Going to change your SIM card? It’s usually simple, but here are a couple of things to know before you look for a paperclip.
Todd from Belfast writes in:
“I travel a lot with my new job, and the company doesn’t like us to use the issued phone for personal calls and texts. Is there anything I need to know when I’m changing the SIM card on my LG Android phone?”
Hi, Todd! Changing your SIM card is mostly a plug and play affair. Chances are that all you need to do is shut the phone off, pull out the old one and pop in the new. You really don’t need to shut the phone off if you know how to manually refresh your network connection. But turning things off is usually easier because a reboot is quick and simple. When you reboot, it should just work. But there are a couple things you should know and keep in the back of your mind whilst you’re plugging and playing.
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Some phones, like the single-SIM version of the Samsung Galaxy S7, the LG G5 and many others, share a single slot for both the SIM card and the SD card. When you pop out the tray, be ready for two little things that can get lost easier than you think to come out with it. If your phone is similar, and the SD card will pop out along with the SIM card, you need to either unmount the SD card or just shut the phone off. I suggest the latter.
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Your phone may not have the right APN (Access Point Name) programmed in the system. If you can’t get a connection, or can’t send or receive texts, or your data speeds are 2009 slow you need to check out the settings. We have a complete walkthrough for that if you need it.
Read: What is an APN, and how do I change it?
- Your phone needs to be unlocked. We don’t mean the bootloader or root or Cyanogen or anything of the sort, we’re talking about network unlocked. If you bought your phone direct from a carrier — especially in North America — it could be locked to their network. If this is the case, you’ll not be able to add a new APN or change to another APN, and nothing is going to work. You can talk to your carrier or use a third-party unlocking service to “fix” it.
Read: The best unlocked phones
These are worst case scenario type things. Usually, just shutting your phone off and changing the SIM card will do the trick as long as the phone itself has support for the network you’re trying to use. But it’s always good to know the what-ifs!
Good luck, Todd, and enjoy your travels!