Except in the poor areas of the world where eSIM is not in their vocabulary
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iPhone 17 Pro Leak Reveals SIM Card Tray Might Live Another Year in Some Countries
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The first year with no headphone jack "sucked". This is different.
For many, a year with no SIM tray means a year without a new iPhone, and maybe deciding not to return to iPhones after that. Apple may be known for pulling of the bandaid, so to speak, on ports or accessories, but many people will literally be unable to use an iPhone without a SIM tray. It won't be a matter of choosing to leave the platform, they will have no choice.
I travel a lot, my employer provides only physical sim and my carrier provider (the only one with excellent signal quality at our home) does not support eSIMs with a national authentication system…
If the new iPhone does not support physical sim, I will panic :-o
If the new iPhone does not support physical sim, I will panic :-o
For most of the last year, I have had an eSIM, my first, and a physical SIM in my iPhone 15PM. The eSIM provided my phone and data on one carrier. The physical SIM is a multi-network data-only SIM as coverage is so erratic in my part of the world.
The other week, my eSIM suddenly stopped working. Out of the blue, I got a network SMS to inform me it didn't work. It was prepaid and had at least another full month of service on it.
The company said they no longer support eSIMs. So I was left without any phone service. Data on the physical SIM continued.
I managed to find an OK deal and get a new eSIM working on a temporary number within a few hours. (Only took that long because I tried to get the best deal for me!) And then did the number porting.
I've ended up with mixed views of eSIMs. An instantaneous and complete pain if the company dishonours its contract. But a blessing in that I could get a new one very quickly regardless weather, postal delivery, opening hours of shops, etc.
What I really want is for eSIMs to become totally fluid. Able to be moved between devices, whether Apple or non-Apple, in seconds. So I can move an eSIM from my phone to my tablet, to my upcoming MBP with SIM capability (
), and back. Whether the device supports phone or only data. As often as I wish. And without needing to contact the carrier or vendor of the devices or eSIMs or the actual carrier. At most, an automated confirmation process of some sort.
Until then, I have gone with another physical SIM for my data-only connection.
The other week, my eSIM suddenly stopped working. Out of the blue, I got a network SMS to inform me it didn't work. It was prepaid and had at least another full month of service on it.
The company said they no longer support eSIMs. So I was left without any phone service. Data on the physical SIM continued.
I managed to find an OK deal and get a new eSIM working on a temporary number within a few hours. (Only took that long because I tried to get the best deal for me!) And then did the number porting.
I've ended up with mixed views of eSIMs. An instantaneous and complete pain if the company dishonours its contract. But a blessing in that I could get a new one very quickly regardless weather, postal delivery, opening hours of shops, etc.
What I really want is for eSIMs to become totally fluid. Able to be moved between devices, whether Apple or non-Apple, in seconds. So I can move an eSIM from my phone to my tablet, to my upcoming MBP with SIM capability (
), and back. Whether the device supports phone or only data. As often as I wish. And without needing to contact the carrier or vendor of the devices or eSIMs or the actual carrier. At most, an automated confirmation process of some sort.Until then, I have gone with another physical SIM for my data-only connection.
Hopefully the physical SIM slot remains in the international market for as long as possible. Expecting all models other than slim/air to have a physical SIM slot. Possible that the foldable iPhone has eSIM only. Eventually it will go away.
Transferring eSIM between devices is not always very convenient. When i bought my new iPad Pro, I had to switch carriers as my old network provider did not support quick eSIM transfer.
Transferring eSIM between devices is not always very convenient. When i bought my new iPad Pro, I had to switch carriers as my old network provider did not support quick eSIM transfer.
My employer doesn't support eSIM, so I migrated my SIM to eSIM and inserted the company SIM in my own phone. Less hassle to walk around with a single phone.
If Apple removes the SIM tray I'll migrate my iPhone to the company provided Android one. Reluctantly.
If Apple removes the SIM tray I'll migrate my iPhone to the company provided Android one. Reluctantly.
You can use multiple eSIMs on iPhones without sim trays.
Maybe Apple should fix the eSIM transfer process before eliminating the tray. It didn't even work between two fairly recent iPhones. I had to order a new eSIM when I transferred my data to a brand new 16 Pro Max just half a year a go.
The funny thing is, that iOS tried to transfer the eSIM, but then failed without an explanation. Theoretically there is a way to transfer an eSIM after the phone is already set up. But that did not work either.
For travels, I really like to have the tray as a backup. I keep a physical SIM for my home carrier just in case. Ordering an eSIM while abroad can be quite tricky.
The funny thing is, that iOS tried to transfer the eSIM, but then failed without an explanation. Theoretically there is a way to transfer an eSIM after the phone is already set up. But that did not work either.
For travels, I really like to have the tray as a backup. I keep a physical SIM for my home carrier just in case. Ordering an eSIM while abroad can be quite tricky.
This is also dependent upon the carriers. This is not something Apple can fix themselves alone. And therein lies the problem.
Maybe your right, and it's not Apple fault. I'm talking about an official Apple approved carrier in a major European country though, and not a low-budget MVNO. All I'm saying is that maybe they should fix those problems first before removing the tray on the new phone.
It's the third or fourth time I had to generate a new eSIM because of switching iPhones.
I had this problem when I activated a data eSIM while traveling. Suddenly iMessage and FaceTime stopped working and was completely turned off. Took me some time to realize this and also cost me some money due to using roaming SMS abroad.
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Sounds great if you have a carrier that allows you to quickly change over and switch eSIM ID's from one phone to another without charging you, and requiring you to bring a trove of paperwork. I congratulate you.
That sounds like a problem with your carrier or more likely government. It’s not a problem with the technology.
I know a few governments are fearful of the technology allowing its citizens to get phone numbers they can’t track. Some have banned eSIMs outright for their citizens. A physical SIM requires the person to be physically present and they can verify their government identification.
This is why Apple includes a physical SIM slot in some countries. They want to use the latest technology but have to comply with local laws.
The backwards way is the Sprint method of you need to contact your carrier who will authorize the activation of any phone on its network (and can charge activation or other fees before doing so) which is now rebranded as "E-SIM" !
eSIMs are pro privacy and prevent the government from tracking your phone?
Huh?
A Physical SIM requires a person to be present somewhere?
What?
Citation needed.
eSIMs are fine if people like them or think they are some kind of improvement over the old 15 second chip swap method, but at least one physical SIM slot should remain. Physical SIMs to me are far superior to the old US Sprint model of carrier authorization, and the only time I tried an eSIM I had to call the US MVNO carrier as there was no QR code, and read them a long list of tiny numbers to a live agent and type in a bunch of other numbers before they authorized my phone to be used on their network. THAT is a major privacy and consumer drawback to eSIMs!
Just wait until eSIMS are used in the majority of phones. We will be back to the days of $30 (or more) activation fees and "your phone is not authorized for use on our network--buy a new one" restrictions.
Sometimes I’ll make a post and I know someone’s going to misunderstand it. I’ll try to explain this in very simple and basic terms. And electronic SIM can be purchased online without proof of identification in at least some countries. That means I can go buy a secondhand phone, download an app and then download the eSIM without being physically present to do so. Yes, I know when it comes to straight up intelligence, they can track you down. No I don’t mean you become somehow invisible.
It’s in the name. The physical part. We haven’t quite figured out how to download a physical SIM yet. In a few years, who knows but right now you have to go somewhere to get this physical SIM. Some places might allow you to order one through the mail, but that’s still requires a physical address. That physical address is linked to a physical person.
I don’t know the details when it comes to how networks authorize physical SIMs, but I do know the carrier can tell when you switch that SIM card to another device. I’ve had one carrier tell me they were going to charge me an activation fee because I took the SIM card out of one of my phones to use it to test another phone. I explained what they were doing so they backed down.
Many of the problems you’re complaining about aren’t connected to the technology, but rather the implementation.
Doesn’t matter how good the technology is if the carriers don’t properly support it.
A lot of carriers don’t require ID or a physical address to purchase a physical SIM. Depends on the local laws.
Absolutely correct but I suspect in many cases this is not the fault of the carrier but the government.
True it does depend on local laws. There are countries that require identification and are very restrictive on eSIMs. I’m not trying to get into politics because I can understand both sides of the argument and the country I live in doesn’t have these restrictions (yet?).
People seem to want to die on the physical SIM bridge but in 2025 we still have major carriers in the USA allowed to sell carrier locked phones. No one seems to care about that. It’s worse because it’s no SIM at all without permission.
This 👆
I don’t understand how folks don’t realize that’s what you’re exposing yourself to eventually if you advocate for absolutely no physical Sim