Krispykrme
macrumors regular
Given Apple makes way over 50% of margin on each iPhone XS they sell. This is literally pennies against their margin.
Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile Won't Support eSIM Until Later This Year
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Given Apple makes way over 50% of margin on each iPhone XS they sell. This is literally pennies against their margin.
B4U
macrumors 68040
Actually, cricket is owned by AT&T now.
Just saying...
Actually, is Sprint even trying to compete?
JPack
macrumors G5
The Lightning to 3.5 mm adapter also costs pennies, but Apple decided to remove it from the iPhone 8 packaging this year. Pennies matter for Apple.
I’m running esim with AT&T and running Verizon as a physical sim. Both run LTE just fine. Not sure what Verizon is talking about...
Apple today released iOS 12.1 with support for the digital eSIM that will allow for dual-SIM functionality on the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, but eSIM support isn't going to be immediately available from U.S. carriers.
AT&T, for example, is telling customers that eSIM activations are being delayed until later in the year due to technical issues in part related to Visual Voicemail.
According to one AT&T store manager who spoke to MacRumors, retail outlets have been told that AT&T is not supporting dual-SIM or eSIM at the current time, with stores advised not to sell eSIM cards to customers.
Verizon and T-Mobile will also not be supporting the eSIM at the current time, according to company spokespeople who talked to PCMag. T-Mobile said that eSIM support is in the works and will be available "when its software is ready" with no timeline provided. Verizon, meanwhile, said that eSIMs will be available after some kinks are worked out.
It's also worth noting that Verizon customers should not activate eSIMs from other companies at this time because of performance issues. As outlined by PCMag, when a physical Verizon SIM is relegated into a "secondary" position by an eSIM from another company, the Verizon connection gets downgraded to the 2G CDMA network.
Verizon says it is working with Apple to resolve this issue to allow its customers to use eSIM without a performance hit.
The fourth major carrier in the United States, Sprint, is not on Apple's list of carriers that are going to be implementing eSIM support, but Sprint has said it will add support at some point.
The eSIM, or digital SIM, is a non-physical SIM card slot that pairs with the physical SIM card in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR to enable dual-SIM dual-standby, a feature that lets iPhone users have two phone numbers available at once.
With dual-SIM support, iPhone users are supposed to be able to swap between the two phone numbers readily, alleviating the need for a second phone or SIM swapping for work and travel.
While eSIM support will not be available from the major carriers in the United States at this time, it is available in other countries around the world. Apple has a list of all the carriers supporting eSIM functionality on its website.
On Apple's site, eSIM support for AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile says "coming later this year," suggesting the three carriers are aiming to launch the feature before the end of 2018.
Article Link: Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile Won't Support eSIM Until Later This Year
Krispykrme
macrumors regular
I know how they work- being a former employee I know.
But this is getting damn ridiculous.
DCJ001
macrumors 6502a
You can have two Google Voice numbers with each one ringing the same phone.
Krizoitz
macrumors 68000
Way over 50% margin? Where are you pulling those numbers from? Do we even want to know...
User 6502
macrumors 65816
They will never support eSIM without a push. Apple it’s doing what it did with Flash, and it worked with that. I am confident it will work with eSIM too.
Are you outside the US? As far as I understand the reason it doesn’t work well in the US is due to the multiple standards there. It has always worked without issue in Europe.
this eSIM thing is absolutely useless for majority of users based on missing operators support. Even if supported you can expect problems with roaming etc. It's nice, but in 2018 it CAN'T (unfortunately) replace a physical SIM. So they added something which almost nobody can utilize.
Ramchi
macrumors 65816
Even I was tempted discard some of my mobiles to combine them into a single iPhone (XS Max) but I might not go after this since I see lots of people claiming to have issues with LTE, WiFi and Dual SIM reviews I have not seen yet....I might as well go after Huawei Mate 20 Pro or Honor Magic 2...
Though Apple cannot be blamed for this but what is the use of buying a Dual SIM Mobile that cannot perform this function saving a quite bit on the second device.
christophermdia
macrumors 6502a
What are betas for? Plus the fact that these companies had prototype versions for likely a year plus. They are just afraid you will see what it’s like to be on ATT and then experience TMobile/Verizon when it doesn’t work, and then switch all your lines over with some ungodly “we will pay you thousands” to switch. I know how this works because I have an esim ATT on my iPad Pro with a TMobile physical sim ... and often switch over to the TMobile account because ATT sucks. Most of the time in Atlanta too where the airport is splashed with ATT ads because their corporate offices are there. Oh BTW, did I mention I have this same functionality on my iPad right now, albeit, smart switching/phone calls?? It works, they are just planning contingencies for mass exodus.
seattle_expat
macrumors newbie
This is why I bought the iPhone XR, so that I could maintain my AT&T number but pop international SIMs in and out of my phone while traveling outside the U.S. I’ve been going the rounds with AT&T on this (eSIM activation). I started a lengthy forum post at https://forums.att.com, but the replies that were posted in response clearly made the company look incompetent – so they deleted the thread and claimed it, “didn’t meet their standards for their public forums.” (Go figure.)
I went to several AT&T Stores to ask about activating my eSIM and got blank stares from the sales reps. They literally had no idea what I was talking about. (One gal looked at the phone accessories shelf for a product labeled ‘eSIM’ and told me they were currently out of stock at the moment.) That was a waste of time.
I also called AT&T’s customer support line, who claimed they could activate me in a few minutes, and all I needed to provide was my IMEI and ICCID. Once that was done the rep informed me that I would need to purchase a second AT&T line before they would activate the eSIM – company policy. When I declined, the rep also declined to active my eSIM.
For those that got this working … curious to know if anyone has tried inserting an international SIM in the physical slot in conjunction with the eSIM and what the experience was.
I believe you are reading that wrong. If you try to do it the opposite way ie eSim from Verizon and Physical SIM from ATT then the Verizon sim will not work on LTE but will use CDMA.
Personally i am not a big fan of eSims. It is putting control back with the carrier who must get involved to program the eSim. I like that I can put any physical sim in the phone without carrier involvement. Thankfully this feature will still be available with the physical Sim. I travel a lot and have about four different Sims that i swop in and out of my iPhone.
How is Sprint able to sign on even one new customer in 2018?
B4U
macrumors 68040
Like is that even gonna happen though?
On the other hand, Apple should have just offered a physical dual SIM everywhere.
I'd rather have the true dual-sim version now because of this mess. Is there any way Apple would take back a phone purchased on launch day? It's well outside the 14 day return window, but I fee like I bought something based on promises that weren't delivered. Apple's keynote stated that the big 3 carriers in the U.S. would be supporting esim "at launch" and when 12.1 is available. Here we are... and nothing.
Returning it for what? I still need a phone. Looks like the feature is coming, just have to wait a bit my dude.
Ramchi
macrumors 65816
Yet, Apple expects poor consumers to spare a fortune on every little thing!
M.Rizk
macrumors 6502a
It is not exactly a permission. eSIM is a new standard that US carriers will have to implement sooner or later if they want to support IoT devices on their 5G network. Apple is just pushing them to do it earlier than intended and apparently they did not have enough time deciding how to squeeze extra cash out of your pockets.
Other carriers listed on Apple's website, and even more already started issuing eSIMs to those who ask for it since the second iOS 12.1 beta.