What does nano sim look like? What kind of “beast” is this Micro-SIM? Where to change a regular SIM card to a nano one

Mini— sim- this is an ordinary and familiar SIM card, standard size, which is usually called a “SIM card”, without the “mini” prefix. The most common format of SIM cards, but today they are increasingly difficult to find in new smartphones.
The size of a regular, standard SIM card or mini-sim is 25 X 15mm

Micro— sim- this is the same SIM card as a mini-SIM, but unlike it, a micro-SIM has smaller size 15 X 12mm. As a rule, SIM cards are sold with the ability to turn a regular SIM card into a micro-SIM card by simply squeezing a micro-SIM out of the card’s plastic frame.

A universal or multi-SIM card looks like this (you can see the boundaries along which you need to squeeze out the required SIM card size):

What is a Nano SIM card?

Nano— sim- this is the most new format SIM cards, and today represents smallest size SIM cards for smartphones and tablets. The Nano SIM does not have any plastic around the chip like you see on the Mini SIM and Micro SIM. The size of a nano SIM card is half the size of a standard SIM card and is 12.3 X 8.8 millimeters, which is practically the size of the chip itself, but still has a small border.

Micro-SIM and nano-SIM: the difference is in the size of the plastic or in the chip?

Based on the above characteristics of SIM cards, you can notice a significant reduction in plastic, directly along the edges of the SIM card chip. The dimensions of SIM cards are the key and main feature of what the SIM card is called. This size only affects the plastic; there are no and cannot be any changes in the chip itself. You can use a regular SIM card (mini-SIM), and if you upgrade your smartphone to a more new model, which requires a micro-sim, you can change it to the desired size at any time, be it micro-sim or nano-sim.

How to cut a SIM card for a nano-SIM?

There are several ways to make a nano-sim from a micro-sim:

First way- this means contacting a specialized store or communication salon of any operator, and in a couple of minutes they will give you the required SIM card size. The cost of this service, as a rule, does not exceed the cost of the starter package/SIM card itself, or is completely free. This service, will definitely be free if you buy starter pack and immediately warn you about what SIM card you need, in which case the operator’s representative must give you the required size of SIM card.

Second way- this is to cut the SIM card yourself under the nano-SIM. Be prepared to need a ruler, scissors or a sharp utility knife, and possibly sandpaper. Attention! This method is less preferable, since there is a risk of touching one of the 6 contacts of your SIM card chip, which means you will need to restore the SIM card by contacting your operator.

So, if you decide to cut the SIM card yourself, then let’s move on directly to cutting:

Remember! Having cut a SIM card, for example, to the size of a nano-SIM, they may still differ in thickness, since the thickness of a nano-SIM card is 0.67mm, while mini-SIM and micro-SIM can be: 0.76-0.84mm.

How to insert a nano-sim into a micro-sim?

Changing the size back from a nano-SIM to a micro-SIM or mini-SIM is much more difficult, because you will need a holder/adapter or “holder” for the SIM card. If you have one, then you will not have any difficulties with changing the size, just insert the chip into required adapter and place it on your smartphone or tablet.

The image shows what an adapter for nano-SIM and micro-SIM should look like, as you can see, there is nothing complicated about it, you just need to buy a holder or save it, after buying the SIM card itself, as a rule, multi-SIM cards are sold.

Manufacturers of smartphones and tablets strive to reduce the size and weight of their devices as much as possible in order to make them more stylish, convenient and powerful, so new models have no place for excess and completely unnecessary plastic from SIM cards. Instead, you can reduce the size of the gadget itself or enhance it in other ways. useful functionality: processor, memory, etc.

It is the size of the SIM card tray or slot that determines the required chip size, and this will determine which SIM card you need. As a rule, for smartphones that allow you to simultaneously use 2 or more SIM cards, you need to have a microSIM or nanoSIM.

Also, it is worth mentioning that in Lately, manufacturers have begun to increasingly use technology for SIM cards and memory cards, however, this is not always convenient, remember this when.

Time does not stand still, especially in the world of electronics. And you won’t surprise anyone with a micro prefix... now it’s up to nano technologies

Now many operators are selling new nano standard SIM cards, or rather three in one - standard, micro and nano.

But often the problem arises of replacing your old sim or we apply a microsim and running to the communication store to get a new one is not very convenient.

But it’s expensive to buy a Cutter trimming device just once.

This is where the next one comes in handy cutting instructions nano sim cards.

We have already talked about how to turn a standard SIM card into a MicroSIM on our website in how to make a microsim. Today we will talk about how to do nano sim map.
To do this you will need the following:
standard or MicroSIM card;
Printer;
A4 sheet of paper;
double-sided tape or glue;
pencil;
ruler;
scissors;
sandpaper.

Once everything is ready, take the next steps.
Print on the printer a template for cutting in . It must be printed on an A4 sheet at 100% scale. It is not at all necessary to use a color printer to print. Any black and white will do.

After the template is printed glue with glue or double-sided thin tape SIM-card into the appropriate template. If you are cutting a standard SIM card, then it will be a medium MiniSIM (2FF) to NanoSIM (4FF) template. If a MicroSIM card is to be cut, it must be secured in the lower template with the inscription MicroSIM (3FF) to NanoSIM (4FF). The cut corner of the SIM card will allow you not to make a mistake and position it in the only correct way.
Wait a while for the glue to dry and draw lines according to the template along which the card will be cut. As a writing medium, you can use a thin simple pencil or marker.
Separate the glued card from the template and use scissors (preferably thin, manicure ones) to carefully cut the SIM card along marked lines.

When trimming regular SIM card she will have to cut on contact plates. This is not It's OK, and this will not affect the functionality of the card, since the chip itself occupies a significantly smaller area and will not be damaged. In case of reduction, there is no need to cut the contact plates, since the cutting lines will pass close to their limits.
This is what all three card sizes look like: MiniSIM, MicroSIM and NanoSIM.

Slightly round the formed right angles using sandpaper or trim them carefully with scissors.
According to the specifications type of cards NanoSIM is thinner SIM cards of other types by 0.09 mm. In practice, this difference is almost unnoticeable. But if you encounter the fact that a cropped SIM card fits tight into the slot on the phone, you can try to remove the extra microns using the same sandpaper.
Please note that when cutting a SIM card, there is always a risk of getting a non-working SIM card from a working SIM card. Therefore, if it is unacceptable for you to remain without communication for a while, then it is better not to carry out such an operation.
But in general, everything goes quite successfully and making a nano SIM card is very easy.

By spending a few minutes of time, you will become the owner of a smartphone that works online without visiting your telecom operator.

p.s. Using this instruction you can also understand how to cut microsim to nanosim.

At the end of May, the European Telecommunications Standardization Institute (ETSI) will vote on a new standard for SIM cards, the so-called nano-SIM, which will be 20-35% smaller than the current micro-SIM used in the iPhone. Nokia Lumia and other devices. To answer the question why else should they be reduced, let’s go a little deeper into history.

For any device to operate on any provider network, some kind of identifier is required. In the era of origin mobile communications This identifier was a unique number assigned at the manufacturer, the so-called ESN (Electronic Serial Number). Switching from one operator to another was quite difficult, and sometimes even impossible without purchasing a new one telephone set. When purchasing a new device, it was necessary to come with it to the operator’s office to register it. This was extremely inconvenient, especially as the number of subscribers grew. Over time, mobile communications became available to almost everyone, and the number of devices began to grow continuously.

During development GSM standard engineers put the subscriber ID in separate module, which was called SIM (Subscriber Identity Module). Essentially, a SIM card is a microcomputer that verifies the legitimacy of the equipment and registers the terminal on the network.

Let me remind you that on this moment Three types of SIM cards have been standardized

SIM card size credit card(86*54mm). Appeared at the stage of development of GSM mobile communications. Used in the then popular Motorola StarTAC series phones.
Mini-SIM is a classic small SIM card measuring 25*15mm. Ubiquitous in the vast majority of mobile devices.
Micro-SIM - a type of card popularized by Apple (15*12mm)

In the days of bricks, the size of SIM cards was of little importance, because... the equipment itself was quite large. External antennas, large batteries. For example, back in 1992, the first “handheld” GSM phone, Nokia 1011, measured 195 x 60 x 45 mm and weighed 475 g. Times changed, technological evolution moved forward, and the size of phones decreased. There was a need to reduce device components without compromising functionality. That's when it became necessary to reduce the size of SIM cards. All manufacturers began to switch to mini-SIM, the size of which was more than 12 times smaller than a standard SIM card. The emergence of mini-SIM was largely due to the race for phone sizes. Let's remember such phones as Panasonic GD55 or Motorola T191. These phones were so small that even the female half often experienced inconvenience in using them.

Now they are going to reduce the size of SIM cards again. There are four contenders for standardization. These are Nokia, Motorola, RIM ( trademark BlackBerry) and Apple. I'll tell you a little more about the SIM cards themselves.

Apple proposes to standardize a 12*9 mm SIM card, which will be held in devices using a special tray (which is already familiar to users of Apple gadgets), for which the company has received a patent. But Apple promised that if its decision was accepted, the company would license all patents needed for the standard for free.

Strongly against this decision made by the Motorola-Nokia-RIM alliance, which offered their own version of SIM cards, which are something similar to microSD cards and are held in the apparatus in exactly the same way. The sizes of SIM cards offered by companies vary slightly. Nokia offers a SIM card size of 10*8mm, while RIM insists on a size of 11*9mm. The fight for the standard is particularly fierce Nokia company, which said it would not license its patents, which would be necessary if the European Institute chose Apple's solution as a standard.

The selection of the standard will be carried out by voting by ETSI members. At the moment, 759 organizations from 60 European countries are members of the institute. And there is another scandal associated with voting. RIM accused Apple of trying to influence the outcome of the vote by registering its employees as representatives of other companies that are members of ETSI. On top of that, Apple is now registering affiliated companies in European countries that are also members of the institute. Currently there are 6 companies registered in the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal and Italy, while Nokia has 2 companies registered, Motorola has 3, and RIM is not represented at all. According to rumors, Apple will also be supported by telecom operators, but this is just a rumor. According to preliminary data, the vote should take place at the end of May, but there is no certainty that it will take place. Most likely, it will be postponed again and give time to the companies to come to an agreement among themselves.

Main question, which may concern us, ordinary consumers - what does changing the size of SIM cards give us? Positive as well as negative sides quite difficult to find. With SIM cards getting smaller, phone sizes are unlikely to become smaller than they are now. Indirectly, this proves that no one except Apple was in a hurry to change mini-SIM cards to micro-SIM, although this standard was adopted long before appearance of Apple as a player in the mobile phone market. And no one will make phones smaller - on the contrary, the trend of increasing screen sizes, as well as phone sizes, cannot be ignored.

Some might say that this will free up space in the devices for other components. But the freed-up volume is so small that it can hardly be used effectively. Also, changing the standard is unlikely to affect the final cost of the device. The only thing that can cause us inconvenience is visiting the operator’s office to replace the SIM card when purchasing a new device, but this is done only once. And you are also unlikely to experience any inconvenience from replacing SIM cards. Remember the last time you changed your SIM card.

Why is Apple trying to change the standard? This is understandable. They've already run it in this technology, only the size of the SIM cards will change. Perhaps in the future they will still license their technology with royalties. And there is no such thing as extra money. Why does the rest of the alliance need this? It seems to me that this is just to protect yourself from a possible monopoly by Apple and, of course, to make yourself known. As you can see, the “apple company” is opposed by players whose market performance has greatly declined over the past last years. Sales volume is steadily decreasing, revenue and profits are falling. My statement indirectly proves the fact that such “giants” as Samsung, HTC and Asus do not speak out on this topic at all.

In conclusion, I want to say that whatever the result of the vote, there will be no shocks in the market, and this will affect you and me to a lesser extent. And even more so, do not forget that in extreme cases, all sorts of adapters will appear, with the help of which you can easily insert SIM cards into one or another device.

Mini-SIM

This is the oldest format to date and represents SIM cards. standard sizes. Their dimensions are equal 25 × 15 mm. Such cards are used on most mobile phones. New smartphones practically do not support this size of SIM card, but if necessary, using improvised means, you can cut a card of the required size from an old SIM card.

Micro-SIM

As the name of this standard suggests, Micro format differs from Mini primarily in size ( 15 × 12 mm). For the first time such a standard was used by Apple in its iPhone smartphones 4. And the overwhelming number of new smartphones use exactly this SIM card format.

If you bought a smartphone that works with a SIM card of this format, then do not rush to your operator’s mobile phone store. In most cases, trim the card to the right size possible at home. But more on that below.

Nano-SIM

Nano-SIM is the smallest size SIM card available today. As in the case of Micro-SIM, a “revolution” was created Apple company, having developed this standard for their new iPhone models and iPad. But, some device developers on the operating Android system supported a company from Cupertino and also use Nano-Sim in their devices, saving space and reducing the size of gadgets.

Nano-SIM Dimensions 12 × 5 mm. If you look at such a SIM card, you will notice that this is a chip without the plastic that was previously used around it.

How to change SIM card size?

The easiest way to change the size of a SIM card is to replace it with your mobile operator. But, this can be done at home. You also need to know that in services, salons selling Cell phones and so on. You can order the card to be cut to the desired size.

Contact your telecom operator

If you don’t want to bother with the SIM card and cut it manually, then go to your operator’s office with your passport and order a SIM card replacement service. It's free and only takes 2-3 minutes. You will be given a card of the required size (or a multi-format card from which you can “squeeze out” the card of the required size yourself).

IMPORTANT: Your phone number, connected services and balance will remain the same as before replacing the card.

Modern SIM cards are multi-format. This means that by registering with a mobile operator, you will receive a card from which, without any improvised means, you can make one that you can use in your device.

In such a SIM card, the dimensions of the format you need are indicated using a dotted line. It is almost impossible to damage the chip when “squeezing out” the size you need.

Let's go to the workshop

If you don’t have the time or opportunity to get to your operator’s office, then go to any mobile phone store (or gadget repair shop) and order a SIM card cutting service.

Almost every such workshop has a special stapler device with which you can cut the card to the desired size in a few seconds. At the same time, the risk of damaging the chip is even less than when “squeezing out” the SIM card along the dotted lines.

Cut by hand according to the template

You can cut out the SIM card using regular scissors. It is best to cut according to a template. If you don’t have one, you can find such a template on the Internet and print it on a printer. Then cut out the template and attach it to the SIM card. Now carefully cut it along the contours of the template. If required, finish the edges after cutting. sandpaper with fine grain.

IMPORTANT: When applying a template to a SIM card, make sure that the chip on your card and the template match. If this is not done, the performance of the cropped card may suffer.

Insert into the device and use.

Instead of a conclusion

Hopefully this article will help you understand more about SIM card formats, as well as how to adapt your SIM card to the supported device size. If you are afraid of damaging your card, then order a replacement or cutting it to the required size from professionals. If you don’t have time, you can trim it yourself. The main thing is to do everything carefully and according to the template.

Video. How to make a Micro or Nano SIM card from a SIM card with your own hands

The first thing that can be advised to a person who is faced with the need to switch from a standard SIM card to a MicroSIM: contact your cellular operator. Most mobile operators provide free replacement regular SIM cards to Micro-Sim. This is the safest and reliable way. This way you absolutely do not risk being left without a SIM card.

The second thing we can recommend is purchasing a special gadget designed to “cut” regular SIM cards to size Micro SIM. Such devices have the most different kind and cost. you can buy similar device priced from $4 to $15.

Well, what to do if in your hands new phone(for example, iPhone 4 or Samsung Galaxy S3), which only supports Micro SIM, and there is no way to go to the cellular operator to replace the card. And there’s little desire to spend extra money on a special “cutter” device. Only one thing comes to mind: Shouldn’t we cut the SIM card ourselves?

So let’s see how they differ, and whether it’s possible in principle to remake it yourself regular SIM card in MicroSIM. Regular SIM cards, or more precisely mini-SIM, have long been used in GSM networks all over the world, and have dimensions of 25x15x0.76 mm. A couple of years ago, along with the advent of the iPhone 4, new standard- Micro-SIM. Dimensions micro SIM cards are 15×12x0.76 mm. In fact, Micro-Sim is a regular SIM card, with the same size contact pad, but reduced dimensions of the plastic case.

How to make a micro-SIM yourself from a regular SIM card

Warning: during this procedure, your SIM card may fail, so all actions must be performed in the correct sequence and be very careful. It's better to start by practicing old SIM maps, and only then go into battle.

1) Using a ruler and a thin marker, apply markings to a regular SIM card