Samsung Galaxy Alpha invalid sim

[Jonburmingham]

Hi all.

Hope this is in the right place.

I bought an unlocked Galaxy Alpha a few months ago for my wife. Got her (and my daughter) a sim on my account with the data sharer.

Last night my wife had an invalid sim error on her phone.

She has been using sim fine for months. Haven't changed any sims or taken this sim out but now it is asking for a code??

She is running Android 5.0.2

Any help is most appreciated

[drey_p]

Hi there

There are 2 possibilities that I can think of.  The first is that the SIM has become faulty and the second is that the actual SIM card slot is faulty.  You need to try the SIM cards in another device and see if you get the same error.  Getting the same error could indicate the SIM is faulty and you will be able to get a replacement by popping in to your local Vodafone store. 

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi,

Can you try your Sim Card in another phone as a process of elimination to rule out the phone or sim card that may be at fault. Try another Sim in your phone. If necessary any Vodafone Shop can replace the Sim Card via a Sim Swap. 

Where was the phone obtained from ?

I'm hoping it's not been imei locked by a network which is typically for a reported lost or stolen phone. 

Another possible issue is the original owner had it force unlocked to all networks which hasn't held. 

[Jonburmingham]

It says "network locked sim card inserted" but it isn't.

[drey_p]

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@Jonburmingham wrote:
It says "network locked sim card inserted" but it isn't.

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Just to confirm, this is the message you are receiving when you try your SIM card in another device?

[Jonburmingham]

Hi

I bought the phone new from a friend. It has always worked fine since I've had it.

I was told it was sim free and all seemed great until yesterday.

Spoke to Vodafone and have put in a code in to unlock it but it didn't work??

Put her sim in her my phone and it worked ok. Seems to be related to the phone rather than the sim card.

[BandOfBrothers]

A last resort but you could create a back up and try a factory reset. 

Can you try another SIM card in the phone ?

Edit - check the sim is seated properly and no dust / lint has made its way into the SIM card insertion point. 

[drey_p]

I do wonder if the SIM card slot is playing up.  If it isn't working properly, you will get all sorts of error messages such as Invalid SIM.  Another possibility is that the phone was not unlocked properly via the network provider - it may have been unlocked at one of those market stalls.  Those sort of unlocks can cause issues.  Perhaps check with you friend how the device was unlocked. 

[Jonburmingham]

I put my sim in her phone and it is still locked.

I only have Vodafone sim cards.

Is there anyway I can find out who the phone is locked to?

[drey_p]

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@Jonburmingham wrote:
Is there anyway I can find out who the phone is locked to?

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Yeah - ask the friend you bought it from.  Also ask how it was unlocked, I am not convinced that it was an official unlock.