How to Configure a SIM Card (5 Steps)

By Sara Davis

Configuring your SIM card to a new cell phone is a simple matter of saving your information and transferring the card itself.
i Cell phone image by Elzbieta Sekowska from Fotolia.com

Your SIM card is the electronic chip that carries the information that is necessary for your cell phone to connect to and work with your cell phone service provider. If you have subscribed to T-Mobile, for instance, your SIM card will be specially designed to work for all T-Mobile phones. It will retain all the information that you put into it, provided you save this information to both the SIM card and the phone, not just the phone itself.

Step 1

Confirm that all your information is saved to your SIM card. One way of knowing this is to look at your list of contacts. If they are saved to your SIM card, they will have a small icon of your SIM card next to them. If they are saved only to your phone, they will not.

Step 2

Open the back of your cell phone and remove the small chip. This will be the only piece of removable hardware from your computer aside from the significantly larger phone battery.

Step 3

Open the back of your new cell phone and insert the SIM card into the appropriate slot. Your SIM card should be slanted on one end. Align this end with the slant in the slot.

Step 4

Slide the back piece of your phone back into place.

Step 5

Turn on your phone. It will take only a few seconds for your phone to recognize the new SIM card and import all numbers and settings.

×