"Your SIM card sent a text message"? Here is the real solution!

Your iPhone says, "Your SIM card sent a text message." And you don't know why. In this case, there is usually a problem between your iPhone and your carrier. In this article, I'll explain what to do when you receive this notification on your iPhone to fix the problem for good.

Turn your iPhone off and on again :

Unlike other updates and resets, your iPhone will not restart after the carrier settings are updated. Sometimes your SIM card gets stuck sending a text message to your carrier even after you've updated the carrier settings on your iPhone. Switching your iPhone off and on again can cause a restart and interrupt your SIM card's endless SMS loop.

To turn off your iPhone, press and hold the Sleep / Wake button (the Power button) until the slider is on. The Power Off slider appears on your iPhone's display. Swipe the red power icon from left to right to turn off your iPhone. Wait about 30 seconds and then press and hold the power button again to turn the iPhone back on.

Check whether the carrier settings have been updated :

Carrier settings updates are posted by your carrier to improve your iPhone's ability to connect to your carrier's cellular network. Apple also releases carrier settings updates, but they work differently, so the SIM card doesn't need to send a text message to update itself.

To see if an update of the network operator settings is available, open the Settings app and tap on General -> About. If an update is available, a popup with the message "Carrier Settings Update" will appear after approx. 15-30 seconds. When this popup appears, tap Update. If the update warning does not appear after about 30 seconds, likely, one is not available.

Remove the SIM card from your iPhone and reinsert it.

Ejecting and reinserting the SIM card of your iPhone will restart it, and it can reconnect to your mobile operator's network. iPhone SIM slots are located on the left side of your iPhone below the power switch.

To eject the SIM card, insert the SIM card eject tool or a small paper clip into the small hole in the SIM tray's bottom. Pull out the tray and then reinsert it.

Reset network settings

When you reset network settings on your iPhone, all of the Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, VPN, and cellular settings stored on your iPhone will be reset to the factory defaults. This can cause interference that can cause your SIM card to send a text to your wireless service provider in an endless loop. To reset the network settings, open the Settings app, and tap on General -> Reset -> Reset network settings. Enter your passcode when prompted and tap Network Settings Reset when the confirmation message appears at the iPhone screen's bottom.

Contact your wireless service provider.

If you keep getting "Your SIM card has an SMS notification" message on your iPhone, there may be a bug that only your carrier can fix. Below are the support numbers of some of the major carriers.