SIM card sizes, dimensions & types (2022 User guide)

All smartphones, feature phones or any other mobile phone needs a SIM card to connect to any network. If you’re getting a new smartphone, you will need to make sure you have a SIM card of the right size to fit in your phone, depending on the type of phone you buy.

We discuss the different types of SIM cards, the SIM card sizes and the different types of popular phones using different types of SIM card sizes.

Types of SIM card sizes

Have you ever wondered what a SIM card is and how it works? SIM cards come in different sizes. If you don’t know how a sim card looks like, a SIM card basically looks like a small piece of plastic but plays such a big role in our daily communication.

Here are the different types of SIM cards and their sizes.

• Full size SIM (1FF)
This type of SIM is the oldest type of SIM card that has the size of a credit card. Its dimensions are 85.60mm × 53.98mm × 0.76mm (Length x Width x Thickness).

• Mini/Standard SIM cards (2FF)
They measure 25X15mm and are used in older and basic phones, which may also be referred to as old generation cell phone. The dimensions of mini-SIM are 25mm x 15mm x 0.76mm.

• Micro SIM cards (3FF)
They measure 15X12mm and are likely to be found in in phones from 2010 upwards, such as Apple iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy and many more. The dimensions of micro-SIM card are 15mm x 12mm x 0.76mm.

• Nano SIM cards (4FF)
These measure 12.3X8.8mm and are used in newer and latest smartphones, such as Apple iPhone 5, iPad Air, iPad mini and many more. The dimensions of nano SIM are 12.3mm x 8.8mm x 0.67mm.

• eSIM/embedded SIM
Measure 6X5mm and the SIM card is installed in the phone already. The SIM cards are activated remotely by the network provider. The SIM card is available electronically instead of using a physical SIM.

How to reduce SIM card sizes

There are several ways you can reduce your SIM card to a smaller one. You can convert a normal SIM card to a micro or nano SIM card.

Here are ways you can do it.

• You can cut it manually
The manual way to reduce SIM card size is by cutting it by hand using scissors. You must be very careful when you cut SIM card using scissors because if you cut the golden chip area then you can end up damaging your SIM card permanently.

• You can buy a SIM card cutter and use it
SIM card cutters can reduce your normal SIM to micro SIM or nano SIM. All you must do is put your SIM card in the mini SIM or micro SIM card slot and then press the top of the device hard. After that your SIM card will be reduced to micro SIM or nano SIM.

• Rather get a reduced SIM card
If you are not comfortable or confident in cutting your SIM card to smaller size by using the above methods, you can get a smaller sized SIM card from your mobile operator by exchanging your current SIM card.

SIM card sizes

SIM card sizes of the most popular phones

iPhone SIM card size chart

Samsung SIM card size chart

Xiaomi SIM card size chart

GOOGLE Pixel SIM card size chart

Motorola SIM card size chart

Oppo SIM card size chart

To conclude

For you to enjoy communicating with your loved ones conveniently, you need to choose a SIM card and provider that is suitable for the kind of gadget you are using. travSIM offers an impressive range of international SIM cards for most countries in the world.

We discussed the different types of SIM cards, the SIM card sizes and the different types of popular phones using different types of SIM card sizes.

SIM card sizes FAQs

1. Why are there different sized-SIM cards?
There are different-sized SIM cards because it has become increasingly desirable to have smaller SIM cards, since that frees up more space in a phone for other tech, without making the phone larger.

2. What are the different SIM card types?
Full SIM, Standard SIM, Micro SIM, Nano SIM and an eSIM.

3. Can I put any SIM in my device?
No, you need the right size SIM card, which in most cases will be a nano SIM.

4. Do SIM cards fit all phones?
All mobile phones use SIM cards, but they don’t all use the same size ones, so you’ll need one that’s the right size for your phone.

5. Which phones use a nano SIM?
Most smartphones made from around 2015 onwards will use a nano SIM card.