Do contract simm cards 'wear out' ?
Do contract simm cards 'wear out' ?
Author
Discussion

uk_vette

Original Poster:

3,336 posts

233 months

Thursday 1st January 2009
quotequote all
I have had my current mobile number for years, and as such, I have always retained the same simm card.
The phone company, just send me a new phone every 12 months, I ask me to 'pop the simm card in'

Recently, I have been having 2 issues.
1. Sim card registration failed.
or.
2. Insert simm.

I turn the phone off, pull the simm out, wipe it betweem my thumb, and it generally works when I put it all back together.
Then perhaps, an hour later, I will see the display has turned to 'insert simm'

I am with 3, if it makes any difference.

Help or explanations please.

Edited by uk_vette on Thursday 1st January 12:23

moles

1,858 posts

273 months

Thursday 1st January 2009
quotequote all
I guess if the contact points wear through it could give poor functionality.

egomeister

7,593 posts

292 months

Thursday 1st January 2009
quotequote all
I've had my current number for years but have got a new sim every time i have renewed my contract/got a new phone (on Orange).

If the sim is knackered (maybe check with a payg sim) then I'm sure the network would replace it.

benoli

1,351 posts

218 months

Thursday 1st January 2009
quotequote all
i've had my current Vodafone sim card for about 10years
swap it between phones every year or so
- i might need a new one eventually !

Dilligaf10

2,431 posts

239 months

Thursday 1st January 2009
quotequote all
Sometimes helps packing a small piece of paper behind the sim card to make sure it is pressed onto the contacts properly.

Had my Vodafone sim for about 14 years and never had any problems.

Iain328

14,994 posts

235 months

Thursday 1st January 2009
quotequote all
Orange always ties the SIM to the phone so if you get a new phone from them you will get a new SIM - and they move your number onto it. TMobile is the same. Vodafone & O2 will normally just ask you to re-use your existing SIM.

One thing to note is that (certainly with O2) if you have an older SIM & you put it in a 3G phone you will probably not get 3G services - you'll need to get them to send you a replacement SIM to enable them.

If you think your SIM may be misbehaving then its easy enough to get it replaced with any operator - just ring them up & ask for a new one.

Penny-lope

13,645 posts

222 months

Thursday 1st January 2009
quotequote all
I had a 3 sim....and it would only work in one phone, a 3 phone...non transferable irked

AndrewTait

1,849 posts

223 months

Thursday 1st January 2009
quotequote all
Iain328 said:
Orange always ties the SIM to the phone so if you get a new phone from them you will get a new SIM - and they move your number onto it. TMobile is the same. Vodafone & O2 will normally just ask you to re-use your existing SIM.

One thing to note is that (certainly with O2) if you have an older SIM & you put it in a 3G phone you will probably not get 3G services - you'll need to get them to send you a replacement SIM to enable them.

If you think your SIM may be misbehaving then its easy enough to get it replaced with any operator - just ring them up & ask for a new one.
Not quite true, Orange tie the SIM to the contract, so every time you renew your contract, you get a new SIM. I quite happily swap my Orange SIM between 3 different phones, N95, which is my everyday phone, 6500 classic for when I'm out, and don't want to lug half a house brick around, and an old N70 for when I'm on a site where it might get very damaged.

308mate

13,758 posts

251 months

Thursday 1st January 2009
quotequote all
They do.

Vodafone told me the other day I needed to go to a store and get an up-to-date one, which apparently has newer software on it. Cause I dont lose my phone or change my number, mine is too old to run some applications on my N95.

No matter. I lost interest when at the part when she said "Can you get into a Vodafone shop?"

Albert Bridge

896 posts

222 months

Thursday 1st January 2009
quotequote all
When I upgraded to a Blackberry a couple of months ago it took absolutely ages for the phone to turn on. It took over half an hour so I returned it to the shop as faulty. The o2 guy tool one look at the Sim card (which is really really old) and said that was the cause of the problem....

PeteG

4,278 posts

240 months

Thursday 1st January 2009
quotequote all
308mate said:
They do.

Vodafone told me the other day I needed to go to a store and get an up-to-date one, which apparently has newer software on it. Cause I dont lose my phone or change my number, mine is too old to run some applications on my N95.

No matter. I lost interest when at the part when she said "Can you get into a Vodafone shop?"
When I worked there, we could send SIMs out for £1.50, through first-class post. Odd...