported successfully thru self-serve, and it now says that my number was "unable to transfer".

Please note that during the initial set-up, it did not return any error messages after I entered my Koodo account number, Public Mobile SIM card, and the cellphone number I wanted to port.  

 

I ensured yesterday that I did not deactivate my Koodo account until I have successfully set up my PM account, but this morning Koodo has confirmed that my account with them has been deactivated. So now I have no service with either Koodo or PM. 

 

Changing my phone number is not an option, as I have had it for over 15 years and is used for work. 

Anonymous
Not applicable

@CalgaryBen wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@angiejordan wrote:

yes - I tried this SIM on an iPhone XR - still didn't work.


Then maybe it wouldn't hurt to try the Change SIM feature and re-type in the SIM # you have. Maybe there was a mis-type when you entered the SIM #.

Or the above idea of shimming the SIM. Maybe it's kinda flopping around in the slot.


Worth a try, but unlikely to be an issue since the ICC ID (SIM #) has a check digit (uses the Luhn algorithm, as do all cell/comm identifiers) which validates the entry (with a typo, there's a 10% chance to also make a typo in the check digit to make it work).


Also, with the iPhone, a valid SIM card (which is not provisioned properly or otherwise inactive) would show "No Service" at the top, as opposed to "No SIM".


Thanks for the explanation.

CalgaryBen
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@Anonymous wrote:

@angiejordan wrote:

yes - I tried this SIM on an iPhone XR - still didn't work.


Then maybe it wouldn't hurt to try the Change SIM feature and re-type in the SIM # you have. Maybe there was a mis-type when you entered the SIM #.

Or the above idea of shimming the SIM. Maybe it's kinda flopping around in the slot.


Worth a try, but unlikely to be an issue since the ICC ID (SIM #) has a check digit (uses the Luhn algorithm, as do all cell/comm identifiers) which validates the entry (with a typo, there's a 10% chance to also make a typo in the check digit to make it work).


Also, with the iPhone, a valid SIM card (which is not provisioned properly or otherwise inactive) would show "No Service" at the top, as opposed to "No SIM".

Anonymous
Not applicable

@angiejordan wrote:

yes - I tried this SIM on an iPhone XR - still didn't work.


Then maybe it wouldn't hurt to try the Change SIM feature and re-type in the SIM # you have. Maybe there was a mis-type when you entered the SIM #.

Or the above idea of shimming the SIM. Maybe it's kinda flopping around in the slot.

CalgaryBen
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@angiejordan given that you've tested the SIM in another phone, plus you removed/re-inserted the SIM card in your own phone, it definitely seems like the SIM card is faulty.  Quickest solution would be to procure a new/replacement SIM card, and transfer over to it in the self-serve portal.  Before doing that, I would try one more thing that you didn't mention... pull the SIM card out, give the contacts a good wipe/buff (gold-coloured contacts should be shiny and not tarnished), and re-insert.  Even do a hard reset/reboot, as often a SIM that's not detecting when inserted may detect upon boot/initialization.

 

The "No SIM card inserted" message (and "No SIM" in the top left where the carrier usually shows up), especially when this is across multiple phones, pretty much says it's not reading the SIM card.  It's rare, but it happens. For me, I often encounter this when I pull my SIM card and test other phones, and then re-insert into my regular phone... might be wear-and-tear in my case, but usually the hard reset seems to resolve it, or else removing and re-inserting the SIM.

 

Once you get up and running, you can likely get an adjustment or some form of compensation through the moderators, given the circumstances.


Good luck!

 

angiejordan
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

yes - I tried this SIM on an iPhone XR - still didn't work.

Carld123
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@angiejordan

My daughter was having the same frustration with her iphone...no sim message after trying multiple cards...we cut and added a couple pieces of tape to the back of the sim to thicken it a little...and it worked..so it seems in her case the sim tray wasnt making proper contact due to wear im guessing...

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@angiejordan the "3 hour" timeframe you've mentioned is for the number porting, but the activation should be immediate.  You should have had service right away.  Your phone is definitely compatible given that it's come from Koodo.  The only thing I would suggest at this point is doing a network reset.  Other than that, I'm tagging @CalgaryBen and @Luddite to see if the have any iPhone-specific suggestions.


>>> ALERT: I am not a moderator. For account or activation assistance, please click here.

Anonymous
Not applicable

@angiejordan wrote:

It's not a prepaid account, if that helps


Are you able to test the SIM in another phone?

angiejordan
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

It's not a prepaid account, if that helps

Anonymous
Not applicable

@angiejordan wrote:

@CS_AgentI really need my phone to work tomorrow. I activated my new Public Mobile SIM 5 hours ago and ported my existing number from Koodo and it still reads "No SIM". I did all the following "fixes" for it which include:

 

1.) Confirming that my phone (iPhone 6S) is indeed unlocked. (I was able to use a T-Mobile SIM card on it, and have checked the IMEI number on the Public Mobile website)

2.) Turned the phone on and off.

3.) Removed the SIM card and put it back in.

4.) Deactivated the phone as "Lost or Stolen" and reactivated it again 10 minutes later.

5.) Updated to the latest iOS, and turned the phone on and off again.

6.) Turned airplane mode on and off.

7.) Confirmed on the self-serve page that my account is indeed "Active".

 

The self-serve topics all say that it should take 3 hours, but its now past that. Please assist.


Excellent job with the problem solving. Sorry it's still not working.

Was your Koodo perchance the pre-paid variety? Or was it post-paid?

If pre-paid then you need moderator assistance.

Need Help? Let's chat.