Reply
Thread Tools
Posts: 263 | Thanked: 301 times | Joined on Oct 2021 @ Poland
#1
Hello
I have a very strange problem, namely I have a Nokia n9 as my main phone and a Tab S5e LTE tablet. I have a SIM card (MicroSIM) in Nokia N9. And this morning I needed LTE internet in the tablet so I decided to put the SIM into the tablet. I took it out of the N9 and pulled out the NanoSIM. I put it in the NanoSIM tablet, and put the adapter on the SIM tray - and put the tray in (then I wanted to insert the Nano into the Micro adapter later). And that was my mistake because I couldn't get the tray out afterwards! It jammed and stretched out ~half a centimeter. I finally pulled it out, but the MicroSIM adapter was left inside - and now the question is how do I remove it? Can it be done without disassembly Nokia N9?
__________________
My Telegram group (Maemo / MeeGo / Sailfish):
https://t.me/linuxmobile_world
Channel for Maemo/MeeGo:
https://t.me/maemomeegoapps
 

The Following User Says Thank You to dredlok706 For This Useful Post:
Posts: 807 | Thanked: 1,589 times | Joined on Aug 2014
#2
Originally Posted by dredlok706 View Post
now the question is how do I remove it? Can it be done without disassembly Nokia N9?
Depends upon your manual dexterity, but I would have tried using an "automotive feeler gauge" to fully depress SIM spring contacts and a very fine "crochet hook" to catch edge of SIM adapter.
 

The Following User Says Thank You to aspergerguy For This Useful Post:
Posts: 258 | Thanked: 1,012 times | Joined on May 2010 @ Near Munich
#3
Lucky you, I did the same dumb thing a few weeks ago.

I hope you haven't done any unreversable damage.

You have to disassemble the N9, but not far.
Look for the nokia_n9_rm-696_service_manual_12_v8.0.pdf
it tells you the steps in detail.

Follow the document to step 15, removing the display.
(For readers which haven't forcefully removed the tray, you can access the screw below it by bending the plastic carefully. This will damage nothing and its better to leave it in)
Afterwards you can access the sim adapter.

Now the problem. The sim reader has springs inside. (Shown on the left in attached image)

A normal sim pushes them down and releases them when pulled out. (shown from the side in blue in the image, left is up, the spring is shown as black), your adapter has a hole. The spring jumps into the hole when pushing the adaper in. (shown in orange in image) When you pull it out the bottom border collides with the spring and prevents pulling it out.

Luckily Nokia has included a tiny hole above each spring.

So now you have to push each pin in a row down and carefully push the adapter up meanwhile. So that the spring can slide under the bottom of the adapter. It takes a bit of dexterity and endurance to get everything to align, but you will get the adapter out.

Don't apply to much force on pulling the adapter out, if you bend the pins with excessive force, you have bigger problem!


Edit: A simpler way for you may be to cut out a thin strip of sturdy plastic and slide it along the adapter so it slides over the hole and releases the springs. With the tray still in there too, I haven't found a plastic sheet slim and sturdy enough to push it in.
Attached Images
 
 

The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Macros For This Useful Post:
Posts: 1,038 | Thanked: 3,980 times | Joined on Nov 2010 @ USA
#4
This video has a step-by-step disassembly and reassembly tutorial for the N9. Don't think you'll need all the steps.

re: macros comment about plastic strip . . . would photographic film work, maybe? An old slide pulled out of its frame of a negative? It works on old handcuffs . . .

Ed. forgot link!

Last edited by robthebold; 2021-10-21 at 16:37.
 

The Following User Says Thank You to robthebold For This Useful Post:
Posts: 263 | Thanked: 301 times | Joined on Oct 2021 @ Poland
#5
welcome back
In general, my attempts to remove the SIM adapter were unsuccessful, besides, the reader is probably already damaged, so I decided to replace the sim reader. Fortunately, I have one damaged Nokia N9 (it does not turn on), but most likely it is technically 100% functional. And I want to disassemble both nokia, and remove the reader from the damaged one (but with a working SIM reader) and insert it into the working one (but with a jammed SIM adapter). Would such an operation be difficult? I mean taking the phone apart and replacing the SIM reader (all that stuff with springs, etc.)
__________________
My Telegram group (Maemo / MeeGo / Sailfish):
https://t.me/linuxmobile_world
Channel for Maemo/MeeGo:
https://t.me/maemomeegoapps
 

The Following User Says Thank You to dredlok706 For This Useful Post:
Maemish's Avatar
Posts: 1,718 | Thanked: 4,764 times | Joined on Apr 2018 @ Helsinki, Finland.
#6
Always difficult, never impossible.
__________________
"I don't know how but I can try!" (active)

Master of not knowing (active)

For me it is possible to get lost in any case (active)

Learning to fall from high (DONE)

Learning to code with BASIC (WIP)
 
Posts: 263 | Thanked: 301 times | Joined on Oct 2021 @ Poland
#7
But very, very hard to replace only SIM reader?
I also think about replacing the motherboard. There are many on AliExpress
__________________
My Telegram group (Maemo / MeeGo / Sailfish):
https://t.me/linuxmobile_world
Channel for Maemo/MeeGo:
https://t.me/maemomeegoapps
 
Posts: 263 | Thanked: 301 times | Joined on Oct 2021 @ Poland
#8
No I see that this is impossible to replace ONLY SIM adapter
__________________
My Telegram group (Maemo / MeeGo / Sailfish):
https://t.me/linuxmobile_world
Channel for Maemo/MeeGo:
https://t.me/maemomeegoapps
 
nowave7's Avatar
Posts: 245 | Thanked: 62 times | Joined on Jan 2009 @ Bad Homburg, Deutschland
#9
Unbelievably, but I also did the same stupid thing with the micro SIM card adapter and the nano card just a month or so ago. What's even worse, I tried to pry the adapter out of the SIM try, and of course, ended bending one of the pins. Now, the whole SIM assembly is hidden behind a metal plate, which in turn is soldered to the main board. I guess I'm gonna have to desolder the plate and then, hopefully will be able to put the pin back into place....
__________________
Save the whales, feed the hungry, free the mallocs!

Last edited by nowave7; 2021-12-17 at 11:30.
 
Posts: 26 | Thanked: 41 times | Joined on Oct 2013 @ USA
#10
I am sorry for people experiencing this, because it happened to me, too, a while back and I was very sad. I recall another thread with the same problem (and no solution). It is because most phones in use nowadays have nano size SIM and most of us don't use the N9 100% of the time, and we do SIM swaps and use the dangerous adapter.

When I pulled out the nano SIM adapter, it bent the pin or pins (very hard to see). But then I did not use the phone for a while, and apparently the pins slowly moved back, because after a year or two I tried it again, and it worked again. I lucked out. I had even searched on eBay and found a replacement part and was going to figure out how to do the soldering, and I am really glad I did not have to do that.

Maybe try to move the pins back in place with a needle or something? I probably tried that, but it was a long time ago now so I'm not sure.

June is the final month of 3G network in the U.S.A. (through T-Mobile) and I am using my N9 as my main device 'til the very end. (In fact I have not swapped out my SIM into another phone for many months.) So maybe that is a bit of consolation, that you will probably have to settle for non-phone uses of the N9 soon anyway, because 3G is being swapped for expanding 4G and 5G networks.

I will keep using the N9 after its telephone days are over. I have a super cool FM Radio tuner app on it (many phones do not have FM radio) plus other very cool things, so I won't totally stop using it. I even have a spare battery. And spare screws, and the proper screwdriver (very important, which I also learned the hard way). So much pain and struggle (but also some fun) to keep this lovely phone going over the years.
 

The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to dini For This Useful Post:
Reply

Thread Tools

 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 12:44.