gammu getallsms : Can not access SIM card

Problem

    pi@raspberrypi:~ $ gammu getallsms
    Can not access SIM card.

I tried to get list of sms from my sim card that is inserted into my Huawai usb dongle

lsusb

    pi@raspberrypi:~ $ lsusb
    Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
    Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
    Bus 001 Device 005: ID 12d1:1001 Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. E161/E169/E620/E800 HSDPA Modem

This error happens when device cannot communicate with a SIM card.

Perform the following steps to resolve the issue:

1. Make sure your SIM card is properly inserted into SIM tray.
2. Make sure the SIM card is activated. Test if you can send and receive messages in normal phone.
3. Powercycle your device. Please remember that you must insert a SIM card when the device is SWITCHED OFF.

For me the 3rd step worked. I removed the dongle and reconnected and it worked