A phone with no service or no SIM card is known as a "911 only cell" and we (911 people) CANNOT call those phones back. When we get a call from one of those, the phone number that shows up has an area code of 911 and 7 random numbers for the rest of it. It may be different in other countries, but here in the US of A, no can do.
We did it. There is a way. I won't say how because it would cause "problems", it can however, be done.
A phone with no service subscription can also be located if the phone is turned on but not in use.
The service providers like Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint can also send a text message to a phone with no subscription service. No, the clerk behind the counter can't tell you how.
Also, the no-service phone can be located via it's longitude and latitude, accuracy varying but often within a few hundred yards at most.
To the last post: no-service phone does not mean the phone can't make a call, it means that if it isn't subscribed to a service provider, it can still make emergency calls. The phone does not need to have a regular phone number or paid for service to make 911 calls.
The numbers after the 911 are not random, they can be decoded.
You would be amazed at what the service providers can access on any phone, with a subscription or not. How much of that a particular 911 center can also access depends on where it is, at what level it operates and it's agreements with service providers. Not all 911 call centers are the same or have the same capabilities.
