How Do I Fix 'No Sim' issue? Sim Card Broke? Phone Re-Locked?

[ValerieAnne]

** I'm sorry this is so long. I've placed in the 6s category as it's about the 6s, but if it should be in the Questions area, please move/let me know. Thank you.

I've read the how-to articles and guides that I have found online. I have an unlocked iPhone 6s with the newest update 13.3 (I believe, sorry, I don't have it in front of me right now). When I turned it on a few days ago, it said an update was ready. I was using a US Mobile Sim card (can't remember if I had LTE or the GSM one in the slot). It hasn't had service in quite some time, but still showed signal, etc in the corner. I took it out and replaced it with my new sim card (LifeWireless; they use T-Mobile). I've also tried TextNow/Sprint sim cards.

I am getting a "No Sim" message/notice in the service provider area on the homescreen. I am not getting messages that the sims are invalid or any other pop-ups though. Just the message in the service provider area. Nothing I've tried has fixed the issue. I can't find my original sim card (I have a terrible habit of losing them, when I know I'll need them again). I have a new one coming on Tuesday.

Because I'm not getting any error messages when placing the sim-card into the slot/phone, could it mean the SIM cards are messed up? I have put them in their respective phones (an S7, which is the TextNow/Sprint; LG G7 Thinq which uses the other) and do not get messages though and those phones do in fact, see the sim card. Could the sim card slot itself be messed up?

I can't afford a new phone but am trying to make the iPhone my primary phone since I just picked up a AW4 (LTE) and would like to take full advantage of it.

Do any of you have any ideas about what could be causing it? Did the update lock the phone back to the original provider? I was told it was Sprint originally, GSM unlocked, which would've made the LTE US Mobile invalid as they use Verizon. Yet, when I looked under the area where that info is, it said Verizon 39.0 (but I couldn't do anything else with that information/have no idea what it means). I can't say if it's always been there as this area of the phone isn't somewhere I go unless I need something.

 

[Just_Me_D]

This seems like a case of a device being locked to a carrier or the device has been blacklisted. Simply updating the iOS version shouldn’t have an affect the wireless account. If you’re still unable to make or receive calls when the new SIM arrives then my assumption may be correct. You can always take it to your carrier and have them check it out for you.

 

[ValerieAnne]

Oops, that should've said i used the textnow/sprint sim card in it as well (in addition to the us mobile one). Thank you. I will try that, I've had it for over a year now, which no issues until now. The model number is A1688. I have also contacted the person I received it from, who only used it on Sprint, but they haven't replied yet. One of the reasons I'm confused, as I thought the CDMA were different for the two (but my using a sim from each and it working and these photos, make me think otherwise)

 

[ValerieAnne]

Solved. Found a video on YouTube. I had to bend the Sim Card reader a bit and it read it right away.