iPhone 5 SIM locked, can't unlock

[ralphdn]

Desperate problem: My SIM card in my iPhone5 is locked and I can't unlock it. The unlock screen is never shown... I see:

Locked SIM (in the upper left corner), or
No SIM (if I remove the SIM) and the centered text display

iPhone is disabled
connect to iTunes

on one of my two iPhone 5 devices, but there are no solutions there either, all I see is

iTunes could not connect to the iPhone xxx because it is locked with a passcode. You must enter your passcode on the iPhone before it can be used with iTunes.

However, I am never presented with the usual lock/unlock screen. Am I forgetting something?
.
On the other iPhone all I see is the startup apple on a blank screen, but the PC beeps (the "windows" beep) when I plug into or unplug it, there is no beep on the "locked" one when I plug or unplug, probably because it is disabled.

BY THE WAY: Is this post visible to anyone? Can anyone tell me why [OP] is shown after my profile name? I hope this is being seen, any comments would be greatly appreciated!

 

[carolineM]

OP stands for original poster. I think you need to contact your mobile phone provider.

 

[ralphdn]

You're probably right, but I have no provider as such, I purchased the devices at Amazon and have had no problems with them otherwise.
It just seems silly to sit here with two iPhones and to buy another one, when
the problem seems to have more to do with the SIM card than the device itself...

 

[carolineM]

If the SIM is locked with a PIN, you should normally be able to enter it. There may be another reason it is locked. Could you try another SIM card? Otherwise, I suggest you give the provider a ring.

 

[ralphdn]

I don't have an opportunity to enter a PIN, as I said initially, an unlock screen is never shown. On the screen, the text

Locked SIM

is displayed in the upper left-hand corner, and

iPhone is disabled
connect to iTunes

is shown in normal size in the middle of the screen, but when I plug the iPhone into the USB slot and run iTunes, nothing happens. I have a second iPhone, when I connect it I hear the familiar PC connect tone. I've tried both of the two SIM cards and both phones, nothing works. Very frustrated, life with no contact to the outside world is more than difficult.
***>Again, -as I said above, please read previous posts before repeating- I have no provider, I purchased the phones at Amazon and have not had problems in the past.

 

[J. A.]

Put the iPhone into recovery mode and restore it to remove the passcode:
If you forgot the passcode on your iPhone, or your iPhone is disabled

 

[ralphdn]

Tried it, data is downloaded but the recovery mode also apparently can't get past the locked SIM
PLEASE, folks, READ the previous postings before repeating.

 

[scifan57]

Have you tried using DFU mode to restore the iPhone? The only way it won’t work is if your iPhone has a hardware fault. DFU Restore - iFixit Support
BTW, what happens if you try a new inactivated SIM card when trying the restore?

 

[ralphdn]

Finally, my second cell phone just got up and ran normally, I've yet to figure out why. Great results,
thanks to everyone here who made suggestions and helped me along until the problem went away.
I was trying various things out, experimenting with DFU and recovery mode, and I downloaded an earlier backup from iTunes and afterwards everything worked.

Thanks again for the suggestions!