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No SIM Card Error Message

M

mdkrebs11

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 14, 2008
45
0
Bought a 64GB 3G unit about 2 weeks ago. When I got it home and turned it on for the first time, I received an error message saying No SIM Card Found and, where the AT&T bars would normally appear in the upper left hand corner, it simply said No SIM. I popped the SIM card out and put it back in and the bars reappeared. Didn't think much of it. I wasn't traveling for a while so I turned off Cellular Data and didn't purchase a monthly 3G data package - connected through WiFi at work and home.

I had to go out of town on Thursday for the weekend so I activated 3G service for the first time Friday morning. Process worked flawlessly and I was surfing the web for several hours. But then, all of a sudden, the same No SIM error message appeared and I couldn't connect. I took the SIM card out and put back in several times. Every now and again, it would recognize the SIM, start working for a little while but would then crap out again. I called Apple Support yesterday afternoon and explained the problem. They searched the knowledge base and had no reports of such a thing occurring with an iPad. There were some reports of this happening with the iPhone so they read me those suggestions (i.e. power on/off, remove and reinsert sim while powered down, etc.). I tried all of that but would still only get periodic connections.

So the logical next step was to replace the SIM. Went over to an AT&T store late yesterday afternoon and popped in a new micro SIM. It was the first time they had this type of request but had just received a shipment of micro SIMs from Apple to support the iPad. The new SIM worked at the store and for a while when I got back to my relative's house so I thought I was home free. But then the No SIM error message appeared again and it became apparent that this is a hardware issue that just hasn't been reported enough to make Apple's knowledge database yet. By this time it was after hours so I filled out the online support request for a call back this morning. I played around with the SIM for a while longer last night and realized that it would recognize the SIM pretty much every time when I would pop it out completely and then reinsert very slowly. It worked most of last night and this morning but by early afternoon the error message came back. Called Apple back this afternoon and they scheduled a Genius Bar appointment for me on Monday to get my iPad replaced.

Just wanted to know if anyone has ever heard of anything like this with the iPad. Did a bunch of searches in this forum and on Google for No SIM error messages but not a single hit came back. Guess I'm the lucky fool that got the only iPad in the country with this type of hardware failure. Not a big deal but kind of an annoyance - especially while being out of town this weekend without access to WiFi.
 
MRU

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
Try restoring your software on the iPad. Happened to me once (on a three sim cut down to microsim size) after restoring, working perfectly since. Rarely ever below full bar coverage :)
 
sanPietro98

sanPietro98

macrumors 6502a
May 30, 2008
642
1
28.416834,-81.581214
I know I'm reviving an old thread, but others might want to her my experience with the No SIM Error.

I've had the iPad since it's first day launch and the other day i started getting the No SIM error. I tried reseating the card several times, restoring the ipad to it's factory defaults, no luck.

i went into an AT&T store and they swapped out a new SIM card and it seems to be working fine again. they claimed that the micro SIMs are more susceptible to damage and power fluctuations than other cards and they are not resettable. so they swapped it out and it works again.

(my two cents)
 
jull

jull

macrumors member
Nov 29, 2010
41
0
Houston TX
This same EXACT problem happened to me. I went to AT&T and they blamed Apple. I went to Apple and they blamed AT&T. Long story short, this problem started because I was leaving my iPad in my car in plain sun view ( I know, I know, this is not good). It was hard, but I was able to get my iPad replaced after proving to a genius bar employee that it was a hardware failure.
 
jull

jull

macrumors member
Nov 29, 2010
41
0
Houston TX
Code.Red said:
Just curious, how do you know that this was the cause?
Click to expand...

Your right, I take that back. I am not sure that was the problem, however, the genius bar employee asked if I was leaving it in the sun, obviously I said no. He said 'the sun is the main problem why this is happening'. Maybe he's right, maybe he's not. I shouldn't have jumped into that conclusion hehe
 
I

iKrl

macrumors regular
Jun 2, 2009
248
12
I had exactly the same problem with my sim card. I live in Mexico so can't talk about AT&T, anyway the same No Sim Card installed appeared almost every time I held my iPad in landscape mode. It happened so frequently I was starting to get anoyed and was in the verge of calling Apple (no apple stores here) and then the software update came. Since I updated to iOS 4.2 I have forgotten about the problem and my iPad works perfectly again.

I didn't know this was such a rare thing...lol
 
A

ajkagain

macrumors newbie
Apr 13, 2011
1
0
This has just happened to me...

I bought the 64 3G iPad recently and just today, I noticed the message saying "no Sim". I decided to Google just to see if anyone else had experienced the same thing, and it appears that someone has. I will make sure and report this to Apple, since it sounds as if they haven't heard of this before...wonder if I too, will need a new product,,,,
 
M

Mattynabib

macrumors newbie
May 4, 2010
4
0
iPad No Sim issues - reviving again

Well, I might as well re-revive this, since it seems to be a much more common problem since the iOS 5 update. I never had this problem with my iPad under any OS (including iOS 5), until this week - note that I have not yet upgraded to 5.0.1. Now, all of a sudden, it almost always says "No Sim" in the corner.

This is ok for me since I don't bother with 3G most of the time, but a) it's annoying and not what I pad extra for, b) it seems to be a problem that is increasingly widespread - and not well acknowledged by Apple or AT&T (does it happen with Verizon products?) - and c) if it happens to my wife who DOES use it traveling often, she's screwed.

It increasingly seems to be a software issue. Has there been any kind of acknowledgement or solution proposed?
 
D

Dangerous Theory

macrumors 68000
Jul 28, 2011
1,984
28
UK
Mattynabib said:
Well, I might as well re-revive this, since it seems to be a much more common problem since the iOS 5 update. I never had this problem with my iPad under any OS (including iOS 5), until this week - note that I have not yet upgraded to 5.0.1. Now, all of a sudden, it almost always says "No Sim" in the corner.

This is ok for me since I don't bother with 3G most of the time, but a) it's annoying and not what I pad extra for, b) it seems to be a problem that is increasingly widespread - and not well acknowledged by Apple or AT&T (does it happen with Verizon products?) - and c) if it happens to my wife who DOES use it traveling often, she's screwed.

It increasingly seems to be a software issue. Has there been any kind of acknowledgement or solution proposed?
Click to expand...

Pretty damn sure it's a hardware failure. I had my iPad replaced few weeks ago because of this issue, and haven't seen it since. They told me tpit's a sim card reader failure, and can't be repaired (only replaced)
 
MJedi

MJedi

macrumors 6502a
Dec 16, 2010
878
352
It's a hardware failure. This happened to my iPad 2 as well, and they replaced it at my local Apple Store. So, take your iPad to the nearest Apple Store (or call Apple Care if there isn't a store near you) and they will replace it. Just tell them you already tried testing with a known good SIM.
 
Y

Yasooo

macrumors newbie
Oct 16, 2012
1
0
Could be motion that causes the error

Hi, I live in Tokyo and had my iPad2 for a year and a half. Just last week, this "no SIM" error started to occur quite frequently. First I cleaned the sim card but the error continued so I had the sim card replaced. At first it looked like it fixed the problem but I was wrong. Then I took it to the forever crowded genius bar, and the guy said it was a hardware problem. Since it was 6 month out of the warranty period he said I had two available options. Pay $300 to have it replaced with a new one, or pay $500 to upgrade to the new iPad. I understand it's past the warranty, but I really think this is a hardware issue which under normal usage should be taken care of by Apple. Most Japanese companies will try to be more responsible than Apple, so I'm really disappointed. Anyways I noticed that if the iPad stays still on the table after re booting, the 3G connection stays. When I carry it around in my bag when I go out, almost always I get the no SIM error or out of boundary where I lose the connection. So I'm suspicious that maybe something becomes loose where the card loses its connection or perhaps the gyroscope does something when the iPad is rocked. It's too bad I have to turn the damn thing off and back on everyday to use the iPad which still has a lot of good mileage left.
 
G

Gringalatina

macrumors newbie
Jan 16, 2013
1
0
No SIM card error on ipad 2

Have tried all suggestions. Airplane mode, replacing card, reset, tape SIM card, etc. went to apple store and it ipad out of warranty now, though I started going before it was, they kept stringing me along. Told to get ipad replaced, very frustrating since it is only a year old and it is apparently a fairly common problem, hence a glitch. But low and behold, and have no idea why but words with friends got stuck, had to uninstall it and for some reason it would not reinstall, but lo and behold problem dissapered. A whole day without no SIM card error, it was happening at least 10 to 20 times a day. Makes no sense but it is working so far. Worth the try. Let me know if it works for anybody else.
 
P

Paulam

macrumors newbie
Jan 29, 2013
2
0
i brought a iphone 3 and it just keeps says no sim card when it unlock take it to a phone shop they said call apple i did that no help
 
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