For most people, their mobile phone is the most important device they own; it’s how they keep in touch with friends and family, do work, and stay entertained. But since a mobile phone can be hacked into with just some basic information (such as the SIM card number), it’s important to take steps to protect your data by putting a SIM PIN lock on your SIM card, especially if you have sensitive information stored on it. Here’s how to do that.
How the sim pin locks
The sim pin lock is a great way to protect your device and data. Here’s how it works: when you turn on your phone, you’ll be prompted to enter a four-digit PIN. This PIN will be used to unlock your SIM card so that you can make calls and use data. If someone tries to enter an incorrect PIN more than three times, the SIM card will be locked and they’ll need to enter a PUK code to unlock it. The PUK code is printed on the back of your sim card package or sent to you by SMS if requested.
If you forget your pin, don’t worry! You can reset it by going into Settings > Lock screen & security > Screen lock type > Pattern or Password > Create password/pattern > Next > Reenter new password or pattern> Confirm new password or pattern> Continue. That’s all there is to it! Now your mobile device has two levels of protection against hackers – that’s called double trouble!
Most people feel much safer after doing this simple step. It only takes a few minutes and once it’s done, you’re good to go.
How to set up a sim pin code on an android phone
If you’re an Android user, you can protect your phone by setting up a SIM PIN code. This will prevent anyone from being able to use your phone if they don’t have the code. Here’s how to set it up -Select Settings in the App Drawer and tap on More (located at the bottom of the list)
- Tap on Security > Screen Lock > SIM Card and enter your current sim pin code
- Tap Change Sim Pin and enter a new four digit number that is easy for you to remember
- Confirm that you want to change your sim pin code and tap Done -Enter your new sim pin code again and confirm
- You’ll be asked to input your old sim pin code one last time before changing it, so make sure you know what this is or have written it down somewhere safe beforehand! Once complete, your phone should now ask for your new sim pin code when starting up.
- If you ever forget your code, there are ways to get back into your phone without resetting it! You can call your service provider and have them send you a text message with the code.
Ways to remember your sim pin code
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t have a great memory for random numbers. Here are a few tips to help you remember your SIM PIN code:
- Write it down and keep it in a safe place.
- Store it in a password manager like LastPass or 1Password.
- Use a mnemonic device like the major system to create a memorable word or phrase from the numbers. For example, if my PIN is 1234 then I could use My name is John as my phrase because 1234 is the same as My name is John.
- Pick an easy number that you can easily recall like your birthday month and day (01/08). The first digit should be one of the digits of your birthday month (1-9) so that if someone asks what’s your pin number, they’ll ask about which month instead of trying every number possible until they find yours.
- Create a story out of the PIN. Imagine yourself back in time, witnessing events that led up to you creating this password.
- Create a pattern of letters on your keyboard and map each letter to one number on your phone keypad. For example, qwerty could map to 2 while asdfghjkl would map to.
- Leave messages around where only you will see them!
