Let’s imagine you want to maintain your current number even when you’re transferring network providers or upgrading to a new iPhone. You must learn how to remove the iPhone’s SIM card. Your phone or an iPad with cellular connectivity must have a SIM card to connect to a network.
It is quite simple to remove a SIM card from an iPhone or iPad. Simply find the SIM tray that contains your card, open it, and remove the SIM. Here is further information on how to do it securely.
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How do SIM cards work
SIM stands for a Subscriber Identity Module, a memory card chip that stores both your phone number and your subscription plan. It is crucial to the operation of your iPhone. You won’t be able to access mobile data or make or receive phone calls if you delete it. You are only able to connect to Wi-Fi.
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Any smartphone running an iOS or Android operating system can often accept any SIM card. Some smartphones, though, can be network-locked to just one. Make that your iPhone or iPad is unlocked, or that the SIM card you are using is compatible with the network to which your device is locked.
Where on Your Device Is the SIM Tray
Apple has moved the SIM tray to a different place on many iPhone models throughout time. However, they are always quite simple to locate. Simply removing your phone’s cover or case will reveal the elongated rectangular notch with a tiny circular hole.
Your iPhone’s side should have it there. Depending on your iPhone model, the following locations are where you should go if you’re unclear about where to look for the SIM tray:
- The SIM tray was located on top of the device in both the original iPhone and earlier variants like the iPhone 3G.
- The SIM tray is located on the right side of every iPhone model after the iPhone 4 and up to the iPhone SE.
- The right-side SIM trays of the iPhone 11, iPhone XR, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro may each hold two nano-SIM cards if they were made in mainland China.
- The SIM card trays are located on the left side, directly below the volume controls, on every iPhone model since the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Remember that the eSIM, a digital SIM card, prevents the USA-made iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro from having a SIM tray. This will enable you to utilize two phone numbers on a single iPhone or iPad and install up to eight eSIM cards on one device.
Depending on the model, a SIM tray can be found on the right or left side of an iPad with cellular connectivity. The SIM trays are often found on the left side of earlier devices, such as the iPad 2 and up until generation 4, whereas they are found on the right side of all current versions.
Tools Required to Remove the iPhone’s, SIM Card
You will require a specific tool to open a SIM tray safely and without causing any damage to your iPhone or iPad. On the SIM tray, have you seen the little circular hole? You should push the tool thereafter inserting it.
When you purchase a new smartphone, you often receive a SIM eject tool. However, the gadget is little and simple to misplace. You can substitute another household item if you don’t have one. For instance, a paperclip is thin enough to fit through the SIM tray’s little hole. To make it thinner, just be careful to remove any color coating it might have. Then lengthen it by bending the free end.
A staple serves as yet another SIM eject tool substitute. Every company and educational institution has a stapler, and if necessary, you can easily borrow a single staple. To assist you in removing the SIM tray, they must be thin and sturdy enough. However, other manufacturers make them softer, and if your iPhone’s SIM tray is securely inserted into the device, they can cause you problems.
If you have sewing supplies, you could try to get a needle that is tiny enough to open the SIM tray hole. Avoid damaging your device by being careful with whatever you decide to use in place of a SIM removal tool.
Simple Steps to Remove the SIM Card
It should be relatively simple to remove the SIM card from an iPhone or an iPad, regardless of where the SIM card tray is. To perform it safely, adhere to the following steps:
- To switch off your iPhone or iPad, hold down the power button.
- Take the mask or the case off.
- The pinhole on the SIM tray is where you should insert the SIM ejector tool or a substitute.
- Gradually press on it until the tray emerges from the slot. Verify that you are exerting pressure directly toward the pinhole and not at an angle.
- Grab the SIM tray, then carefully pull it out.
- In the tray, either push the card out of the SIM card slot or flip the tray over so the card falls out.
Your SIM card is no longer in. You now have the option of inserting it into your new iPhone or replacing the SIM card in your old phone. Even if you don’t immediately need to put the SIM card back in your iPhone, it would be preferable if you could do so. Because the tray is so little, you can lose it. Simply reposition it in the appropriate slot on your iPhone or iPad, then press down to secure it there.
Bring your iPhone or iPad to any Apple store, and the personnel there will assist you if you are unable to remove a SIM card for whatever reason.
Activating a New SIM Card
You must insert a new SIM card into the SIM card tray to use your iPhone. The chip connection has to be positioned downward. The SIM card should only be positioned in this manner. Keep in mind the SIM card’s angled corner and make sure it fits in the SIM tray.
Simply slide the SIM tray back into your smartphone once the card has been inserted into its slot. There shouldn’t be any need to push too hard; the procedure should be simple.
What Happens If iPhone’s SIM Tray Doesn’t Fit the New SIM Card
To match different smartphone models, SIM cards are available in three sizes: original, micro, and nano. The SIM card is the incorrect size if it cannot fit in the slot on your SIM tray.
Thankfully, the majority of SIM cards are a common size that can be split into two smaller ones. In this manner, all iPhone and iPad versions may use the same SIM card.
However, you may need to use an adapter to size it up if your SIM card is too little for the SIM tray. SIM card adapters are readily available on Amazon and at Apple shops. The option is to request a new SIM card that is the appropriate size from your network provider.
Check read our advice on what to do if your SIM card isn’t working or if anything else goes wrong with your SIM.