You had what you thought was a working SIM card installed in your iPad, until you experienced the “No SIM Card installed” error message, and now you don’t know what to do!
You are not alone as this appears to be a very common problem, judging by the amount of people asking for help on the Apple Support Communities forum, some of whom seem to be experiencing the same problem again and again. Listed below are a few steps that may resolve your no SIM card installed error message issue.
- Check your current iPad SIM is not faulty by testing it in another device, if it doesn’t work in that device either then you know you need to buy another SIM
- Check your iPad is not faulty by trying another SIM, one that you know is working. If you are still experiencing the No SIM Card installed error message then you may have a hardware issue, the pins that read the SIM card are a known problem. You will need to visit your Apple store or contact Apple support
- Turn on Flight Mode, wait for a minute or so then turn off Flight Mode
- Reset network settings. Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network settings > Yes, to confirm. This will reset all of your iPad network settings, VPN, APN, Wi-Fi profile settings and your passwords
- Re-seat the SIM by removing it from your iPad and putting it back in, a jolt can un-seat the SIM causing loss of reception
Apple recommend that you ensure you have updated to the latest iOS
Other advice offered by fellow sufferers is listed below, although we urge caution as this is neither our advice nor official Apple advice
Check that your case or screen protector is not interfering with the connection between the iPad and SIM – This is recommended by many people and there are lots of reports of success following removal of cases or screen protectors
Turn on Airplane mode on and off, on and off, on and off – and so on, until it works – or until you give up
Remove and replace the SIM with the iPad still switched on
Give every little nook and cranny a good clean – If you are going to try this, we recommend you do so very, very carefully
If none of this helps your only option is to visit your nearest Apple store or contact Apple support
Special Thanks MIKI Yoshihito