i bought an iphone 4 while i was in the states and it requires a mini sim card. i went to a number of places the other day, but none of them had ever even seen one before. does anyone know of a place i can get one now (preferably china mobile as i'm not going to be using the 3g network)? or will i just have to wait til the iphone 4 comes out here sometime in september?

mini SIM cards have not yet been released in China. The first company to do so will probably be China Unicom, although I don't believe a release date has been set yet.

In the meantime, you can cut down your existing SIM easily enough. In fact there is a device shaped like a stapler available on Taobao to do exactly that. I did it with my Unicom GSM card and it worked.

However, reception is simply appalling. I believe this problem is intrinsic to the iPHone 4 itself. Next week I plan to buy a China Unicom 3G card and try that in the phone. I don't hold high hopes though.

It's a shame, as were it not for the deal-breaking reception issue, this would be a swell little PIM/phone combo.

i was wondering about cutting it down myself, thanks for the advice! i haven't actually used it at a phone yet, so i am a little worried about the reception quality. on the other hand, i don't really use my phone for calls that much in the first place. i suppose worst case scenario, i can just have two phones...

I cut down my China Unicom sim and it fits in the iPhone tray well but the iPhone says No Sim.

Anyone else run into this problem or know how to fix this?

had someone use the stapler device on my sim. worked fine. but the reception so bad
(could not use inside my own apartment) i have stop using it.

luckily i used the stapler device, so i still had the out rim of the original sim and
can still use it.

have not heard of anyone else cutting it and not working. try licking the card.

tdicks15 wrote:i bought an iphone 4 while i was in the states and it requires a mini sim card. i went to a number of places the other day, but none of them had ever even seen one before. does anyone know of a place i can get one now (preferably china mobile as i'm not going to be using the 3g network)? or will i just have to wait til the iphone 4 comes out here sometime in september?

if you bought it in the US its locked to AT&T. Also no one has yet to figure out how to unlock an iPhone 4 version 4.02 or later.

yeah, i cut my sim down and it didn't work either. or the reception is so terrible that it just says "No Service" everywhere i go. i unlocked it when i got it and haven't updated to ios 4.0.2, so that shouldn't be the problem. on the upside, this is a really nice ipod touch.

tdicks15 wrote:yeah, i cut my sim down and it didn't work either. or the reception is so terrible that it just says "No Service" everywhere i go. i unlocked it when i got it and haven't updated to ios 4.0.2, so that shouldn't be the problem. on the upside, this is a really nice ipod touch.

there is a trick how you cut, certain part of the metal has to be cut...it's hard to describe. Mine worked flawlessly.

tdicks15 wrote:yeah, i cut my sim down and it didn't work either. or the reception is so terrible that it just says "No Service" everywhere i go. i unlocked it when i got it and haven't updated to ios 4.0.2, so that shouldn't be the problem. on the upside, this is a really nice ipod touch.

Also if you are experiencing poor reception, disable the 3G and wait a while. If the signal bars go up, it only means the 3G coverage in your area is poor. That has nothing to do with how you cut your SIM card. All you can do is to report poor 3G reception.

danny_siu wrote:

tdicks15 wrote:yeah, i cut my sim down and it didn't work either. or the reception is so terrible that it just says "No Service" everywhere i go. i unlocked it when i got it and haven't updated to ios 4.0.2, so that shouldn't be the problem. on the upside, this is a really nice ipod touch.

there is a trick how you cut, certain part of the metal has to be cut...it's hard to describe. Mine worked flawlessly.

Do you happen to have the link to see what the trick is? I don't want to follow the wrong tutorial again.

My iPhone 4 is factory unlocked from Hong Kong. Since prepaid simcards are not available as a microsim yet, I bought the stapler and popped out my own microsim. That works and still works now that I'm back in Shanghai.

However, as you can see in the photos, the HK chip itself is slimmer than the China Unicom is. Also, the Unicom chip is off to the side more and I was afraid of damaging it so I cut it down instead. As a result, I get No Sim from the Unicom sim while I still have no problems from the HK sim.

I activated my iPhone 4 with the HK prepaid sim card inside. Could that have locked my phone that way which is why I get No Sim when I put in the Unicom sim?

ranmachen wrote:

danny_siu wrote:

tdicks15 wrote:yeah, i cut my sim down and it didn't work either. or the reception is so terrible that it just says "No Service" everywhere i go. i unlocked it when i got it and haven't updated to ios 4.0.2, so that shouldn't be the problem. on the upside, this is a really nice ipod touch.

there is a trick how you cut, certain part of the metal has to be cut...it's hard to describe. Mine worked flawlessly.

Do you happen to have the link to see what the trick is? I don't want to follow the wrong tutorial again.

My iPhone 4 is factory unlocked from Hong Kong. Since prepaid simcards are not available as a microsim yet, I bought the stapler and popped out my own microsim. That works and still works now that I'm back in Shanghai.

However, as you can see in the photos, the HK chip itself is slimmer than the China Unicom is. Also, the Unicom chip is off to the side more and I was afraid of damaging it so I cut it down instead. As a result, I get No Sim from the Unicom sim while I still have no problems from the HK sim.

I activated my iPhone 4 with the HK prepaid sim card inside. Could that have locked my phone that way which is why I get No Sim when I put in the Unicom sim?

SimCard-A.jpg

SimCard-B.jpg

SimCard-C.jpg

If the left sim card in your last picture is yours, its apparently what caused your phone out of service.
As I said, when it comes to China's Unicom's 3G SIM card, you have to cut certain part the chip to make it work. It sounds strange but actually the metal edges of the chip is useless. I will post a link how you should cut your card later.

ranmachen wrote:

danny_siu wrote:

tdicks15 wrote:yeah, i cut my sim down and it didn't work either. or the reception is so terrible that it just says "No Service" everywhere i go. i unlocked it when i got it and haven't updated to ios 4.0.2, so that shouldn't be the problem. on the upside, this is a really nice ipod touch.

there is a trick how you cut, certain part of the metal has to be cut...it's hard to describe. Mine worked flawlessly.

Do you happen to have the link to see what the trick is? I don't want to follow the wrong tutorial again.

My iPhone 4 is factory unlocked from Hong Kong. Since prepaid simcards are not available as a microsim yet, I bought the stapler and popped out my own microsim. That works and still works now that I'm back in Shanghai.

However, as you can see in the photos, the HK chip itself is slimmer than the China Unicom is. Also, the Unicom chip is off to the side more and I was afraid of damaging it so I cut it down instead. As a result, I get No Sim from the Unicom sim while I still have no problems from the HK sim.

I activated my iPhone 4 with the HK prepaid sim card inside. Could that have locked my phone that way which is why I get No Sim when I put in the Unicom sim?

The attachment SimCard-A.jpg is no longer available

The attachment SimCard-B.jpg is no longer available

The attachment SimCard-C.jpg is no longer available

Look at this pic



The left SIM card is what a Unicom SIM 3G sim card should be like after you cutting it.
The trick is draw a cross on the chip, and make sure that after cutting it, center of the chip you cut is at the same place of the center of your HK sim card. And you have to cut the edge of the chip.

ranmachen wrote:

danny_siu wrote:

tdicks15 wrote:yeah, i cut my sim down and it didn't work either. or the reception is so terrible that it just says "No Service" everywhere i go. i unlocked it when i got it and haven't updated to ios 4.0.2, so that shouldn't be the problem. on the upside, this is a really nice ipod touch.

there is a trick how you cut, certain part of the metal has to be cut...it's hard to describe. Mine worked flawlessly.

Do you happen to have the link to see what the trick is? I don't want to follow the wrong tutorial again.

My iPhone 4 is factory unlocked from Hong Kong. Since prepaid simcards are not available as a microsim yet, I bought the stapler and popped out my own microsim. That works and still works now that I'm back in Shanghai.

However, as you can see in the photos, the HK chip itself is slimmer than the China Unicom is. Also, the Unicom chip is off to the side more and I was afraid of damaging it so I cut it down instead. As a result, I get No Sim from the Unicom sim while I still have no problems from the HK sim.

I activated my iPhone 4 with the HK prepaid sim card inside. Could that have locked my phone that way which is why I get No Sim when I put in the Unicom sim?

SimCard-A.jpg

SimCard-B.jpg

SimCard-C.jpg

Also after you cutting it, your Unicom SIM card is already useless, thus you have to go find one of those Unicom shops and get a new card. And cut it all over again, and be not afraid of damaging the edge of the metal.

lots of good info here. subscribed

After I posted the photos, I went to Unicom to see if they had a slimmer chip similar to my HK sim. Unicom didn't have it so I bought a replacement sim and planned on using it on my iPhone 3G until Unicom comes out with a proper microsim (hopefully next week.)

The replacement sim I just got was designed differently and was square & centered as opposed to being round and on the side like my previous photo above. So, I put it in my stapler and gave it a shot. Worked right away in my iP4 with no signal problems so far.

Thanks for the detailed help, Danny.

Thanks for sharing.

I cut my unicom sim with the stapler thing, all went well, it works perfectly on the ipad. However i then put the micro sim into an adapter supplied with the stapler, tried putting back into the usb wcdma flash drive, which i use with my laptop and it got stuck, and when i pulled it out, it damaged the connections, so now it's stuffed. Need to find an excuse to get a replacement, otherwise will have to buy a new one.
How much do those things go for? Can't be that expensive.

rocco72 wrote:I cut my unicom sim with the stapler thing, all went well, it works perfectly on the ipad. However i then put the micro sim into an adapter supplied with the stapler, tried putting back into the usb wcdma flash drive, which i use with my laptop and it got stuck, and when i pulled it out, it damaged the connections, so now it's stuffed. Need to find an excuse to get a replacement, otherwise will have to buy a new one.
How much do those things go for? Can't be that expensive.

Should be less than RMB 20. Sometimes free if your have rewards points in your account
Just told them you lost your SIM card and want a new one. No question would be asked.

Oh i just went to the unicom shop and told them the usb flash drive was damaged and could not read my sim, so they just changed it for me.....nice one

Go to Cybermart. I took my iPad there. There is a girl there who has that stapler-esq cutting machine. It's easier just to have them do it and have them show you it working before you pay. I've now taken three friends there to get sims for their iPads and no matter who you buy the sim from the same girl appears out of nowhere with the cutter. They can also unlock your iphone there. I had my BB unlocked there last week and it cost me around 100rmb.

Did SIM card cut with skissors today, works as charm.

did mine with a knife, scoring first then sawing action then wiggle it loose.
great thread. probably saved me a few kuai.
i think the pic helped the most for the alignment.