nRF9151 DK UICC failure / no SIM VCC after previous SoftSIM usage

[Akshay]

I’m facing a UICC failure issue on multiple nRF9151 DKs.

Symptoms:

• AT+CPIN? returns ERROR
• %XSIM: 0,9
• SIM VCC is not present (no 1.8 V observed)
• Nordic stock examples that previously worked now also fail
• Same physical SIM works correctly on a custom nRF9151 board that has never used SoftSIM

Commands/results:

AT%XVBAT
%XVBAT: 5035
OK

AT+CPIN?
ERROR

AT%XSIM?
%XSIM: 0,9
OK

AT+CFUN?
+CFUN: 1
OK

What I already tried:

• Full chip erase/recover
• Reflashed modem firmware
• Tested with Nordic sample applications
• Power cycle/reset
• Different SIM cards
• Verified SIM works on another board

Important detail:
All affected DKs had previously been used for SoftSIM/eSIM experiments.

At this point I’m trying to determine:

1. Whether %XSIM: 0,9 specifically indicates a hardware-level UICC failure
2. Whether the modem suppresses SIM VCC if it detects an electrical fault on SIMIO/CLK/RST
3. Whether anyone has seen permanent UICC damage after SoftSIM experiments or SIM line contention
4. Whether there are additional modem/UICC recovery procedures beyond full erase + modem FW reflash

Would appreciate any guidance on:

• interpreting %XSIM: 0,9
• checking the SIM power path
• confirming whether this is likely permanent hardware damage

Thanks,

[Achim Kraus]

try:

AT%CFUN=0

AT%XFACTORYRESET=0

or

AT%CSUS=0

rational:

The setting is stored in the NVM. Either execute a factory reset or set it to "physical sim".