According to Android users, accessing SIM Toolkit on Android is of no use in today’s date but in reality, it’s not just a feature & has an important role to play in your device. As soon as you insert the SIM card into your device, SIM Toolkit will get installed on your phone. The function of the SIM Toolkit is to maintain and relay all the commands given from the SIM to the phone and vice versa. In brief, we can say that SIM Toolkit acts as the middleman in creating a connection between the network provider and your phone for maintaining a common understanding. To perform the value-added or needed services by the SIM card on its own, SIM Toolkit plays an important role in it. If you are curious to know more about the SIM Toolkit app on Android and how you can access it, here you’ll answers to all of your questions that are going on in your mind in one go.
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SIM Toolkit
The more the Android phones are getting advanced, the more complications SIM cards faces in setting it up. The reason behind it is the SIM provisioning on a device that requires certain details such as mail box number, MMS server name, SMS center number, etc. This information varies from one operator to another and that’s where SIM Toolkit is applied.
STK i.e. SIM Toolkit is a set of commands present in the SIM card defined by certain specifications such as ETSI and 3GPP. You can activate it by yourself or with the help of any networking event. These are the small applications that come along with your SIM that are considered a mini-computer because there is a possibility of programming in them.
STK was formed as a medium to use applications directly on any SIM card relying on a GSM network. Service providers and mobile network operators use the standard for executing the actions that provide different value-added services. Such services can be implemented on the SIM card for bringing out menu and carrier custom user interface on numerous handsets.
The application of Toolkit present in your device is programmed into the inserted SIM card by your cellular service provider. This application will help you to interact with the network, disclose the MEI (Mobile Equipment Interface), and provide an access to the user to network control.
SIM Toolkit Features
The operations of the SIM Toolkit on your device are divided into numerous groups that perform different functions.
- User Interface Control: It shows menu, text, and language notifications, helps to select the items from the menu and plays tones.
- SIM Control: It refreshes the inserted SIM card, disables polling, checks poll interval, turns on and off the SIM card, and gets the status of the reader.
- Network Control: It permits the user to send short messages, provides DTMF and USSD information, and helps the user to set up a call.
- Inter-Networking Control: It helps to open any web browser, receive or send any data, retain the status of the channel, and open up the channels.
- Other functions: Provides an access to manage the information of the device and time.
If you got confused after knowing about such features individually, you simply need to know that SIM Toolkit provides you with an easy method for activating or using the value-added services provided by the operator. According to the operator, numerous services will be provided to you such as utility services, caller tunes, sports scores, news, jokes, astrology, and the ability to directly contact the customer care of the operator. In addition to this, STK provides Users with Improved Security for conducting digital transactions because it permits encryption and verification of the user identity.
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Working Of SIM Toolkit App On Android
SIM Toolkit does not rely on the model and manufacture of the Android and it looks the same on every Android phone. The only difference can be observed in the menus and options that will display on the screen because the options given by one network can be different from the other carrier’s value-added services. SIM Toolkit permits the device SIM to begin and relay the commands between the network and phone.
SIM Toolkit can be considered as a client-server relation in which the phone will act as the client and the inserted SIM card will act as a server. Just like other applications, the SIM Toolkit will impose numerous layers for working out with your device and service provider. These layers comprise of the following components mentioned below.
- RIL (Reliance Industries Limited) : It is software from the vendor side.
- SIM Toolkit: It is a machine code that is utilized for translating the raw text from RIL to an application.
- User Interface: An interface that will be reading out the messages on the application level and displaying them as an option and menu on the device.
Earlier, SIM Toolkit was protected by a phone lock or a PIN for preventing the misuse of applications. If it is locked, nobody can use the application from a phone with no SIM card or within the SIM. Before the launch of 4G, SIM Toolkit relied on the standard of GSM 11.14. The present standard of the LTE SIMs is ‘3GPP 31.111’ which includes a USIM application toolkit as well that is based on 3G.
Can You Disable SIM Toolkit App On Android?
No, you can not disable the SIM Toolkit app on Android because it is present within your device via the inserted SIM card and it is an essential utility allowing the operator for activating a new SIM card and enabling the feature of interaction between the phone and network. As it is an important part of your device, there’s no method to disable or uninstall the SIM Toolkit app on Android.
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Conclusion
According to us, there will be no harmful effects of leaving the SIM Toolkit app on Android because its size is less as compared to the other installed applications on your device. It provides the important interaction between the network and phone and does not hinder the space of your device. Therefore, you need to understand its usage rather than think of it as a non-worthy application.
