Phone-unlocking SIM-shim

Here's a nice little bauble: a tiny shim that sits between your phone's SIM and the phone, which unlocks the handset. Note the admirable use of the grocer's apo'strophe in the sell-copy -- a sure sign of daffy ingenuity.

This SIM unlock is made of a very thin piece of FPC (0.10mm) with a Microcontroller mounted on, that goes between your Operator's SIM card & the phone's SIM socket.

Because of it's very thin & slim design it fits into almost all phone's on the market and can also be easily removed again. It's got Gold Immersion and makes perfect contact with the card and the socket at ALL times.

Link (via Red Ferret)

• [technogeek]

  From its description: “Does not do any changes to your SIM card or phone (you only have to make a cut in the SIM card)”

  OK, that’s a change _to_ the SIM rather than _in_, but still it’s enough to make me nervous.

  If anyone has positive experience with this, I’m interested. I’m considering upgrading, but would prefer to do so via a used phone, at least initially…

• [Stefan Jones]

  “The street will find its own use for technology.” — William Gibson

  You’d better believe it.

• [Gainclone]

  Spicy-chili DIM-sum?

• [sidb]

  “It’s on the list, right between Huaweii and LG”

  Aww, foo. I think I was looking for “Apple” since all the other phones are listed by manufacturer, but #18 still holds. On the plus side, maybe I will buy one of these shims now. It would come in handy for international travel.

• [hep cat]

  “The omission of the iPhone on the phone compatibility list is glaring”

  It’s on the list, right between Huaweii and LG

  It seems that they put the list in alphabetical order, which makes it hard to find. Or maybe it’s the glare.

• [spokehedz]

  These have been around forever. They work wonders–when they work at all.

  Oh, and the cut to your SIM is not anywhere near the circuitry. The only electronics in your SIM is under the gold contacts. Everywhere else it is just plastic.

  Just snip off the last 2mm of the card, and slip the shim and the SIM back into your new phone. Done.

  Dealextreme.com has these too, and they all work just about the same.

• [Rob Beschizza]

  The “grocer’s apostrophe” — so that’s what it’s called! Much easier to explain than “catastrapostophe.”

• [Ned613]

  Could someone explain to me what the heck this thing is for. Doesn’t sound like its legal.

• [technogeek]

  Re #7: It allows a phone to work on networks other than the one that originally sold it to you, without having to go through the complicated time-critical process of keying an unlock code into the phone or the even more complicated techniques of mucking with the circuitry to reset that lock.

  It’s legal — you own the phone. And in fact some phone companies will happily give you an unlock code, but only AFTER you have been with their plan for at least the minimum time so they’ve recaptured their original sign-up discount on the phone.

• [zuzu]

  Doesn’t sound like its legal.

  Are you expecting the use of your property to be restricted to only “approved” purposes?
  

  Could someone explain to me what the heck this thing is for.

  “Unlocking” generally means using a phone issued by one carrier with the network of another carrier.

  Kinda like when you fill up your Ford car with the less expensive Toyota gasoline. oh wait… :P

• [trr]

  FYI: Immersion gold plating on PCBs is not intended for contacts, but for a solderability preserving finish. If you pop these cards in and out a bunch of times don’t expect that gold to hold up. By its nature it can only be a few microinches thick, at most. But for the purpose here, it’s probably adequate.

• [sidb]

  The omission of the iPhone on the phone compatibility list is glaring. I wonder whether Apple’s exclusivity deals have resulted in some extra technical limitation there, or whether it’s something more mundane like a really tight fit in the SIM slot.

• [JTenkely]

  These work great in the iPhone. My wife has had one in hers since December. You have to Jailbreak the phone but it does allow the T-Mobile service icon to pop right up with no issues since day 1. I think I paid $35 for hers. You trim off part of the factory SIM card so the little black chip has enough clearance, but other than that it’s really just pop-it-in and go.

• [Art Carnage]

  Note the unfortunate misuse of the apo’strophe in the poster’s use of the word “it’s” — a sure sign of not paying attention in high school.

• [kahomono]

  That’s not the “grocer’s apostrophe,” sorry. The grocer’s apostrophe is the spurious apostrophe when forming a plural:

  BANANA’S
  39p./Kg

• [Johnny One Spur]

  @#1:

  Wouldn’t that be a SIM-shiv?

• [gd23]

  #17 lolz

  iPwned

• [leo]

  That’s not the “grocer’s apostrophe,” sorry. The grocer’s apostrophe is the spurious apostrophe when forming a plural:

  it fits into almost all phone’s on the market

• [swoody]

  Am I the only one who expected a SIM card-based weapon? ; )