iPhone 14/Plus POLL: How was your eSIM transfer process?

[fazzk]

Spent hours on the phone going through so many CS reps after getting errors transferring physical sim to esim on FirstNet

 

[choreo]

It doesn't even look like they support eSIM at all. There are still some MVNO who don't support it, hence not selling the iPhone 14. They may support later but likely not a priority. Sucks you can't get a refund though. Maybe return the 14 now and switch in May when the plan is up. You could probably still get a really good deal from another provider and trade in the 11.

Well, their Tech Support "says" they do and their website "says" they do on iPhone 12 and up? In fact, here are the last 5 of the activation screens that I get on their website before the final screen which just says "Congratulations Your Phone is Eligible.", but it will not let me click "CONTINUE"...

 

[JBinPDX]

The eSIM transferred over — eSIM to eSIM — and activated with no problems. But it wouldn't actually connect until I upgraded to iOS 16.0.1. Once the update was complete, it connected immediately. The main annoyance was trying to ignore all of the notifications it kept sending me to do things like log into accounts, etc., while I was trying to finish the update. I would say on the whole that it was really smooth.

 

[joonyaboy]

Still waiting for Activation.

Started yesterday morning (T-Mobile 12pro pSim to 14pro eSim) and kept getting error. Went to the store and they set it up and said it could take 2 hours.

After four hours it timed out. Called CS and they went through the whole process and said it worked. But my phone still said “Activiating”. Timed out eventually asking me to contact CS

Went to a different T-Mobile store today and after 20 min he said it should work within 2 hours.

It’s now been 8 hours so I guess I will drive to a 3rd T-Moblle store and see if they can help

 

[dborja]

Still waiting for Activation.

Started yesterday morning (T-Mobile 12pro pSim to 14pro eSim) and kept getting error. Went to the store and they set it up and said it could take 2 hours.

After four hours it timed out. Called CS and they went through the whole process and said it worked. But my phone still said “Activiating”. Timed out eventually asking me to contact CS

Went to a different T-Mobile store today and after 20 min he said it should work within 2 hours.

It’s now been 8 hours so I guess I will drive to a 3rd T-Moblle store and see if they can help

You might try DM'ing T-Mobile Help (@TMobileHelp) on Twitter. Twice now I was able to get my issues (including activating my iPhone 14 PM today) resolved quickly with knowledgeable CSRs. Just get your EID and both IMEIs ready. Within ten minutes, an eSIM was pushed to my phone and I was up and running soon after

 

[MrAperture]

Still waiting for Activation.

Started yesterday morning (T-Mobile 12pro pSim to 14pro eSim) and kept getting error. Went to the store and they set it up and said it could take 2 hours.

After four hours it timed out. Called CS and they went through the whole process and said it worked. But my phone still said “Activiating”. Timed out eventually asking me to contact CS

Went to a different T-Mobile store today and after 20 min he said it should work within 2 hours.

It’s now been 8 hours so I guess I will drive to a 3rd T-Moblle store and see if they can help

What’s the issue?

 

[Detonation]

Transferred during setup from current phone. Verizon physical sim to esim. Was as simple as pressing the "transfer phone number" option and waiting a minute or two. Was expecting to have to do something in my Verizon account but iOS handled all of it.

 

[happyslayer]

Got mine on Friday, transferred my AT&T 11 Pro Max to the new 14 Pro Max, took about 2 minutes. No issues since. Guess I'm lucky.

 

[acctman]

pSim to eSim took about 1min with Verizon … iOS handled everything very simple

 

[NYCValkyrie]

Still waiting for Activation.

Started yesterday morning (T-Mobile 12pro pSim to 14pro eSim) and kept getting error. Went to the store and they set it up and said it could take 2 hours.

After four hours it timed out. Called CS and they went through the whole process and said it worked. But my phone still said “Activiating”. Timed out eventually asking me to contact CS

Went to a different T-Mobile store today and after 20 min he said it should work within 2 hours.

It’s now been 8 hours so I guess I will drive to a 3rd T-Moblle store and see if they can help

Goodness what a mess. Sorry you're having to go though that. Have you tried deleting the eSIM from both phones? I agree with the other person who said to try the TForce in Twitter. They seem to know more than folks in store and sometimes even over the phone depending. But that is def a major issue.

 

[Nav45]

So if one has an older iPhone and wants to transfer the physical pin to the esim, is just simply turning on the new phone all one needs to do because the new phone will "know" what to do? It's a bit of conflicting advice. Some say that one should call the carrier and request to transfer physical sim to esim.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

So if one has an older iPhone and wants to transfer the physical pin to the esim, is just simply turning on the new phone all one needs to do because the new phone will "know" what to do? It's a bit of conflicting advice. Some say that one should call the carrier and request to transfer physical sim to esim.

It honestly depends. How old is the iPhone? What iOS is it running? Who is your carrier? There are multiple factors that determine how you switch. Check here and it should answer some of your questions and the requirements. But calling your carrier is a safe bet if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself or do not meet the minimum requirements.

Here are a couple of YouTube videos I looked up for you but you can probably find a video for your specific need if you search for it:
Convert pSIM to eSIM on one phone
Convert pSIM on old phone to eSIM on new phone
Transfer eSim on old iPhone to new eSIM on new iPhone

 

[joonyaboy]

You might try DM'ing T-Mobile Help (@TMobileHelp) on Twitter. Twice now I was able to get my issues (including activating my iPhone 14 PM today) resolved quickly with knowledgeable CSRs. Just get your EID and both IMEIs ready. Within ten minutes, an eSIM was pushed to my phone and I was up and running soon after

I’ll try that Thanks

Goodness what a mess. Sorry you're having to go though that. Have you tried deleting the eSIM from both phones? I agree with the other person who said to try the TForce in Twitter. They seem to know more than folks in store and sometimes even over the phone depending. But that is def a major issue.

Yes I tried deleting the eSim from both phones. Tried restarting both. Hard Reset on new phone. Made sure both on same iOS. I’m not stressing it but hopefully can get it worked out soon.

 

[blurryautopilot]

I transferred physical SIM from my Pixel 6 Pro to eSIM for the first time with this iPhone 14 Pro. T-Mobile. Typed phone number, SSN of the main user (my wife), got a text, typed in the confirmation code, and I was online. Trivially easy. I'm sorry if it's not that straightforward for everyone. Clearly though, Apple and T-Mobile at least know what they're doing.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

Got mine on Friday, transferred my AT&T 11 Pro Max to the new 14 Pro Max, took about 2 minutes. No issues since. Guess I'm lucky.

From the poll and what the general consensus is on the forum and my IRL, most people have had a smooth experience. But we are luckier than those who have had major issues for sure.

 

[shaown]

Smooth fro me with t-mobile psim and att esim

 

[dmccombs]

Smooth for me on t-Mobile.

I was worried about the esim process because I did not have the Convert To ESim option on my 13PM. So, I did upgrade to IOS 16.01 before starting my data and esim transfer.

I was happy to see the transfer go smoothly and the esim signal was working within a minute. What a relief.

 

[menist]

I tried to see if the process was as simple like they say, switching from esim to esim. Turns out, if its not supported by the carrier, you can't do it. You will still have to go through customer service.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

I tried to see if the process was as simple like they say, switching from esim to esim. Turns out, if its not supported by the carrier, you can't do it. You will still have to go through customer service.

That's correct if it isn't supported by your carrier then you can't do quick transfers. But you can probably use the Visible app the same way you converted the pSIM to eSIM as stated here.

 

[edhchoe]

This is where I am at. I picked up my iPhone 14 pro this morning at the Apple store and tried transferring SIM to eSIM on the Visible app. But it failed. I came home and I waited in the Chat line for like an hour or longer to talk with an agent...

 

[choreo]

What has me confused is how Tracfone can sell me a new plan that works, but cannot transfer the plan I already have?

 

[Tara Luvs Apple]

I'm curious what the Forum's experience was in the larger sense. There were definitely a few issues but it seems it went smoothly for most. Just wondering where the numbers fall.

I believe in the future of eSIM and glad it's at least being pushed forward in the US (and other countries sure to follow), but I think both Apple and the carriers did a poor job in communicating the process to the greater public.

EDIT: The choice of "Carrier doesn't offer Quick Transfer, required CS chat but went smoothly" should have also included logging on to your account to update the IMEI yourself. It's just to identify what methods were used ie quick Transfer vs Manual entry by you or CS rep.

Mine went smoothly up until I lost service and it just gave me SOS. I was confused as to why and some searching showed that under Network, it said no network. I was able to get it working (I forget what ultimately worked since I was doing so much), but I was nervous for a second since I would have no phone and way to call the carrier if I needed to.

 

[joonyaboy]

Still waiting for Activation.

Started yesterday morning (T-Mobile 12pro pSim to 14pro eSim) and kept getting error. Went to the store and they set it up and said it could take 2 hours.

After four hours it timed out. Called CS and they went through the whole process and said it worked. But my phone still said “Activiating”. Timed out eventually asking me to contact CS

Went to a different T-Mobile store today and after 20 min he said it should work within 2 hours.

It’s now been 8 hours so I guess I will drive to a 3rd T-Moblle store and see if they can help

Finally worked out. Turns out there was a SIM block on my account to prevent hacking (happened to me once before). Once they removed it was smooth sailing. Glad I finally found a CS rep that figured it out

 

[MegaBlue]

Technically no SIM to eSIM? My phone had been activated as part of the setup process but since I bought it outright I decided to get it unlocked and then I ported to Mint. Went to their website, picked the plan, signed up, scanned the QR code, and I had my eSIM with my number ported over faster than I had even gotten my phone unlocked.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

Mine went smoothly up until I lost service and it just gave me SOS. I was confused as to why and some searching showed that under Network, it said no network. I was able to get it working (I forget what ultimately worked since I was doing so much), but I was nervous for a second since I would have no phone and way to call the carrier if I needed to.

I believe 611 can always get you to the carrier but there's always online chat as well. You should vote major problem in the poll though.