iPhone 13 Pro SIM card vs. eSIM — is one better than the other?

[techiegirl]

One thing I’ll add, as someone who has used Verizon esim for the past few years, this year I was able to log into the Verizon website and activate esim on my own. In years past it took an hour on the phone with Verizon to get esim activated. This year I was don’t within ten minutes and did it all by myself.

How do you do it online? I would love to switch to esim.

 

[Apple_Robert]

All iPhones purchased from apple do not have a sim card. They are all activated with esim. This allows more people to get phones and less SKUs because the phones are no longer carrier dependent from the start. Essentially they are all unlocked until activated.

I am glad Apple has gone this route. In the long run, I think it will make the buying experience much easier for people.

 

[Uffish Thought]

iPhone 11 Pro to iPhone 13 Pro from AT&T Sim to eSim transfer that went bad on Friday.

Basically I had a Sim card pin lock on the iPhone 11 Pro. When I transferred the data to the new iPhone 13 Pro that went smoothly but the carrier was not active. Eventually a screen popped up asking me to input a PUK so I could then enter my Sim card pin to unlock the phone. Of course I don't have a PUK for the new iPhone and the AT&T website was useless, and I could not get a Customer service chat going.

I went down to AT&T and they were able to QR code scan in a new eSim and get me back on the network. I also found out that my plan did not support 5G, so I changed to a new plan that supports 5G. All is working now.

Had I know this might be a problem, I would have disabled the Sim card lock on the iPhone 11 Pro before starting data transfer.

 

[Uffish Thought]

Confirmed: second call right now to ATT , they need to transfer me to ADVANCED TECHNICAL SUPPORT LINE. SO 2x esim transfers as of today seem to be relegated to them.

See my comment below, 9/25/2021 at 12:45 pm. I had to go into AT&T to have them scan a new eSim to get me active on the network. I was done in 20 minutes. You might consider going into a store if one is close by.

 

[jburns]

One thing I’ll add, as someone who has used Verizon esim for the past few years, this year I was able to log into the Verizon website and activate esim on my own. In years past it took an hour on the phone with Verizon to get esim activated. This year I was don’t within ten minutes and did it all by myself.

Did you charge them $30?

 

[alinefx]

Just a data point: 3 numbers cannot be active at the same time. I had two active e-sim numbers, and putting a physical SIM card in prompts me do turn off one of the e-sim cellular numbers. I guess 3 #'s are a very limited use case, but could be crucial for someone traveling on business with 1 biz/1personal e-sim and wants to get a physical sim abroad while roaming.

 

[now i see it]

I haven’t read a single post anywhere where someone made a comment on how great eSIM is. It seems like it’s an unnecessary headache

 

[barondebxl]

Regular Sim all day. I switch phones back and forth and therefore I prefer a physical SIM card.

 

[seezar]

Just a data point: 3 numbers cannot be active at the same time. I had two active e-sim numbers, and putting a physical SIM card in prompts me do turn off one of the e-sim cellular numbers. I guess 3 #'s are a very limited use case, but could be crucial for someone traveling on business with 1 biz/1personal e-sim and wants to get a physical sim abroad while roaming.

Yeah the iPhone 13 like the iPhone 12 only supports dual sim. It’s just that with the 13 models the two active lines can now be both esim.

 

[rulymammoth]

One thing I’ll add, as someone who has used Verizon esim for the past few years, this year I was able to log into the Verizon website and activate esim on my own. In years past it took an hour on the phone with Verizon to get esim activated. This year I was don’t within ten minutes and did it all by myself.

Interesting. I wish T-Mobile could do this. Although it's not too difficult to get them to transfer the eSIM to the new device, it does require me calling them.

 

[seezar]

Interesting. I wish T-Mobile could do this. Although it's not too difficult to get them to transfer the eSIM to the new device, it does require me calling them.

I’ve been able to activate multiple esims just using T-Mobile’s website.

 

[dsmill]

I am hesitant to move over to the esim, but I will most likely do it, due to the fact that it would be harder to disable. Also, I have a feeling that not shipping the 13 with a physical sim, leads me to believe that on the 14 there will be no physical sim slot at all. So going forward will be esim only.