[michael29angelo]

I have a freshly recovered iPhone 3GS 6.1.6 via iTunes. My phone can't detect my sim card. I've already tried opening the phone and fixing the sim card slot. How can I activate it without a sim card?

[kch50428]

For use as a phone, you can't... If you put it in Ariplane mode and turn on wifi and Bluetooth if desired, the device will function as an iPod...

[natasftw]

You can also use redsn0w to "hacktivate" it. But, this still will only provide ipod functionality. Think about what you're asking. Let's say you get it activated to your carrier. In order to use the phone, you'd need it to read the SIM. It can't do that. As a result, you would lose the ability to use it as a phone even activated.