Before making a decision to buy a specific smartphone model, the buyer should clarify which SIM card is installed in this gadget. This is important: replacing the SIM card can be a problem if the card is registered not by the user himself but by another person.
Experienced communication salons consultants still remember the time when buyers were surprised by the fact that there are custom SIM cards. The presence of several types of SIM cards is a normal thing. Manufacturers prefer smaller cards because they save space inside the device. The standard size of Sims, bulky by modern standards, the appearance of “sinking into oblivion.”
In this article, we will discuss all types of SIM cards and teach you how to make a small card from a large card.
Table of Contents
What are SIM cards?
In terms of size, sims are divided into 3 types:
Mini-sim
Mini-SIM – so “scientifically” is called a standard SIM card. Its dimensions are 25 × 15 millimeters.
If the phone was released before 2011 (inclusive), you can be sure that it is inserted into the Mini-SIM . For modern smartphones, such a card is too big, but this does not mean that the Mini-SIM is an anachronism. Standard simulators are used in unpretentious “dialers”, in telephones with large buttons for the elderly, in secure telephones for fishing fans and factory workers. These devices can not boast of numerous functions, so the space in their housings is full – in some models, manufacturers can even install 3-4 Mini-SIM .
Micro-sim
The first Micro-SIM card began to be used by Apple – on iPhone 4. Micro-SIM dimensions are 15 × 12 millimeters.
Nowadays, Micro-SIM is installed on the vast majority of smartphones. In Apple, the “baton” intercepted Nokia, which equipped its Lumia devices with sockets for Micro , and then HTC, Samsung, BlackBerry.
Nano-sim
Nano-SIM is the latest and smallest calling card. Its dimensions are only 12 × 5 millimeters. Visually, the card is a chip with a minimum plastic edge.
Apple was again the innovator. It was Nano-SIM users who had to insert into the fifth modification of the iPhone. Later, devices with Nano-SIM sockets began to produce other well-known manufacturers – for example, Samsung and Meizu.
The following illustration will help you understand the differences between the three types of SIM cards from each other:
How to change the phone SIM card size?
The most obvious way to change the size of the SIM card is to replace it in the operator’s cab . This procedure is completely free, it only takes a few minutes, the phone number does not change later. However, this method has many disadvantages:
- The new SIM card will not have the numbers stored in the old memory. Of course, this problem is easy to solve : in the article “How to transfer contacts from iPhone to computer” we talk about several ways to export phone numbers at the same time. Unfortunately, many users find their time too valuable to spend on developing third-party software and backup methods.
- Replace the SIM card in the office only the contract owner has the right to do so . If the card was presented to the user, for example by parents, he will not be able to replace him. Sometimes this becomes a real problem.
If a consultant changes the SIM card to a person who is not its designer, it is a scam! In the event of such an operation, the consultant will at least be deprived of the bonus, and at most be released from shame. Therefore, the “make an exception” request is meaningless; no one wants to be unemployed with unflattering wording in a workbook.
There are several ways to change the dimensions of the SIM card without having to replace it. For example, a user can purchase an adapter (also known as an adapter ). The adapters look like this:
It is better to order SIM adapters on Chinese websites – there are trifles. For example, a set of Noosa adapters with an iPhone needle will only cost 17 rubles. When buying in the cabin, the user may require up to 250 rubles – the difference is more than tangible!
The set usually contains 3 types of adapters: Nano-SIM on SIM , Micro-SIM on SIM and Nano-SIM on Micro-SIM . Because smaller SIM cards are still associated with Apple, manufacturers do not forget to insert needles and needles to remove the SIM card slot. Using adapters is simple : a small SIM card is inserted into the appropriate adapter, and the adapter with the card itself is located in the mobile device slot.
Adapters help when you need to increase the size of the SIM card, but what about the user if the card needs to be reduced? The fact that there may be such a need, the owner of the gadget should think even at the stage of buying the SIM card – and insist on issuing him the so-called Combi-SIM . Combi-SIM is a standard card from which you can make a micro-SIM in a split second.
Inside the standard size SIM card, the Micro-Sim is already cut along the contour, so that the user can easily press with a finger and break a piece of plastic.
There is no need to hurry to throw away the frame – it is still able to perform good service. If you want to reinsert the card into the Mini-SIM slot , you can use the frame as an adapter.
Using the Combi-SIM is one way to change the size of the SIM card down. Combi cards are made available to mobile users for free – of course, if available at the operator’s office.
If the user already has a standard SIM card and wants to turn it into a Micro without losing contacts, there is no other option but to cut the SIM card. Pruning is usually done with a special device, which is called a Sim stapler (this is also a Sim cutter , there is also a Sim-Cutter ).
Making a standard Micro-SIM card with such a stapler is the second procedure. However, expect that this process will produce a sales office or workshop for free , it is not necessary. Salon employees will require 149 rubles for pruning and will even knock out a check for a paid service. In the repair workshops, they will also be asked for money – or even send the user to take care of the operator.
Trimming the SIM card involves some risk – if the person performing the procedure is in a hurry or does not pay attention to him, he will damage the chip, as a result of which Simka will not work. Hence the high cost of the cutting service – no one wants to risk “for nothing”.
How to cut the SIM card with your own hands?
Not all mobile phone stores have SIM staplers – some consultants still cut cards with their own hands and ordinary scissors. Perhaps the reader will be surprised by the fact that nobody teaches this to consultants. Independently they improve this skill, and many of them successfully cut off the SIM card obtained for the first time .
No wonder – in fact, the procedure is extremely primitive! Usually, the main difficulty is finding the pattern. In consultants, the entire table is usually filled with sims of different sizes that work and serve their time – they use them as samples. An ordinary user can only dream of such an abundance – but if he still can borrow a SIM card of the right size for the role of a template, he can safely try to cut with his own hands. If not, use the printer and print the template.
You don’t need markers, rulers and pencils to trim your SIM card – if you follow these instructions:
- Take a large SIM card in your hand.
- Attach the sample card to it so that it completely covers the chip, press firmly with your thumb and do not let go. If necessary, you can attach a large SIM card template with double-sided tape, but experts do not recommend it – you can damage the chip.
- Carefully cut the plastic on the sides. Try not to be enough, otherwise the SIM card in the socket will “hang” and the signal will be lost.
- Cut the card to the pattern crosswise . Here you can act less scrupulously; The main thing is not to touch the chip.
- Remove the corner and round the edges slightly – otherwise the SIM card will not fit into the socket.
Then put the template away and try to install the trimmed card in the phone to check its performance. If the SIM card does not fit in the socket, gently trim the plastic and try again. If the card is the size of the card and the phone is read, triumph – just cut the SIM card with your own hands!
Please note that no card can be “cut” to the desired size. The easiest way is to re-create the mini-SIM in Micro-SIM – such trimming should not cause any problems for the user. Trimming under Nano-SIM is always more difficult; There is almost no plastic around the chip on the Nano card , so the risk of the chip getting caught with scissors is quite high.
In everyday life there are still old-fashioned SIM cards – with large chips:
Proposal
Due to the fact that smartphone manufacturers began to produce gadgets that support various types of SIM cards, salespeople have decently enriched. Of course, not all paid services go through the cashier – in many cases the money for pruning is sent to consultants in their pockets. Pruning a SIM card for sellers is a “bread business“, which means that there is nothing to rely on free help from consultants.
Therefore, a user who does not want to “feed” salon employees is better to master trimming skills. This procedure is quite simple and does not require “surgical precision“.
