I was just looking into some of this since new this year. I was just reading that ATT will not allow you to use two different carriers in US.
eSIM in iPhone XS, XS Max and iPhone XR Won't Be Available at Launch, Apple to Activate Later
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mikebenton
macrumors regular
The new iPhone XS, XS Max, and iPhone XR models all come equipped with support for dual-SIM functionality through the inclusion of a standard nano-SIM slot and an eSIM, a feature that has previously been used in iPad models.
According to Apple's website, eSIM functionality will not be available when the new iPhones launch, with the company instead planning to introduce it later this year through an iOS 12 software update.
Dual-SIM support will allow the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR to support two cellular plans at once. This is useful for people who have two phone numbers for work and personal use and for travel.
Both numbers used with a dual-SIM iPhone can make and receive voice calls and receive SMS and MMS messages, but an iPhone can only use one cellular data network at a time. That means if one number is on a call, a call to the other number will go to voicemail.
There will be a section in the iOS 12 settings to establish a default number and to label both cellular plans that are in use, with Apple outlining these features in a support document. You will be able to easily make and receive calls from both numbers and switch phone numbers for a call.
Not all carriers are going to support eSIM functionality, but in the United States, it will work with Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile devices. Apple has a full list of carriers offering eSIM support on its website.
Dual-SIM functionality will be available in all new iPhone models and it appears to be available in all countries, despite rumors suggesting it could be limited to countries where multiple SIM use is more popular.
eSIMs are not allowed in China, so in this region specifically, Apple is introducing iPhones that support two physical SIMs. Other countries will have devices that support one physical SIM and one eSIM.
Article Link: eSIM in iPhone XS, XS Max and iPhone XR Won't Be Available at Launch, Apple to Activate Later
There are a number of stipulations... Here is another:
To use two different carriers, your iPhone must be unlocked. Otherwise, both plans must be from the same carrier. If a CDMA carrier provides your first SIM, your second SIM won't support CDMA. Contact your carrier for more information.
If this is this case, how does this help you when you are traveling overseas? So in two years, after my phone is paid using AT&T's NXT plan, I can use this feature? Gotta love the small print....
ATT is GSM so another sim for CDMA would work if ATT allowed it.
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They might not unlock even after the 2 years and paid in full. Even says on apple’s website. The carrier’s are getting away with this and there really should be outrage.
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As a ATT Next customer, my phone is locked. So if I was going to upgrade and wanted to use dual sim, I would buy my iPhone from Apple sim free. I would get a line of service from Verizon and put it on the e-sim. Then I could take my ATT sim and put it into the phone. This would work for all the technical requirements. The part that would be hard is the cost. I'd have to pay off my ATT Next plan and sell the current iPhone X. And then buy my new one (Xs Max 256gb) from Apple for cash. This would all cost something like $1,400 +300 for AC+.
I have been reading that att on the iPads have been locking eSIM and not unlocking even if bought From the Apple store at msrp.
That’s obvious from the paltry list of carriers that suport eSIM. And how exactly is that beneficial to the consumer when majority of carriers don’t support it? Seems unfair that only China gets the 2 physical SIMs option, and carriers can give Apple the middle finger and say we want that model as well.
ImNoSuperMan
macrumors 65816
Not if you have to pay appx US $ 2 for a month of unlimited calls, text and data (capped at 1GB daily before getting throttled) like we do here in India. That too on a prepaid plan, no contracts
With dual SIM cards there are two electro-mechanical connections requiring connectors. Each connector that is added to a board costs money and time to mount and test. It would not be cheaper to produce a dual sim card model. There was a period of time, when sim cards were unnecessary.
hirsthirst
macrumors 6502a
I’m still happy with my X & haven’t ever had an S variant & so was expecting to be a bit ‘meh’ this year, but the two SIM thing will be a huge selling point for the many people who’ve lugged around separate work & personal phones for 20+ years.
Whilst maybe not common, in the UK a significant number of people either:
- have corporate phones provided by their employer & run a separate personal phone too, or
- have to jump through hoops to use the work phone for personal stuff as well & also end up with an ‘always-on’ work device in their pocket 24/7.
Putting a work-issued SIM into a BYOD phone of your own choice will be a relief for folks - especially if you can easily switch it off out of hours. Really interested to get the detail of implementation on this.
Whilst maybe not common, in the UK a significant number of people either:
- have corporate phones provided by their employer & run a separate personal phone too, or
- have to jump through hoops to use the work phone for personal stuff as well & also end up with an ‘always-on’ work device in their pocket 24/7.
Putting a work-issued SIM into a BYOD phone of your own choice will be a relief for folks - especially if you can easily switch it off out of hours. Really interested to get the detail of implementation on this.
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I would expect that Apple has solved this as part of ATT's admission to the supported eSim list on the new iPhone's.
As the post you were quoting said: You don't need to go to a retail location to get a SIM.
adrianlondon
macrumors 603
Can iMessage and FaceTime be received on both numbers simultaneously, or is it like now when we have to swap sims manually and registration of the phone with a new number automatically de-activates the old one?
For example:
Apple ID: usermame@domain.com
email: username@icloud.com
UK no: +44 7990 123456
CH no: +41 77 123 45 67
If I pull the UK sim out and put the CH sim in, people sending an iMessage to my UK number don't get through. They need to know I've changed sims and iMessage my CH number. Of course, they can use my associated email (username@icloud.com) but they don't always understand to do that.
For example:
Apple ID: usermame@domain.com
email: username@icloud.com
UK no: +44 7990 123456
CH no: +41 77 123 45 67
If I pull the UK sim out and put the CH sim in, people sending an iMessage to my UK number don't get through. They need to know I've changed sims and iMessage my CH number. Of course, they can use my associated email (username@icloud.com) but they don't always understand to do that.
thisisnotmyname
macrumors 68020
It doesn't require you to go someone and obtain a physical item so less friction for users to switch between carriers and plans. In the US the carriers have lobbied against eSIMs for quite some time. The dual physical SIM solution in China is actually seen as capitulation to the Chinese government as they don't want people to be able to easily change their hardware identification to networks without having to validate personal identity.
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Yeah, I was shocked that Sprint was the one missing from that graphic in the keynote. I expect ATT and/or Verizon to be the one(s) opposed.
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I think you're referring to Apple SIM rather than eSIM. That was a physical SIM but able to be used with multiple carriers and yes ATT did lock it to them once activated.
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There's at least room for debate on this but US carriers and China has a history of being decidedly on one side of this...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...china-s-will-again-with-latest-iphone-feature
This is from yesterday after the announcement but I've seen noise about US carriers opposing eSIM for quite a while (years).
Interesting to read Apple's Dual SIM Dual Standby FAQ, which Android users might already be familiar with.
Carriers can lock the whole phone to one carrier for both eSIM and nano-SIM. On the other hand CDMA can only be used on one slot at a time...
Calls and SMS come to either line on demand (not at the same time), but we have to manually choose one line for LTE data, and choose one line for iMessage and FaceTime registration (must go to Settings to swap which line to use). So you CAN'T just receive blue iMessages or FaceTime calls on either line on demand.
And if you set LTE data to one line, you won't have that data connectivity while talking on the other line, which harkens back to the GSM limitation the iPhone had pre-VoLTE. No crossline call waiting notification either. You can store multiple eSIMs though, and activate one in Settings.
Not sure if we can have Wi-Fi Calling on both lines? What about Wi-Fi Calling on iPad/Mac/Watch?
What about chat apps linked to phone numbers (WhatsApp, WeChat, Line, etc)? Android phones can clone such apps for multiple lines (via Parallel Space app or built-in feature like Samsung Dual Messenger, Huawei App Twin, Xiaomi Dual Apps, Oppo Clone App, Vivo App Clone, etc). I don't suppose Apple will have a similar facility?
More importantly, how soon will Apple release the software update to enable eSIM? I'm worried that U.S. carriers will drag their feet, and we'll be well into 2019 without eSIM support and thus no dual lines! (Also waiting for the Watch 4 software update to enable ECG.)
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Or how feasible is it to import the Chinese version (with dual nano-SIM) to the U.S.? Per Apple's LTE FAQ for the Xs/Max, both the USA model A1920/A1921 and Chinese model A2100/A2104 have the same set of bands, whereas other country versions are missing T-Mobile's Band 71 for example (600MHz for extended range LTE). I assume they also support the same features such as LTE HPUE, and can be set to any language?
China will get the Xs same day as the U.S., even with their own iPhone Upgrade Program to boot. Though, Apple continues to push considerably higher iPhone prices in foreign markets compared to the USD.
Still, does anyone know how to import one in the near future? Or are there things with the Chinese version that makes it unsuitable? Like perhaps each one is registered in a Chinese database, or have a government-mandated customized ROM?
P.S. Strange observations:
- For Hong Kong, Apple lists the USA model A1920 for the Xs, but the Chinese model A2104 for the Xs Max
- Apple's Chinese Dual SIM FAQ only lists the Xs Max and not the smaller Xs. Perhaps temporary omission due to some certification delay? For example neither Dual SIM FAQ's even mention the iPhone XR...
Carriers can lock the whole phone to one carrier for both eSIM and nano-SIM. On the other hand CDMA can only be used on one slot at a time...
Calls and SMS come to either line on demand (not at the same time), but we have to manually choose one line for LTE data, and choose one line for iMessage and FaceTime registration (must go to Settings to swap which line to use). So you CAN'T just receive blue iMessages or FaceTime calls on either line on demand.
And if you set LTE data to one line, you won't have that data connectivity while talking on the other line, which harkens back to the GSM limitation the iPhone had pre-VoLTE. No crossline call waiting notification either. You can store multiple eSIMs though, and activate one in Settings.
Not sure if we can have Wi-Fi Calling on both lines? What about Wi-Fi Calling on iPad/Mac/Watch?
What about chat apps linked to phone numbers (WhatsApp, WeChat, Line, etc)? Android phones can clone such apps for multiple lines (via Parallel Space app or built-in feature like Samsung Dual Messenger, Huawei App Twin, Xiaomi Dual Apps, Oppo Clone App, Vivo App Clone, etc). I don't suppose Apple will have a similar facility?
More importantly, how soon will Apple release the software update to enable eSIM? I'm worried that U.S. carriers will drag their feet, and we'll be well into 2019 without eSIM support and thus no dual lines! (Also waiting for the Watch 4 software update to enable ECG.)
[doublepost=1536914206][/doublepost]
Or how feasible is it to import the Chinese version (with dual nano-SIM) to the U.S.? Per Apple's LTE FAQ for the Xs/Max, both the USA model A1920/A1921 and Chinese model A2100/A2104 have the same set of bands, whereas other country versions are missing T-Mobile's Band 71 for example (600MHz for extended range LTE). I assume they also support the same features such as LTE HPUE, and can be set to any language?
China will get the Xs same day as the U.S., even with their own iPhone Upgrade Program to boot. Though, Apple continues to push considerably higher iPhone prices in foreign markets compared to the USD.
Still, does anyone know how to import one in the near future? Or are there things with the Chinese version that makes it unsuitable? Like perhaps each one is registered in a Chinese database, or have a government-mandated customized ROM?
P.S. Strange observations:
- For Hong Kong, Apple lists the USA model A1920 for the Xs, but the Chinese model A2104 for the Xs Max
- Apple's Chinese Dual SIM FAQ only lists the Xs Max and not the smaller Xs. Perhaps temporary omission due to some certification delay? For example neither Dual SIM FAQ's even mention the iPhone XR...
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Don't get the Chinese model unless you don't mind NOT having FaceTime audio. It is blocked in Chinese iPhones. Get the Hong Kong version instead.
Also, the biggest issue people seem to be missing with e-sims is what happens when your iPhone stops functioning? With a regular sim, you can just switch it into another phone. With the e-sim, you are at the mercy of Apple or whoever else repairs it before you can receive/make calls again. This is not a good solution if you are relying on your phone for work, etc. and this line is on your e-sim.
Also, the biggest issue people seem to be missing with e-sims is what happens when your iPhone stops functioning? With a regular sim, you can just switch it into another phone. With the e-sim, you are at the mercy of Apple or whoever else repairs it before you can receive/make calls again. This is not a good solution if you are relying on your phone for work, etc. and this line is on your e-sim.
Mac-adellic
macrumors newbie
Since this is just a software feature, why wouldn’t it also be available with ios12 on the 8/8+?
adrianlondon
macrumors 603
eSIM is hardware and software. I don't know the details, but the phone hardware needs to be designed such that it can load and store the SIM details.
Oh, thanks for the info!
About eSIM, I assumed your replacement phone would just activate its eSIM (by scanning QR code or carrier app), then your phone line would switch instantly to that replacement phone and be deactivated on the original eSIM phone?
Cyberpower678
macrumors 6502
Well I can answer that one now as I have two SIMs in two iPhones. They will merge together in your iCloud account. So if someone called my other number, my primary device will ring too. So logically a device with two SIMs should function the same way.
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Having had to fix my iPhone once before under warranty, authorized shops will hand you a loner until your’s is repaired/replaced. I assume you can just transfer the eSIM profile to the loner at that point.
adrianlondon
macrumors 603
That's the thing. It works if both numbers are active. But if you only had one phone and swapped sims, as soon as the second number registers it de-registers the first one from iMessage and FaceTime. So I'm still none the wiser regarding these two-sim (or sim + esim) phones.
Cyberpower678
macrumors 6502
But both numbers are active on the iPhone. Otherwise you couldn’t make or receive calls with it, and assign contacts to specific numbers.
adrianlondon
macrumors 603
That does make sense, although I wish the Apple support document mentioned iMessage and FaceTime.
"Both of your phone numbers can make and receive voice calls and send and receive SMS and MMS."
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT209044