How do these eSIMs work from a user’s perspective? I’ve only ever had phones with physical sim slots
Exactly the same as a normal one. It just works and you don’t really need to do anything with it. Everything seems the same just no little card in the side of your device.
You get a QR code for the new sim, go into the eSIM manager on the phone, and scan it
Until this article I thought you could swap eSIMs between phones, exactly like normal ones
Tbh I think you effectively could, but it would technically be your provider issuing a new one.
For me I just log into my provider’s online account screen and I’m able to scan a new QR code
Effectively, imagine there’s a SIM card soldered to the motherboard of the phone, you can then download an eSIM to it and the phone behaves as if it’s a physical SIM.
In reality it’s generally built into the modem and I believe they can typically hold multiple eSIMs. What I’m not clear on is if inactive eSIMs actually live in the hardware eSIM or if they get swapped in by the OS
They’re functionally the same as normal SIM, instead it is stored in a secure location of the storage (which can survive factory reset). In a way, it makes it a bit more secure as a thief can’t just yank out the SIM card to avoid being tracked (although it doesn’t defeat a faraday bag) or take it out to use it in another phone.
The major function of a normal SIM is the ability to take it out of one device and put it into another one, effectively disconnecting my identity towards the network provider, from the handset. With eSIM, that doesn’t exist, and if my phone breaks, it’s unclear what happens.
To me, that’s not secure, that’s unsafe and insecure.
that doesn’t exist
Well fwiw, the post we’re commenting on is about that now existing.
the ability to take it out of one device and put it into another one, effectively disconnecting my identity towards the network provider, from the handset
Unless you think that taking a SIM out of a phone means that the phone is no longer connected to you, which isn’t the case at all. A phone’s IMEI is sent along with the SIM data as part of the initial handshake to make a mobile connection, your carrier knows the make, model and serial number of every phone you’ve ever put your SIM card in. The police in most countries make them keep track of which cell towers that combo of IMEI and SIM connect to and at what times. There’s no privacy in using a mobile network you pay a bill for.
that’s not secure
Obviously this isn’t the be all and end all of security, but an eSIM slightly improves device security because a thief would be unable to remove it and disable any theft tracking measures which require network access. (Yes I know about EM shielded bags, but most thieves are opportunists)
The only real advantage of a physical SIM is that if you smash your phone up, you can walk into a shop and put it into a new phone without needing an internet connection first. If I smash my phone up, I need a WiFi network to hook my new phone up to the network. On the flip side, if I get robbed abroad, the process is the same. With a physical SIM it’s gonna get sent to my home address.
Yeah same, I want to know how you move phones if one breaks, or any number of similar situations where you can’t run an app or access another device
With Google Fi you just sign into the fi app and transfer the phone. You need wifi but that’s it.
yea, that’s my biggest annoyance with it, if you can’t pass security on the phone (talking to you prepaid carriers who have absolutely shit CS and protocols) you can no longer just hot swap the sim to get your verification code. You are just locked out of your account now. It’s nice that it’s more secure but, also such a pain in the ass for people who don’t call their carrier a lot so they don’t know their security.
As in ring the network (presumably on a third, working phone) and wait for them to post you something? Doesn’t sound like a great user experience!
@AdmiralShat @FragmentedChicken phones that support esims have actual sim chips inside, and esims basically flash the carrier data onto that chip.
on T-Mobile USA: I preordered my iPhone 15; the QR eSIM and automated SIM transfer system was completely down and I had to spend 30 minutes to an hour on the phone with customer service to swap over my physical SIM to an eSIM I could type (IIRC) into my new phone.
Generally you go to some site your carrier has, enter the IMEI or some number from your phone’s settings, then scan a QR code. It’s not bad… depending on your carrier.
