Using a Small Paper Clip as SIM Tray Tool

I recently wrote about temporarily switching my primary phone, going from a Google Pixel 6a running GrapheneOS to a Google Pixel 3a XL running Ubuntu Touch, pending my replacing the 6a battery. Completing the switch required me to move my SIM card from the 6a to the 3a XL. It occurred to me that some people who have their phones serviced at stores by their phone manufacturer or service provider may not have much experience swapping SIM cards. So I thought I would briefly share my makeshift SIM card tray management solution and my new, less makeshift, SIM card replacement tool: A small paper clip. The best time for this article is now since I can also cover my new paper clip replacement.

(I may have also been inspired by the fact that my article on a makeshift optical audio cable door fix turned out to be unexpectedly popular.)

Note Before Continuing

Not every phone which uses a physical SIM card will have a SIM card tray. For example, of my previous five phones, my two Google Pixels (3a XL and 6a) and my Blackberry Classic have SIM card trays. My Motorola Moto e6 and Teracube 2e do not, instead having slots for SIM cards on the back of the phone in the same area as their replaceable batteries. This article is concerned only with SIM card trays/doors located on the sides of phones. Finally, I have only dealt with SIM card trays/doors on phones that I own, so I cannot guarantee that my method will work for every phone.

Bringing Back a Classic Friend For Our Demonstration

While I could demonstrate a SIM card replacement using my current phone and SIM card, I thought it would be more fun to bring back an old friend long-time readers may remember.

There is a reason that I am using my old BlackBerry Classic as an example in addition to nostalgia. My phone provider when I used the Classic was Verizon. When I moved away from the Classic back in early 2021, I replaced Verizon with Tello (which remains my phone service provider as of the publication date of this article). For that reason, I never removed the old SIM card from my Classic. Thus, we can demonstrate a SIM card removal and swap using my old Verizon SIM card.

(Another reason I was inspired to write this article is that this SIM card was installed in my Classic at a Verizon store in 2016 or 17, back when I had no idea how to install a SIM card on my own (I doubt that I had ever thought much about it)).

Locating the SIM Card Slot

In the case of my three phones with SIM card trays, the slot is on the side of the phone. Below, you will see my BlackBerry Classic, which has a SIM card tray next to an identical micro SD card tray.

There is a small circular hole which is a key hole of sorts. There is a “button” or “trigger” inside the hole that ejects the SIM card tray. If you have been to a phone store or the like, you may have seen the staff with small pointed tools for ejecting the SIM card tray.

Using a Small Paper Clip to Eject SIM Tray

When I first had the need to deal SIM card tray/door on my own, I did not have designated tool. I had to improvise. I improvised with something in my desk drawer: A paper clip.

To be specific, you need a small paper clip. The standard or “medium” paper clip is too thick. See below.

But when I use my small paper clip, it fits perfectly into the SIM tray “keyhole” allowing me to eject the SIM card.

When I first used this trick, I did not realize that the SIM card pops up if you push the paper clip or SIM ejection tool all the way to the bottom of the hole. I had pushed it most of the way down and then twisted the paper clip to pull the SIM card tray out of the slot. But I later learned that it pops right out if you use a tad more force. Note that while it is easy enough to pop the tray with a small paper clip, it is slightly more difficult (on a scale of easy to easier) than with a dedicated SIM ejection tool.

Now, for the first time in nearly a decade, my old Verizon wireless SIM card sees the light of day.

Now you can see me do the same thing with my more modern (relatively speaking) Google Pixel 6a, which has the SIM tray in a different location on the side of the phone. The inferior picture quality is owed to the fact that my Ubuntu Touch-powered Google Pixel 3a XL, which is the photographer camera here, has an inferior camera to the Pixel 6a.

Trying the IFIXIT SIM Ejection Bit

I ordered tools from IFIXIT to replace the battery on my Pixel 6a. I needed to hit $75 for free shipping, so I tacked on a few extra items to my order. One of those items was a SIM card ejector bit.

As ingenious as using a small paper clip may be, it feels good to have a dedicated tool for the ejecting SIM trays: Especially a dedicated tool that I can pop into my Wiha bit driver.

Now let us try it out on my BlackBerry Classic.

Final Thoughts

While the small paper clip got the job done, the SIM ejection bit is slightly smaller and works more smoothly. For those who do not want or need one it driver bit form, there are plenty available for cheap on Amazon and similar sites. For those of you who do not deal with SIM trays often enough to need a specialized tool, a small paper clip should do in in a pinch.