Posted by: kurtsh | May 14, 2013

HOWTO: Prevent the “SIM card is missing or invalid" error or Random Shutdowns on the HTC 8X

SUMMARY:  If you own an HTC 8X Windows Phone & are receiving a "SIM card is missing or invalid" error… or your phone randomly just shuts down, try turning off your phone, pulling out the SIM card tray, and appending a piece of scotch tape to the back of your SIM card. Put it back into your phone and try using your phone for a few days and see if it fixes the issue.

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DETAIL:

Q: Are you seeing "SIM card is missing or invalid" error on your HTC 8X Windows Phone?

I’m seeing this on the phone I got from Verizon but it doesn’t look like it’s specific to any one carrier. It appears that there may be a design issue in this phone. I’ve been struggling with this for a while now and originally thought it was a firmware or software issue but after discussing this with others and researching this on the Internet, it appears that it has to do with the phone’s hardware itself.

PROBLEM: ‘SIM CARD FAILURE’

At seemingly random intervals, usually as frequent as every day or every other day, the phone pops up an error notification that reads, “SIM card is missing or invalid”. At this point, the phone won’t connect over data nor will voice calls work. The only recourse is to completely reboot the phone – either via “Power+VolumeDown” to reboot or “Hold-Power” to shut down.

POSSIBLE CAUSE: DISCONNECTION
The hypothesis is that the SIM is getting disconnected briefly. The power button is right above the area where the SIM is inserted. If you ever pull out the SIM, it will cause and error and you’ll either shut down the device or halt all communications. Because the casing is a pliable (however rigid) polycarbonate plastic, over time, when you press on the power button, it bulges the plastic just enough to occasionally separate the SIM from the internal metal contacts that connect it to the radio on the phone. The result is the phone will either randomly turn off its radio (no calls, data, or texts) giving you that “SIM card is missing error”… or the phone will randomly shutdown altogether without letting you know, usually in your pocket. 

This seems to be particularly common with individuals that have gel cases or other types of protective cases on their device that require the user to exert a lot of pressure on the power button to click it.  This stress looks to be the cause of this issue.

SOLUTION: TAPE ON THE SIM
What one thoughtful person did on the Internet is place a thin piece of tape on the back of the SIM. The has the effect of making the connection between the SIM and the contacts in the phone more firm & tight. I did exactly this with a small piece of scotch tape and haven’t had the problem happen since!

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