Keeping my number. Are you saying that I can immediately, online, get my existing number connected to a different handset? If I can’t, then that’s why I want to transfer the physical SIM.
Are you saying that I can immediately, online, get my existing number connected to a different handset?
Yes, that’s exactly how it works
What prevents someone else from doing that at any point, taking over my number? Is the only authentication a simple login to the mobile provider’s website?
If SIM swapping is your concern, know that it is just as simple to do with physical SIMs. It’s not like your phone number is hardcoded to that one card alone. The phone company can easily move your number around. Literally anything you’d want to do with a physical SIM you can do with an eSIM. Some very niche situations may be easier with a physical one but over all it’s a much nicer experience with eSims
You trust your carrier to not give your number away today, right? Many providers allow a number migration code to be generated from their website, protected by just their authentication.
Now I can’t answer for other regions, but with my carrier here in Norway I can sign in to their website and authenticate with the government ID system (bankid) and generate a new esim and get the QR code. Takes about a minute total.
I’m personally more for physical sim cards as swapping it into a new phone or swapping in a traveler datasim etc is just something I prefer to have physically.
That being said, I use esim for my phone number, and then swap in travel sims for data with my physical sim slot, works really well when you travel a lot.
You won’t be able to use the bankid when your previous phone is broken, though. That’s my point.
