Other eSIM + Dual SIM Q&A

[NYCValkyrie]

So sorry if this has already been addressed (it's a long thread) but has anyone actually successfully been able to get more than 2 phone numbers onto an iphone 14? I've heard over and over that you can put up to (I believe) 8 numbers onto the 2 eSIMS but any carrier I have tried to even get 3 onto tells me that each eSIM can only hold one number. I even tried putting a second number onto eSIM 2 but got a message that this would delete the first profile. Another carrier right out told me I couldn't even put a line onto an eSIM until I deleted the first profile. I don't want them all active at the same time, I just want the number to be stored so I can have access to it when I need it.

It used to be that I could have 3 or 4 SIM cards and swap them out in my phone, but now since this "No physical SIM" idea, that's not even an option anymore.

So what's the deal? Can this be done or not?

Of course it can. It's been advertised as such and many people have been doing it even on the 13 which had the capability of 2 eSIM along w/ a physical tray. There are a bunch of YouTube videos as well if you want to look them up.

Only 2 lines will work at a time though so the others will be off and go to VM if you have it set up. I keep my main line on IMEI 1 (TMO) because I never want to turn it off. IMEI 2 is for travel data (Airalo) and backup US data (US Mobile/Verizon) and I just added the Mint Mobile trial 5 min ago because I could 😉

 

[jay968]

Of course it can. It's been advertised as such and many people have been doing it even on the 13 which had the capability of 2 eSIM along w/ a physical tray. There are a bunch of YouTube videos as well if you want to look them up.

Only 2 lines will work at a time though so the others will be off and go to VM if you have it set up. I keep my main line on IMEI 1 (TMO) because I never want to turn it off. IMEI 2 is for travel data (Airalo) and backup US data (US Mobile/Verizon) and I just added the Mint Mobile trial 5 min ago because I could 😉

OK so I tried it with 2 carriers. With the first, I got a message stating that the eSIM profile that was already on my phone would be deleted. With the second, all I got was error messages and the rep told me it would not work unless I had a free eSIM to put the number on.

BTW, I am using an iphone 14 with ios 16.2

 

[NYCValkyrie]

OK so I tried it with 2 carriers. With the first, I got a message stating that the eSIM profile that was already on my phone would be deleted. With the second, all I got was error messages and the rep told me it would not work unless I had a free eSIM to put the number on.

I'm not sure what country you are in or what carriers you are using but as you can see, it is possible so your carriers aren't being truthful to you or the rep you spoke to has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. The eSIM doesn't delete unless you physically delete it yourself. It just turns off if you turn another one on. So turn off one of the lines and then it is "free" for them to add. But it isn't deleted.

On the latest iOS, when you install a new eSIM, it asks you which line you want to turn off, not delete. Apple isn't lying and neither am I. You could always install the Mint Mobile app and start a trial and you can install another eSIM yourself without having speak to anyone. That's as much proof I can offer you.

 

[jay968]

I'm not sure what country you are in or what carriers you are using but as you can see, it is possible so your carriers aren't being truthful to you or the rep you spoke to has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. The eSIM doesn't delete unless you physically delete it yourself. It just turns off if you turn another one on. So turn off one of the lines and then it is "free" for them to add. But it isn't deleted.

On the latest iOS, when you install a new eSIM, it asks you which line you want to turn off, not delete. Apple isn't lying and neither am I. You could always install the Mint Mobile app and start a trial and you can install another eSIM yourself without having speak to anyone. That's as much proof I can offer you.

I believe you. I have literally been trying to get a number onto an eSIM for days with US Mobile. Every single time I try, I get an error message saying "Port request already in progress." I asked about a dozen times why it says this and never once got an answer. I DID try a port of another number a few days ago that had to be aborted. I asked if this was indeed cancelled and was told that yes it was....who knows. One of the reps today told me it had not and said that she did indeed delete it herself. Still not working.
I was with them in live chat for literally 5 hours today. First they claimed that this could not be done because I already had a number using that eSIM. Then I pointed out that Apple says that yes this can be done. They then insisted that no it could not and that I would have to have the number already on that eSIM deleted. I went back and forth with them asking if this would delete that number permanently having to ask over and over again before I finally got a response telling me that they could always add it back. So I had them delete that number and I took it out of my eSIM profile. It still didn't work.
I then asked if it might work if I created a new US Mobile account with a different email. They said yes that would work. It didn't.
So basically I now have nothing with them, have given up and am looking for another carrier with an inexpensive way to fill my IMEI 2 with a number from a Verizon MVNO. I have T-Mobile on my main IMEI and am happy with them. I just want another line in case I am in a bad area as I travel to remote areas very often.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

I believe you. I have literally been trying to get a number onto an eSIM for days with US Mobile. Every single time I try, I get an error message saying "Port request already in progress." I asked about a dozen times why it says this and never once got an answer. I DID try a port of another number a few days ago that had to be aborted. I asked if this was indeed cancelled and was told that yes it was....who knows. One of the reps today told me it had not and said that she did indeed delete it herself. Still not working.
I was with them in live chat for literally 5 hours today. First they claimed that this could not be done because I already had a number using that eSIM. Then I pointed out that Apple says that yes this can be done. They then insisted that no it could not and that I would have to have the number already on that eSIM deleted. I went back and forth with them asking if this would delete that number permanently having to ask over and over again before I finally got a response telling me that they could always add it back. So I had them delete that number and I took it out of my eSIM profile. It still didn't work.
I then asked if it might work if I created a new US Mobile account with a different email. They said yes that would work. It didn't.
So basically I now have nothing with them, have given up and am looking for another carrier with an inexpensive way to fill my IMEI 2 with a number from a Verizon MVNO. I have T-Mobile on my main IMEI and am happy with them. I just want another line in case I am in a bad area as I travel to remote areas very often.

I got my USM line for the same reason but never even spoke w/ anyone. I just signed up online and it was working soon after. I didn't port a number in though so that seems to be the new information and the wrench of your problem.

Not sure where you're porting in from from but if it's from one Verizon MVNO to another Verizon MVNO, there have been issues of it getting stuck in the porting process. Perhaps in the master Verizon system, the eSIM is already in use and that's what they mean. But that is different from Apple allowing multiple eSIMs, hence the confusion.

I'd just start over with a new phone number and then try to change it to the number you want once it's up and running if that number isn't critical for you. So then it's just a phone number change. I don't know what else to say other than that.

You could always try Google Fi or Visible.

 

[Fred Zed]

I’ve done a dry test run using dual esim and attempting to emulate roaming with my local USA line 1 not having roaming agreements. Line two is used for cellular data for my line one when away from Wi-Fi and when connected to Wi-Fi it shows Wi-Fi calling. Only issue noted is battery drain since the USA line 1 is indicating zero bars of signal since it’s not latching on to any cellular network.

 

[jay968]

I got my USM line for the same reason but never even spoke w/ anyone. I just signed up online and it was working soon after. I didn't port a number in though so that seems to be the new information and the wrench of your problem.

Not sure where you're porting in from from but if it's from one Verizon MVNO to another Verizon MVNO, there have been issues of it getting stuck in the porting process. Perhaps in the master Verizon system, the eSIM is already in use and that's what they mean. But that is different from Apple allowing multiple eSIMs, hence the confusion.

I'd just start over with a new phone number and then try to change it to the number you want once it's up and running if that number isn't critical for you. So then it's just a phone number change. I don't know what else to say other than that.

You could always try Google Fi or Visible.

Well after close to 9 hours, I finally got it worked out. What an ordeal. The port was from T-Mobile (my second line there) to US Mobile (Verizon).
It's really unbelievable how one rep can say one thing and the next can say something totally different. The main thing here is that they were claiming that the port was not working because US Mobile does not allow more than one number on an IMEI. But this even proved to be false because the way they eventually did it due to the error messages I was getting was by doing just that..putting the ported number onto the same IMEI that my main number is on. I even brought that to his attention and he basically had no response for me to that. I WAS able to move the number over to the second IMEI manually myself as US Mobile gives you the ability to do that.
I finally did get a rep who told me that the reason I had issues to begin with had nothing to do with the IMEI or my number, or account or anything like that. It apparently was a glitch in their porting system!
At this point I am just happy I finally got it working but my word, this whole eSIM thing with the new iphones is just a terrible terrible idea! NONE of this would have happened had I just been able to put a stupid little SIM card into the phone!

 

[ManuCH]

So sorry if this has already been addressed (it's a long thread) but has anyone actually successfully been able to get more than 2 phone numbers onto an iphone 14? I've heard over and over that you can put up to (I believe) 8 numbers onto the 2 eSIMS but any carrier I have tried to even get 3 onto tells me that each eSIM can only hold one number. I even tried putting a second number onto eSIM 2 but got a message that this would delete the first profile. Another carrier right out told me I couldn't even put a line onto an eSIM until I deleted the first profile. I don't want them all active at the same time, I just want the number to be stored so I can have access to it when I need it.

It used to be that I could have 3 or 4 SIM cards and swap them out in my phone, but now since this "No physical SIM" idea, that's not even an option anymore.

So what's the deal? Can this be done or not?

You can store up to 8 eSIMs on your iPhone. These are like 8 physical SIMs. However, you can only have 2 active at the same time.

You can go to 8 different carriers and get 8 eSIMs. Or go to 1 carrier and have them issue 8 eSIMs with 8 different numbers to you. But you will not have 8 phone numbers on 2 eSIMs. To have 8 phone numbers, you need 8 eSIMs with 8 subscriptions (or 8 prepaid plans, whatever suits you).

 

[jay968]

You can store up to 8 eSIMs on your iPhone. These are like 8 physical SIMs. However, you can only have 2 active at the same time.

You can go to 8 different carriers and get 8 eSIMs. Or go to 1 carrier and have them issue 8 eSIMs with 8 different numbers to you. But you will not have 8 phone numbers on 2 eSIMs. To have 8 phone numbers, you need 8 eSIMs with 8 subscriptions (or 8 prepaid plans, whatever suits you).

As stated in my last post, I finally did get US Mobile to set me up by porting the number I wanted onto the same eSIM as my main number. However, the way they did it was by having me sign up on their network using an IMEI that they gave me, not by using either of the 2 that are listed in my phone's settings. I later transferred this number to the IMEI 2 available slot (this would not work at first due to a glitch on their end).
My question is, how does one do this without having to have the carrier give you this IMEI number that you do not see yourself? It was very close to the IMEI number that my IMEI 1 was, but had one or two different digits in it. Where did this come from, and how were they able to make it work?
If I try and add a new number to an existing eSIM, I am given a warning that this will delete the profile that already exists for that IMEI. How would I be able to do what they did on my own if I ever wanted to add another number for some reason?

This entire eSIM thing seems to be an absolute pain in the butt. Gone are the days where one could just grab a SIM, pop it in and be able to switch anytime he/she liked in 5 minutes. Aside from all the headaches I went through yesterday with US Mobile, the activation of the eSIM itself took about an hour when all was said and done. And this was literally after about another 7 hours with their support reps trying to figure out why I couldn't just port in on IMEI 2 to begin with (no exaggeration).

WHAT exactly is Apple thinking??

 

[PLin]

So sorry if this has already been addressed (it's a long thread) but has anyone actually successfully been able to get more than 2 phone numbers onto an iphone 14? I've heard over and over that you can put up to (I believe) 8 numbers onto the 2 eSIMS but any carrier I have tried to even get 3 onto tells me that each eSIM can only hold one number. I even tried putting a second number onto eSIM 2 but got a message that this would delete the first profile. Another carrier right out told me I couldn't even put a line onto an eSIM until I deleted the first profile. I don't want them all active at the same time, I just want the number to be stored so I can have access to it when I need it.

It used to be that I could have 3 or 4 SIM cards and swap them out in my phone, but now since this "No physical SIM" idea, that's not even an option anymore.

So what's the deal? Can this be done or not?

I have a Canadian iPhone 14 Pro that has a physical SIM slot, and I was able to have 2 eSIMs and 1 physical SIM with no problem. When I added the 2nd eSIM, I was prompted to turn off one of the lines, since you can only use 2 simultaneously, but all 3 lines are available for me to enable and disable.

My AT&T prepaid service is on eSIM, my Airalo data is on another eSIM, and I have Google Fi for the physical SIM.

Are you trying to add more than one phone number from a single carrier?

 

[jay968]

I have a Canadian iPhone 14 Pro that has a physical SIM slot, and I was able to have 2 eSIMs and 1 physical SIM with no problem. When I added the 2nd eSIM, I was prompted to turn off one of the lines, since you can only use 2 simultaneously, but all 3 lines are available for me to enable and disable.

My AT&T prepaid service is on eSIM, my Airalo data is on another eSIM, and I have Google Fi for the physical SIM.

Are you trying to add more than one phone number from a single carrier?

Please read the last few posts that I put up here. The situation was resolved with the carrier but only after almost 9 hours of tech support help.

This eSIM only idea of Apple's certainly has to be the worst nightmare I have ever had when it comes to cell phones!

 

[ManuCH]

As stated in my last post, I finally did get US Mobile to set me up by porting the number I wanted onto the same eSIM as my main number. However, the way they did it was by having me sign up on their network using an IMEI that they gave me, not by using either of the 2 that are listed in my phone's settings. I later transferred this number to the IMEI 2 available slot (this would not work at first due to a glitch on their end).
My question is, how does one do this without having to have the carrier give you this IMEI number that you do not see yourself? It was very close to the IMEI number that my IMEI 1 was, but had one or two different digits in it. Where did this come from, and how were they able to make it work?
If I try and add a new number to an existing eSIM, I am given a warning that this will delete the profile that already exists for that IMEI. How would I be able to do what they did on my own if I ever wanted to add another number for some reason?

This entire eSIM thing seems to be an absolute pain in the butt. Gone are the days where one could just grab a SIM, pop it in and be able to switch anytime he/she liked in 5 minutes. Aside from all the headaches I went through yesterday with US Mobile, the activation of the eSIM itself took about an hour when all was said and done. And this was literally after about another 7 hours with their support reps trying to figure out why I couldn't just port in on IMEI 2 to begin with (no exaggeration).

WHAT exactly is Apple thinking??

OK, I see the US way of dealing with eSIMs is very different from the European way. Over here in Europe you just scan a QR code from your operator. Nobody will ever ask you for an IMEI. I don't get why they need that and what kind of process they are trying to use.

I have scanned profiles from Swisscom, Sunrise, Airalo, Air Baltic Mobile, and I never once had to give an IMEI to anyone, it just works.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

OK, I see the US way of dealing with eSIMs is very different from the European way. Over here in Europe you just scan a QR code from your operator. Nobody will ever ask you for an IMEI. I don't get why they need that and what kind of process they are trying to use.

I have scanned profiles from Swisscom, Sunrise, Airalo, Air Baltic Mobile, and I never once had to give an IMEI to anyone, it just works.

You don't. You can totally just sign up online or via an app and it works great. I've never run into the problems the they have. I have multiple eSIMs, I have transferred eSIMs, I have ported eSIM/phone numbers. All without having to speak with anyone. All has been fine with exception of 1 carrier who has been known to be awful even with physical SIMs.

It's a lot to read (but I'm guessing you didn't) but form what I could tell, it isn't an eSIM issue at all. It was a porting issue and people get them confused. Don't lump it/us all together. I've seen plenty to EU people have issues too but don't assume you all do.

 

[jay968]

You don't. You can totally just sign up online or via an app and it works great. I've never run into the problems the they have. I have multiple eSIMs, I have transferred eSIMs, I have ported eSIM/phone numbers. All without having to speak with anyone. All has been fine with exception of 1 carrier who has been known to be awful even with physical SIMs.

It's a lot to read (but I'm guessing you didn't) but form what I could tell, it isn't an eSIM issue at all. It was a porting issue and people get them confused. Don't lump it/us all together. I've seen plenty to EU people have issues too but don't assume you all do.

You're right. The last rep who actually made it work for me yesterday was the first to tell me they had a glitch in their system that prevented me from doing it all myself on their website.

 

[ManuCH]

You don't. You can totally just sign up online or via an app and it works great. I've never run into the problems the they have. I have multiple eSIMs, I have transferred eSIMs, I have ported eSIM/phone numbers. All without having to speak with anyone. All has been fine with exception of 1 carrier who has been known to be awful even with physical SIMs.

It's a lot to read (but I'm guessing you didn't) but form what I could tell, it isn't an eSIM issue at all. It was a porting issue and people get them confused. Don't lump it/us all together. I've seen plenty to EU people have issues too but don't assume you all do.

Thank you for explaining this and sorry for making wrong assumptions. Of course if it's a porting issue then that's a completely different story.

True, many EU people have issues too, some countries here are worse than others (and some still don't have eSIM at all). I just got confused as to why some people get asked about IMEI when dealing with eSIM which makes no sense.

 

[jay968]

Thank you for explaining this and sorry for making wrong assumptions. Of course if it's a porting issue then that's a completely different story.

True, many EU people have issues too, some countries here are worse than others (and some still don't have eSIM at all). I just got confused as to why some people get asked about IMEI when dealing with eSIM which makes no sense.

When I was on the web site creating the account, I did have to type in the eSIM from my phone. So even if there had not been a rep involved, I still would have had to have known it. The carrier needs this info in order to assign the number to it.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

Thank you for explaining this and sorry for making wrong assumptions. Of course if it's a porting issue then that's a completely different story.

True, many EU people have issues too, some countries here are worse than others (and some still don't have eSIM at all). I just got confused as to why some people get asked about IMEI when dealing with eSIM which makes no sense.

Well your IMEI is the identifier, just like on a physical SIM card, there was the long 14 digit # printed on it. So if you're using an app, it automatically grabs the IMEI and sends it to the carrier to activate. If you bought your phone from a carrier, upgraded, etc. they already have your IMEI. Depending on the carrier, the QR code is also a way to either download the carrier profile, activation code or another way to connect to the carrier's system.

To think that every carrier doesn't need your IMEI to activate your mobile device is a complete misunderstanding of the tech. They may not ask you for it directly but they do need it and obtain it one way or another.

 

[ManuCH]

Well your IMEI is the identifier, just like on a physical SIM card, there was the long 14 digit # printed on it. So if you're using an app, it automatically grabs the IMEI and sends it to the carrier to activate. If you bought your phone from a carrier, upgraded, etc. they already have your IMEI. Depending on the carrier, the QR code is also a way to either download the carrier profile, activation code or another way to connect to the carrier's system.

To think that every carrier doesn't need your IMEI to activate your mobile device is a complete misunderstanding of the tech. They may not ask you for it directly but they do need it and obtain it one way or another.

Of course they will need to obtain it one way or another. But I think it's bad user experience to ask the customer for it, when there's an automated standard via QR code that does all this automatically. Especially as it can cause confusion as to which number the customer should enter.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

Of course they will need to obtain it one way or another. But I think it's bad user experience to ask the customer for it, when there's an automated standard via QR code that does all this automatically. Especially as it can cause confusion as to which number the customer should enter.

Again, you didn't read the thread at all. They asked for it as a troubleshooting measure due to a porting issue that prevented them from completing the activation on their own.

How else do you confirm an IMEI is correct if you don't ask? And iPhones 13/14 have 2 eSIMS so how do you confirm which one you want to use when troubleshooting? The IMEI is super easy to find but sorry that you think it's complicated.

 

[Fred Zed]

Well here’s a good one. Ported to Ultra Mobile. They do support eSim but I need to activate a physical sim first then and only then can they move it over to eSim 😂😣

 

[jay968]

Again, you didn't read the thread at all. They asked for it as a troubleshooting measure due to a porting issue that prevented them from completing the activation on their own.

How else do you confirm an IMEI is correct if you don't ask? And iPhones 13/14 have 2 eSIMS so how do you confirm which one you want to use when troubleshooting? The IMEI is super easy to find but sorry that you think it's complicated.

Yes this is correct. However I was also asked to type it in at the very beginning of the process when I signed up for a new line with them. There was no rep to talk to at that time. It was all a self signup deal and of course the website asked for the IMEI to be able to automate the process going forward.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

Yes this is correct. However I was also asked to type it in at the very beginning of the process when I signed up for a new line with them. There was no rep to talk to at that time. It was all a self signup deal and of course the website asked for the IMEI to be able to automate the process going forward.

If you use the app it doesn't ask you for the IMEI but it does ask which line you want to use and it grabs it automatically.

 

[jay968]

If you use the app it doesn't ask you for the IMEI but it does ask which line you want to use and it grabs it automatically.

I can see this...the app would be on your phone and would be able to find out what the IMEI is.
I was on a computer and signed up using the web site.

 

[Fred Zed]

Recently had an issue activating an esim via QR code or manual entry. After a simple reboot of iPhone it accepted and registered the eSim.

 

[minimo3]

I’ve used data esims extensively with Airalo and Nomad on an iPhone 12 and 13 across various countries. They all have a similar problem: if you go into an area with no signal e.g. a tunnel or basement and re-emerge once in a while the esim will not reconnect. It requires turning the connection on/off or rebooting the phone. On one occasion it didn’t reconnect till several hours later. So I definitely won’t rely on esims if you need reliable service.