Sim read error after factory reset

[AC Question]

Very strange problem here. So I bought an unlocked ZTE Axon 7 in the USA when I was on holiday, put my UK sim card in it and it all worked fine. Got back to UK and it still worked fine. The other day I decided to do a factory reset to refresh the phone and ever since then the phone refuses to recognise my sim card. It'll say Giffgaff (my carrier) for a second then say 'missing or error', then Giffgaff for a second then 'missing or error', you get the picture. When the sim card is in, it won't let me change any settings either, the app keeps crashing.
Lady at phone shop tried to help me and it worked with an EE sim card, but no other, she said that me factory resetting the phone effectively locked it. Is this possible? Also there's nothing telling me to enter an unlock code to be able to use the giffgaff sim. whats going on??

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Can you ask Giffgaff for a replacement SIM?

 

[Alexander Green]

Welcome to Android Central! Can you ask Giffgaff for a replacement SIM?

Hiya, well i tried my wife's giffgaff sim card in the phone, and it did the same thing, and I'm currently using my sim card in another phone. So I'm pretty sure it's not the sim.

 

[B. Diddy]

If you go to Settings>Cellular Networks>Network Operators, can you confirm that Giffgaff is chosen? Also, go to Settings>Cellular Networks>Access Point Names, and make sure the one for Giffgaff is selected.

 

[Alexander Green]

It won't let me do that, it keeps flicking on and off every second between reading it and not reading it, and every time it flicks off, it shuts down the settings. :/

 

[B. Diddy]

Hmm, not sure what to try next. Can you elaborate on why you did the factory reset? What do you mean by wanting to refresh the phone? Was it acting oddly or performing poorly?

 

[Alexander Green]

The only reason i did the factory reset was because it was starting to have trouble downloading apps for some reason, although it was probably just the awful internet. I wanted to refresh it because i had loads of apps on there that i had been using for travelling that i didn't want anymore. Plus i just like the feeling of a new phone haha but it wasn't anything to do with the cellular connection.

thanks for your help btw

 

[Danyal_ahad]

You probably need to buy a new phone. The phone that you currently have won't work anymore. The best thing is to buy a new phone.

 

[Alexander Green]

Do you think there would be any chance of a refund as i haven't done anything to void the warranty? thing is it was a $400 phone and i don't just have that money laying around.

 

[lucianus_luciferus]

is it rooted?

 

[lsmachado]

Do you think there would be any chance of a refund as i haven't done anything to void the warranty? thing is it was a $400 phone and i don't just have that money laying around.

If you do indeed end up having to replace the phone, is it still within the warranty period? If so, you should be able to get a replacement that way. I believe most phones have a 1-year warranty. I'm not too sure about getting a US purchased device replaced from the UK though.

Shouldn't hurt to at least ask. Good luck!

 

[B. Diddy]

I agree with @lsmachado -- contact ZTE and ask about warranty repair or replacement.

 

[Alexander Green]

Thanks for your help everyone, just read their warranty terms and they don't cover problems with cellular reception... great.
Seems like the only thing for me to do is change my carrier to the only one it works on. I've contacted ZTE anyway to see if they've known the problem before but I'm not hopeful.

thank you anyway!

 

[B. Diddy]

But a problem with the SIM reader itself isn't the same as cellular reception. A "Missing or error" message sounds more like a problem with the reader -- emphasize that when you talk to ZTE. Make sure it's clear that you can't assess what the cellular reception is like, since the phone won't even detect the SIM.

 

[Alexander Green]

Yes Ok I'll give that a go