Iphone "No Sim" Please help

[Twistor]

I currently am trying to use an iphone 5s since my iphone 6 has been stolen or lost, and my dad mistakenly shoved the sim card into the slot without the tray. After finally getting it out with a toothpick, I put it in the tray and it said "No sim". I looked at the sim and saw three deep scratches (not knowing that it's perfectly normal) on the sim card. After failed attempts at buying wrong sims, Straight talk sent me a free replacement sim. I have just received the sim today but it still says "No Sim" before going to the website to activate. Now my service has ran out, and i can't activate my phone without a 45 dollar card, and I don't want to pay it if it's a hardware issue. Will an iphone still display "No Sim" if the sim itself has not been activated online yet?

 

[tjwilliams25]

In short: no. The No Sim issue has been a problem in the 5 and 5s. I'm not 100% sure if it's hardware or software based, but mine was doing it sporadically before I upgraded and a friend just had it happen to his as well, however his was permanent. He had to get it replaced, which luckily he had an upgrade to use with Verizon.