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Can you use an iPhone without a SIM card? Yes, you can. However, activating and setting it up can be a bit challenging. This becomes more complicated if your iPhone is carrier-locked. But fret not, in this guide, we’ll walk you through the best ways to activate and use an iPhone without a SIM card.
If you don’t have a SIM card or just want your child to use a spare phone over Wi-Fi, turning it into an iPod touch, this guide will come in handy. It also covers how to activate the iPhone without being connected to a Wi-Fi network. This guide is applicable to all iPhone generations from 3GS to iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max.
Expect this process to be quite involved if your iPhone is locked to a specific carrier. For the purposes of this tutorial, we assume that you have an unlocked iPhone or have access to a carrier-specific SIM card that you can use temporarily. In case you don’t, we’ll show you how to unlock an iPhone so that you can use any SIM card and how to fix ‘Could not activate iPhone’ error.
Read on as we explore four methods to activate and use your iPhone without a SIM card.
1. Activate Your iPhone with Another Person’s SIM Card
If you don’t have a SIM card, but you can borrow someone else’s SIM card, then you can activate your iPhone. Here’s how:
What you need:
- A device for removing SIM cards
- A SIM card from another person
- Access to a Wi-Fi network
- If your iPhone is carrier-locked, the SIM card you borrow should be from the same network.
How to activate your iPhone:
- Remove the SIM card from the person’s iPhone.
- Insert the SIM card into your iPhone.
- Go through the usual setup options, including logging into your Wi-Fi network.
- Wait while the iPhone activates.
- Remove the SIM card and return it to its owner.
- You can now use your iPhone, but you cannot make calls unless you do it with Skype, WhatsApp, Messenger, or FaceTime.
- Once the SIM card is returned, the owner can put it back in their phone and keep using it.
2. Activate Your iPhone with iTunes
If you don’t have Wi-Fi access, you can activate your iPhone with iTunes. Here’s how:
What you need:
- An unlocked iPhone
- A Windows or Mac computer with the latest iTunes version installed
- If your phone is carrier-locked, you need a compatible SIM card to activate the iPhone.
How to activate your iPhone:
- Check if iTunes is updated. If you don’t have it, download it from Apple’s website for free.
- Connect your iPhone to your computer.
- If there’s no SIM card inside or the SIM card isn’t compatible, you’ll see a prompt on the screen instructing you on how to activate your iPhone. However, if the phone isn’t locked to a carrier, you’ll see an automatic prompt in iTunes with activation details.
- Enter the required details and wait for iTunes to activate your iPhone.
- You can now use your iPhone on Wi-Fi as you would with an iPad or iPod touch.
3. Activate Your iPhone with the Emergency Call Function (Not Recommended)
You may have heard that you can activate an iPhone without a SIM card by calling an emergency service. But this method is unreliable and no longer works. We don’t recommend trying it.
4. Jailbreak Your iPhone
If all else fails, you can always resort to jailbreaking your iPhone. Although this method voids your warranty, it might be the easiest way to get an old, carrier-locked iPhone to work. Check out our comprehensive guide on how to jailbreak an iPhone, which covers the best methods and warns of potential risks.
There you have it, our comprehensive guide on how to activate and use an iPhone without a SIM card. We hope that our guide will help you activate your iPhone quickly and easily.
FAQs
1. How do I unlock my iPhone if I don’t have the SIM card?
You can unlock your iPhone without a SIM card by connecting it to a computer or Wi-Fi. Go to iTunes, and you’ll see a prompt on how to unlock your phone.
2. Can I use an iPhone without a SIM card, but with Wi-Fi?
Yes. When you activate your iPhone without a SIM card, you can use it over Wi-Fi as you would with an iPad or iPod touch. However, you won’t be able to make calls unless you use an app like Skype, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or FaceTime.