I have my iPhone backed-up. That's how all data was restored, but the eSIM was gone. You clearly didn't read my posts.
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iPhone 13 Pro Switching from SIM to eSIM: Any negatives?
- Thread starter jk73
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As I mentioned above, it appears AT&T activates both SIM and eSIM online at:
http://www.att.com/activate
Not sure if there's 2FA after entering the requested info. on the first page.
Hey I didn’t come up with anything, just seeing what I can see for OP’s sake. I called CS about my Watch cellular, never needed for my iPhone. I personally would let it go (let it go!) if I lost my phone on a trip. But when I get back I can go to the AT&T store and get a new phone, I think the point is if you have the AT&T store they can help you but there seems to be problems if you’re trying it all over remote and can’t access your old phone. At best they would need another line to do the 2 factor through. Could all be avoidable with Google Authenticator and an iPad.
I’ve never used that. Looks like it’s for a new line of service. I suspect they will also send a code to your current line, lol.
... In fact they might be among the best in the world for eSIM, for one thing most carriers around the world don’t even have eSIM nativelyThen add in features like transferring from one iPhone to another or converting physical SIM to eSIM (those features require the carrier to support them) ...
AT&T overnighted me a card with a QR code when I told them I wanted to switch to eSIM, but now I'm seeing the option you just mentioned — "convert to eSIM" — in my iPhone's Cellular settings. Does that option negate the need for the card with the QR code? If so, perhaps I could "convert to eSIM" using that option on the iPhone and then save the card for any possible future emergency/replacement (?). Thanks.
I suspect the problem is still there, at the core of it you need to transfer SIMs and they might make you “authenticate” with your current line. You could keep an AT&T SIM on you “just in case”, either way.
Right now I have Verizon Wireless on physical SIM with my iPhone. I have Mint Mobile on eSIM. I find between these two, I have reception everywhere. Where I live (Southern CA) - where Verizon has 1 bar, T-Mobile usually has near max - and where T-Mobile has none, Verizon is usually really strong. I also like having two numbers.
Verizon - I've gone to Panama, Peru, Japan, Germany, and have had members of my family plan use it in Canada. Verizon's TravelPass ($10/day) works perfectly and automatically. But I've not spent more than a few weeks in another country so...
On my Verizon family plan - most are sims but some are esims. I'd go esim but I'm reading that you can't use both lines at the same time when doing 2 esims (just sim+esim at same time).
Like other posters here, I wonder what would happen if I lost my iPhone. Verizon won't let me do anything on my account (even if I call tech support) until a link is sent to my phone and clicked.
Verizon - I've gone to Panama, Peru, Japan, Germany, and have had members of my family plan use it in Canada. Verizon's TravelPass ($10/day) works perfectly and automatically. But I've not spent more than a few weeks in another country so...
On my Verizon family plan - most are sims but some are esims. I'd go esim but I'm reading that you can't use both lines at the same time when doing 2 esims (just sim+esim at same time).
Like other posters here, I wonder what would happen if I lost my iPhone. Verizon won't let me do anything on my account (even if I call tech support) until a link is sent to my phone and clicked.
The iPhone 13 actually added this. Prior iPhones needed to be SIM+eSIM. 13 can be 2x eSIMs at once. But it’s not triple SIM, it won’t do SIM+2x eSIMs.
Very cool! Thanks for the info. Might try to activate Verizon that way for esim+esim.
I'm not too worried about destroyed SIM cards. That seems highly unlikely. The point about a stolen phone is valid, though. But in a real world scenario, what do I need to transfer an eSIM in a few minutes? A computer? Another working smart phone? WiFi, obviously. The hassle keeps building up.If your phone is stolen or the SIM destroyed then you can't just pop in into another phone, especially if you are traveling in anther country but an esim can be transferred in a few min
I suppose I need a computer or extra phone for that, the QR code? Not so simple if I haven't brought one with me. Which I don't on normal trips. Also, with the ubiquitous 2FA these days, I can't use other people's gear that easy.
Sorry, guys, but I can't see any obvious benefits of an eSIM other than the example of a stolen phone, and only if I have a backup, i.e. working computer or smart phone.
But in the EU, where I live, there is one important upside. If you decide to live abroad, you'll eventually need a local SIM card, together with your national SIM, then it's great to have the ability to have two working SIMs in the phone.
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Well, to setup an eSIM if it can be done by scanning a QR code online (this is provider-dependent) you would need a device that can display that QR code and your own phone you will be adding this eSIM line to.
For me the major eSIM upside (in France) is that I use it for my work line, while a regular SIM is kept for my private line, so I do not need to carry two phones around, as I still see many people do.
Very cool! Thanks for the info. Might try to activate Verizon that way for esim+esim.
Nah, the operators are still getting their heads around eSIMs, so perhaps keep at least one physical SIM around for the time being, IMO.
Is it possible to use 2 phones this way? Ie keep the physical sim in 1 phone and. Use the eSIM in amother?
That's true, I don't work (any longer) so I don't need that, but I should have mentioned it. It just slipped my mind.
Yup. That’s what I do. Mint Mobile and Verizon Wireless. I can text, call, and use data plan from both near instantly. iPhone let’s you set primary and secondary.
Yeah the more I spent reading about esim the more I saw threads with people having problems. What I’m doing now works. What’s that saying - Dont change what works? Lol
If I'm understanding you correctly, an esim would have to have a different number from the sim. Pretty sure that can't happen.
I don't know of a way to have 1 phone number for an esim and a sim without involving some sort of spoofing movie tech.
Maybe someone else here with more knowledge (not hard to find
) than I knows?
When my new iphone arrives I turn it on and it asks me if I want to transfer my number to that new device. I say yes and it does it’s thing. But it is also possible to enter details manually. I love the argument against by someone who has never used it.
But why are you assuming this is happening in the middle of nowhere where there is no Wi-Fi anywhere? Does it happen? sure. Is that normal? No. Is there none where the replacement phone was purchased? At the hotel the traveler is staying at? At the airport? Every coffee shop? Are you in the middle of the desert by yourself and pulled the new phone out from the sand?
People really come up with the most ridiculous scenarios to stay in their old ways.
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You can’t do that. These are 2 different lines. But you can get a google voice # and install the app on both phones.
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Very cool! Thanks for the info. Might try to activate Verizon that way for esim+esim.
I have 2 eSIMs working on the day to day and 1 Physical sim for the UK. as long as it isn’t 2 Verizon lines it’s perfect. I turn off the 2nd esim when I travel to certain places and turn on the UK Sim or get a local prepaid. It works great.
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I switched from physical SIM to eSIM with my carrier Swisscom (in Switzerland). Just to give you a perspective: here you can just log in to your customer care portal and generate a new QR code if you replace your phone. It takes 2 minutes and it works perfectly. No need to call anyone to get a new eSIM at any point.
The reason why I switched, on top of having the physical slot available for any other needs, is to avoid someone stealing the phone just removing the SIM, hence disabling Find My. If someone steals my phone, they can either turn it off, or then it's on and traceable with Find My (I disabled control center when the phone is locked so they can't enter airplane mode either).
Of course, they can still do a DFU restore (and then be locked out when it's about disabling Find My), but as long as the phone is on, with eSIM I have the guarantee that it can be traced. I kinda like this principle.
Also, I can enable a new eSIM on a replacement phone even if I'm abroad, which I can't with a physical SIM.
The reason why I switched, on top of having the physical slot available for any other needs, is to avoid someone stealing the phone just removing the SIM, hence disabling Find My. If someone steals my phone, they can either turn it off, or then it's on and traceable with Find My (I disabled control center when the phone is locked so they can't enter airplane mode either).
Of course, they can still do a DFU restore (and then be locked out when it's about disabling Find My), but as long as the phone is on, with eSIM I have the guarantee that it can be traced. I kinda like this principle.
Also, I can enable a new eSIM on a replacement phone even if I'm abroad, which I can't with a physical SIM.
Yes, like it's better with an eSIM because a physical SIM can get destroyed.
My example was that it could be stolen in response to someone else’s scenario that the phone gets destroyed so you can just take the sim and put it in a new phone. Neither of these is an unlikely scenario and literally the basis of the discussion happening in the thread.
Maybe it’s because I grew up in generation where Wi-Fi is everywhere and technology is easy. My cousins and I constantly have to teach our elders how to use their phones and devices because most of their life was without it so it isn’t intuitive for them.
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