Cannot activate factory unlocked iPhone 4S: SIM not valid

Hello Apple,
I have a problem with my Iphone: I purchased a factory unlocked iPhone 4S in a The Source Store in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. I´m from Brazil but now I am living in Israel and the fact that the phone is factory unlocked was necessary for me to use it in both countries ( Brazil and Israel). After my trip to Canada, I arrived to Brazil and inserted my micro-sim into the new iPhone. It showed the "Activate iPhone" screen BUT it won’t activate. It says "SIM not valid" and "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´s store to receive a replacement SIM card”.
Now I am living in Israel and the same situation continues: I inserted one Israelian micro-sim into the Iphone and it showed the "Activate iPhone" screen BUT it won’t activate. It says "SIM not valid" and "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´s store to receive a replacement SIM card”.
In Israel we don’t have Apple Stores and i can´t have access to one, so now i have an iPhone 4S i cant not eve use as an iPod, leaving it totally useless.
I will greatly appreciate any help!!
Apple Support Team: If you need the IMEI or Serial Number please ask me.
Thanks in advanced,
Bernard

The Source in Canada was formally know as Radio Shack and they do sell iPhones.. Only for Bell and Virgin Canada.
http://www.thesource.ca/estore/category.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=Online&categ ory=iphones&sort=1&pagenum=1
What does it say on your receipt?
As Bell and Virgin do not unlock iPhones you will need to sell that phone to someone in Canada and get an unlocked phone directly from Apple.

Similar Messages

Factory unlocked iphone5 displays "SIM not valid"?

I bought an iphone 5 on ebay, listed as factory unlocked. New nano sim arrived today, but screen displays "SIM Not Valid". Does this mean the phone is actually still locked, or should I wait longer for activation of the new sim?

It could still be locked to a carrier.
Also go to Settings>General>About and see if a carrier is listed

Can i use/ activate factory unlocked iPhone 5S in india without SIM

Hello,
I am planning to buy iPhone 5S. I am a blackberry 9900 users
Can i use/ activate factory unlocked iPhone 5S in india without SIM (Purchasing in India).
I need time some time to transfer data from BlackBerry to iPhone 5S.
Thanks.

Yes. it's Factory unlocked iPhone 5S gold.
Problem is...
i have one sim (big for for BB9900). And iPhone 5S uses smaller...
Vodafone India will give me free nano sim, i will take 4-5 hours to work that SIM....
My biggest concern is Address Book (Phone book), Password Keeper (password manager), Task Jot (GTD app)
I need to manually enter all this data in iPhone 5S, there is no standard converter or transfer tool...
existing ones freak out and miss lot of data....
i will first enter all data and get a nano sim. this will take more than 2 weeks...
so i thought if iPhone 5S can be switched on then i can enter data in free time.

HT201263 Hi All, My iphone Model A1387 EMC 2430 FCC ID:BCG-E2430A IC:579C-E2430A and i am unable to activate my iPhone shows SIM Not Valid and Only compatible SIM cards from a supported carrier may be used to activate iPhone. Please insert the SIM card th

Hi, My iphone Model A1387 EMC 2430 FCC ID:BCG-E2430A IC:579C-E2430A and i am unable to activate my iPhone shows SIM Not Valid and Only compatible SIM cards from a supported carrier may be used to activate iPhone.or visit a supported career 's store to receive a replacement sim card.
how can i solve this?? please let me know.
thank you.

Sounds like the iPhone is locked to the original Carrier
and you are trying to use a sim from another carrier
and only that original carrier can unlock the iPhone

How do I activate factory unlocked iphone 5 for first time

How do I activate factory unlocked iphone 5 for first time?Should i connect to itunes?Or should I put the sim first and then ON the device?Pls help me

Yes.
Insert the SIM card and power the iPhone on to find out. Nothing bad can happen if you can't and if you can't for some reason, connect the iPhone to iTunes.

How to activate factory unlocked iphone 3gs with os 4.0

i have bought a factory unlocked iphone 3gs loaded with latest os 4.0 in usa for $850 , but i am unable to activate it over itunes.
I want to activate it without at&t sim as its factory unloacked.
Can anybody give me the process or any reference links on how to activate it.
Thanks in advance,
Pavan Raj.

pavanraj wrote:
iphone 3gs loaded with latest os 4.0
If the iPhone had the 4.0 Beta loaded on it, the iPhone needs to be registered with a developer for the iPhone to even function. If it's not registered and the beta is installed then it is a brick. Regardless of if it is registered or not, as Tamara said the iPhone 4.0 Beta has no support. The Beta is a beta and is for developers who are developing apps. That way they can release apps as soon as the OS 4.0 is released sometime this summer. You should get an error message saying something along the lines of this phone is not registered with a developer, if the iPhone is not registered.
pavanraj wrote:
I want to activate it without at&t sim as its factory unloacked.
If it is unlocked by the carrier then you just need to plug it into iTunes with a SIM card from a compatible carrier. If you get a message saying that the SIM is not from an authorized carrier, well then the iPhone is not unlocked, sorry.
If the iPhone is not unlocked you are really out of luck. While there are ways to hack an iPhone to unlock it, there are no methods for the 4.0 Beta to unlock the iPhone, and even if there is a way to hack it to unlock the iPhone 3GS on the 4.0 OS, it won't come for a long time.

Why factory unlocked iphone require Sim activation ?

I have Factory Unlocked iphone 4, why required sim activation ?
Iphone was on OS 5.1 I upgraded on 7.1.2, first of all the Update failed in start then I had no choice but to restore and now it requiring sim activation, well it's non contract Phone why it need stupid sim activation ?
Why the update got failed ? Steve Job's dream was every hand should hold iphone (We'll provide best of the best) but looks like it can not be accomplished without him (that's my opinion, no offense).
Let me know what is the solution for that, I don't want to install the CYDIA on that like everyone else.
Regards,
M.Aqib

You mean any Sim could be used for activation ?
I unlocked it through at&t website, I am having a legal Phone
I have updated it for the first time.
Mentioning Steve Jobs means he cares about his customers, I don't know about the rest nor I see (again it's a opinion nothing personal).
About the Jailbreak I am not impressing anyone nor I need to and it's not a threat it's a solution I got when I Google it and saw couple of videos on Youtube, it's not something I have said, I said I don't want to do it if you have read my post properly.
You can't OBLIGATE customers like this, show a bit of professionalism.
Looks like you have taken this a bit personal. Customers use this forum for help not to be disrespected. That's not the way Apple should treat it's customers.

Upgrading to IOS 5 will lock factory unlocked iphone 4 or not??

I have an Iphone 4 with ios 4.3.3 bb 4.10.01 and its factory unlocked. If I upgrade it to a new Ios 5, will I loose my unlock??
I know that factory unlocked iphones dont loose unlock if they are upgraded but I heard that IOS 5 will lock the factory unlocked also.

jim_suman wrote:
I have an Iphone 4 with ios 4.3.3 bb 4.10.01 and its factory unlocked. If I upgrade it to a new Ios 5, will I loose my unlock??
I know that factory unlocked iphones dont loose unlock if they are upgraded but I heard that IOS 5 will lock the factory unlocked also.
You heard wrong. IF the device is officially unlocked by Apple, it will not be relocked. IF it was hacked to be unlocked, upgrading iOS WILL relock the device to the original carrier.

Updated to ios5 and now Iphone says "Sim not valid"

I updated my Iphone to ios5 last night and the install went smoothly and worked fine until i went to turn it on and reactivate it after the restore. after i put in all the settings on the opening screens it went to try and activate the phone and it said "sim not valid". It says that your sim card cannot have a pin code which could be the problem but i dont think i ever set a pin code and it seems like this is a really ******** thing to get in the way. Do they ever tell you to disable your pin code during the install? I never saw anything but i was doing other stuff at the time so i was distracted. Anyone know how to fix this besides wasting more of my time by going to the nearest apple store?

me tooo...held up with th same problem with iphone 4........sim not valid.......dunno wat to do....

Replacement iPhone saying sim not valid.

I just recieved my replacement iphone 4 today, when I turn it on it says insert sim to activate, when I do that it says sim not valid but on top left displays vodaNZ(as im from nz). Keeps saying insert the sim your iphone came with. It doesn't say activate your ipone using apple id and stuff like that. All it says is insert sim to activate. Could it be a corrupt sim or hardware issue? Help Please!

Try a different sim if you have one and see if that works. If it does then the sim is no good.

HT4623 my iphone is SIM Not valid

My iphone is not valid.I may activate my iphone.How i do this?

SIM was valid took it out, put it back in SIM not valid?

Iphone 4s sim not valid ios 7.1.2

iphone4s sim not valid how to

Hi k.j.bamaniya,
If you are getting an error message saying that your sim card is invalid, I would suggest that you troubleshoot using the steps in this article -
iPhone: Troubleshooting No SIM
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4148
Specifcally -
Update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS.
Toggle Airplane mode On and Off.
Try turning iPhone off and then on again.
Check for a carrier settings update. Tap Settings > General > About. If an update is available, a prompt will appear.
Remove the SIM Card and verify that it is a valid, carrier-manufactured SIM. Also verify that it is not damaged, worn, or modified. Then reinsert it.
Restore the iPhone.
If you still are unable to resolve this issue, contact Apple support for further assistance.
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L

Factory-unlocked iPhone 4 will not activate

Hello,
I bought iPhone 4 (Factory-unlocked) from Australia and brought back to Japan.
I tried to activate the phone first time and it asks me to insert SIM.
So I inserted the trimmed SIM (Japanese). But the iTunes says "The SIM card inserted is not supported."
However, the trimmed SIM with proper adopter works fine with Japanese phone.
I tried this with many other SIM in Japan but failed to activate iPhone 4.
I also called up Apple in Australia and gave them the IMEI number to confirm the phone.
They confirmed that the phone is proper and factory-unlocked one from Apple.
I also bought the so-called "Activation SIM" and tried activation with this SIM.
This time, it let me sync with my iTunes successfully but cannot get any cellphone signal obviously.
Now, I can see menu and contents on the phone but it keeps shows "Waiting for activation".
So I changed the SIM to Japanese SIM but again, it does not activate nor sync to iTunes.
Could someone help?
Do I need Australian SIM?
Can I activate with Australian SIM (that supports roaming in Japan) in Japan ?

Hi I am too living in Japan and bought an iPhone 4 back from Australia in September. I had activated it using a Jailbreak app, activation successful.
Now the problem, you are NOT able to use an iPhone in Japan that is not officially documented from Softbank. This means that Softbank has every IMEI number of each iPhone to be used in their system. When roaming, in Japan let’s say with an AT&T iPhone from the USA, this will work, because the system recognizes that it is a foreign number in the system and then applies the roaming charges to your Home Counties account. I had to go and pay an RF test registration fee to have my iPhone IMEI number placed on a list that Softbank accesses when registering, without the registration fee from the RF test certification company, the number is NOT added to the list… Softbank will then tell you it is NOT allowed to be used in Japan. This cost me more then paying 6 months of subscription and services if I had just opened a new account and contract with Softbank for a new Japanese iPhone 4.

How to activate Factory Unlocked iPhone 3GS

Hello Folks,
My friend got me an iPhone 3GS from Hong Kong (Model MC131ZP/A); and I am in India. This is the chain of events and the final problem.
1. When I first opened the iPhone I could see the home screen and use my SIM in India. Though there was no app for Camera or Compass etc on the home screen.
2. First time iPhone connected to iTunes and it told me that the OS must be updated. I went ahead.
3. I updated the OS to 3.1.2 (05.11.07).
4. After that it is not able to recognize the same SIM telling me that Invalid SIM.
5. I check the Serial Number of my phone on Apple Support site and it says that iPhone is not even activated.
6. I have tried contacting Apple support via mails etc. but no response at all.
I am not able to understand how it worked in the first place. Did the seller in HK unlock it using some kind of software? He should not if it is an Factory Unlocked phone. Are all the MC131ZP factory unlocked?
Can someone please help me on how to activate the phone or what is going wrong here?
Thanks in advance.

pavanraj wrote:
iphone 3gs loaded with latest os 4.0
If the iPhone had the 4.0 Beta loaded on it, the iPhone needs to be registered with a developer for the iPhone to even function. If it's not registered and the beta is installed then it is a brick. Regardless of if it is registered or not, as Tamara said the iPhone 4.0 Beta has no support. The Beta is a beta and is for developers who are developing apps. That way they can release apps as soon as the OS 4.0 is released sometime this summer. You should get an error message saying something along the lines of this phone is not registered with a developer, if the iPhone is not registered.
pavanraj wrote:
I want to activate it without at&t sim as its factory unloacked.
If it is unlocked by the carrier then you just need to plug it into iTunes with a SIM card from a compatible carrier. If you get a message saying that the SIM is not from an authorized carrier, well then the iPhone is not unlocked, sorry.
If the iPhone is not unlocked you are really out of luck. While there are ways to hack an iPhone to unlock it, there are no methods for the 4.0 Beta to unlock the iPhone, and even if there is a way to hack it to unlock the iPhone 3GS on the 4.0 OS, it won't come for a long time.

How to iphone 5 sim not valid

help me iphone 5 me sim not valid

Hi waskito1993,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
I understand you are getting an alert that your SIM Card is not valid. If you have an activated SIM Card from a supported carrier and still receive this alert, please follow the steps in the attached article to help you resolve this.
iPhone: Troubleshooting No SIM
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts4148
Have a great day,
-Joe

Cannot activate factory unlocked iPhone 4S: SIM not valid

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for