Carrier PAYG eSIM in America

[Mercenary]

hopefully our American cousins can help with this one.

Planning to visit the states in October with my iPhone XS and while my UK plan let's me use my phone and data it treats it as if I'm in the UK. So to call an American number is still really expensive.

Do any us carriers offer a pay as you go option on an eSIM so I can have the dual sim capability?

 

[Vermifuge]

hopefully our American cousins can help with this one.

Planning to visit the states in October with my iPhone XS and while my UK plan let's me use my phone and data it treats it as if I'm in the UK. So to call an American number is still really expensive.

Do any us carriers offer a pay as you go option on an eSIM so I can have the dual sim capability?

Apple has not enabled the eSim yet and has only gone on record by saying it will happen later™ And after waiting for AirPower, who knows what later™ actually means.

 

[jtkboston]

eSIM rollout seems like a fiasco today in US: Verizon blames Apple bug and won't activate an eSIM on their nework; T-Mobile is not ready, AT&T is supposedly ready but reports suggest they're discouraging it right now. I haven't heard of any MVNOs supporting eSIMs.

Watch the discussion over at this thread, perhaps any PAYG/pre-paid news will show up there: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/esim-activation-united-states.2146951/page-3#post-26727728

 

[0970373]

So far, the answer is the same in the US as it is w/ the the rest of the world - no one offers a PAYG eSIM plan that includes voice/text/data. None of the major carriers in the US (VZN, TMO, ATT) or the UK (EE) have released any news that they plan on allowing this for PAYG. EE has explicitly said it does not. The US carriers are currently deflecting but I think TMO will offer it once they are ready.

TruPhone and GigSky offer data plans and activating them is very easy through their respective apps. Not cheap by any means. TruPhone says they will have voice/text services "launching soon."

 

[Lyn2012]

It is the same in Spain. Vodafone only allow eSim on three contract plans, no PAYG or prepaid plans are eligible. Also as Vodafone is the only eSim provider, I’m now stuck with 1-2Mbps download speeds instead of the 20Mbps I had with my previous network, even though their coverage map shows me to be in the middle of a high 4G+ area. Good one Apple, a £1,200 phone I am unable to stream anything to, even a 5 minute YouTube video gives up after a few seconds. Yes I’m blaming Apple as I paid for a dual Sim phone and this is what I get, a gimped version. (The physical Sim slot is for my UK prepaid Sim - another place where no eSim is available off contract, and again only one network offering eSim so no other option.)

Apple may be trying to force technology to move forward here, but it is currently at the expense of their customers who have to pay high prices for the product, and yet still have to put up with this situation where the groundwork supporting the new technology isn’t yet in place.