What can an iPhone do without a SIM card?

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mentok1982

Supreme [H]ardness
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Sep 17, 2004
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Let me be clear. I have never owned or operated a "smart phone".

That being said, I am the proud owner of a smashed up but yet fully functional 8GB iPhone.
I found it in the parking lot of my local Best Buy today and I am wondering what I can do with
an iPhone that does not have a SIM card.

At this time, here are some things that I know still work:

1. Battery
2. Camera
3. Touch screen
4. Speaker
5. The hard drive

So I know that I could use it as a portable camera and music player, but I would like to know
if the WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity will function without a SIM card.

PS
The phone still has phone numbers and pictures on it, but I probably won't mess with that shit
since the owner looks pretty intimidating.
 
Take it to an Apple store and have them look up the original owner.

That's the moral and ethical thing to do.
 
Well, it sorta comes down to a moral decision. If you don't feel the least bit unkind by taking possesion of someones iPhone, by all means keep it.

Make sure you remove the SIM and whatnot, so that they cannot track you down or whatever. (Lucky you, it's not the new one that has "Find Me" functionality, lol).

In regards to the features, everything should work fine if you jailbreak it and whatnot, theoretically it should behave akin an iTouch.

Enjoy your find.

PS: Make sure you post that you returned it to the owner later so that you aren't flamed by people possessing strong conscience's (they're over-rated anyway) but they may flame you for being a dick, just keep that in mind.

PPS: Maybe mail the original owner the photo's and numbers in case they may be important, be sure to say thank you. Use an anonymous/temporary e-mail of course.
 
Last edited:
Seems like it was abandoned to me. It was outside a Best Buy where he could have purchased a newer iPhone.

Unless people routinely steal phones then destroy them to remove the SIM card.

I told the store about it by the way. They said I could keep it.

Rurik said:
Take it to an Apple store and have them look up the original owner.

That's the moral and ethical thing to do.
Click to expand...

That sounds good. I'll do that.

The phone does have baby pictures on it still.
 
Will it blend?


I was under the impression iPhones are rendered useless without a sim..
 
f1y said:
Will it blend?


I was under the impression iPhones are rendered useless without a sim..
Click to expand...

Naw, there was an article a while back when the 3G came out about what to do with your old iPhone and one of them was to use it like a iPod Touch, which it basically is without a sim chip.

Personally speaking, if you go through all the steps and the owner doesn't want it back, anything that is smashed on the phone can be replaced. Check out ebay for replacement parts, you can just about make an iPhone (I kid, I kid), but alot of the exterior and important parts you can get replacements for there, even alternative colored rear plates, touch screen, touch sensor and dock parts. I'd refurbish that sucker, jailbreak it and unlock it and use it as my phone.
 
If you do keep it. You could just go to iResQ. They will repair for a fee. I did it when I smashed my 3G. Cost like $90.
 
Keep it.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality have nothing to do with the phone aspects; without the SIM the device won't function for the most part. If it's already been activated with a cellular provider, it'll work fine. But if it gets restored to factory condition without a SIM in it to activate it, it'll be dead as a doornail unless you Jailbreak/Pwn it with QuickPwn. The only phone task you can do is dial 911 at this point, or perhaps if you stick in some SIM from some provider it'll let you dial into their support numbers like #66 or whatever (I have no idea, never used those types of provider services). The Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will work fine if you need them (assuming those circuits are functional).

The original owner probably already replaced it, would say "Thanks" then toss it in the garbage instead of outlaying more money to fix it, just a guess. If you decide to reset it to factory condition (to rid yourself and the device of the personal data/files on it currently), you'll end up with a "stuck" device that won't do anything till it's activated through iTunes with a working SIM card and cellular provider - or QuickPwn it in 5 minutes and bypass all that bullshit.

If it works, bonus, there you go.
 
Sell it and get a new phone with Android on it. Android phones will eat this iphone craze away!

On a serious side, I'd keep it. Fix it up if you can-> get some spare parts from ebay.
 
mentok1982 said:
Seems like it was abandoned to me. It was outside a Best Buy where he could have purchased a newer iPhone.

Unless people routinely steal phones then destroy them to remove the SIM card.

I told the store about it by the way. They said I could keep it.
Click to expand...


Just to clarify... Best Buy has no authority in saying you can keep it. They're barely capable of coherent thought let alone speaking for the police. And, like everyone is saying there's always a market for these... no one is going to leave an iphone on the ground. Generally asphalt and the weight of cars can give the impression that ran-over phones look beat up.


Common sense aside, you can probably do a lot with its screen and touch capabilities if you know your way around electronics. A music controller for a PC, stock ticker via WiFi, external address book for your car if it can pull from the bluetooth... or, simply use it as an iTouch.

Electronics project: http://tonepad.com/project.asp?id=55
 
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