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Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

6

Time Required

                          15 - 20 minutes

Sections

1

  • Create a Micro-SIM to SIM Adapter
  • 6 steps

Flags

2

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Introduction

What you need

Step 1

              Create a Micro-SIM to SIM Adapter
  • Get everything you’ll need:
  • XACTO Knife and a good cutting surface, such as a self healing mat.
  • Pencil
  • SIM-Card removal tool or bent paperclip
  • iPhone 4
  • An old GSM SIM card that you can sacrifice to make an adapter.

Get everything you’ll need:

XACTO Knife and a good cutting surface, such as a self healing mat.

Pencil

SIM-Card removal tool or bent paperclip

iPhone 4

An old GSM SIM card that you can sacrifice to make an adapter.

1024

Step 2

  • Remove the SIM Card from each of the iPhones
  • On the iPhone 4 the SIM Card tray is on the right side of the phone.
  • On any older iPhone the SIM Card tray is on the top of the phone.

Remove the SIM Card from each of the iPhones

On the iPhone 4 the SIM Card tray is on the right side of the phone.

On any older iPhone the SIM Card tray is on the top of the phone.

Step 3

  • Use a pencil to trace the Micro-SIM on top of the older SIM-Card.
  • Make sure the leads line up with the ones below them!

Use a pencil to trace the Micro-SIM on top of the older SIM-Card.

Make sure the leads line up with the ones below them!

Step 4

  • Use an XACTO Knife to cut on the line you traced.
  • It can be difficult to control the knife when applying enough force to cut through the plastic, so I recommend going lightly for the first couple of times to make a groove. Once you have a properly-shaped groove, go back and apply more force to cut through the plastic. You can also drill 5 pilot holes using a fine drill bit at the vertices. This also helps to guide the knife.
  • To get a very clean cut you can try heating the tip of the exacto knife with a small lighter torch or even Cigarette Lighter. The hot Exacto blade will easily score into the sim card this way but you may need to heat it several times as it looses heat very quickly.
  • When you are nearly done, flip the SIM-Card over. You should be able to see the outline of the cutout you made on the top side. For a cleaner result, finish cutting the slot from the bottom side.
  • Remove the piece you cut out of the SIM.

Use an XACTO Knife to cut on the line you traced.

It can be difficult to control the knife when applying enough force to cut through the plastic, so I recommend going lightly for the first couple of times to make a groove. Once you have a properly-shaped groove, go back and apply more force to cut through the plastic. You can also drill 5 pilot holes using a fine drill bit at the vertices. This also helps to guide the knife.

To get a very clean cut you can try heating the tip of the exacto knife with a small lighter torch or even Cigarette Lighter. The hot Exacto blade will easily score into the sim card this way but you may need to heat it several times as it looses heat very quickly.

When you are nearly done, flip the SIM-Card over. You should be able to see the outline of the cutout you made on the top side. For a cleaner result, finish cutting the slot from the bottom side.

Remove the piece you cut out of the SIM.

Step 5

  • Insert your Micro-SIM Card into the hole you cut out of the SIM.
  • If the Micro-SIM doesn’t fit, you may need to cut away more plastic with the knife to enlarge the hole.
  • If you cut the hole slightly too big, put a piece of tape over the back of the SIM-Card (the side without the gold contacts) to hold the Micro-SIM in place. Trim away any excess tape with the knife.
  • You may want to add some tape even if the hole is the correct size; this will help prevent the Micro-SIM from coming loose inside the phone and getting jammed when you try to remove it.

Insert your Micro-SIM Card into the hole you cut out of the SIM.

If the Micro-SIM doesn’t fit, you may need to cut away more plastic with the knife to enlarge the hole.

If you cut the hole slightly too big, put a piece of tape over the back of the SIM-Card (the side without the gold contacts) to hold the Micro-SIM in place. Trim away any excess tape with the knife.

You may want to add some tape even if the hole is the correct size; this will help prevent the Micro-SIM from coming loose inside the phone and getting jammed when you try to remove it.

Step 6

  • Test it out. I put the Micro-SIM in the converter into an iPhone 2G to test it out, and everything works great!
  • Thanks for reading! Feel free to contact me if you have any problems or suggestions regarding this method!

Test it out. I put the Micro-SIM in the converter into an iPhone 2G to test it out, and everything works great!

Thanks for reading! Feel free to contact me if you have any problems or suggestions regarding this method!

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Author

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                    DavidKircos

Member since: 06/30/2010

4,512 Reputation

                                      1 Guide authored                  



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Josh Forester - Mar 16, 2011

Reply

Just a heads up, this could vary easily ruin your SIM card. Better off buying a SIM cutter, faster & exact results.

Mary Jane Doe - Apr 25, 2012

Reply

I just did this with the miniSIM card from my iPhone 4 (ATT) to my iPhone 3GS. First time it was not sucessful, so I pulled it out and repositioned the miniSIM card and it worked perfectly! (Note: In regards to the first post, this method does DESTROY the full size SIM card, but if you are taking these steps this card is MOST LIKELY deactivated and thus garbage. In no way should this harm the miniSIM card.)

Navneet Teotia - Sep 2, 2012

Reply

hahahaha…this is the awesomest and most creative post in the concentrated niche ……. how cm this post is not all over the internet than sim adapters ….and thank you by all heart for telling me this simple trick…..now i wont waste time searching and ordering sim adapters

gautamshirsekar - Sep 6, 2012

Reply

great trick! Thanks, you saved my day!!

Nick Smith - Oct 3, 2012

Reply

I just leave it here http://microsim-solutions.com/

No need to ruin your phone