Is your new Vodafone SIM not working? Here’s the most efficient resolution!
Under certain circumstances, your Vodafone SIM card may skip the initial automatic setup by the providers.
If that happens, your SIM card will be left unactivated and you must do it manually by yourself.
In this guide, we’re going to cover everything from top to bottom!
To fix when a new Vodafone SIM card is not working, first, move into an area of coverage and reboot your mobile device. In case that does not help, reinsert the SIM card, turn OFF Airplane mode and perform a factory reset on your device!
To learn more about the issue’s causes and the 24 hours activation period, keep reading!
Vodafone 24 Hours Activation Period – Explained
In some regions of Great Britain, it may take up to 24 hours for your new Vodafone SIM to be activated.
This is a common practice for the providers and this activation period exists from the moment that Vodafone was founded.
Vodafone suggests getting in touch with them if you have no service, even after waiting for the full 24 hours activation period.
The period may even increase at times, due to client traffic in Vodafone and many new SIM cards being on hold, waiting to be activated.
Note: Before troubleshooting, we suggest waiting for 1 full day and then you could attempt different solutions and methods.
Vodafone New SIM No Service? – Causes You Must Know
If you have no service on your brand new Vodafone SIM, even after waiting for the full activation period, then something might have actually gone wrong.
The problem could be both with your SIM or mobile phone, based on the circumstances.
Here’s what could cause the Vodafone no-service problem on a new SIM:
- The SIM card is incorrectly inserted into your phone
- Your in an area that is out of coverage
- There’s a problem with your mobile device
- You haven’t waited the full activation period
Let’s next learn how to solve the problem even after 24 hours have passed:
Vodafone New SIM No Service – Best Solutions
After going through the potential causes for the problem with your new Vodafone SIM, we’re about ready to go for troubleshooting.
To achieve the best results, we strongly recommended to follow the chronological order of our solutions and not skipping any.
Let’s jump right in!
Solution #1 Reboot your Mobile Device
At this point in our guide, it is worth attempting to resolve this problem by restarting your mobile device/smartphone.
There’s a high chance that the device hasn’t identified your new Vodafone SIM card and is failing to connect to the nearest cellular tower.
There are two ways to reboot your mobile phone/device:
- Hold the POWER BUTTON on your device and choose “RESTART”.
- Go to Settings > General > Power > “Restart”.
This will allow the device to re-attempt to recognize the Vodafone SIM card. When your device turns ON you’ll probably be asked to insert your passcode.
Shortly after another prompt should appear, asking you to insert the SIM card PIN.
If you can see the PIN requirement prompt, then your SIM card has been recognized.
Note: Sometimes it takes a minute before the SIM card PIN prompt appears!
Solution #2 Reinsert the SIM Card
It’s possible that your new Vodafone SIM card isn’t making contact with your phone due to its incorrect placement in the SIM Tray.
In such a case, you should reinsert the SIM card and have it placed properly, according to the size of the compartment.
Here’s how to reinsert your Vodafone SIM card in easy steps:
- Grab a SIM ejector tool.
- Locate the tool pinhole on the side of your phone.
- Insert the pointy part of the instrument into the pinhole.
- Give the instrument a little push until the compartment clicks.
- Pull out the SIM card slot.
- Take out your Vodafone SIM card.
- Place the SIM card back into the tray.
- Watch out for the cut corner of the SIM card.
- Insert the SIM card as well as the tray into the device.
Upon inserting the card, the PIN confirmation prompt should appear. The default PIN should be 0000, but also can be managed or changed.
You can check the PIN code and its value in the Settings > Apps > Vodafone > Login > PIN Management.
Note: Make sure that your Vodafone card matches the device SIM tray!
Solution #3 Move into an Area of Coverage!
Chances are that your mobile device is not located in an area that has coverage.
Certain areas, such as tunnels, underground compartments and deep forests, may be unable to reach a cellular tower and get your new Vodafone SIM card connected.
Areas that are out of outage and you should avoid are the following:
- Highway Tunnels
- Deep forests or large fields
- Underground Compartments
- Basements and Bunkers
In general, as soon as you move into coverage, your SIM card will get connected and display the “Activity” status. If that doesn’t fix the issue, proceed with the next solution!
Note: For the entire setup of your Vodafone SIM card, make sure that you’re in coverage!
Solution #4 Manually Connect to Mobile Network
If the activation of your SIM card doesn’t happen automatically after waiting for the full 24 hours activation period, then you should do it manually.
On most mobile phones, you will be able to choose a network line to connect to within your phone settings.
Follow these instructions to manually connect your SIM to the network:
- Ensure that the SIM is currently inserted in your phone.
- Go to Settings on your phone.
- Scroll down and press “Network & Internet”.
- Head to “Cellular networks”.
- Press the Vodafone network by searching for it.
- Hit “Connect”.
- Wait for the manual activation to undergo.
Alert: Do not turn off or restart your phone while the SIM card activation is still going.
Solution #5 Turn OFF AirPlane Mode/DND
As you probably know, both the AirPlane and DND mode on some phones will disable your SIM’s ability to connect with a network.
If either of those modes is enabled on your mobile device, the Vodafone SIM chip will be unable to acquire service regardless.
Here’s how to navigate and disable the AirPlane and the DND modes!
How to Disable AirPlane Mode?
- On your phone, swipe with two or one finger from the top.
- Press the AirPlane icon.
- Once in the settings, press the activation slider to turn off AirPlane mode.
How to Disable DND (Do Not Disturb) Mode?
- On your phone/mobile device, go to Settings.
- Head to “General” and scroll down.
- Enter the “DND” tab.
- Press the activation button at the top to turn off the feature.
Be aware that you could accidentally turn on the modes. Only press the activation slider of either of the modes if they are in green, thus, the mode is enabled at the moment.
Note: Ensure that the DND modes stay suppressed for the entire guide.
Solution #6 Adjust the APN Settings
Sometimes all you need is to adjust the APN settings of your mobile device to be able to connect with the Vodafone services.
To discover the APN settings, you need to go to Settings > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names > Menu > New APN.
From there configure the APN settings in the following way:
- Name – Vodafone
- APN – portalnmms
- Port – 9401
- Proxy – 10.10.1.100
You can leave everything else blank. Once you’re ready, reboot your device and test.
Solution #7 Factory Reset your Phone
If nothing worked so far, then perhaps you should perform a Factory Reset on your phone.
If the Vodafone SIM card’s functionality is disrupted by a problem in your device’s software, you should erase all of the information and revert all the settings to factory default.
To perform a factory reset on your phone, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings of your phone.
- Scroll down to “General”.
- Press the “Reset” function.
- Proceed by choosing “Factory Reset Everything”.
- Confirm that you want to perform a reset on your device.
- Finalize the reset.
In case you don’t want to factory reset your device, and you’re confident that the problem is coming from something else, test with another device!
Simply take the Vodafone SIM card out and insert the card into a device that supports the same tray holder.
In case the card activates smoothly on the new device, then we’ve identified the issue!
Note: In case the issue continues contact Vodafone customer service for more help!
Quick Recap:
Hence, to fix when a new Vodafone SIM is not working, you must wait for the 24 hours activation period. If that didn’t work, then reboot your phone and reinsert the SIM card into the device. It’s also necessary to disable the Airplane and DND modes!
Read Next: Guide on – Vodafone Keep My Number
Wrapping Up:
Today we have learned how to fix when a new Vodafone SIM not working and what circumstances may prevent the chip from activating.
Keep in mind that Vodafone will always assist new customers with SIM card activation so you know what’s the next step!
Good Luck!
Kevin has over five years of experience working in various Tech startups and providing Technical solutions. He has contributed to many Tech publications and websites. Check out more about him here.