Should you turn your phone off before removing sim card

Last Updated on December 13, 2021 by

Many phone users usually get it all wrong when it comes to inserting sim card into the phone, some usually think inserting the sim card into the phone while it is one might cause a huge damage to the phone.

So this brings us to this very topic, insert sim card while phone is on, will it damage the phone.

I will also explain this query on can you take out sim card while phone is on cause many users do get it all wrong when it comes to removing or changing a sim card in a mobile phone.

Now let’s proceed.

Inserting a sim card while the phone is on will never damage the phone or cause any harm to both the phone and the sim card.

Even if you’re using an android phone or probably an iPhone you can insert a sim card into your phone while it is on, and I’m telling you that it won’t damage or cause any harm to your mobile phone.

Previously I do think or believe that to insert sim card while phone is on will probably damage the phone, but that is not case and not possible at all cause nothing will be damaged.

Everything will still be in good condition and in some cases you may be asked to reboot your phone in order to see network coverage on your mobile phone.

Gone are the days when you must power off your phone before you can remove or insert your sim card into your phone because the sim card is located beneath the battery.

Noe we have non removable batteries, and sim card are no longer located beneath the battery, there’s no harm to insert sim card while phone is on.

I will further answer this question of insert sim card while phone is on based on android phone, iPhone, and the feature or classic phone.

1. On android phone

Before writing this post, I first had to make my research and test to see what happens if i insert sim card while phone is on.

I tried this on my two android phones  (samsung phone) just to be very sure of what I’m saying.

On my older samsung phone probably the Samsung Galaxy s9 plus, I had to reboot the phone in order to get network coverage on my phone. When I rebooted the phone, everything started working perfectly fine and I there was no issues whatsoever.

On my new samsung phone and which is the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, as I insert the sim card into the phone while it is on, it started searching for network and within a split of five seconds it displayed network on my phone.

So in this type of scenario, I can easily insert a sim card into my samsung galaxy s21 ultra without first turning off the phone or even rebooting the phone afterwards.

For my older phone I had to reboot the phone in order to get a network connection but still I can insert sim card while phone is on on both devices.

This was my experience on my samsung phone and I can’t say for sure on other android phones, but I do believe it will still be the same thing.

2. Can you remove sim card while iphone is on?

The answer is yes. You can remove a sim card while an iphone is on, and can also insert a sim card while the phone is on as well.

Unlike on android phone, you don’t need to reboot your phone in order to receive or get a network coverage on your phone. Within a split of few seconds it will search for network service and will load the network service swiftly.

You don’t need to bother yourself asking insert sim card while phone is on will it damage or cause network problems on an iphone cause you can easily remove or insert a sim card into an iphone while it is on.

I’m saying this because I’m fond of switching sim cards in my iphone and nothing happens. No problem of network reception or the sim card being damaged or gets corrupted.

3. The feature or classic phone

This is where the problem lies, removing or to insert sim card while phone is on.

In some of the new feature phones, yo will definitely have to reboot the phone in order to receive network reception on your mobile phone.

However, still it won’t damage the phone or destroy the sim card. On feature phone you can change the sim card while the phone is on but you must reboot the phone afterwards in order to get or receive network coverage on your mobile phone.

You can read more:

•  Can i put old sim card in new phone (Detailed explanation)
• If I buy a new phone can I just switch SIM card
• Do i need to swap my sim when i upgrade (Explained)

Can you take out sim card while phone is on?

You can take out sim card while the phone is on and nothing will happen, the phone and the sim card won’t get damaged or gets corrupt.

This used to be a big myth, removing a sim card while it is on will damage the phone or the sim card. This is a big fallacy cause I have been doing this especially on my iPhone, and nothing happens.

It’s even lot easier and better to insert sim card while phone is on for iPhone than on android phone or the feature phone.

Iphone will load network service within split of seconds, and same goes with new android phones. For feature phone, you must reboot the phone in order to receive or get network service.

Should i turn off phone before removing sim card?

You don’t necessarily need to turn off your phone before removing sim card unless you are using a feature or classic phone.

In general, it is recommended to power off the phone before removing sim card or inserting sim card into the phone. 

If you’re not so comfortable removing your sim card while your phone is on, please power off your phone before removing sim card from your mobile phone.

You can also ignore to insert sim card while phone is on though it won’t cause any harm or damages to both the phone and the sim card.

You can read more:

•  Do SIM cards expire if not used (All you need to know)
• Should i get a new sim card when i upgrade my phone
• The sim card has locked iphone (Check out the fix)

Having explained all yo need to know on the query can you change SIM card while phone is on, this I where I wrap things up on this topic.

Once again there’s no harm to insert sim card while phone is on or even removing the sim card while the phone on.

If you’re not comfortable doing such, I recommend you to kindly turn off your phone while switching sim cards in your android phone, the iPhone or in a feature or classic phone.

If you have more to add to this topic of insert sim card while phone is on, I will appreciate it a lot more.