How to See All SIM Contacts on an iPhone

By Lara Webster

A SIM card from another AT&T phone will work in an iPhone.
i Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Subscriber Identity Module or SIM cards are microchips inserted into cell phones on some networks, including AT&T. A SIM card not only identifies your phone to the mobile network, but sometimes saves information, such as contact phone numbers. While the iPhone does not save its contact information to a SIM, it is able to import and then display the information previously saved to a SIM from another phone. Importing SIM contacts from your last phone to the iPhone means that you won't have to manually enter each contact.

Step 1

Unwind part of a paper clip and insert the end into the hole on the iPhone's SIM card tray. The tray is on the side of iPhone 4 devices and the top of iPhone 3G and 3GS models. Apply pressure until the tray pops open and lay the SIM card from your old phone into the tray. Replace the tray in the phone.

Step 2

Open the "Settings" application on your iPhone's homepage. Tap "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" from the "Settings" menu.

Step 3

Scroll down the page to the "Contacts" section. Tap "Import SIM Contacts." If your iPhone has MobileMe, CardDAV or Microsoft Exchange enabled, select where you would like to contacts to be saved. If you don't have any of these programs, iPhone will save the contacts in your address book.

Step 4

Open the program where you directed the contacts, or the address book, to view the SIM contacts.

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