If you are looking for a step by step guide on how to change SIM card in iPhone, this quick article will help. On my travels to every country in the world, I had to remove a SIM card from my iPhone many times and even encountered a SIM card failure.
So if you are travelling internationally or plan to switch mobile carriers, you may need to change the SIM card in your iPhone. You should buy a local sim card and change SIM card in iPhone to get the best connection and price for your data.
So let’s start with 3 Easy Steps how to change SIM card in iPhone, including the removal of the SIM card, or switching SIM cards between iPhones. (I do this a lot on my travels).
Table of Contents
How to Change SIM card in iPhone in 3 Easy Steps:
Step 1: How to open the SIM card slot?
The first step of iPhone SIM card removal is to open the SIM card slot.
Simply take your iPhone from any casing and look at the right side of your iPhone – look for a thin SIM card slot. You will see a little dot in the tray, which is a small pinhole.
To remove the SIM card iPhone, you’ll need to open the SIM card tray. To open it, you will need one of these tools:
- SIM-ejecting tool (comes with your iPhone)
- A paper clip (pull the end of it into an L-shape)
- An earring (the back of it might fit)
- A needle
How to remove a SIM card from iPhone without a tool? Simply use a paper clip, earring or a needle. Then find sim card on an iPhone.
Step 2: How to open a iPhone SIM card from your iPhone?
Now that you have one of the tools I mentioned above, simply insert the tool into the pinhole beside the SIM tray. Push it in, it will click and the SIM tray will pop open. This is how you remove the iPhone SIM card.
Gently pull the tray out and lay it on the table. You can pay attention to how the SIM card is placed in the tray as you will be inserting a new SIM card back in.
You can flip the SIM card tray upside down and the SIM card will simply just fall out. (Best to do this over a table so you don’t lose it.)
Easy process on how to open a iphone sim card.
Step 3: How to insert a SIM card in your iPhone?
The final step of how to change SIM card in iPhone: Insert a new SIM card into the iPhone.
Simply pop the SIM card out of its packaging.
Now have a look at the SIM card tray. One corner is cut, it has a little notch. You must align the SIM card in the SIM tray correctly and then you can insert it back into the iPhone.
The SIM card tray should slide in easily and then click as you push it in. Don’t force it, if there is too much resistance maybe you didn’t insert the SIM card the right way into the SIM tray. Make sure it fits.
You don’t need to restart your iPhone, it should show your mobile network immediately.
3 Most common questions about iPhone SIM card removal:
1. What does a SIM card do?
That SIM card lets your phone connect to your cellular carrier so you can make phone calls and get mobile data.
Without the SIM card, you can still get online if you connect to WIFI. You can change SIM card in iPhone as often as you like.
2. iPhone Sim Card Failure – What Should I do?
Have you inserted your SIM card but you have no service?
Or maybe you switched your iPhone on and it shows NO SIM in the top corner?
This is a common iPhone SIM Card Failure that happened to me a few times.
This is how you fix it:
Simply follow these same steps on how to remove the SIM card from an iPhone and make sure there is no dirt or dust inside the slot or on the SIM card. Dust is the most likely cause of your SIM card failure. Simply clean the SIM card and insert it back in. It works 99% of the time.
3. Can you switch SIM cards in your iPhone when travelling internationally?
Yes. I always buy a local SIM card when I travel. I have been to almost every country in the world now and have quite a collection of SIM cards from around the world and it’s how I stay connected.
NOTE: Since 2022, I have been using a digital eSIM card to travel and it is wonderful! Airalo is the world’s first eSIM store that solves the frustrations of expensive roaming bills by giving you access to 190+ eSIMs (digital SIM cards). You never have to learn how to open a iphone sim card when using esim!
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Read more about How Does eSIM Work? Is eSIM Better Than SIM Card?
Hope this quick guide helped you change SIM card in iPhone of yours without any problems.
Any questions, let me know in the comments. And if you’re changing SIM cards because you are travelling, you might enjoy some of these related blogs.
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2 Comments. Leave new
Hi Marty, thanks a lot for sharing all this info. I was wondering what happens to my apps when I change the SIM card, Gmail, Bank Apps etc… I used to have an Android with two SIM card slots but now I’m travelling with my iphone and I’m kind of paranoid I’ll be locked out of my life-essential apps. Thank you so much. Best, Haikaa – a fellow Nomad 🙂
Hello Haikaa, all of your apps will be the same when you change your sim card in your iPhone. I do this all the time on my travels and there are no problems. Nothing will change.
If you even need to receive an SMS on your old number for say security confirmation (I get this with my bank. Sometimes when I book a flight in another country, they send me a security CODE to my phone number to verify it’s me), simply swap your SIM cards again and the SMS will come through. No charges. Hope that helps.