Smartphones nowadays have evolved to such an unprecedented level compared to recent years that it’s not even mandatory to have a SIM card inserted to enjoy most of what they have to offer. You can use them to navigate the web, scroll on social media, watch videos, play games, and for many other tasks without even having to install a SIM card.
But even so, WhatsApp won’t work without your phone having a working SIM card inserted, as the famous instant messaging app works by relying on your phone number. If your phone doesn’t recognize the SIM card you’ve just inserted, don’t be surprised if WhatsApp won’t work. At the same time, you won’t be able to call your friends, relatives, enemies, spouse, mistress, and so on and so forth.
From time to time, your Android phone won’t recognize its SIM card, even though it’s apparently well-inserted. What can you do in such situations? Instead of destroying your phone with a sledgehammer and buying yourself a new one, we propose much more peaceful and efficient solutions:
Restart your phone
The simple act of restarting your Android phone can make you get rid of many technical problems, including the device not being “willing” to recognize the SIM card that has just been inserted.
This means that you simply have to turn off your phone and turn it back on after a few minutes. Additionally, you can also remove the SIM card and reinsert it during the same process. You might be amazed by the power of this new technique, so don’t neglect it!
Do some cleaning
Dust and debris accumulated on the SIM card or its tray can lead to connection problems. It’s a pretty simple concept that anybody can grasp. It’s the same for a desktop PC: if you don’t clean its interior at least once in a blue moon, don’t be surprised if it starts to malfunction.
Therefore, you need to gently clean up the SIM card and its tray. After doing so, reinsert the SIM card and see if your problem has gone away or not.
Check the placement of your SIM card
You need to make sure that your SIM card is placed in the right way in the SIM card tray. You can easily add it in the wrong way if you don’t pay attention enough, so don’t neglect this part! You need to get the right orientation, and the manual of your phone can guide you enough for that matter.
Check for any damages
Get the SIM card out of your phone and inspect it a bit to see if there is any visible damage. Even scratches and dents could cause the card to malfunction, and if that’s the case, there’s pretty much nothing else to be done than to replace the card.
Your official mobile carrier should be willing to replace your damaged SIM card without charging you anything. That means that you should reach out to customer service and explain your problem to them if your SIM card has been damaged.
Update your phone’s software
If the SIM card is not the culprit for the error, it could only mean that the phone itself is to blame for displaying the error. This means that one of the first measures you need to take is to update the software on your Android device. To do so, head over to Settings, then type on System, and ultimately hit the Software Update to see if there’s any available update. If there is, feel free to install it and restart the phone afterward. If your SIM card still doesn’t get recognized, it means that you must try another method.
Reset the network settings
Connectivity issues can sometimes be solved by simply resetting the network settings. It could also be the case for your SIM card error. Therefore, you need to head over to the Settings menu, hit the System option, select Reset, and ultimately go to the Reset network settings.
However, you need to keep in mind that by resetting the network settings, your WiFi and Bluetooth settings will also go through a reset.
Check the Airplane Mode
You also need to make sure that your Airplane Mode is turned off, as otherwise, issues with your SIM card can occur. That’s because if the Airplane Mode is activated, all of the wireless connections, such as the SIM card, will be disabled.
Check for carrier-related issues
If it’s not your SIM card or your Android phone causing the connectivity error, guess what the problem could be? Your mobile carrier, of course! In other words, issues with the network happening in your area or with your account could mean that your SIM card won’t get recognized by your Android phone. Therefore, you need to practice some patience or even contact the mobile carrier to see what’s happening.
Go to a service center
If none of the methods exposed above has solved your issue with the SIM card, it’s also a good idea to visit an authorized service center or even reach the support of your phone’s manufacturer. These people will be able to offer you further assistance, and it’s, after all, in their best interest to do so.
If, instead, you wish to find out how you can solve the problem when an iPhone doesn’t recognize its SIM card, feel free to read one of our previous articles! There should be a solution to every technical problem, as well as a problem to every solution.
Tim M. Hill helped bring Digital-Overload from a weekly newsletter to a full-fledged news site by creating a new website and branding. He continues to assist in keeping the site responsive and well organized for the readers. As a writer to Digital-Overload, Tim mainly covers mobile news and gadgets.
