the answers. Here’s how to use a nano SIM in any phone.
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| Here’s how to use a nano SIM in any phone. |
SIM card sizes explained
There are three kinds of SIM around: standard, micro and nano. Standard SIMs were the original and tend to appear in slightly older phones, such as the Galaxy S2 and HTC Desire HD.
The next size down, micro SIM, was developed to help make smartphones slimmer: when you’re trying to cram so much technology into a single case, every millimetre counts. Micro SIM slots appear in the Galaxy S3 and S4, HTC One X, Sony Xperia S, T and X and so on.
The next and final size is the smallest, the nano SIM. You’ll find nano SIM slots in the iPhone 5 onwards and in Android devices such as the HTC One (M8).
We say there are three sizes, but there’s actually a fourth and fifth option: a multi SIM, whose credit card-sized moulding can be snapped out to make a standard, micro or nano SIM card, or a combi SIM, which can be snapped out as a standard SIM or micro SIM. You’ll often see multi and/or combi SIM cards when you’re looking at pre-pay phones or SIM-only contracts.
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| A good SIM adapter is a good investment. A badly fitting one isn't. |
An important warning about using a nano SIM in a micro or standard SIM slot
As you might expect, you can put a tiny SIM in a larger SIM slot by using an adapter - but there are huge differences between adapters, and a shoddy one can cause all kinds of problems. A loose-fitting SIM can get stuck inside the phone, and your increasingly angry efforts to get it out again can do serious damage to the phone’s delicate innards. Unless you’re really good with fiddly technical things, getting a stuck SIM out is a job for your friendly neighborhood phone repairer.
What to look for in a nano or micro SIM adapter
In a word, quality. If the adapter requires tape or sticky plastic to hold the SIM in place, it isn’t going to be a perfect fit - and that means there’s a very good chance that once you put the SIM in, you’ll have a hell of a time getting it back out again. That means the really cheap SIM adapters can be a false economy.
If you go Googling you’ll see lots of people saying nice things about Sadapter SIM adapters, which currently cost $8.07 for a three-pack on Amazon. It’s precision cut to the exact dimensions according to international SIM standards, it’s made of plastic that won’t deform unless you chuck it in a hot oven, and while it’s a bit fiddly to get the SIM in there (it’s a tight fit) you can be pretty sure that once it’s in it isn’t going to go anywhere. Other adapters are available, of course, but make sure you spend some time checking out user comments - particularly from users who have the same phone(s) as you.
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| It's possible to go the other way too and make a big SIM smaller, but it's fiddly. |
How to use a nano SIM in any phone
The mechanics of using a nano SIM in a non-nano phone such as the Galaxy S5 are simple enough: choose the appropriate adapter - in this case the nano to micro one - pop in your SIM card and then pop the SIM/adapter combo in the card slot. However, there’s another issue to think about, and that’s the network lock.
If the phone you’re putting the SIM into isn’t one you’ve bought as an unlocked phone, it may have a network lock. In plain English that means a Verizon-bought phone will only work with a Verizon SIM, an O2 phone will only work with an O2 SIM and so on. If your phone is locked, popping in the SIM from another network won’t work.
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| You've got options when it comes to sim cards |
We’ve got good news and bad news on that front. The good news is that it’s easy to unlock your phone; the bad is that it tends to cost money, because networks don’t really want you to switch to their rivals. The specifics differ from network to network - for example in the UK, the Three network doesn’t lock its pay monthly handsets while Vodafone devices are locked and free to unlock after 1 year or £19.99 if a year hasn’t elapsed.
If your phone is locked to a particular network, it usually takes an online form submission and up to 10 working days for the unlock to be processed.
Have you used a nano SIM in a micro SIM or standard SIM slot? Was the process painless or painful? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Androidpit.com
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