topic Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone in SIM cards & Porting

Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

thesled — Tue, 09 May 2023 12:36:12 GMT

EE have sent me a new EE-branded SIM card for some reason, probably something to do with the 3G switchoff.

I put it in my old Nokia phone and it just says 'Invalid SIM' and the phone pretty much stops dead. I had a text message to a 'New Sim' page but none of that seems to make much sense.

If I put my old ORANGE brand SIM back in it's fine and works OK.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

XRaySpeX — Tue, 09 May 2023 12:54:42 GMT

Your phone is locked to Orange & needs unlocking to a diff network SIM.

You can just apply for unlocking by using the Unlocking your device form and giving its IMEI no., which you can obtain be dialling *#06# into its keypad.

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

thesled — Tue, 09 May 2023 13:20:21 GMT

Sounds like a plan !

Only problem is when I put the IMEI number into the web page it blows up - I get

'Sorry, something went wrong on our end. Please enter your IMEI again or come back later'

The phone is probably so old it just can't believe it.

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

Leanne_T — Tue, 09 May 2023 14:53:37 GMT

Hi @thesled

In this case, please call us on 150 and the team will be happy to help.

Thanks 🙂

Leanne.

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

thesled — Fri, 12 May 2023 10:13:55 GMT

Hi Leanne, as I had an email from you reminding me to update the post I have done so below, but you might not like the result.

To cut a long story short I wasted a lot of time on phone calls to support and ended up making a complaint to EE. I include the basic text of it below for anyone interested in the outcome.

"I have an old Nokia 5500d phone with Orange SIM card which was working fine until I was sent a new EE SIM, probably related to 3G switchoff, I did not request one. I inserted the SIM and got the message 'SIM card not valid'. I called EE and was told the new SIM required activation. This was done but the message 'SIM card not valid' remains. However, I can no longer use my old Orange SIM either as this now gives a message 'SIM card registration failed'. So I am now disconnected totally.
I put up a forum post and was advised the phone might be locked to Orange. I tried the on-line unlocking page but it would not accept the IMEI number. I called EE again to get an unlock code but the adviser was evasive and due to the language problem it was not entirely clear what he was saying. He seemed to be saying the phone was not locked but it was unclear and as he seemed very keen on trying to sell me an 'upgrade' I'm not sure he was that interested. He did say though that he thought the new SIM was fundamentally incompatible with my older phone.
I do not wish to waste any more time and potentially money on calls to expensive 07953 numbers as of course I no longer have a working mobile phone and have to call from a landline. So in order to resolve the complaint please do the following.
1) Reverse the SIM card switchover that was done and re-enable my original Orange SIM. Then I will at least have a working phone and let me know this has been done.
2) Either unlock the phone from Orange and confirm this or confirm to me that it is already unlocked so that I can use any working SIM card in it if necessary.
3) Ensure that any future SIM cards you send me are suitable for use with the phone. After all you have had this phone on your records for years if not decades"

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

Leanne_T — Fri, 12 May 2023 10:17:59 GMT

Hi @thesled

I am very sorry to hear this.

If you have submitted a complaint the team will get this looked into and get in touch to let you know what they can do to help.

Please see our Complaints code of practice, Help page for information and details on how how to submit a complaint with us.

Thanks.

Leanne.

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

Nemu — Sat, 13 May 2023 11:59:35 GMT

Did you get this resolved ? As I have exactly same problem

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

Christopher_G — Sat, 13 May 2023 12:07:24 GMT

Hi @Nemu

Is your phone locked to another network? Are you able to try using the SIM in a different device?

Chris

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

Nemu — Sat, 13 May 2023 12:53:18 GMT

Orange branded Nokia 6310 with an orange sim been sent an EE sim to replace original orange but cannot get an unlock code for the orange Nokia handset to allow new EE sim to work

surely as orange were taken over by EE they are effectively same company ?

now I have activated new EE sim old Orange sim that previously worked in this phone has been disabled by EE but new EE sim wont work either in this handset ( it will in a non branded on that I borrowed to test it )

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

Christopher_G — Sat, 13 May 2023 13:03:13 GMT

Orange devices over a certain age still need to be unlocked to use them on the EE network, @Nemu

If you speak to our Mobile Care team, they'll do their best to get it unlocked as soon as possible.

Chris

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

Nemu — Sat, 13 May 2023 13:09:42 GMT

As original sim now disabled by EE. I can’t call EE

Why can’t I just do it on the EE website ,

have you reported the IMEI / unlock web as faulty to your EE colleagues to get the web site fixed

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

Christopher_G — Sat, 13 May 2023 13:16:32 GMT

I haven't reported it as it seems to be working OK when I try it, @Nemu. Have you tried on a different device or browser?

Are you logged into your My EE account when you try to check?

Chris

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

thesled — Sat, 13 May 2023 13:21:24 GMT

Hi ALL

Nemu, I think you have the exact same problem as me. Old phone still locked to Orange. I don't have an unlocked phone handy to try the EE SIM in, but I expect it would work fine.

You all would not believe the reply I've had from my actual official complaint to EE. They said

1) I ordered a new EE SIM, which I didn't. I only asked for the one they sent me (for their own reasons) to be activated. This process then stopped my original Orange SIM from working.

2) EE are saying they 'Can't reverse the Order' (there was no order) so they can't get my old Orange SIM working again, although I doubt this is in reality more than a mouse click away.

3) They are sending me to Nokia to try and get the phone unlocked ! I can see where THAT's going to end up - probably nowhere.

And they are offering me - guess what - an Upgrade! - which will no doubt just be a new phone at full cost. No mention of ANY discount. In other words nothing has changed.

I got hold of a new O2 SIM to try as you can get these for next to nothing - guess what - INVALID SIM. The phone is deffo locked to Orange. The point is, when EE took over Orange they inherited all these phones and as far as I'm concerned they have a legal responsibility to original Orange users to maintain the database and provide an unlock if requested. So I will be pursuing my complaint.

They can either switch my old Orange SIM back on and they can unlock my phone in some way, or they can pay my costs to get a third party to unlock it, or I will be claiming significant compensation towards a new phone.

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

thesled — Mon, 15 May 2023 15:58:06 GMT

So EE have now told me they can't reverse my SIM card switch (more like won't), can't unlock my phone from Orange and have offered me a miserly £25 compensation.

As I've got to now get a replacement phone I've said 'no way'. Not enough.

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

James_B — Mon, 15 May 2023 17:21:26 GMT

Hi @thesled,

I'm sorry to hear the manufacturer can no longer supply unlocking codes for your particular phone. This is rare, but can happen with very old devices.

We have 4G compatible pay as you go phones available from £14.99 in our online shop. These would work with your updated SIM card and future proof your service for the 3G switch off.

James

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

thesled — Wed, 17 May 2023 11:07:54 GMT

I can't believe a £15 phone would be any other than rubbish.

One thing about my Nokia, it's certainly wasn't that cheap but it's lasted around 15 years. I won't get that for £15.

In terms of my complaint, EE now seems to be ghosting me. I replied saying I wasn't accepting the £25 offer, and haven't heard a dickie bird from them since.

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

James_B — Wed, 17 May 2023 11:41:21 GMT

Hi @thesled,

Our Customer Care Team will be happy to update you on the progress of your complaint if you get in touch.

James

Re: Invalid SIM on old Nokia phone

vpn2025 — Sun, 17 Mar 2024 01:35:35 GMT

you never needed that new sim card, that old phone will be 2g, which is not been turned off yet, ee should have made it clear you did not need to use the new sim if your phone is only 2g