I don't understand how this wasn't more of a priority to begin with. If you're going to offer a digital solution for something it should at least be as convenient as the existing physical solution.
this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2024
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Hah. To swap eSIM on O2 in the UK, you have to order a physical pack that gets posted to you with the QR code in. There is no way to get the code to appear on a screen you can scan with your camera, or in an app on the phone you can transfer to the phone's eSIM manager. It's so dumb.
That's so dumb. When I moved over to Google Fi, I put the sim in, the phone ported the number, then I chucked the sim into the fucking trash. Whenever I get a new phone, I just need to sign in on wifi and Google does the rest.
Granted -- I only use phones designed to work on Fi [Nexus/Pixels], but I prefer vanilla Android.
Also I have a data only sim if I need it for anything. Right now I'm waiting on my Clockwork Pi to finally ship.
Same here. Seems like Google did a pretty good job with the eSIM registration in their app. I've swapped phones a number of times with zero issues.
That is very dumb with Verizon in the US you just type in the esim imei online and submit it and it auto downloads and activates the esim on your phone very easy.
This is just an assumption, but I thought the whole point was to make it more difficult for people to switch carriers?
Also because it's locking another aspect of the device behind software that you do not have control over, which gives carriers and phone manufacturers some new levers to exact control over how and what you do.
Because evidently we haven't learned our lesson yet.
Like when the SD card slots got taken away, and now not only are most phones storage non-expandable, you can't even use a proper file explorer on Android anymore.
I mean, you can just not use it. It was a great option for me because I can just have one provider in the SIM slot (if I wanted) and keep my main one on the eSIM. It allowed me to swap to eSIM when my SIM card was acting up. I switched to eSIM over a year ago and honestly forgot I did and it's been really stable. I think it's a great option and works for me. I wasn't even thinking of needing to switch to another phone because I have no interest in swapping to another phone. I've had mine since 2020 and will keep using it until it is unfixable. But I also don't drop my phone or damage it otherwise.
Uh, I assumed that was a minimum viable product requirement.
I've been avoiding eSIMs like a Boomer avoids anything tech because I don't understand them, and now I'm glad I did.
SIM cards work fine; other than waste reduction, what's the point of eSIM?
I still prefer a physical SIM for my main cell plan, but when travelling to other countries it is so amazing to be able to just download an eSIM and avoid roaming fees. Airalo is quite convenient, but I hear it’s getting pricey compared to other options.
Plus with dual SIM I can disable roaming on my main SIM but still receive texts for free, but use data for cheap with the local eSIM at the same time.
Disclaimer: I live in Canada which has some of the most expensive cell plans in the world. Roaming in the US is $13 CAD/day and $16 CAD/day in the rest of the world. That seems like blatant extortion to me, they can’t blame Canada’s large size for expensive roaming fees (right?). I think US plans are a lot better, and I assume European cell plans are generally even cheaper.
Edit: I prefer physical SIMs for my main plan because if my main phone is dead or broken, I can just pop the physical SIM in an old phone that I bring while travelling. Until eSIMs can be somehow transferred like that, I don’t see myself using them for my main cell plan. Just remember to set a SIM PIN so that if someone steals your phone, they can’t use your SIM card to receive 2FA texts.
Edit 2: eSIMs are generally a pain to transfer between phones. I think my cell provider lets you do it online by scanning a QR code, but I know some make you call them and read 16 digit codes over the phone. Some even charge a small fee. I dread the day where other cell phone manufacturers follow what Apple did in the US (I think?) and make eSIMs the only option.
I could see security being one but the only reason that I got one is lack of dual sim tray on my pixel
Well, on the other hand, do you just understand how simple cards work? I for sure don’t and I don’t see why I would need a chip from my provider to access it’s services, if I can get a digital key instead.
I like that I can switch phones with a physical card. IPhone to android still no way.
Your provider won't issue a new eSIM?
How do you get that to your new phone?
They can and probably already do charge extra for that service.
My understanding of this is that the hardware vendor has a pool eSims that work on their devices. The eSIM "transfer" is actually a new eSIM from the carrier's pool and their simply transfer the emei over to the new eSIM so there shouldn't be a reason these cannot be transferred between iPhone and Android other than service providers needing to support it.
As I understand it (I've done literally zero research), it's to prevent spam/spoofing, at least in the US. With a physical card, you can't just instantly convert your phone to a different number and carrier. Now, with all the robocalls I get, there's obviously still more work to be done...
Spoofing what? Imei numbers? Phone number spoofing is not solved by this. With VOIP you can literally tell it to send whatever number you want to be its caller I'd.
Not that simple type of spoofing. The kind where I could set up a phone with your number on your network that the network thinks is yours and then intercept your incoming calls and text messages. Including being able to get your security texts to verify who you are when I would change your passwords, emails, banking info, stock accounts, etc.
My sim card was acting weird. I switched it to eSIM the moment I realized that was an option in my Mint app and it solved the issue. I wasn't planning on getting a new phone for a long time at least not until my current one becomes unusable and can easily get a new SIM card sent if needed. But it's just a nice option. I haven't had any 'no sim' errors since.
Okay, now do it when the phone is broken.
The hard way I see.
physical sims can be swapped regardless of OS or whatever arbitrary limitation they impose on us.
i still dont get why esims are a thing besides imposing more control over us
When I traveled across the world last year it took me 5 minutes to sign up for a temporary cell plan in the country I was visiting, then install the eSIM from my phone’s web browser. I didn’t have to plan ahead and wait for them to mail me a SIM card so I could juggle around SIMs while abroad. I much prefer that over a physical SIM card.
im glad you had a good experience in the random country you were in.
but have you ever dealt with most carriers? also who waits for sim cards in the mail instead of just buying one?
For reference, this was in Japan. From my experience, there weren’t SIM card vendors until you get through customs. That could be a 2 hour long process from landing to entering the country before you can get a SIM and communicate with family or your travel arrangements at your destination. It also won’t be doing you any favors if you need to pull up documentation on your phone to provide to the customs agent, like your return ticket.
I can buy an eSIM and install it before leaving my home and verify it works instantly. It’s just a better experience than the alternative.
also who waits for sim cards in the mail instead of just buying one?
Cellphone carriers that have no brick and mortar? But are also significantly cheaper for basically the same service
I just bought up a few prepaids and popped them into my phone when I wanted to use them. Also we shared them between people. Not sure how sharing works on eSIMs
Maybe in somewhere free like the EU or SEA. In the US, most phones bought from a carrier (and most sales are that way, some exclusively so) are locked so that no other SIM (e or physical) can be used.
That's your problem as a consumer accepting that. This thread makes me depressed, with the amount of people happy to allow shitty US consumer hostile practices to become more common globally.
as a consumer accepting that
That's the special condition we get in the US, though - there is little or no effective choice across the spectrum. Without regulation, corporations will become asymptotic to maximum financial extraction techniques. There are few real choices at the consumer level and the barriers to entry are such that a single consumer - or even an uncoordinated (read: without a national, staffed organization) - cannot circumvent the system.
Cell phone use was a US thing that spread there before any other country. Five fold the amount of mobile phone users than the next closest country. They were also invented in the US.
The way of buying a cell phone and paying too much for the monthly pan, but getting the phone for free kicked off in the 90s and has never managed to go away because yeah, the cell companies are assholes, but also because consumers got used to getting phones this way. The bs part is that you plan isn't any cheaper, even if you own your phone outright.
But for most people in the US there's little use for switching carriers while using your same phone, so sim stuff isn't all that important. Most don't vacation outside of the country.
Maybe it's just bad luck, but the last time I tried to swap a physical SIM, I inserted the removal tool in the hole, and then the mechanism somehow broke. So I cannot swap my SIM from my current phone to any other phone, unless I have eSim. Unfortunately, my current phone does not have eSim.
It's just to give more control to the carriers. They say it's a feature for travel but realistically how many people and how many countries does that actually apply to? Some places require ID to buy a SIM card, many places don't even offer plans travelers would want to use (who wants to pay $80 for 1 month of unlimited data instead of $5 for 1GB for a week?), and there's also the question of how many travelers are there vs locals? Are the travelers the majority of users? The majority of profit? Why don't the travelers' local phone companies have travel plans to gouge the travelers themselves?
Anyway all this is to say this is just carrier lock in, it's the return of CDMA.
This thread made me wonder how often y'all change phones. It sounds like four times a day.
No. Once every few years. However, the gap in service is absolute disaster in modern society. Without a phone, you can't use public transport, can't pay for parking, can't get a taxi/uber/competitor, etc. etc.
Any "progress" that makes the turnaround time longer when your phone breaks is a horrible and unacceptable downside.
For me it's about every 1 to 2 years, but I'm an app developer part-time so I use it to make money which justifies the high cost of ownership.
For my wife, it's more like 4 years, and we prefer to get last year's model especially with today's update commitments.
Nice. That is always the most tedious and annoying part of switching phones every single time for me.
but some carriers don't
I tried to transfer my eSIM from my old S21 to my new S24 the other day. It failed miserably. My carrier charges me $10 for a new eSIM (which i think is way too much for a digital service). Transferring eSIMs sounds like a good idea if it works, but might not be endorsed by carriers that earn large profits from the service.
The $10 is so ridiculous not because it costs them virtually nothing as a digital service, but because they charge you for access to something you're already paying them for.
I agree. Because of this, I actually changed carrier to one that was cheaper, had better coverage and free eSIM.