The ICC or International Circuit Card is a number that we do not usually have on hand because it is used less often than the PIN or PUK of a SIM card. However, this unique identification number for each calling card may come in handy in the future.
This identifier of your SIM called ICC can be used for certain operations related to your operator. If you have never taken it into account, we are going to tell you what it is, where to find it and what it is for.
What is the ICC code and what is it for?
If the IMEI code is the serial number that uniquely identifies your mobile phone, the ICC is the counterpart for the SIM card. It is made up of 19 digits and identifies each SIM card internationally.
The structure of the numbering of those 19 digits is not random, but has a fixed structure with which to know certain basic information about said SIM card. The first 2 numbers of the code indicate that it is a telecommunications SIM card (starting with 89), the next 2 are those that indicate the country (34 in the case of Spanish SIMs) and the next 2 indicate the operator, with examples such as Movistar (07) or Vodafone (56).
Among other uses, the ICC code is needed for these operations related to your operator:
- Portability of your mobile line number to another operator.
- Make a duplicate of your SIM card, either due to loss, failure or technological change (go from SIM to MicroSIM or NanoSIM).
- Lock the SIM card.
How to know what your ICC is
To see the ICC of a SIM card, the fastest thing to do is to remove the SIM itself from the terminal and see the number that is printed on it , generally embossed. However, this is not always possible because at that moment you do not want to remove the SIM card, the number has been deleted, you cut the card to fit a new mobile, you do not have a physical SIM but an eSIM, etc.
In these cases in which you need to know your ICC number and you will not have it available in the SIM itself, we can know it in other ways. If you have an iOS mobile , go to Settings, tap on the General section, click on the Information box and, once inside, we will have to scroll to the Physical SIM section and check the ICCID field.
A similar procedure is followed on Android . First, we will enter the Settings application and look for the About phone / Phone Status option. In the “SIM Status” section we should see certain identifiers and among them one that puts ICCID. If you can’t find it as such, look for a 19-digit number that starts with 8934.
You can also get this information with some external application as long as you are careful what you install. There are many untrustworthy applications that you can grant permissions to, which track and steal both the ICC and other data of interest from your mobile phone. As long as you can do it from the Options or Settings menu of the phone itself, much better.