With the 4FF (4 Form Factor) i.e. Nano SIM certain to make its debut with the iPhone 5 soon, a lot of people across the globe were left wondering if they could cut their micro SIM’s (3FF) to the size of the Nano SIM just like they converted the 2FF cards to the 3FF with the help of a micro SIM cutter.
But Giesecke & Devrient the inventor of SIM and the manufacturer of the Nano SIM as well, has confirmed to us in a written email that the same cannot be replicated with the micro SIM’s as the Nano SIM would be 15% thinner as compared to the 2FF & 3FF cards and hence the cut SIM’s would not fit into the Nano SIM slot.
Here is what Giesecke & Devrient had to say,
“As you surely know some people have cut down a “conventional” SIM (2FF) in a MicroSIM (3FF) with a knife or with a pair of scissors. Sometimes it has worked, sometimes not. Reason that this method functioned was that the 2FF and the 3FF SIM card has the same thickness. The thickness of the Nano-SIM is reduced by about 15 percent – so we think that a reducing only in size is not working.
Backward compatibility with older device models is ensured by an adapter solution that allows the Nano-SIM to be integrated into all established mobile devices for universal use.”
Now the representative obviously means here that unless we could safely reduce the thickness the microSIM without affecting the chip inside would we be able to use it in a Nano SIM slot which seems to be a difficult proposition.
We wouldn’t really advise our readers to try this in their new iPhone at least, lest they want to end up with a SIM stuck in the SIM slot of their brand new iPhone 5.
Vodafone UK has confirmed that they have stocked about 50,000 Nano SIM’s for the new iPhone and we would suggest our users across the globe to wait for a genuine Nano SIM to be made available before getting their hands on the iPhone 5.
