Several situations require you to change your SIM card, particularly when it is defective or not in the right format for your mobile phone. It is also necessary to change SIM card when changing operator. So how do you not lose anything when you need a new SIM card? In this article, GoNaddra explains to you that it is possible to change your SIM without losing the personal data it contains.
How not to lose your contacts by changing your SIM card?
Wondering how to change your SIM card without losing your phone numbers? Rest assured, there are several solutions to facilitate the recovery of your directory if it is saved on your SIM card. Here's how to back up contacts stored on your SIM card.
TRANSFER YOUR NUMBERS TO THE PHONE
The first solution to change your SIM card without losing your contacts is to transfer them from your SIM card directory to the phone and then move them again to your new SIM card.
– With an Android smartphone:
If you have an Android mobile, to move your contacts to your phone, go to the “Contacts” application, click on “Contacts management”, “Import/Export contacts” then on “Import”.
After this step, select the location where you want to save your numbers. In your case, choose internal storage i.e. phone memory. The contacts from the SIM card will then be copied to your mobile.
Once you have your new SIM card, simply insert it into your phone and transfer your numbers from the phone's memory to the new SIM via the same path (“Contacts” > “Contacts management” > “Import /Export Contacts” > “Import”). Your phone book will then be moved to your new SIM card.
Read also: 5 Android tips to save data on your mobile plan
– With an iPhone (iOS):
If you have an iPhone, you should know that your contacts cannot be saved on your SIM card. Your phone numbers are saved, by default, on the internal storage of your Apple phone.
However, to avoid losing data that may be stored on the SIM card (such as contacts saved on it when you had another phone), it is possible to transfer them to your iPhone.
Go to the Settings of your device, then in the “Contacts” section, and select “Import SIM contacts”. Thanks to this manipulation, you can change SIM card without fear of losing your contacts since they will all be stored on your iPhone.
BACKUP YOUR CONTACTS USING A CLOUD SERVICE
To change your SIM card without losing your contacts , it is also possible to use a cloud service which will allow you to make a backup of your contacts online. In addition to securing your numbers in the event of a SIM card change, this solution allows you to access your directory on all your devices connected to the cloud.
– With an Android phone:
If you have an Android phone, you can use your Google account to sync the contents of your SIM card. To do this, go to your mobile Settings, choose “Accounts and synchronization”, then “Google” and “Sync now”.
The menus may change depending on the phone model used. So, on a Samsung smartphone, it will be in “Settings” > “Accounts and backup” > “Account management”. Select your Google account then “Account synchronization” to activate the synchronization of your contacts.
Once your phonebook is synchronized with your Google account, you can change your phone's SIM card with peace of mind and find all your contacts using your online backup service.
– With an iPhone:
If you have an iPhone, to avoid losing the content stored on your device and in particular your contacts, it is strongly recommended to make a backup on iCloud, Apple's storage service.
All Apple users automatically benefit from 5 GB of free storage space on iCloud, a capacity that largely allows you to save all the contacts in your phonebook.
To make a copy of your contacts on iCloud, activate synchronization in the iPhone Settings by clicking on your name then on “iCloud”. In this section, activate the cursor on “Contacts” and start synchronization with “iCloud Backup”.
With this simple procedure, you can restore backed up data from your iPhone to a new device.
Read also: The Best Android Development Tools and Software
ASK YOUR MOBILE OPERATOR
To avoid losing your contacts if you change your SIM card, it is also possible to ask your mobile operator to copy the content of your old SIM to the new one.
To copy data from one SIM card to another SIM card, you must go to one of your operator's stores.
Some players in the mobile telephony market also offer, as a paid option, a data backup and restoration service.
Please note: this SIM card data copy and restoration service is sometimes not available.
How to keep your photos when you change your SIM card?
A lot of personal data is present in our phone: photos, videos, contacts, diary, notes... this is why several questions arise when changing a SIM card, for example, how to recover your photos.
Unlike phone contacts, photos accessible on your phone are not stored on the SIM card memory. The photos that you have taken or received are saved directly on the internal memory of your smartphone or on its memory card .
However, even if you do not risk losing your photos when changing your SIM card, it is still preferable to make a backup of your memories in a safe place as well as other data precious to you which is recorded on your mobile.
To keep the data stored on your phone (photos, videos, documents, etc.), again several tips are possible. You can transfer the contents of your mobile to a memory card, to a computer or even save them to online storage.
If you have an iPhone, you can use iCloud or Google Drive for Android mobiles. It is also possible to use other online storage services like Dropbox, for example. This type of cloud service is protected by a password and a user account.
So, in the event of theft or loss of your phone or in the event of a malfunction, you will be able to easily find your content (photos, contacts, calendar, etc.) and restore them on a new mobile phone.
Last advice before changing SIM card: if you change operator, make sure that your mobile is unlocked. Indeed, if it is locked on the Orange network, for example, you will have to unlock your mobile to be able to use it with the SIM card of another operator.