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Can't detect the sim card, not sure if it's the card or phone?

J
My phone is pre paid and is unlocked, I bought a pre paid sim card, activated it, everything went great, up until I tried to use the card in my phone, the phone just keeps saying insert sim card.

When I first opened where the sim card goes, there was the cardboard part from whatever sim card was in there before, the biggest size, just without the sim card. So it was hard to get out, so I am unsure if any of the connectors got damaged, or if the sim card was faulty.

The first month is already paid for, so I am starting to feel like I wasted money on this whole thing.

14 replies

M
Userlevel 7
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What phone is it?
J
blackberry 9800
D
Userlevel 7
Badge +4
J wrote:

blackberry 9800

Are you sure it's not the SD card slot you are trying?  Does the sim card fit perfectly?
Mobile Masters are not Koodo Employees. Our opinions are our own.
J
J wrote:

blackberry 9800

Yes, I am sure I checked out a video to make sure, I removed the battery, then put the sim card in the slot that the battery was blocking, with the chip going in first and face down.
M
Userlevel 7
Badge +4
Do you have any other phone to rest out your SIM card? And who did you buy/get it from? I didn't understand why people put the cardboard into sim slot. Can you go back to the store or person to test out if their SIM work on your phone? If not, you can stop by a Koodo store and ask them if they can test connection using their demo Sim card.
J
My sister gave me the phone, it was one of her old ones, and unfortunately I don't have another phone to test it out with, and the koodo store is out of my way, so I am unsure if I will be able to get there or not. I do agree on the cardboard thing, it was kind of hard to remove, so I am concerned it may have damaged a connector.
M
Userlevel 7
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J wrote:

My sister gave me the phone, it was one of her old ones, and unfortunately I don't have another p...

Hmmm, it's nice of her let you use her old phone... But, this device is really old tho. Was it working before she gave it to you? (How long it was sitting unused...?) Can you ask her to test her SIM to check the connection? If her SIM didn't work, then sim slot could be damaged.
J
J wrote:

My sister gave me the phone, it was one of her old ones, and unfortunately I don't have another p...

I could try, she just doesn't live close to me, it was nice of her, and as far as I know it was working, looking through the gaps, it does appear like a connector fell off, at least from what it looks like.

My main thing with the cell phone was a just in case of emergency type of thing, something I wouldn't use to make too many calls (but I would still have mins in case I needed to make a call with, and they don't expire with koodo, which was my main reason for choosing them.)

As well as unlimited text messaging so I have the ability to text people. So I didn't need a top of the line phone, or one that was new, just as long as it could do what I needed it for, I would be fine with it.
M
Userlevel 7
Badge +4
J wrote:

My sister gave me the phone, it was one of her old ones, and unfortunately I don't have another p...

I hope the sim slot is not damaged. But, if you need to go to a Koodo store to check/test your phone or maybe buy a new phone, call ahead and ask them what they have on stock. They might have few different type of prepaid phone as well as pre-owned phones with reduced price. https://www.koodomobile.com/find-nearest-store
J
J wrote:

My sister gave me the phone, it was one of her old ones, and unfortunately I don't have another p...

Thanks, I will check it out, I think it might by the sim slot, while looking at the phone, a small piece fell out, that was kind of gold color.
P
Userlevel 7
Badge +4
J wrote:

My sister gave me the phone, it was one of her old ones, and unfortunately I don't have another p...

Yeah that sounds like the SIM connector pins, I think you're going to have to get it fixed or purchase a new device for unfortunately.
Paul-Eh-D
J
I just took out the sim card again, I see 3 of the gold colored connectors, the video I looked at, shows 6, can anyone confirm this? (3 on top, 3 on the bottom part of the sim card slot. is what appears in the video, but on my phone, there is none on the button part of the slot. 
D
Userlevel 7
Badge +4
J wrote:

I just took out the sim card again, I see 3 of the gold colored connectors, the video I looked at...

Are you entering the sim the right way?  Upside down?
Do you have friend or family that can help test a working sim in the phone or your sim in their unlocked/Telus/Koodo phone?
Mobile Masters are not Koodo Employees. Our opinions are our own.
J
J wrote:

I just took out the sim card again, I see 3 of the gold colored connectors, the video I looked at...

Yup, I used this video as guidance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFJVwKybzbw  it's the same phone I got, only difference I noticed was it looks like three connectors on the bottom part under the strap for the SD card (for a total of 6 connectors), which don't show on my phone .

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