Is it possible to clone my 3G sim?

matmaneyre · Feb 7, 2009

I was thinking of cloning my sim, either requesting it from my service provider (O2) or getting a device to do it for me.

After some research, it seems the network operators don't like this kind of practice, and also it's just not that simple. Newer 3G sim cards have been reported to be difficult to clone due to the Ki number being well hidden. Apparently, the user/software only has a few attempts to find the correct Ki number, after which, if the attempts are unsuccessful, the sim card becomes unusable.

Can anyone shed any light on this? I've been having trouble finding any up to-date information contrary to what I have read, which seems to have been written a while ago, and could well be (I'm hoping) out-of-date.

I saw this on the net and wondered if it would do the job

http://www.ebest24.co.uk/12in1-sim-cardusb-card-readerwriter-gsm-copier-cloner-1740.html

I've read in a few posts by some people over the past few weeks that they have multiple cards with the same phone number, or multiple numbers on one card, which is potentially what this device/software offers.

Any info will be much appreciated. I'm sure there's somebody who is more clued up than me on this subject and has hopefully been successful.

Thanks in advance!

Neutron83 · Feb 13, 2009

Sorry you wont get information of the people knowing about such !

Cause this is TOTALY illegal !!!

If you try / do such stuff as geting the info from your SIM you break several Laws. AFAIK IN NEARLY ALL Countrys !

Pantaloonie · Feb 13, 2009

In some countries, the telco will happily provide you with multiple sim cards for the same number, but not in the UK. It's a fraud prevention policy.
Older sim cards are easily cloned if you have the correct kit, but the newer 3g sims are notoriously difficult to clone, with built in protection that kills the card if you attempt to clone it.

matmaneyre · Feb 13, 2009

Thanks for the info. I suspected that maybe there could be some lawful impediment but didn't realise it was actually illegal, so apologies for requesting the info. At least now I'm in the picture, and maybe others have benefitted too.

Although if a mod would like to delete the thread on grounds of discussing illegalities, (although unbeknown at the time of starting the thread) then please free. I wouldn't have a problem with that.

Thanks again.

zorxd · Dec 17, 2010

Neutron83 said:
Sorry you wont get information of the people knowing about such !

Cause this is TOTALY illegal !!!

If you try / do such stuff as geting the info from your SIM you break several Laws. AFAIK IN NEARLY ALL Countrys !

Cloning a card isn't illegal. It's your SIM card and you can burn it if you want.
Using a cloned card to get two phones on the same account, however, is clearly a fraud (except if you are the owner of the cell phone company, of course)
Just like you can clone your own house's key.

webwolf_3000 · Jan 28, 2011

me, I want a cloned card so I can have it in two phones so I don't have to keep switching the sim, which is a pain in the backside with some phones.

I can see why they wouldn't like it, but personally I'd only ever have one of the two phones switched on anyway, so it wouldn't be an issue.

Don't particular want to get banned from my network for breaking their EULA or anything so I'll leave it alone, shame though.

ashasaur · Jan 31, 2011

Yeah that is your biggest worry. If your provider see's two IMEI's registered with the same SIM serial number online at the same time, thats when the legalality of it all comes into play. They will more than likely default your contract for breach of their EULA. Just play it safe and use one SIM and swap it out.

Kenwhite232 · Jun 22, 2012

As a Cell phone provider for multiple services i thought i would put my two cents in. I have had this brought up in my store SEVERAL times. The Official standpoint of SPRINT, Verizon, and AT&T as per their Service Reps is while it is not illegal it is HIGHLY frowned upon. If they discover you using multiple phones at the same time they will call you and ask why this is being done. If you DO NOT have a valid reason they will deactivate your account until you go to one of their locations and resolve the issue which usually results in them Locking the clone and rendering it invalid until you bull**** your way around enough to convince them that you absolutley need two sim cards.

Saladin1975 · Dec 22, 2012

Yes, it is illegal.

zorxd said:
Cloning a card isn't illegal. It's your SIM card and you can burn it if you want.
Using a cloned card to get two phones on the same account, however, is clearly a fraud (except if you are the owner of the cell phone company, of course)
Just like you can clone your own house's key.

It is clearly written in your contract, that the SIM card isn't your property. Of course you buy it, can burn and crash it, but it is the provider's property.

---------- Post added at 03:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:00 AM ----------

ashasaur said:
Yeah that is your biggest worry. If your provider see's two IMEI's registered with the same SIM serial number online at the same time, thats when the legalality of it all comes into play. They will more than likely default your contract for breach of their EULA. Just play it safe and use one SIM and swap it out.

To track a phone through antennas, the provider uses 3 antennas. If you clone your IMEI on multiple phones, the triangulation becomes much more difficult for the operator. I have 3 HTC Diamond with the same IMEI.

But now, with GPS activated, no need of this antennas to find where you are.

jp6060 · Jan 27, 2013

ashasaur said:
Yeah that is your biggest worry. If your provider see's two IMEI's registered with the same SIM serial number online at the same time, thats when the legalality of it all comes into play. They will more than likely default your contract for breach of their EULA. Just play it safe and use one SIM and swap it out.

You could change the imei of one of the phones but that is also illegal I believe

willpower102 · Jul 15, 2013

Pantaloonie said:
but the newer 3g sims are notoriously difficult to clone, with built in protection that kills the card if you attempt to clone it.

Lmao. This isn't a spy movie.

Sim cards don't self destruct (even at the software level) if you try to read / write to them. A sim card is just data sitting in memory banks. Newer sim cards have hashed data (which means all it takes is TIME to break the encryption, but it can easy be done if left running for a few days)

A sim card has no way of "killing" itself if you read or write to it. It's just like any other piece of memory.

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Is it possible to clone my 3G sim?

matmaneyre

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Neutron83

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Pantaloonie

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matmaneyre

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zorxd

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webwolf_3000

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ashasaur

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Kenwhite232

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Saladin1975

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jp6060

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