I travel globally for my job, nice try. T-Mobile includes international roaming in their Magenta MAX plans, it's a much better deal than many European carriers prepaid. Can just pay for flat-rate pass for 4G/5G speeds.
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Apple Removes SIM Card Tray on All iPhone 14 Models in U.S.
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I travel globally for my job, nice try. T-Mobile includes international roaming in their Magenta MAX plans, it's a much better deal than many European carriers prepaid. Can just pay for flat-rate pass for 4G/5G speeds.
i also have tmobile, and i will be looking into the max for data, and then adding this to my trip costs. Tmobile has a pretty generous daily roaming plan anyhow.
If (and I am sure they are) T-Mobile supports switching physical to eSIM on iOS via the proprietary Apple system then I am sure when you use the quick setup feature on your current iPhone to setup your iPhone 14 it will then ask if you would like to transfer your number and it will handle the process for you.
I actually just did this yesterday on my iPhone 13 Pro Max on Telekom Deutschland (T-Mobile DE). It showed an option to turn my physical SIM into eSIM. I clicked it and it warned me that the physical SIM will not work anymore. I confirmed and in under 5 seconds the process was complete. It didn’t ask for anything, and was a prepaid plan.
I contacted AT&T and they told me my prepaid plan will work with eSim — they said many customers use this already.
The answer to this seeming predicament of course is to simply hold onto your iPhone 13s or earlier until eSIM reaches enough adoption for you to safely acquire future iPhones. That’s it. End of thread.
Since AT&T prepaid supports eSim, I would think the others would fall in line.
For international travel, I will just bring an older iPhone as a backup in case I can’t get eSim to work there. Am I the only one that keeps a backup iPhone on hand? I don’t see the reason for freaking out about this.
For international travel, I will just bring an older iPhone as a backup in case I can’t get eSim to work there. Am I the only one that keeps a backup iPhone on hand? I don’t see the reason for freaking out about this.
this is another reminder that compared to citizens of other developed nations, not that many United States citizens travel overseas on a regular basis.
last time I checked only a little over 1/3 of US citizens possess valid passports.... off the top of my head, I can only speak for Sweden where close to 90%(if not more) of the citizens have valid passports and many travel outside of Europe frequently.
Of course, most of us who travel overseas regularly almost always bring a 2nd smartphone anyway. Just before the COVID pandemic started at the end of 2019, I was logging anywhere from 170,000 to 250,000 BIS actual flight miles on TPAC/TATL flights each calendar year. In 2020, I flew less than 30,000 miles, which was a record low for me since 2001.
I'm sure Apple people have figured out that not including a SIM card tray will probably increase their profit by millions... so it wasn't a hard decision. (same way they make hundreds of millions, if not billions, by having the courage to remove the headphone jack... and people happily bought wireless Airpods and other headphones)
Wow, you have no self-respect. This is the same apologism that willing victims always use to excuse their own weakness and laziness. And you're making the same dumb, invalid comparisons that tools made when Apple deleted the headphone jacks from their most popular music players. You're even regurgitating the ridiculous "waste of space" excuse. Regular SIMs are tiny; then Apple went to the "mini" ones and then the "micro" ones... a tiresome game of progressively screwing the consumer with nearly-proprietary junk that's indefensible from any practical standpoint.The outrage in this thread is hilarious. This is a big step forward, the SIM card slot was the biggest waste of space inside the phone. The few carriers that don’t support eSIM will now be forced to or they’ll lose business. You guys will get over it. Similar outrage when Apple got rid of the floppy disk drive, or the archaic USB ports, both genius moves in hindsight.
The "E-SIM" is just the end stage of another consumer rip-off and crippling of an entire category of product. When willing victims like you eagerly lap up the abuse corporations trowel out, you don't just screw yourself; you abet the likes of Apple and Google in taking the market BACKWARD and screwing everybody.
Pathetic.
Why? I just got back from overseas, where I merely walked into a store and bought a SIM for my iPhone. Why should you have to carry a second phone and not have all your other data on it?
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I'm surprised, I thought eSIM only might be next year, even for just 1 country.
International travel can be done with prepaid eSIMs, but apparently it's data-only, it doesn't seem like any prepaid eSIMs offer voice or SMS. In principle there's nothing that stops them from offering voice and SMS though, eSIM is the same as SIM for their cellular capabilities.
But of course some people are saying they need a local phone number. I mostly stuck with using data when overseas (I did use a physical SIM but then again it was my iPhone X which predated the eSIM). I thought the world was using Whatsapp, maybe try Whatsapp calling and texting people instead? You could also use a Google Voice number and preload it with money for international calling and use data. It would shield you from using your regular number and give people a Voice number instead, and it can text and voice call.
So is there a drawback to getting rid of the physical SIM, yeah, but I think the world can work through it, carriers should now work hard on making eSIM exactly the same as physical SIM but better.
International travel can be done with prepaid eSIMs, but apparently it's data-only, it doesn't seem like any prepaid eSIMs offer voice or SMS. In principle there's nothing that stops them from offering voice and SMS though, eSIM is the same as SIM for their cellular capabilities.
But of course some people are saying they need a local phone number. I mostly stuck with using data when overseas (I did use a physical SIM but then again it was my iPhone X which predated the eSIM). I thought the world was using Whatsapp, maybe try Whatsapp calling and texting people instead? You could also use a Google Voice number and preload it with money for international calling and use data. It would shield you from using your regular number and give people a Voice number instead, and it can text and voice call.
So is there a drawback to getting rid of the physical SIM, yeah, but I think the world can work through it, carriers should now work hard on making eSIM exactly the same as physical SIM but better.
Wow, man. This is going to be a mess. I’d like to say that carriers will keep things as they are with no device changes fees… but come on. I’d be giving them too much credit.
Its super easy on T-Mobile to move your Sim to the eSim in your 13. Either contact support or do it yourself. Instructions below. Youre welcome!
SIM card & eSIM
The SIM card is your device's ticket to the T-Mobile network! Learn how to buy one, install or replace it, and change or activate a SIM card/eSIM.
www.t-mobile.com
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To everyone panicking about this, relax. This will be a good thing long term. Now carriers will be forced to properly support eSIMs, rather than continuing to beat around the bush. Within a year nearly every carrier in the world will likely be on board and swapping eSIMs around will be super easy.
This is a necessary step to move the technology forward.
This is a necessary step to move the technology forward.
That will mean more stock available to Americans in the next few months at US retailers. I think eventually iPhones sold in Europe will lose the SIM card tray as well.
this is another reminder that compared to citizens of other developed nations, not that many United States citizens travel overseas on a regular basis.
last time I checked only a little over 1/3 of US citizens possess valid passports.... off the top of my head, I can only speak for Sweden where close to 90%(if not more) of the citizens have valid passports and many travel outside of Europe frequently.
Of course, most of us who travel overseas regularly almost always bring a 2nd smartphone anyway. Just before the COVID pandemic started at the end of 2019, I was logging anywhere from 170,000 to 250,000 BIS actual flight miles on TPAC/TATL flights each calendar year. In 2020, I flew less than 30,000 miles, which was a record low for me since 2001.
I'm sure Apple people have figured out that not including a SIM card tray will probably increase their profit by millions... so it wasn't a hard decision. (same way they make hundreds of millions, if not billions, by having the courage to remove the headphone jack... and people happily bought wireless Airpods and other headphones)
Nope, hadn't used a 2nd cell phone or sim swap since the flip-phone days. T-Mobile was the first US carrier to drop international roaming text and data charges in 2013 and it still applies today.
Even 5GB/data included is enough for someone on a simple vacation. Simple upgrade pass for unlimited calling and 15GB blocks.
I called T-Mobile support and they said that you have to call them on your old phone and they will guide you through the process of converting your physical SIM into an eSIM.
I am really concerned of how much Verizon will mess up, they had enough problems with physical SIM cards
You dont have to call them, you can do it yourself to... call if you want hand held but otherwise no need for T-mobile CSR. Login to your T-mobile account and they have step by step instructions to do it.
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Apple has been offering ESIM since the iPhone XS/XR. Carriers have had 4 years to prepare for this. If your provider doesn’t support ESIM…that’s on them for being hesitant to switch to a better technology. Hopefully this will ruffle their feathers to get going on adding support for it.
Completely agree....I'm just saying its a possibility it may happen.
It’s a smart move by Apple to remove it only on iPhone 14/14 Pro models sold in the US. Foreign carriers that have dragged their feet on eSim now know that next year’s 15/15 Pro will probably lose the SIM card tray in their country (with maybe the exception of iPhones sold in China and India). It’s their unofficial warning.
Apple's US website clearly states that iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus as "Not compatible with physical SIM cards" just like iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro max...
iPhone - Compare Models
Compare features and technical specifications for iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone SE, and many more.
www.apple.com
Actually, according to my legacy T-Mobile One plan, you get 5GB of high-speed data overseas before it slows down. I just noticed that change a few days ago in the plan features page of the T-Mobile app. Before that, data was always slow overseas unless you upgraded.
I also noticed one year of free Apple TV was available to me so now I won’t have to pay for Apple TV until October 2023.
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