e-sim for regular phone switchers?

Submitted by afc74nl t3_yi98z7 in iphone

I guess I could have posted this in either the iPhone or android reddit but wasn't sure...

I am starting to wonder just how much of a pain e-sim is going to be moving forwrad for people who regularly switch phones? How will it work for switching between phones very often? how difficult will it be and will they monitor and clamp down on people that do it on a regular basis? It feels like if they can control or restrict it then eventually they will. Apple especially will likely use it as a means of keeping people inside the walled garden.

I am a regular phone switcher in that I always have a droid (sometimes 2) and an iPhone and will switch between them. I only use one at a time and only have one sim card. To date the biggest hassle with this has been whatsapp device registration but more recently whatsapp seems to be more relaxed about it so it is not a big deal, so I just pop my sim in the other phone and off I go.

The thing is if there was a way to link sims/numbers for things like whatsapp and phone calls I'd happily have 2 sims, but alas in 2022 this is still not a thing.

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sora1493 t1_iuhmpj5 wrote

Personally, I think it will be a hassle especially for those who travel and want to switch SIM cards out of devices. If we become locked into E-SIM (if that is the wave of the future) let’s say you’re traveling internationally and don’t want you use your native home plan as it’s much expensive for travel roaming costs. I usually purchase a new sim at the country im visiting/at the airport and pop it into the phone. I know SIM cards can be tedious but they are convenient. I feel removing this choice and making it all “ESIM” while great will then cause other communication challenges and needing to make arrangements if you’re planning to phone swap and/or travel with an out-of-country SIM.

I myself like to switch sometimes between my iPhone and Android device (though it’s been a bit since I’ve done that, the option is still there whenever I need it).

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chhappy7 t1_iuhw46v wrote

Replying to sora1493 (#379,620)

While in the present, SIM is definitely easier for travel, when I traveled internationally recently, it was pretty easy to just purchase an eSIM from places like Airalo. eSIM is definitely not at abundance that SIM is (much like going from micro USB to USB c or any similar transition), I think it’ll get there. iPhone 14 series eSIM convenience is an early adopter burden type of thing imo, sort of like when headphone jack was gone. But it’ll get better.

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Xanthyria t1_iuhxirj wrote

Replying to sora1493 (#379,620)

I just flew into Greece, bought an eSIM online, and had it running in under 2 minutes. With a couple taps, and didn’t have to remove my old eSIM (just disabled).

With the 13/14 I think you can have 2 simultaneous eSIMs so I’m not sure the problem with this—particularly since every country is being forced into eSIM options because of it

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sora1493 t1_iui1qmv wrote

Replying to Xanthyria (#382,958)

I think what concerns me with this is that at the least, with a sim, you’re garuanteed flexibility to swap. Let’s say you have a backup device (which cannot connect to internet) and you’re on a hike or far trip for the day - your phone happens to break. How are you able to switch to the backup device that has no sim available now to place into the device (since ESIM) or wifi available / and since it’s not connected to data you’re unable to activate it?

I know that’s an off case scenario but I’m not anti ESIM - I think learning more about the technology and convenience is really progressive and adaptive. But I do think there’s benefit to having a physical SIM - there’s just more you can do with it. I like the stability in knowing the physical chip controls the phone service rather than relying just on being locked down to the device managing the electronic sim - in event of an emergency, accident etc.

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computechnopro t1_iui2c76 wrote

Got an eSIM today from only 1 operator which supports it out of 5 in our country. It's more expensive than a physical SIM, almost twice!. I can only use the QR code bundled with the eSIM package for installation twice when changing or resetting iPhone. Have to get a new one after that at an additional cost!
Cons outweigh the pros IMO🤔

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walgman t1_iui4eyk wrote

Replying to sora1493 (#384,257)

Yeah. I’ve been eSim for years now and upgrade every year. When I swap over it asks if I want my eSim to cross over and it’s there. Super easy.

I’ve also got a small collection of eSims for countries I visit regularly and I just switch them on and off at will. I usually keep my Uk number live for incoming business calls and the local sim for data.

However. None of my foreign eSims reactivated on my 14. One has disappeared entirely and three are there, but marked ‘no SIM’.

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iLamb3r7 t1_iuig2uv wrote

Switching to iPhone from iPhone isn’t as bad, but switching from iPhone to Android and back you’ll need to do it on the website (TMOBILE) enter the IMEI and EID. When it works it’s not as bad, but when it doesn’t. You possibly could lose your number. It happened to me took them 8 days to get resolved. It was not a fun experience, not planning to switch to any of my Android phones for now. I might just end up selling them or the iPhone 14.

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legituser619 t1_iuj1ikx wrote

Why would apple remove this feature is beyond me. I think Steve Jobs would be pisst at Tim Cook, on many factors , isent their job to make people’s lives easier and less hassle buy owning a apple device? Instead they always go side ways with new designs. Shame on apple for forcing into your e sim only bs . There was no explanation on the many benefits of going that route besides they claim more security.

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afc74nl OP t1_iuj66bj wrote

Replying to iLamb3r7 (#388,495)

This is my concern, I regularly switch between my devices every week or 2, I realise I am an edge case but it does feel like that it is going to be taken away in the near future. Now apple have started down this route everybody is bound to follow.

Now if they mordenised how Sims work e.g. one sim able to work across more than one device then it could work.

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iLamb3r7 t1_iuj7b55 wrote

Replying to afc74nl (#396,949)

I randomly switch between devices every few days 😂 yeah I know I have problems. I have switched to the following devices (S22U, Zflip 4 and Pixel 6a) after getting the iPhone 14 with no issues. Those were done within a few days.
I switched to the Pixel 6a to try out my new Pixel buds pro to run an update. The Pixel 6a battery was draining too much so I decided to switch back to the iPhone 14 the same day. That might have caused my problem, I’m guessing it’s too short of a time with each device that caused an issue with T-Mobile activation server.

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iLamb3r7 t1_iuj9bw3 wrote

Replying to afc74nl (#397,509)

Yeah, same here that’s how they make content trying out different phones. I do think that’s where everyone is heading ESim only. Who do you have as a carrier?

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afc74nl OP t1_iujbo0j wrote

Replying to iLamb3r7 (#397,944)

I'm in the UK on smarty (three network) they don't even offer esim yet.

I think in the UK at least we have another couple of years before it becomes an issue.

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