Zoom, has network bars but states no sim

[cfcboy79]

Hi All

Ok so i have a s4 zoom thats locked to Virgin. At the moment it just says "no sim" but it has network bars. Ive tried various different sims but still says no sim.
Any ideas? I would say the sim reader maybe faulty but it looks like its picking up the signal bars so im kind of losing ideas here

Thanks in advance

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! If it's a Virgin phone, then it's CDMA. The network bars you're seeing are presumably from the CDMA signal (which is used for voice). The SIM is needed for the GSM radio (for LTE). So you can probably make phone calls, but can't access mobile data (although I suppose you could access 1X mobile data, which is about as fast as an elderly snail).

What other SIMs were you trying? If you're using SIMs from a carrier other than Virgin, the phone might have to be unlocked first: https://community.virginmobile.com....ase/How-to-unlock-your-phone-or-modem/ta-p/82. Then you have to make sure the phone is compatible with the network bands that the new carrier uses.