I recently removed a Sim card from an N900 that isn't going to be used as a phone.

Now it gets a message on boot saying "SIM card registration failed." How do I get rid of the message?

If I go into Settings, I find that under Phone/SIM card, PIN code request is NOT checked but there are four asterisks, I imagine from the old SIM. I can't delete them. If I could, i imagine the error would go away?

Nothing to do with the SIM lock settings, mine displays 4x'*' all the time.

Have you got the phone set to "Offline" mode? The N900 should then stay in offline mode, even after a restart, displaying

"Phone currently set to 'Offline mode'. Continue in 'Offline mode?'
[Yes] [No]"

message each time you power it up.

Also make sure you haven't got any apps or widgets set up to use the GPRS network.

Aha, Offline mode is a good suggestion, I'll try it.

Well, offline mode didn't get rid of the message.

It DID knock me off the Internet, though. Why would that have helped? I said I wasn't using the PHONE. I didn't say I didn't want to use the Internet.

When I got my first N900 it didn't have a SIM and didn't give an error message.

I just want to go back to not having a SIM and not having an error message.

Does anyone have an idea how to get rid of the error message as quoted above?

And why would getting a message to which I would always have to reply y or N have been better than getting an error message?

Edit: To be clearer, the Internet will be accessed via wireless. I just want to get rid of the error message. If you want to replicate my problem, here's how to do it.

1. Take the SIM out of your N900.
2. Reboot and try to figure out how to get rid of the error message about your SIM.

I've never got the "SIM Card registration failed message" error message.
All I get is a little icon in the status area.

But, you didn't say you wanted to use it on the net. I can't remember if it was a plugin or if it's built in, but there's a tablet mode that allows Wi-Fi browsing without a SIM installed. Access it via the power button, if it's not in your menu then it must be a plugin.

You could try checking in your phone settings, see what you've got your "Network selection" set to. Mine's on automatic.

Found it. It's a plugin called "Cellular Modem Control Buttons". Should be in the repos somewhere.

[QUOTE=geneven;984038]Well, offline mode didn't get rid of the message.

It DID knock me off the Internet, though. Why would that have helped? I said I wasn't using the PHONE. I didn't say I didn't want to use the Internet.

When I got my first N900 it didn't have a SIM and didn't give an error message.

I just want to go back to not having a SIM and not having an error message.

maybe your sim card validity has been expired

Did you try with the SIM-card inserted to disable the PIN-code in the settings application in the section phone?

OK, I just tried that and I didn't get any errors. My phone booted normally. The only difference is that it didn't ask for PIN because there was no SIM in it.
But everything else is as it's supposed to be. It automatically connected to my wifi. I only got sign of crossed SIM instead of signal bar. And I stayed in online mode.

OK, it DID expire, so I removed it, since my friend never uses the phone.

So I still get the message and want to get rid of it, but that is a good lead.