It is not a common problem, but we can encounter it on more than one occasion, without really knowing what is happening or what we should do. We are going to use our phone and suddenly we find the message of SIM locked on iPhone. What happened? In this post we are going to see all the causes and, above all, what we can do to solve this problem.
Although it is not necessary to explain it, we will remember that the SIM is that small card that mobile devices use to connect to the GSM network. It is the card that contains the data that the operator has assigned to our telephone number.
It is a small element in size, but very important for the operation of our phone. If we do not have a SIM, if it is damaged or misplaced, or if it is blocked, we will not be able to make or receive calls or SMS. It will not be possible to use mobile data either.
Fortunately, there are many ways to fix this annoying problem. Most of them are simple and do not require any kind of technical knowledge from us. If your SIM card is blocked on iPhone, we explain what you can do.
Insert the SIM card correctly
Many times, the reason why the SIM card locked message appears on iPhone is because this has been moved from its location or has been placed incorrectly. In these cases, the solution is simple: simply put the card back in place.
To do this, you will have to open the small tray where the card goes using the extractor skewer. If when opening the tray we see that the card is correctly placed, it is most likely it has accumulated some dust and that is giving rise to the blockage. To solve it, we will have to clean its surface very carefully with the help of a small gauze and reinsert the card in its place.
This problem and its solution can be applied for both an iPhone and an Android phone.
Enter the PUK code
Another probable cause of the blocking is having entered the wrong PIN code several times in a row until you ended up blocking the SIM card. It's a simple security system. At this point, we will need to make use of the PUK code (acronym for Pin Unlocked Key).
Both the PIN and the PUK, which is a eight digit code, are written on the physical casing in which the card comes when we contract a rate with an operator. For this reason it is always important to keep the original box and packaging of the device.
If we have not taken the precaution of saving or noting the PUK elsewhere, we will have no choice but to contact the operator, properly identify ourselves and follow the recovery instructions to the letter.
Important: blocking the SIM card by mistakenly entering the PIN too many times is fixable. However, if the same thing happens to us by entering the wrong PUK, the problem is more serious, since we will face a permanent blockade. Despite this, we must remain calm, as we have ten attempts. And it is almost impossible to fail ten times in a row if we have the PUK in front of us.
Disable SIM PIN
The SIM locked error on iPhone may be caused by other reasons than the ones we have exposed so far. In that case, a good way to solve the problem is disable sim pin. In this way, the device will not ask us to access it. It doesn't always work, but it's worth a try. This is how we should do it:
- First, we access iPhone Settings menu.
- There we select the option "SIM PIN".
- We slide the control to the left to disable this option.
- Finally, we confirm the action entering our PIN code again.
This trick will allow you to access the iPhone without having to enter the PIN code and avoid many SIM lock situations. Obviously, it has its downside: anyone who picks up our phone can access it and all its content without further ado. It is not recommended, of course.
Request a duplicate SIM card
The last resort to end the cumbersome SIM card blocked problem on iPhone is request a duplicate SIM card from the operating company. In this way we can recover access to all the functions of our phone. Of course, it must be taken into account that it is a paid solution. The duplicate will cost us between 5 and 15 euros, depending on the company
After submitting the request, in a few days we receive the duplicate card at our address. All we have to do is replace it with the faulty card and reboot the device to check that everything is back to normal.