How to Unlock SIM Card Pin on iPhone

Locked out of your SIM card because you forget your SIM PIN? Don't fret. Here's what you need to do to unlock the SIM card on your iPhone.

You might have seen the screen that informs you of the “SIM Locked” status before, it looks like the picture below on an iPhone:

If you press Cancel in the upper left corner on the screen by mistake, the SIM card will remain locked. There is a quick way to get this dialog window back.

Note: If you’ve never defined or changed your iPhone SIM card PIN, enter the default SIM PIN from your carrier. You can retrieve the default PIN by checking the documentation or manual that was sent with the SIM card. The documentation also includes a Super PIN in case you enter a wrong PIN number repeatedly. 

Tip: If you are not sure if your iPhone is unlocked or not, please refer to: how to find out if your iPhone is locked.

Unlock iPhone SIM card via Phone App

Phone App > Call any number

The easiest and most straightforward way to get the "SIM is locked" dialog back is to open up the Phone App and initiate a call with any number or any of your contacts. Then the dialog will return, allowing you to enter your SIM PIN. It is not necessary to call an actual number, you can even enter a bogus number such as “333” and hit the green button to proceed.

Unlock SIM on iPhone via Settings App

Settings App > Cellular > SIM PIN

Another way to pull up the unlock window is to visit the Settings App. Head over to the Cellular section and select SIM PIN. Your iPhone should now ask you to unlock the SIM card.

From here, you will also be able to change the actual SIM PIN. 

Changing or disabling the SIM PIN on iPhone

Settings app > Cellular > SIM PIN > Change PIN

By following the same menu path as above, we can actually go in and change the SIM PIN that protects the SIM card our iPhone is currently equipped with.

After entering the current PIN, simply tap “Change PIN” to enter a new one. You can also slide the toggle to the “off” position to disable the SIM PIN.