Z ULTRA SIM PROBLEM.

[Grendow04]

Hello. First time poster here. I am looking for information or tips about an issue with an Xperia Z Ultra. The phone is no longer reading the Sim card therefore cannot connect to a network although it is still detecting it's presence. There is no damage to the card or the tray. It simply has stopped working. The phone is less than two years old and is in perfect condition otherwise. 

[IamNic]

Hello @Grendow04,

did you do anything out of the ordinary before the SIM-card wasn't read anymore? Did the phone get wet? Did you take the card out?

- Nic

[Grendow04]

Hello. No, there was no particular incident like that. The phone had been working perfectly. I can only speculate that the problem may be the Sim card tray itself that it is no longer positioning properly to enable contact between the card and the receptors. I did hear about this being an issue with this particular model which can be rectified by placing a small piece of card underneath the Sim in order to raise it's position and get it to read. I am reluctant to start fiddling in case I do more damage. Would doing a factory reset make any difference, I wonder? Thank you for responding. 

[IamNic]

Hello @Grendow04,

which type of SIM-card are you using? Mini-, Micro- or Nano-Sim? Maybe your carrier send you a Nano Sim while the phone needs to be used with a Micro-SIM and for some reason it made contact for a while until it got dislocated?

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/GSM_SIM_card_evolution.svg/660px-GSM_SIM_c...

- Nic

[Grendow04]

The correct type of card is installed alright - a Micro-Sim. I think it's a hardware issue with the phone. 

[Strampke]

So it works perfectly without SIM? (sorry, quite crippled when you can't make calls with a phone 😉)

Buy another SIM to test I would say or try someone else's SIM.

[Lord_viridis]

Request a SIM swap from the network.

Many SIM issues can be fixed with a swap, much better to try this than to put bits of paper behind a card (which can make the pins not make contact again.

Sims do occasionally fail, what you're describing sounds like a corrupt SIM to me.

[Grendow04]

Yes, well, I have tried the sim in another phone and it works perfectly so the problem is clearly not the card itself.

To answer your first question, yes, the phone is working perfectly in every other respect just not the most important one!! 

[Strampke]

Now try another phones' SIM in your phone.

How's that?

One more option to try is reset network settings.

Settings -> system -> reset options -> reset network settings.

Your device will download your providers' settings again.

You can do it without clearing all network settings (including WiFi and Bluetooth) by going settings -> network & internet -> mobile network -> access point names , tap the plus and make a new APN according the settings you can find on your providers' website.

Reset network settings is the ready way.

Try it, results not guaranteed, you never know.

[Grendow04]

It's a pity I didn't think of that sooner. You need access to a desktop computer in order for the network provider to send the code to your mobile. It cannot be sent from another phone and I don't have a home computer. All of the Internet cafes over here are shut because of the bloody Coronavirus. The entire country is still in kickdown so you can't even visit a friend or relative. I'll work something out. Thanks for all your assistance. It was very useful indeed.