Can you use an iPhone without a SIM card? Yes, you can. But the tricky part is activating and setting up the phone in the first target.

If you'd like your child to be able to purpose a spare phone without a SIM posting - just accessing data via Wi-Fi, turning it in effect into an iPod touch - or you plainly harbour't got a spare card available, you'll be glad to know thither are various ways to trigger and use an iPhone without a SIM. Therein article we walk you through the best approaches.

Along a correlative note, you may as wel be looking for a path to activate the iPhone without needing to be joined to a Wi-Fi net. We have a method that will allow you to do this too.

Expect this process to be more challenging if your iPhone is locked to a certain carrier. For the purposes of this tutorial we leave assume you've got an unlocked iPhone or sustain access to a carrier-unique SIM that you can use temporarily. If not, determine how to unlock an iPhone so you can use any SIM and How to deposit the 'Could non activate iPhone' error.

This guide covers complete iPhone generations from the 3GS through to the iPhone XR, XS and XS Grievous bodily harm.

How to activate an iPhone without a SIM or Wi-Fi connection: iPhone unlock

Activate your iPhone victimization someone other's SIM

We'll start with the easiest workaround. This is aimed at those who don't have a SIM of their own merely are able-bodied to borrow a SIM from someone else, fitting for the length of the activation work on. (That might sound care a cop-retired, but most masses should be able to find someone willing to impart a SIM card - and don't worry, our next method doesn't require a SIM at all.)

What you'll need:

  • A SIM removal tool
  • A gracious friend who's oven-ready to rent you borrow a SIM
  • If your iPhone is latched to a particular carrier you may take to make sure the SIM you borrow is from the same network
  • Access to a Wi-Fi network

Here's how to trigger off your iPhone:

  1. Murder the SIM from the loaner's iPhone.
  2. Frame the SIM in your iPhone.
  3. Go through the wonted setup options, including logging on to your Badger State-Fi network.
  4. Hold off spell the iPhone activates.
  5. Remove the SIM and hand out it back to your ally.
  6. You lavatory now use your iPhone; you just South Korean won't be able to make phone calls (unless you do and then using Skype, FaceBook Courier, WhatsApp or FaceTime).
  7. When you payof the SIM to your friend they will be competent to put it binding in their earphone and continue to use it as natural.

Activate your iPhone using iTunes

This method's effectiveness appears to ride whether the headphone is locked to a particular web. If your phone is locked and you take a SIM from that mesh handy you are best off activating the phone exploitation the method acting described higher up.

The precept understanding to use the iTunes method is if you have no more Wi-Fi access.

What you'll want:

  • An unfastened iPhone
  • A computer continual iTunes

And here's how to aerate your iPhone using this method:

  1. Check iTunes is adequate date, surgery if you haven't already got iTunes, download it for spare through Apple's site.
  2. Once you've installed iTunes, connect your iPhone to your computer.
  3. You may see an onscreen prompt saying "In that respect is no SIM card installed in the iPhone you are attempting to set off", which indicates that the phone is fastened to a exceptional flattop. In which case, you need to find a suitable SIM to borrow so you can trip the iPhone. You will only need to use the SIM during activation. (And if you're victimisation a SIM you North Korean won't need to activate via iTunes.) See the above method to activate your iPhone.
  4. Assuming the speech sound isn't locked to a carrier you wish visualise an onscreen prompt in iTunes explaining what you need to do and the details you need to fill in to activate your iPhone.
  5. Erstwhile treated, you'll be able to use your iPhone on a Wi-Fi network, even as if it was an iPad operating room an iPod touch.

Activate your iPhone using the emergency call feature

You may have seen reports suggesting that you can actuate an iPhone without a SIM card by calling the emergency services.

Not only perform we want to dissuade you from calling the emergency services unnecessarily, we would also warn you that when we tried and true this method out it didn't work at all. We believe that the software fault this method exploited has been patched.

Gaolbreak your iPhone

If all else fails you posterior always attempt to jailbreak your iPhone. This does void your warranty, simply if you've got an yellowed iPhone that's carrier-bolted, information technology might be the best agency to tumble working again.

We've got a complete guide how to jailbreak an iPhone, which goes done the uncomparable methods (and warns some the risks). This will hopefully allow you to activate and unlock your handset.