I Thought I Couldn’t Live Without a SIM

[mouakter14]

For years, I thought a SIM card was non-negotiable—like food, water, and Wi-Fi. It felt like the thread holding everything together: messages, calls, access to services, and even identity verification. I convinced myself that without it, I’d be stranded, disconnected, and out of touch. The idea of not having a mobile number genuinely made me anxious. What if I missed a call from a job? What if I couldn’t log into my bank? What if there was an emergency? The dependency was so ingrained that even when I stopped using actual phone calls and relied almost entirely on apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Discord, I still clung to the idea that I needed the SIM—just in case.

But after one too many overpriced bills, too many special database spam calls, and realizing I was basically living on Wi-Fi anyway, I started to question it. So I did an experiment: one week with airplane mode on, Wi-Fi only, and apps for everything. And nothing broke. I still had full conversations, made video calls, sent voice notes, and got all my notifications. My navigation worked with offline maps, and I didn’t miss a single important message. That one week opened my eyes to how unnecessary the SIM had become for my daily life. I finally canceled my plan, removed the SIM, and took the leap. I moved my 2FA logins to authenticator apps, gave trusted people my alternate contact platforms, and even set up a backup number with Google Voice for rare situations that still required it.

Now I’ve been SIM-free for over a month—and I’m thriving. No more monthly fees, no more random number-based interruptions, and honestly, no more stress about being "always reachable." My phone feels like mine again—used with intention, not obligation. I thought I couldn’t live without a SIM because I had never actually tried. But living without it taught me that the essentials—connection, communication, community—don’t require a phone number anymore. They just require clarity about how you want to engage. So if you’re like I was, stuck in the mindset that your SIM is your lifeline, I promise it’s not. Try going without it for a few days. You might just find that the freedom on the other side is better than you imagined.