Can't get past the activation screen for iphone 3Gs

I am trying to activate the iphone 3Gs after switching from blackberry. When I turn the phone on, I get to the "welcome"screen, I choose my country and then given the option to activate through WiFi or iTunes. When I activate through WiFi, I get a message saying that the activation server is unavailable and to try again in a few minutes ( tried it again and was unsuccessful). I then attempt to activate through iTunes and receive a message saying that there is no SIM card in the phone (when there is). I am stuck here with a phone that is not working! I do not know what to do. I took it into Apple for them to check it out and they can't find the problem. Maybe someone has come across this issue and had it resolved? Please share!
Thanks!
MCHS0000

You are asking in a thread that is 18 months old. Whatever.
Here are possible causes for that message:
1. Your antivirus is blocking access to gs.apple.com.
2. Your phone is jailbroken.
3. Your computer has been used at some time in the past to jaibreak some iOS device (not necessarily the phone with the problem), and its network database was corrupted by the hacking software that was used.
4. Apple's activation servers are down (very rare, and never for more than an hour or so).
For 1. try disabling your antivirus.
For 2. & 3. you need to go somewhere other than an apple forum for help. Although you can try deleting lines containing gs.apple.com from your "hosts" file on your computer.
Windows: c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Mac: /etc/hosts

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