How to Fix No SIM Card Error on Android

I recently changed to a newer phone and currently using my old Samsung phone as a sort of “ipod”. However, it always shows the message that there is no sim card. I know this is just an annoyance but is there any way to disable it? 

It is frustrating when your phone says No SIM card, Emergency calls only, not Registered on Network error, or SIM card not detected even though you have correctly installed a SIM card on your device. Just like the above user, if your Android phone keeps saying no SIM card in phone Emergency calls only, you can not text someone, make phone calls, and cannot use your phone normally, even causing data loss on the SIM card. Why does your Android phone say no SIM card when there is one? And how do we fix no SIM card on Android?

Don’t worry, here in this post, we will share some ideas about why is your phone saying no SIM card and why is it not detecting SIM card. Besides, you can get the below tips on what to do if your SIM card is not working.

Why Does My Phone Say No SIM Card?

The reason why your phone show no SIM card error is that your phone is unable to properly read the contents of your SIM card. This usually happens when your SIM card is not installed properly, it is damaged, or your phone has software problems after a software update. Therefore, the phone will not recognize the SIM card and it says no sim card detected.

You do not need to get your SIM card replaced right away, as there are some fixes that you can apply on your phone and these can potentially fix your problem. If these do not work, then you can go ahead and get your SIM card replaced.

Read the following methods to repair this issue first.

How to Fix SIM Card Not Detected in Any Phone

Fix 1. Reboot Your Phone

Sometimes, there is no clear reason as to why your phone cannot detect your SIM card. At these times, you can try rebooting your device and see if that fixes your problem. Rebooting your phone often resolves many minor glitches.

To reboot your phone, press and hold down the Power button. Then, choose the Restart option and your phone will turn off and then turn back on its own.

Fix 2. Pull Out the SIM and Put It Back In

Since this issue has to do with your SIM card, you can try ejecting your SIM card from your phone and then putting it back in. If your SIM was not installed properly, or if the SIM card tray was loose, this should fix that for you.

Eject the SIM card tray on your phone, take the SIM out, wait for half a minute, put the SIM card back in, and slide the tray into your phone. After the phone reboots, check if the device reads your SIM card.

Fix 3. Enable and Disable Airplane Mode

The purpose of Airplane mode is to help you disconnect from all network services when you are on a flight. However, you can use this mode to fix many network-related problems, for example, not registered network, WiFi has connected but no internet, the phone is no service, etc. There is no guarantee that using Airplane mode will fix your issue but you can give it a go as it will not harm your device.

Make sure you have saved your work before you do this as your phone will be disconnected from the Internet as well.

Step 1. Open the notifications panel on your phone.

Step 2. Tap the Airplane mode icon to turn the mode on.

Step 3. Tap the icon again to disable the mode.

Fix 4. Fix Phone Keeps Saying No SIM Card when System Crashed

If no sim card detected was caused by system glitches, then you can try the system repair tool of DroidKit. Since your phone is unable to properly read the contents of your SIM card is probably because of some software problems. DroidKit provides you Android system repair tool to fix all the system issues, like recovery mode not working, Samsung touch screen not working, phone or tablet frozen issues, etc.

Therefore, you can definitely try DroidKit to fix your Samsung phone with no SIM card when there is a software problem. Check the steps below:

Step 1. Launch the software when you installed it on your computer (Windows PC & Mac) > Click System Fix.

Step 2. Connect your phone says no sim card and click Start button.

Step 3. DroidKit will match PDA code for your device. After that, tap on Download Now button.

Step 4. Once the firmware package is downloaded, click Fix Now button to continue. Next, follow the on-screen instruction to put your device into Download Mode and tap on Next.

Step 5. And DroidKit will start repairing immediately. Wait for the process to finish, you will get the System Fixed Successfully page as below. Now, your phone will restart and you can check if the sim card error was fixed.

Fix 5. Check if SIM Card is not Working on Another Phone

You can also try to put the unreadable SIM card into the phone that is working normally. If the SIM card is not working on another’s phone either, then the issue is the SIM card.

Otherwise, if SIM is not working on your phone but working on other phones, then the issue goes to your phone’s SIM card reader.

Fix 6. Wipe Phone Cache

Your phone stores something called cache files on its storage. These files help your system to provide you with a fast response, however, these files sometimes cause issues with the phone. To get rid of the no SIM found notification, you can try the following two methods to clear the cache on your phone with ease:

Clear Cache Files on your Android Device

On some phones, you will find the option to clear the cache in the Settings app. However, if you do not have this option, you can use the clear cache option in recovery mode which should be available on most phones out there.

1. Press the Volume Up + Home + Power keys on most devices to enter recovery. If this does not work for you, consult your phone’s manual.
2. When recovery opens, select the Wipe cache partition option to delete your cache files.

Further Reading: How To Clear Cache and Cookies on a Samsung Phone >

Clear Cache with One-click

Here is another way for you to clear cache files smartly with DroidKit, which is a complete Android solution for you to solve any problems like fixing system problems as we mentioned above, unlocking any phone password, of course, cleaning system junk and cache files, etc. You can explore DroidKit now.

How DroidKit can help you with cache file clearing? It can smartly find and categorize caches, background apps, APK files, and large files on your phone. You can preview and choose to delete. All Android phones and tablets are supported.

Follow the steps below to clear the cache that may cause the SIM card no detected:

Step 1. Also, launch DroidKit on your computer and go to Clean System Junk.

Step 2. Connect your device and Start.

Step 3. Select the cache files you want to clear and head to Clean Now button.

Step 4. Until you saw the Cleaned Successfully page, the cache files you chose will be cleared now. And it should fix the SIM card error caused by cache.

Fix 7. Ensure You Have a Valid IMEI Number

It is a must for each phone to have a valid IMEI number. If your phone does not have this, which is very rare, your carrier will not be able to provide you with their services. You can actually check for an IMEI number right on your device without needing any apps.

On your phone, head into the Settings menu, tap About phone at the bottom, and tap Status and you will see your phone’s IMEI number.

Another way to check the IMEI number is to dial *#06# from the dial pad on your phone.

Fix 8. Enable Your SIM Card

On most phones where you have dual SIM cards, people often forget to enable the second SIM. This might be the case with you, and your phone does not detect the other SIM card because that card is not enabled.

Luckily, you can enable and disable SIM cards with a few taps on your Android phone.

Step 1. Open the Settings app and tap Wi-Fi & network.

Step 2. Select SIM & network on the following screen.

Step 3. Tap the SIM card that is not detected and ensure the toggle next to the SIM number is turned on.

Fix 9. Reset Network Settings

Your network settings tell your phone how to connect to your carrier. If there is an issue with these settings, you might want to reset the network settings and potentially fix the problem.

Step 1. Go to Settings > System > Reset options on your device.

Step 2. Tap Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth.

Bonus Tip: How to Recover Contacts from SIM Card

If you want to extract contacts from your SIM card in case of data loss, DroidKit can still help you with that. You can get the Extract Needed Data function of DroidKit, which allows you to find and recover data from a device, google backups, or a SIM card.

1. Connect your device and choose Data Recovery from SIM Card below.
   

   Restore Phone with SIM Card

2. Preview the contact information and select multiply to extract.

Further Reading: How to Retrieve Deleted Phone Numbers on Android [Full Guide] >

Conclusion

That’s all for the possibles reasons why your phone says no SIM card. And you can check the above methods to get rid of no SIM card notification on Android. If you got any ideas or questions about that, feel free to share them with us in the comment below.