Newly-unlocked iPhone 4 will not activate with new sim card

I recently bought a used iPhone 4 from a friend and brought it with me to Cambodia. The friend initited a request to AT&T to unlock the phone so I could use it, and the request was granted by AT&T. She forwarded me the email with instructions, but I have not been able to successfully complete the unlock. The instructions say:
Open iTunes on your Mac or PC and verify that you have Internet connectivity.
Ensure a SIM card is inserted into your iPhone.
Connect your iPhone using the dock connector to USB cable that came with your iPhone.
Backup and restore your iPhone using iTunes. For information on backup and restore, please visit http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414.
After restoring, your iPhone will be unlocked.
When I try this, it refuses to recognize that there is a SIM card installed.
The instructions don't say it has be any particular SIM card, just "a SIM card" so I'm using my local SIM. I also tried a second SIM with the same result.
Any ideas why this isn't working or what I should try next?

I can't even get to an option that asks me that question. I don't want any of the data on the phone now, as that is my friend's data, but I can't even get to a place where I can delete her data or anything else.
All I get is the "activation" screen options (choose language, country, wifi network) and then the error message that "Activation Failed - please insert a SIM card."
I'm not sure if that clarifies exactly what you're asking, My apologies if it doesn't, and try asking me again.

Similar Messages

Help! - iPhone 2g will not activate with new sim card

I have been given an iPhone 2g for my son. Have activated a new sim card as 02 said this was the reason I could not activate on iTunes. Still cannot get the phone activated. I have reset all settings so am now lost as to what to do next!

I have tried that but the phone is not being recognised when I connect it to iTunes. I keep getting a message on the phone saying "new sim detected - please connect to iTunes". When I connect to iTunes I get the message "unable to activate - please try later - disconnect the phone" - very, very, frustrating. Didn't have any problems at all when my older son took over my iPhone 3G and put a 3 sim in it (after being unlocked).

GUYS MY iPHONE 4 IS NOT WORKING WITH THE SIM CARD IN ZIMBABWE,HOW DO I UNLOCK IT?

GUYS MY iPHONE 4 IS NOT WORKING WITH THE SIM CARD IN ZIMBABWE,HOW DO I UNLOCK IT?

Only the wireless carrier that the iPhone is locked to is capable of unlocking it. You'll have to ask them if they will unlock it. Some will, some won't.
Hope this helps

What if your iphone 4s did not come with a sim card

what if your iphone 4s did not come with a sim card

Better yet, get a micro-SIM, which the 4S uses.
Was this a brand new iPhone? They did not activate it at the store?

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.

Windows 8 will not activate with new SSD (second) hard drive

I added a new SSD drive in the second hard drive bay. I used the HP restoration media to install Windows 8 on the new SSD drive. Windows 8 will not activate. After spending 90 minutes on the phone with HP support (and paying $150), they told me to contact Microsoft. After spending some time with Microsoft, they told me that the Windows product key is being locked by HP, and there is nothing they can do.

Hi badgerbuzz,
I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publically post ( serial numbers and case details).
If you are unfamiliar with how the Forum's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.
Regards,
George
I work for HP

HT2309 my iphone 5 will not activate with my replacement sim (original damaged)

Hi All, Have a problem with my grandsons iphone 5 on tesconet. His original sim stopped working and I requested a replacement sim from Tesco, who sent it to me saying it was ready for use with the same number.When I put this into the phone it says it needs to activate and that the sim is not of the correct provider, even though the phone is apple unlocked. I have tried a couple of other tmobile sims in the phone and they work ok, and the original tesco one worked ok for 3 months. I have tried reloading the software and just about everything else on line, also I tried the new sim in another mobile and that works ok, it doesn't even ask to activate, just works straight away, any ideas?
Thanks
Alan

Hi there burtal,
I would recommend taking a look at the troubleshooting steps found in the article below.
iPhone: Troubleshooting activation issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3424
-Griff W.

IPhone 5 will not sync with new iMac

Whenever I plug my iPhone 5 into my new iMac, I get a message that reads, "iTunes could not connect to this iPhone. Could not allocate a resource". What's the deal?

Try resetting the Lockdown folder as described in itume #7 in this article: http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2529.

Bbm will not work with a sim card

My BBM will only work on WIFI without a sim card in the phone.. I have a Blackberry Classic. When i take my sim card out my BBM works great. The app store works as well it only seems to be BBM. any suggestions on what I can do to fix this

Only if you buy an unlocked iPhone 5S which are ONLY available from Apple on-line or Apple Retail Stores in UK
You would have no warranty outside UK and the LTE(4G) will not work in China
3G should be OK

IPhone 4 will not activate with Apple for update

No matter how hard I try, or how many times I try I cannot get my sister in law's iPhone 4s to update it's software to 5.1 Despite it being connected to a strong wireless signal that I managed to update mine from on my laptop, it downloads the update but then says '"........s iPhone cannot be updated at this time because the iPhone software update server could not be contacted or is temporarily unavailable."
I have been trying to update my brother in law's iphone 4 from 4.3.2 to 5.0.1 also for over a month, when I go around and visit, was always the same message. I thought it may have been his phone.
I feel I am missing something fairly basic here. The phones download the updates in iTunes, they backup, iTunes extracts the software update, but it gives in when it's time to connect to Apple and verify the update. Doesn't matter how many times I try it.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance
Pete

Could it be that the server is using a custom port, while using the standard port for something else? Mail sync should not be related to MacBook. But it helps if you open your mail app on Mac to verify all settings.
Just a quick shot.

IPhone 4 will not update with new software

I can't get my iPhone 4 to update with the new software. I keep getting an error message that says there is a promblem downloading the software and the network connection timed out. Make sure the network settings are correct and your network connection is active. I reset my network connection, which did nothing to help. What next?

try to restore....its the same as update.....i did that and worked prefect........make sure to back up all your files!!!!

HT1296 my iphone 5 will not sync with new computer

I have been having issues in syncing my iphone 5 with my new desktop

Close iTunes. On your phone, double tap the Home button to bring up the multi-tasking bar, tap & hold any app until they all start to wiggle & a red minus sign appears. Tap the red minus sign to remove every app shown. Tap Home button when finished. Re-start your Mac, launch iTunes, connect your phone. See if things work now.

My 3G I Phone Not Working With My SIM Card After I Updated my phone

my 3g iphone now ner not working with my sim card aftet i updated my iphone

Was your phone originally locked to a different carrier?

HT4623 iphone will not activate with ios 7

hi just updated to ios 7 and now my iphone 4s will not activate using itunes or over wifi

Was the device ever disabled in Outlook Web Access? Does your Exchange server have "throttling" enabled?
http://mobilitydojo.net/2010/09/03/exchange-2010-sp1-limits-the-number-of-active sync-devices-you-can-synchronize/
Throttling is the capability of Exchange 2010 to limit the number of EAS connections.

HT201269 MY IPHONE 5 WILL NOT SYNC WITH ITUNES WHY

MY IPHONE 5 WILL NOT SYNC WITH ITUNES WHY

Is your iPhone connected to your computer using the lightning cable or are you doing WiFi sync?
Sometimes the iPhone doesn't show up in the side bar if you're using WiFi syncing, if its not working, then be connected to your WiFi on your phone and on your computer (Same network) let me know how it's going, if it doesn't work still. Turn your phone off and on again and put in your pass code then try to sync it (keep your phone unlocked and not in sleep mode) tel me if it appears in the side bar.

Newly-unlocked iPhone 4 will not activate with new sim card

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for