Android Phone message pop-up: "The SIM card has locked. Please power cycle the device and if the problem persists contact customer service."

Are they using a prepaid SIM and going over the limit?  
Are they using more bandwidth than the plan pays for?  That could cause the same thing.

It's a company phone. I do not think they are using up available data as 60 other users would have issues. Sprint provided SIM locked to Sprint.

The phone was replaced and so most unlikely it is hardware issue.

See if the user is going to sites that cause issues.

Ask Sprint for a new SIM card.

Could an app like "What's APP" cause issue like this?

I have not seen any normal or business apps lock a phone, except through misuse.  WhatsApp sends out a lot of spam.

You may need to ask the user about their activities (or ask the user's Manager to do that).

Thank you, they are away on leave until next week. we will follow up.

"I have not seen any normal or business apps lock a phone"

It's not the phone that kept locking.  It's the SIM card that's kept locking.

wlasner, you should call Sprint again and drill them on:

1) Double check that the device is fully activated and the SIM is matched with the IMEI of your phone.  Some carriers are picky about this.
 If they are not mismatched or not entered properly it can cause their system to reject the SIM card from time to time.

2)  Have you asked Sprint to give you a new SIM?  It could be the SIM that is faulty.

this can happen if the user tries to unlock the phone and enters the WRONG PIN combination 4x after 10x the sim is permanently locked.

You have to go to the carrier and after proving ownership you will be given a PUK (Pin Unlock Code) which is a 10 digit sequence you will on unlocking be asked to set a new pin code.

To unlock it you must reset your PIN by entering your SIM card's unique unlock key (also called a PIN unblocking key or PUK). To unlock your SIM card: Log in to MyBell and retrieve your unlock key. Enter the unlock key on your mobile phone.

Bell instructions but it is pretty much the same for all carriers

I don't think the user is typing the incorrect pin more than 4 times but they are using facial scan and perhaps they are having issues. This is a new replacement for the first new S9 she received and has the same issue with the SIM card. I will look into what she is doing.
thanks

When the SIM is locked due to the wrong code being entered the lock is permanent until the PUK code is entered.  It will not be solved just by a power cycle of the phone.

Still not sure what is happening here. User is on vacation. Will check if she is entering incorrect pin or messing up the retinal scans.

Thank you, after all the back and forth and while Samsung and Sprint have not admitted it, I believe it was a Samsung on of them that had to correct the issue. So far all has been good for the past week.
Wayne