Even if you set a Lock Screen password and data encryption to protect your phone, it has still corrupted if someone wants your SIM card. Fortunately, you can use your phone to set up SIM Card Lock and prevent your SIM Card data from being exploit.
Let’s start with what SIM Lock isn’t before we get into how to enable it. It’s easy to presume that this is a setting that will sound an alarm if the installed SIM is removed based on the name. But that isn’t the case here. SIM lock necessitates the presence of your lock screen PIN, pattern, password, or fingerprint, as well as your SIM card, before the phone may unlocked.
It’s similar to physical two-factor authentication in that it prevents thieves from removing the SIM card to avoid being tracked.
SIM Card Lock On Android Phone
SIM Card Lock is a feature that practically all smartphones support and has been around for quite some time. However, few Android users take advantage of this capability to provide an extra degree of security to their devices.
While a SIM Card lock on an Android phone won’t stop a criminal from replacing your SIM Card with a new one, it will safeguard your SIM Card data, prohibit illegal usage of your phone plan and protect you from Sim swap attacks, Sim hijacking, and Sim swapping.
Your SIM Card contains information such as your phone number, billing information, contacts, and other data that can be misused if someone removes your SIM Card and inserts it into another device, or if someone devises other harmful ways like Sim hijacking or Sim swapping to utilize your SIM Card so Sim Card Lock is necessary.
Configure SIM Card Lock on Android Phone
Make sure you have the current PIN for your SIM card before going through the steps to Set Up SIM Card Lock on your Android Phone. This information should be available on the carrier’s website or by calling your carrier.
In any event, don’t try to guess the SIM PIN; if you input the wrong PIN three times, your SIM card will be disabled.
After you’ve figured out what your SIM card’s default PIN is, follow the steps below to put up SIM Card Lock on your Android phone.
- From your Android phone’s home screen, go to Settings.
- Scroll down to the Settings Screen and hit the Lock Screen and Security option under the “Personal” section.
- Scroll down to the Other Security Settings option on the following screen.
- Select Set up SIM Card Lock from the “Other Security Settings” menu.
- Toggle on the Lock SIM Card option on the following screen by sliding the slider to the ON position.
- A popup screen will appear; enter your current SIM PIN and then touch OK to configure SIM Card Lock on your Android phone.
Change Default SIM PIN
You must change the default SIM PIN to a new 4-digit SIM PIN after enabling SIM Card Lock on your Android Phone; otherwise, anyone can use the default SIM PIN to gain access to your Android Phone or can be the cause of lock sim card or sim swap attack
- Go to Settings > Lock Screen & Security > Other Security Settings > Other Security Settings >SIM Card Lock should be enabled.
- Select Change SIM Card PIN from the drop-down menu.
- A popup screen will appear; enter the current or default SIM PIN and then touch OK.
- A new popup will appear, prompting you to enter your new PIN. Tap OK after entering a new four-digit PIN.
- A Pop-up will appear once more, requesting you to confirm your new PIN. Tap OK after entering the New PIN.
- To turn off your Android phone, press and hold the power button until the ‘Power OFF’ option appears on the screen. To turn off your gadget, tap Power OFF.
You will now be prompted to enter your SIM PIN every time you restart your Android phone. Without the four-digit SIM PIN, you won’t be able to access your phone Thus you are safe from lock sim card and all your mobility services are protected.
Unblocking a SIM Card
If you input an erroneous SIM PIN three times, your SIM card will be locked, as previously stated. If this occurs, you must be able to Unlock your SIM Card by entering it into your Carrier’s account.
The procedure for unlocking a SIM card varies by carrier. The fundamental idea is to log into your account and look for the PIN Unlock Key (PUK) for your SIM Card. You will be able to open the SIM card by putting the PUK Code after you have received it.
- Log in to your carrier’s account.
- Locate and select the Unblock SIM Card option. This will display the PUK Code associated with your SIM Card in a new window or pop-up.
- Unblock the SIM and set a new PIN by entering the PUK code on your phone’s screen.
Important Information: If you enter the wrong PUK code too many times, your SIM will be disabled or permanently locked. If this happens, you’ll need to get a replacement SIM card from your carrier.
On an iPhone, How Do You Enable or Set Up SIM Card Lock?
You can set up SIM Card Lock on iPhone in addition to Lock Screen Password to prevent someone from using your SIM Card on another device. You can protect your mobility managed services from dark web scanners with this method
On the iPhone, Enable SIM Card Lock
Your iPhone SIM Card stores your phone number, billing information, and the phone numbers and names of all your contacts.
While the iPhone’s Lock Screen Password helps protect your photos and data, a SIM Card Lock is the only option to protect the SIM Card loaded on your device from dark web scanners and sim swapping.
If anyone tries to unplug the SIM Card from your iPhone after you’ve set up SIM Card Lock, the SIM Card will be automatically locked.
How to Put a SIM Card Lock on an iPhone
You’ll need to know your current SIM PIN to set up a SIM card lock on your iPhone. This information is normally found in the handbook that comes with your SIM card, as well as on the carrier’s website.
The default SIM PIN for most carriers is 2233, 1234, or 5555. Before attempting to set up SIM Card Lock on your iPhone, it is essential that you find the exact PIN for your SIM Card.
Important Information: If you input a SIM PIN incorrectly three times, your SIM card will be disabled.
- Navigate to Settings > Phone > Scroll down to SIM PIN and tap it.
- On the following screen, toggle the ON position next to SIM PIN (Green).
- After you enable the SIM PIN option, a pop-up will appear, prompting you to enter your current or default SIM PIN. Tap Done after entering your default SIM PIN.
- When you restart your iPhone, you’ll notice a “SIM Locked” pop-up with Unlock and OK options.
If you select OK, the SIM Card will be momentarily inaccessible until you make a call or send a text message. You will require to enter the proper PIN if you select the Unlock option.
How to Change iPhone SIM PIN
Because the default SIM PIN information is available on the vendor’s website, changing the default SIM PIN to a new 4-digit SIM PIN is a recommended security practice.
- Go to Settings > Phone > SIM PIN and select Change PIN from the drop-down menu.
- Tap Done after entering the Current PIN (Default PIN) on the pop-up.
- Enter a new PIN and tap Done, then re-enter a new SIM PIN and tap Done.
The SIM card will now be automatically locked if you restart your iPhone or remove the SIM card, and you will notice the “Locked SIM” signal in the taskbar.
While the SIM Card Lock won’t stop someone from using your device by switching to a new SIM card, it will protect the data on your SIM Card from being misused.
Why is SIM Card Lock Important?
Unauthorized usage of the SIM card has not prevented by locking your smartphone. The SIM card can remove and used on another phone by anyone. It is for this reason that SIM card locking is necessary.
The situation is deteriorating. The FBI received 1,611 SIM-swapping accusations in 2021 alone, with total losses of more than $68 million.
Because it’s now increasingly usual to utilize a mobile number with two factor authentication, account verification, and password recovery, using SIM card lock has become much more significant than it was 10–15 years ago..
How hackers use your SIM card to cause damage to you?
When scammers call your phone’s carrier, they mislead them into activating a SIM card that belongs to the criminals. The scammers will then get control of your phone number.
These thieves then obtain and control your cellphone number, which they can use to gain access to your phone conversations with banks and other institutions, particularly your text messages. They can then get any codes or password resets for any of your accounts issued to that phone through call or text. That’s all there is to it: they’re in.
You can, however, prevent yourself from SIM swapping by activating the SIM card lock that is why it is extremely essential to activate a SIM card lock.
