Samsung Galaxy S4 - " Sim card not detected - reboot "

[Justin5609]

Has anyone else had an issue with their Galaxy S4 constantly coming up as the sim card not being detected and having to reboot?

My phone started doing it on the very odd occasion, but now it seems to do it 12+ times a day, sometimes 4 or 5 times in a row on a bad day. Sim card isn't loose. Works fine after a reboot (most of the time, sometimes keeps having to reboot).

Seems to happen more often since I upgraded to KitKat, but might be irrelevant. Google doesn't seem to help besides sending it off for repair which I'm pretty close to doing. Has anyone found any solutions besides?

 

[BQNK]

There is a bad batch of s4's out there that are known to have this issue. Talking to the warranty department of your carrier they can identify if your imei falls in the range of this batch and get you a new one. It had nothing to do with the sim card, it's a hardware issue.

Do you need to pay ?? For this ?

 

[Bambi872]

This is a known hardware issue. It's not the simm card. This is a very common issue with the s4 that Samsung does not acknowledge (last time I checked). People are having the board replaced and it fixes the issue. If its under warranty for sure go this route.

 

[Willie0]

my samsung galaxy experienced the same issues a while back. I noticed that the sim keeps shifting. so I used the old traditional way of using a paper to pad that area.

 

[cmbhappy]

A new EE sim card worked for me, replaced the old orange sim, no issue now for 2-3 weeks

 

[pmoutzouris]

Hi Everyone,

My Samsung S4 has had the random SIM disconnect issue. It was driving me crazy, missing and dropping calls.

However, I now have fixed it ! Read on...

I can confirm in this case it was not a hardware issue. In fact I paid to get my phone repaired and replaced the SIM board entirely. No luck.

However, I noticed the SIM disconnect issue was progressively getting worse (i..e happening more frequently) each time I took more photos. It turned out that my phone had less than 800Mb of free space. When I deleted a stack of photos to clear space, the SIM problem went away entirely. I have not had a missed or dropped call since.

Because of the nature of the fix, the number of people reporting this issue, and the varied handsets this issue is occurring on, it seems to be an Android issue.

Just free up some space and you will see...

Paul M

 

[mfkuser]

Hi everyone,

MY SOLUTION.

I have had my S4 for many years, and the "Sim card not detected - reboot" started popping up.

The only recent change to the phone's hardware was that I had purchased a spare battery which I started to use.

Since I have re-inserted the original battery and all is now well.

Therefore in my case it was a battery issue.

Good luck

 

[anupmaharjan]

I have the same probelm after official lollipop upgarde, I have researched & tried all the things that above guys mentioned in their comments for many weeks , but in my case i have downgraded back to kitkat 4.4.2 firmware and didn't upgraded and now it works perfectly fine no more simcard added problem
Please note that my device is Samsung Galaxy SHV E300S
And the Kitkat firmware i downloaded from is
http/www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SHV-E300S
Please note that firmware is only for Samsung Galaxy SHV E300S as mentioned in the link
Samsung don't care about all this issues. And this is my last Smart phone of samsung.

 

[cool_snake10]

It's definitely a hardware issue causing the galaxy s4 to not read the SIM card...u have to put pressure on it somehow ...I folded it up piece a paper little by little and then placed it over the board holding the Sim card..while holding the piece of paper over that particular spot I then slowly placed the back of the phone back in place...I now I see a little lump on the back of my phone to where I put the paper at ...which is good cuz I know there's pressure being applied over the spot where the SIM card is...after I did that I had no problems at all XD

 

[milwaukee_brian]

Had the same problem on my S4 not detecting the SIMM card. I also lost 4g connectivity. After resetting the phone by dialing ##72786# on your phone keypad (dialer.) This resets the phone with no loss of data and eliminated the SIMM and 4G issues. Note that Sprint is my provider and I'm not sure if the reset code is supplier specific. Hope this works for you.

 

[phonemaster]

There likely are multiple causes to this problem. Mine was the Access Point Name (APN) protocol was set to IPv6. Creating a new APN with protocol and roaming protocol set to IPv4 fixed mine.

Go to Settings/More Networks/Mobile Networks/Access Point Names and see what you're using. If IPv6, then create a new entry copying all the settings other than IPv6 and replace with IPv4.

I had tried a Factory Reset, clearing all the caches, cleaning the SIM contacts, nothing helped at all. On T-mobile's 4.4.4 code.

 

[DeBleu]

I have the same issue.

I noticed that it was happening often when going to and from places (friend, office, grocery...).
I first thought it was hardware related, and movement was making a little piece moves.
But, while I was waiting in line outside for a show, it kept happening every 5 minutes and I was not moving.

So, what does going out and waiting outside have in common?
Changes in available WiFi network. (leaving my place=leaving my wifi, waiting in line=finding and losing just out-of-reach wifi access)

I DISABLE WIFI AND LOCATION (which use Wifi network for position) and didn't get any error message since.

It doesn't rule out a hardware problem, but it seems linked to using Wifi. This is not a fix, but a workaround.

What do you think?

 

[ladavanzo]

Most definitely a bad batch of Samsung Galaxy s4's. My fix along with some other similar posts found to work . I placed a small piece of foam like material (i used a small piece of a rubber foam like padding similar to the ones used to open jars or placed in drawers to prevent items from moving around )over the back of the phone covering the Sim card area and then replaced the back cover to secure it in place . I then restarted my phone and viola -worked like a charm . This saved me from having to replace the phone or getting a new Sim card . Kudos for the foam ear padding idea as well -didn't have any handy so I tried this and it worked . Good luck !

 

[ladavanzo]

Try placing a piece of soft foam like material to the back of the phone over the Sim card area ( even a small piece of a soft sponge -not too bulky though) after you place it over the Sim card area -replace the back cover to secure it in place and restart your phone . This should help clear that Sim card removed message and your phone should work . Make sure the back cover is firmly snapped in place in all corners and sides . Hope this helped . Send feedback if it does . Good luck !

 

[art005]

Galaxy s4 android 4.4.2 Problem started on 2 year old phone. Had 1.3gb of free memory and improved to 1.7gb. Problem continued multiple times per hour even when set on table. . Read this thread and tried to clear more memory. Cleared cache via settings and increased free memory to 3.8gb. No crash now for many hours. Looks like it's fixed.

 

[Andrew PP 1701]

You can try to use another SIM card.

Another sim card wont work. I just put a new 32 gb in and it still does it. Im gonna send it to samsung and let them deal w/it..

I have this exact problem. I completed a sim swap with my Service provider and it not resolved the issue. I am now sending it off for repair. Did you get yours sorted out ?

 

[Melissa_3]

I'm having the same issue. Assuming the SIM card had gone bad, I went to the AT&T store to get a new one. The sales guy told me that since the last big update he has had a lot of people come in with the same problem with the Galaxy S4. As far as he knew there hasn't been a fix made yet. I tried a new SIM card but still no change.

 

[Katia_1]

Regarding your sim rebooting problem I have the same problem I switched to a new sim but the problem remains. Did you find any solution to this problem?

 

[oldschool67]

ONE POSSIBLE SOLUTION

I was repeatedly receiving the message "SIM CARD NOT FOUND / SIM CARD NOT DETECTED" having to reboot my Samsung Galaxy S4. This problem would occur primarily with a weak signal, when my phone would lose connection to the network (many times when my phone was in my pocket.)

On the advice of another forum I:
1) Purchased and installed a new internal antenna wire and installed it.
2) Installed an app called CONNECTION STABILIZER to assist in keeping the connection alive.

There are other applications that assist in keeping the connection alive but this is the one I used and it works for my phone. I tried both of these solutions separately but they did not work on their own. I have not experienced the problem since implementing this solution. If you try this solution remember; You must configure the application. Please let others on this thread know your results.

 

[oldschool67]

ANOTHER POSSIBLE CAUSE

You may have been hacked possibly via MMS.
http/www.pocketmeta.com/how-to-protect-your-android-device-from-the-mms-hack-stagefright-exploit-30361/

 

[HapaHaole]

Replace the sim card/sd card reader...... that will permanently fix your issue. You can get the sim card/sd card module from amazon for about 4 bucks and its with free shipping. Not everyone might be technically inclined to pull it off. But pull up a you tube video.... pay the 4 bucks and fix it yourself. All you need is something flat and plastic and an eyeglass screwdriver or a phone repair kit that you can also find for about 2 bucks. Never did it before took me about 5 min. Fixed.