There are several reasons why your Android device is not reading the SIM card. Some possible causes are incorrect SIM card insertion or a software problem on your Android device. Regardless of the reason, you need to find a solution quickly when the phone says “SIM not detected”.
Here are some fixes for when Android phone cannot detect SIM card.
In this article, Niketrainers.com.co will tell you:
If the restart is unsuccessful, turn off the phone
If the cause of the SIM error is a software issue, sometimes a simple restart can be enough to fix the problem. Press and hold the power button until the popup appears with the option to “Restart”. Touch it to restart your phone.
This can solve a lot of problems, but recently Sprint and Verizon users have reported that restarting is not enough to fix the error “No SIM Error, or even restarting may cause an error” No SIM Detected. The solution was to turn off their phones (wait 30 seconds) then turn them back on.
If that fixes the problem, limit yourself to turning off and then turning on your phone instead of restarting until an Android update or carrier settings update is released to fix the problem.
Turn on the SIM card
Another simple solution to the SIM card error in newer versions of Android is to check if your SIM card is actually turned on. To do this, go to “Settings -> Network & Internet -> SIM cards” and then tap the slider next to the SIM card to make it “On”.
If you have a dual SIM setup, this is also the screen where you can make sure the SIM you want to use is turned on.
Change the network mode to automatic
Changing network mode to automatic is another method you can try. You can do this by going to “Settings -> Mobile networks -> Network mode” and selecting the first option which will be LTE / WCDMA / GSM (automatic connection).
Select the correct network operator
If the network operator you are with is not selected in the settings of your Android device, you will surely get a SIM card error. To make sure you have the correct one, go to “Settings -> Cellular networks -> Network operators -> Search for networks”. When your Android device finishes searching and displays the results, tap on your carrier.
Enter your network’s APN settings manually
If the above two methods don’t work, your SIM card may have completely lost contact with the network you want to connect to. In this case, you may need to manually enter the APN settings of your network operator.
On a modern Android device (from 9.0 Pie), do this by going to “Settings -> Network & Internet -> Cellular -> Advanced -> Access Point Names” and then click the “+” icon in the upper right corner.
At this point, you will need to contact your network provider to get the necessary APN settings to enter here or check online if your network provider has been published. It may also be a good idea to take a screenshot and write down the APN settings so that you can quickly refer to them when problems recur.
Remove the SIM card and battery
Another basic solution you can try is removing the battery (if removable) and the SIM card from the SIM tray. Before doing this, make sure you turn off your Android device. After removing everything, wait about a minute and put everything back in.
It is common practice for the phone to drop, but even if it is not damaged, the SIM card may still move into place. An inexpensive and unique method that many have tried is to add paper or even masking tape for a better fit. This usually makes the SIM card fit and stable and fixes the problem.
Try to use the phone in safe mode
Unfortunately, not all installed applications work properly. Some apps can do more harm than good and will cause this error. Boot your device into Safe Mode.
Stay in Safe Mode for a few hours and see if the problem persists. Otherwise, try to remember recently installed applications and uninstall them. Exit Safe Mode and see if you still have this problem.
Solution in airplane mode
If you’ve tried all the basic solutions above and are sure your SIM card isn’t to blame, it’s time to try the Airplane Mode solution. Swipe down from the top of the screen (once or twice, depending on where you placed the icon) and turn it on.
Depending on the version of Android you have, you may or may not see a warning message when activating Airplane Mode. Turn it on and leave it for about thirty seconds. Once turned off, your Android device will start searching for the network and hopefully the SIM card error will be fixed.
Fix SIM card error by clearing cache
Clearing Android cache to fix no SIM card error is extremely simple. Go to “Settings -> Storage -> Internal Storage -> Cached Data”. When you tap on cached data, a pop-up will appear saying that this will clear the cache of all apps on your device. Just tap “Delete” to continue.
If there was only one way to find out what is causing the no SIM error upfront, there would be no need to waste time trying different methods. Unfortunately, as long as your Android device does not display a message stating the reason, all you have to do is try and fail.
This SIM issue can also affect mobile data, so it’s worth looking at solutions to mobile data problems and IP address errors.