What does nano sim 4ff mean? Differences in SIM card formats, as well as how to change their sizes. Contact your telecom operator

In order to be able to make and receive calls from your smartphone or tablet, and use other services of cellular operators, you must have a SIM card. Essentially, each SIM card is miniature chip, which contains everything necessary for normal operation in cellular network information: subscriber identification number, etc.

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IMPORTANT: We can say that the Sim card is the interface between the subscriber and his mobile operator.

Just a few years ago there was one standard for SIM cards. Today there are several of them. And the main difference between Sim cards from each other is their size. How newer standard such a card, the smaller it is. Below we will talk about what sizes of SIM cards exist and how they can be changed if necessary.

Today in cellular communications There are three main SIM card standards: Mini, Micro and Nano.

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 implies, the 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 4 smartphones. 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, you can trim the card to the desired size 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 its new iPhone and iPad models. But, some device developers on 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 an operator mobile communications, you will receive a card from which, without any available tools, 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 necessary, sand the edges with fine-grit sandpaper after cutting.

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

A SIM card is an important part in your smartphone that is responsible for mobile network. Your phone will not be able to work in the network area mobile operator. Representing a small chip surrounded by plastic, it allows you to identify a subscriber in the operator’s network and, in addition, it also stores the user’s telephone numbers.

All mobile telecom operators use the SIM card to identify the subscriber. Thanks to this, any user can easily change their mobile devices, leaving the same number and services. It is enough just to rearrange the SIM card.

On this moment after Iphone presentations 5 it became known that new iPhone does not accommodate a standard micro sim, but uses a smaller version of it, nano-sim. This presentation became the point of popularization of the new SIM card, and at the moment almost every smartphone uses exactly this format.

Differences

The first and most important difference between nano-sim and micro-sim is the size.

SIM card size:

1. Micro-sim – 15 x 2.5 and thickness 0.81;
2. Nano-sim - 12.3 x 8.8 and thickness 0.67.

The difference is insignificant and consists of excess plastic around the chip. Thus, the appearance of nano-sim is a clearly expressed desire of the manufacturer to reduce the weight and size of its smartphone. As you can see, nano sim and micro sim have differences.

Contacting the operator

Replacing a card with an operator is easy and hassle-free, so if you don’t want to risk cutting your card yourself, contact the operator. To do this, you will need, along with your passport and phone, to visit the mobile operator’s communication shop and ask for a replacement of your Sim card. You will receive a new card in the format you need, your phone number, connected services and balance will remain the same.

The operators also made sure that you don’t run to them every time to change the SIM card format and offered multi-profile SIM cards. They can be used in absolutely all phones. Their outer shell is a mini-sim, from which, according to the indicated dotted line Micro and nano sim are easily extruded. Without the risk of damage, you can safely use the services of your operator.

Telephone workshop

If you do not have the opportunity to contact your operator or come to a communication shop, any telephone repair shop will help you out. In the workshop there is a special device for SIM cards that resembles a stapler. Your SIM card is inserted inside this device, and with one click the excess plastic is cut off. The service is inexpensive, and in some workshops it is completely free. This method is the simplest.

Hand cutting

If the previous two methods are not available to you, you can cut out the SIM card yourself. To do this, you will need a nano-sim template or drawing showing how much to trim the plastic edges around the chip.

It’s easy to get a new SIM card, all operators have already adapted to providing nano-SIM, and now everyone can get it quickly and for free. This SIM card will help reduce the weight of the smartphone and make it more compact.

The Nano SIM card came into use in 2012 with the introduction of the first iPhones 5S and iPad tablets 4 mini with Retina, without which the operation of these devices is impossible. It was not so easy to get it back then, and even now such a SIM costs money. Below we will look at ways to turn a regular phone card into a nano SIM card using tools that many people have at home.

• caliper (regular or digital) - a device for accurately measuring values, will be needed to measure the difference between cards and mark the marks along which we will cut;
• if you don’t have a caliper, use a ruler, a sheet of paper and a pencil;
• sandpaper or file - for grinding the edges of the cut SIM card in order to reduce the thickness of the original card;
• very sharp scissors.

• nano SIM card: width – 12.3 mm, height – 8.8 mm, thickness – 0.67 mm;
• micro SIMs: width – 14.9 mm, height – 12.03 mm, thickness – 0.81 mm.

Comparing these values, it is clear that the difference in parameters is small, and it is quite possible to eliminate it with the help of scissors.

If you don’t have a caliper, proceed as follows:

• take a sheet of paper, a ruler, a pencil;
• using a ruler like measuring instrument draw a nano SIM card template on paper;
• cut out this template;
• Place it on top of the micro SIM card and carefully trace the outline of the template with a pencil.

and texture. Take sandpaper or a file and carefully, slowly, sand the card on the back of the contacts (where the picture is). If you overdid it in reducing the thickness of the micro SIM card, place a sheet of plain paper under the adapted nano SIM card. Before changing the micro SIM size, it is recommended to watch training videos on the topic of adaptation regular card

in nano format. Also, before starting work, you must keep in mind that the changeable micro SIM card, as well as all the information that is on it, can be lost forever. One of the main differences between the new iPhone 5 and models of previous series is that this Apple smartphone

for the first time uses SIM cards of a new standard - the so-called nano SIM (or 4FF). This step was a continuation of the company's innovative tactics in the field of improving SIM cards, and before that Apple was among those manufacturers mobile technology

, who were the first to switch to micro-SIM (3FF) - it was for this format that the iPhone 4 was produced.

First of all, let's pay attention to the sizes. Micro-SIM cards used in iPhone models 4 and 4S, have dimensions of 15 x 12 x 0.76 mm. Compared to regular mini-SIMs (or 2FF, which were used in even earlier iPhones), they are slightly longer and wider, but not thicker. Therefore, you can “fit” old mini-SIM to the micro-SIM slot using ordinary scissors and some skill.

Of course, we wanted to figure out whether it would be possible to turn a micro-SIM into a nano SIM using the same simple method? The dimensions of 4FF standard cards, as is known, are 12.3 x 8.8 mm in length and width, respectively. But the thickness of the nano SIM turned out to be 0.67 mm, i.e. As much as 0.9 mm thinner than cards of the two previous specifications. Moreover, even if we take into account the +0.03 mm tolerance provided by the ESTI standard, we still have an extra 0.06 mm.

0.09 mm may seem insignificant - this is only a 12% difference in thickness, but if you look closely at the SIM card slot of a phone or smartphone, you will find that there is only enough space for the card itself. In other words, it doesn’t seem possible to insert a thicker micro-SIM by simply trimming the edges into the nano SIM slot. But when it comes to hundredths of a millimeter, the naked eye cannot be trusted.

Therefore, we take a micrometer (remembering school lessons labor) and measure the thickness of the cards at our disposal. It turns out 0.68 mm for the nano SIM standard and 0.82 mm for micro-SIM. Now, knowing that the SIM tray iPhone smartphone 5 is designed for cards with a thickness of no more than 0.70 mm (again in accordance with ESTI requirements), we are figuring out where to put the 0.12 mm difference. We simply delete them. How? As they taught in school: using regular sandpaper (in our case, 240 grit). With a few minutes of careful rubbing, we managed to bring the thickness of our old micro-SIM to the required 0.70 mm.

You, dear reader, are of course wondering whether sandpaper damages the card. We are happy to announce that even having become 0.12 mm thinner, it continues to function properly in HTC One X. Probably, proper grinding of the non-metallic part of the micro-SIM does not in any way affect the performance of the card chip itself. Some inconvenience is caused by the unpleasant smell of plastic and fine dust, which are inevitable in the process of converting micro-to nano SIM, but an ordinary construction mask copes well with them. Now we use scissors to bring the processed micro-SIM to the required 12.3 x 8.8 mm in length and width and wait for the opportunity to test the manufactured with my own hands nano SIM on new iPhone 5.

And one more thing: it may turn out that such a radical technique is not needed and it will be possible to do without polishing the card. It all depends on the size of the nano SIM tray in the iPhone 5. It is quite possible that cards thicker than the standard 0.70 mm will fit in it. What we mean is that before you take up sandpaper, it’s better to measure seven times than to buy a new card or repair a smartphone.

And a little history

Developed by the German company Giesecke & Devrient new map nano SIM format added even more heat to the debate that flared up between Apple on the one hand and the Motorola trio, and RIM on the other. According to the latest reports from the Financial Times, Apple, much to the chagrin of its competitors, seems to be able to “push” its own nano SIM and assemble required quantity votes at a future meeting of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), which will ensure that the new card is approved as a pan-European standard.

According to FT sources, the Apple version of the nano SIM provides special card protection, which has already proven its effectiveness in devices such as the iPhone and iPad. Although the future license provides for the availability of the standard to all manufacturers, representatives of many companies have expressed concerns that in the future Apple may use its patents to strengthen its own position in the competition. Also, many manufacturers will have to rebuild their devices in accordance with the technical conditions of the new standard. In addition, the Finnish Nokia is against the nano SIM option offered by Apple, which insists on the “significant advantages” of its development. At the same time, Motorola and RIM also expressed their opinion in support of Nokia.

Let us remind you that ETSI will hold a vote on this issue next week. However, as reported by the Financial Times, Apple has already secured the support of most European ETSI members. Plus, in order to guarantee a successful voting outcome, Apple is already registering six subsidiaries under its own name, which will help collect up to 45 votes each, thereby allowing Apple to “catch up” with Nokia, which has the most votes in ETSI. In turn, Nokia is already preparing to protest such actions.

None mobile device will not be able to work on the carrier's network without a small chip, usually called a SIM card. This is a small chip surrounded by plastic. It contains all the necessary data for the network, and also allows you to save some user information - for example, a list of telephone numbers.

There are several types of SIM cards, differing in size. Moreover, the newer the standard, the smaller the card. IN latest models Smaller SIM cards are increasingly being used, so when buying a new phone, the issue of adapting the SIM card becomes relevant. In this article, we propose to familiarize yourself with the standards of SIM cards, understand what the difference is between them and how to reduce them for use in a new device.

Types of SIM cards

There are three main formats: mini, micro and nano. What are they?

Mini-SIM

Standard card format. Used in most modern phones. In everyday life, the name without the prefix “mini” is popular. The dimensions of this card are 25×15 mm. It does not need to be adapted, even if it is more than one year old. Just insert and use.

Micro-SIM

Compared to the previous type, micro-SIM has smaller dimensions - 15x12 millimeters. It was first used in the iPhone 4. Recently, this format has been increasingly supported. When buying a new phone, it’s easy to cut it off from a regular SIM card.

Nano-SIM

The latest, smallest SIM card used in the latest iPhones, iPads, and flagship Android models. The nano-SIM looks like a chip without any plastic around it. The card dimensions are small - 12x5 mm, so it is more difficult to adapt from larger formats.

How to change SIM card size

There are several options for changing the size of a SIM card: order a new one from your operator, contact a telephone repair shop, or cut a regular card yourself. In the latter case, there is a risk of damaging the card due to inexperience, and then responsibility for its damage will fall on you.

Contact your telecom operator

The simplest and surest way. You just need to come to the communication store with your phone and passport and order a SIM card replacement service. You will receive a new card of a suitable format, while your phone number, balance and connected services will be saved.

Recently, operators have been offering subscribers multi-format SIM cards that are suitable for all types of phones. The outer shell is a mini-SIM, from it you can use a nano-SIM along the indicated dotted line. You risk nothing and use communication services without any problems.

This service is completely free. In some cases, you need to pay a small amount, which will remain in your account. This option is offered by the operator Tele2.

Let's go to the workshop

If for some reason you cannot contact a communication shop or do not want to wait for a new card to be sent, then you can cut it at any workshop. This will be done using a device similar to a stationery stapler, into which a SIM card is inserted, and with one click the excess ends are cut off. This service is inexpensive, and in some workshops it is completely free.

Cut by hand according to the template

If the previous two methods are not available to you, try doing it yourself. To do this, you will need scissors, double-sided tape, a ruler, a pencil or felt-tip pen and the SIM card itself. You don’t have to calculate anything, just use the popular world wide web template. Download it from the link and print it at 100% scale on an A4 sheet. It can be used to make micro and nano-SIM.

1. Using double-sided tape, carefully stick the SIM card onto the marked area, making sure that it completely matches the drawing. Don't press too hard, otherwise you won't be able to peel it off later.
2. Draw long horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines with a pencil or felt-tip pen. The dimensions of the format you need will be marked on the SIM card.
3. Trim the excess plastic as carefully as possible along the drawn lines.
4. Using sandpaper or a file, carefully trim the cut areas and round the edge as indicated in the diagram.
5. Remove the tape and insert the SIM card into the phone.

The whole process will take a few minutes, so take your time so as not to cut off too much. To make your work easier, there is a photo on the same template showing how to properly attach the SIM card. Don't be afraid, you will succeed.

Conclusion

Now you know how SIM card formats differ and how you can adapt them. Of course, contact a communication salon. But if you don't want to wait a long time, try cutting by hand using a template.

What SIM card format does your device support? How did you change the dimensions? Did you manage to do everything yourself? We are waiting for your answers in the comments.