Does a smartphone without a SIM card transmits/receives/connects data to/from nearest cellular tower ?
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I'm not sure how this is a security question. – schroeder Dec 03 '15 at 20:49
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here's a quick test - can you dial 911 if you pull the SIM card? (assuming North America) – schroeder Dec 03 '15 at 20:50
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If it connects to a cell tower, it potentially reveals the phone's location(-ish). – pjz Dec 03 '15 at 20:59
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@schroeder - that's not very good advice, dialing 911 (or other emergency numbers like 112 in Europe) for no good reason is normally a crime. – JonnyWizz Dec 04 '15 at 08:30
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@schroeder - and in any case, while being able to make emergency calls without a SIM card is part of the GSM standard, some countries (notably the UK) do not allow emergency calls to be made on account of the high number of untraceable hoax calls that were made. So you would not be able to make an emergency call, but the phone would still attempt to connect to the nearest cell tower. – JonnyWizz Dec 04 '15 at 08:47
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@JonnyWizz I didn't say to actually call, just to see if it was possible. Many devices I have used have a message saying that only emergency calls are allowed – schroeder Dec 04 '15 at 15:35