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The UK small carriers (Giffgaff,Virgin,etc.) nano sim thread

E

erpetao

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 19, 2011
223
95
I open this thread to keep track of solutions for the small carriers like Giffgaff, Virgin Mobile, etc. who don't offer nano sims for the iphone 5.

For giffgaff there's this thread stating that they won't have nano sims for months (people seem to be rushing out of gg and asking for PAC codes): http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Blog/giffgaff-nano-SIM-update/ba-p/5953002

For Virgin Mobile for the sound of it there won't be nano sims in the near future, there are no news from the official channels: http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Mobile/Nano-Sim-on-Virgin-mobile/td-p/1451072
 
No updates so far for virgin or giffgaff. The giffgaff thread keeps growing exponentially with more and more people threatening to leave and asking for pac codes.
 
They don't need to make specific nano sims (as this will not happen), they just need to make the chip smaller so that we have the option to cut the sim. I honestly believe that their sims will not work in the iPhone 5 at all.
 
sdm1985 said:
They don't need to make specific nano sims (as this will not happen), they just need to make the chip smaller so that we have the option to cut the sim. I honestly believe that their sims will not work in the iPhone 5 at all.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware of that, who has the big size chip? Virgin or Giffgaff?
 
erpetao said:
I wasn't aware of that, who has the big size chip? Virgin or Giffgaff?
Click to expand...

I can't speak for GiffGaff as I've not been with them for years but the actual chip on their standard sims is huge. It's a shame, but i read somewhere that Virgin customers are restricted to only 1.8 MB and doing tests in and around London this is the case - can anyone confirm this too?
 
sdm1985 said:
I can't speak for GiffGaff as I've not been with them for years but the actual chip on their standard sims is huge. It's a shame, but i read somewhere that Virgin customers are restricted to only 1.8 MB and doing tests in and around London this is the case - can anyone confirm this too?
Click to expand...

No idea, the Virgin nano sim thread doesn't have a lot of movement, only 4 pages, while the giffgaff nan sim is 60+ pages.
 
I'm on giffgaff am cut the sim down to nano size, works fine.

This said I got my PAC code and am heading to three as O2 are completely incapable of fixing there 3G speeds here... Stuck at 0.06mb for months now and enough is enough.
 
I cut an old Giff Gaff sim down using the template (actually cut it a bit too small as it almost fell through the tray) worked fine.

Then went for it on my current Virgin Sim, this time didn't cut enough off so had to sand it down to size with a paper nail file. Fits and works perfectly. :)

I too may move to 3 though but will wait and see what speeds I get on Virgin through this week.

Dickovski
 
Just to add that although it worked great without sanding the thickness down I have just taken it out and sanded it thinner (just took the printing off the back). Probably won't make any difference but didn't want to take the risk of putting too much pressure on the contacts.
 
erpetao said:
Any status updates for those who cut the sim by themselves?
Click to expand...

No problems with my cut down sim (not that I expect any).

Users need to realise the size of the external metal contacts are unimportant.

The actual contacts are buried under the metal (and some of the metal contacts aren't even connected to the IC).

I disassembled a large contact sim, and it's obvious what it actually important.

8056473596_77357436f6_c.jpg

Notice, only 5 actual contacts, and they are nowhere near the edges of the metal bits on top of them.

8056485940_2245918773_c.jpg


As long as you don't cut into the marked area you cannot damage the actual IC or connected contacts.
 
Theres some very good tariffs from places like orange or three now that compete on price with Giffgaff and virgin.

I Left GG as i didn't like their attitude towards the nano sims, they basically didn't care that they didn't have any and don't seem to care when they get them. It took them months to get micro sims sorted too.

Im now with orange sim only for £10.50 a month, 300 mins, unlimited texts and 500mb internet. Better signal too!
 
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