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The new iPhone 15
alanegds's profile

Tutor

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4 Messages

Monday, June 8th, 2015 9:23 PM

SIM Not Valid: The SIM card inserted in this iPhone does not appear to be supported.


I initially had a contract with AT&T for a 'post-paid' plan. I terminated the contract, paid the ETF (Early Termination Fee) and ported the number over to Cricket Wireless. The 'port' worked fine for about 4 months, which is to say that the (Cricket) SIM card worked when inserted into the iPhone 4S.

 

I recently switched over to Ting, and activated the SIM card. However, when I insert the Ting SIM card into the iPhone, I get this frustrating error message:

 

SIM Not Valid

The SIM card inserted in this iPhone does not appear to be supported.

The SIM card that you currently have installed in this iPhone is from a carrier that is not supported under the activation policy that is currently assigned by the activation server. This is not a hardware issue with the iPhone. Please insert another SIM card from a supported carrier or request that this iPhone be unlocked by your carrier. Please contact Apple for more information.

 

I verified that the Ting SIM card works / is activated, by inserting it into another (Android) phone that I have.

 

I have received (3) unlock emails from AT&T asking that the phone be backed up, erased and then restored. However, after doing so about 5-7 times in a variety of ways, I have had no success. AT&T customer service / support has not been responsive, helpful or proactive in this case and I am at my wits end.

 

Any helpful feedback or suggestions on how to resolve this issue would be much appreciated!

ACE - Sage

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117.2K Messages

9 years ago

Ting runs off Sprints network and may not be compatible with your 3G iPhone. Did you run the IMEI through their phone checker?

To process the unlocking, have you followed these directions? ( per the link....)
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201328

Tutor

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4 Messages

9 years ago

Thank you; yes, I have checked compatibility with Ting's service and it was compatible.

 

Ting Compatibility verification.jpg

 

Yes, I have followed the instructions in the link; both with (tried out using the Cricket SIM and Ting SIM card, the latter needs a factory reset) and without a SIM card with no luck.

1 Attachment

ACE - Sage

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117.2K Messages

9 years ago


Next stop is Apple, to verify that ATT has unlocked on their end.
If Apple can't verify your IMEI number is unlocked from ATT, the restore with iTunes won't work.

FYI. 2G means phone calls and not much else will work with Ting.

Tutor

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4 Messages

9 years ago

Thank you, Apple confirmed that the phone is still locked; what should I do next? 

ACE - Sage

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117.2K Messages

9 years ago

On the unlock portal page is an 800 number, bottom of page. Call and let them know what is going on.

You've been out of contract for a long time, something tells me that may be part of the problem.

Contributor

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3 Messages

8 years ago

I have exact same issue with iPhone 6 Plus with H2O(AT&T) SIM card, but my phone is unlocked & my SIM is also activate, if i put the sim in iPhone 5  it works same don't realy know what the issue with iPhone 6 Plus & 6 S Plus.

ACE - Sage

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117.2K Messages

8 years ago

You haven't completed the unlock process  the iPhone. 

Verify with ATT and Apple that your phone is unlocked.

 

Using an active SIM card....

 

If you have a SIM card from a carrier other than your current carrier, follow these steps:
Remove your SIM card and insert the new SIM card.
Complete the setup process.


If you don't have another SIM card you can use, follow these steps to complete the process:
Back up your iPhone.
When you have a backup, erase your iPhone.
Restore your iPhone from the backup you just made.

 

If you see this error....

"The SIM card inserted in this iPhone does not appear to be supported. Only compatible SIM cards from a supported carrier may be used to activate iPhone. Please insert the SIM card that came with your iPhone or visit a supported carrier store."


Restore your iPhone to factory settings.
Contact your carrier to make sure that the unlock was applied in your carrier's system.
Restore your iPhone from a backup.

 

 

Contributor

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3 Messages

8 years ago

Thanks lizdance40,

 

I have new SIM card from H20 and i activated that card its working with iPhone 5 but not with iPhone 6 & 6S Plus both phones are activated and payed in full. There are no locks on any of the phones.......i did factory reset using iTunes as instructed by Apple support but didn't work it still says "SIM NOT VAalid ....The SIM card that you currently have installed in this iPhone is from a carrier that is not supported under the activation policy that is currently assigned by the activation server.....

ACE - Sage

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117.2K Messages

8 years ago

Have you verified that the iPhone 6 is unlocked with Apple?  

 

To complete the unlocking you must complete the unlock procedure wit the iPhone 6.  It sounds like you did with the 5, but maybe not the iPhone 6?

 

 

Contributor

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3 Messages

8 years ago

I went to Apple store they said its locked by t-mobile and t-mobile says there is no lock from their side.....don't know who is right who is wrong i am stuck in the middle....t-mobile by the way has worst serivce & customer support; its absolutly ridicilous.

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