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Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM

arstechnica.com

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Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM

#151

Post by onesociety2022 »

shlip wrote: post #2

Title should read "I had to switch to eSim [...]" well yeah, of course esim is shitty, as is everything imposed by big tech monopolies to their users without consulting or caring about what they really want. Did you think they were here for your wellbeing and not the money ?

If what you say is true, why would Apple ever force a switch to eSIM? I’m now less likely to buy a new iPhone because I don’t want to deal with this eSIM fiasco. It’s to their detriment. If their goal is to sell more phones, they would want to eliminate all friction to switch to a new phone. So what you are saying doesn’t add up.

Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM

#152

Post by pkulak »

walidthedream wrote: post #32

I am quite annoyed by the people who don't see the issue with eSim because "they never had an issue" with it. It's like having one murder down your block and stating that you don't see the issue because nobody attempted to murder you so far. ESim are backed up as part of iCloud backups, had one dodgy carrier in Europe (Lyca) who never activated my eSim so I switched back to a new carrier but I had to get a transfer a…

Eh, it's more like: a dog pooped on a lawn down my block, but it hasn't happened to me yet, so I'm not too worked up about it.

Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM

#153

Post by Lvl999Noob »

delta_p_delta_x wrote: post #24
worldsavior wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But why? What's wrong with Bluetooth?

Worse quality, latency, potential to lose one (or both) earbuds, having to faff with batteries and charging and cases (and charging the charging case) when I can just... plug it in, bam, music in my ears. The knotting is a small price to pay for the improved quality and convenience in every other way. What's wrong with analogue audio?

My 2c.

The risk of losing one (or both) earbud is a real one. My ears don't tend to keep snug grip on the earbuds so they tend to get loose after I walk a little. With earbuds, this might just be my own singular piece but, there is also the chance that only one of the two would connect to your phone.

On the other hand, the cables get tangled together. I can't walk around with them because the cable gets stuck in the swing of my arms. Connecting them to the phone after a call had already started was a piece of cake though. With bluetooth, I never have my earbuds on when I actually need them and it's too much of a pain to take them out of my bag and connect them.

Whenever it is time to replace my current earbuds, I am gonna go for a neckband instead. It has basically the best of both, imo (I am not that sensitive to audio quality mostly) and the downsides aren't large enough (I'll think of the weight as a neck workout).

Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM

#154

Post by kiwijamo »

abigail95 wrote: post #121
mikepurvis wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found this as well; totally painless to add a destination data plan just before jumping on the plane. And even switching my local plan was pretty straightforward when a promo offer came in from a competitor. That said, I'm sympathetic to the stance of the article's author. I recently had a scare with my iPhone 13's battery not being able to charge (it recovered itself eventually) and I realized it was going to b…

I guess I'm lucky enough to only have had providers where it would take 0-3 hours to create a new eSIM profile. Compared to 3-7 days for a new SIM.

Note that if you just have a broken phone you don't need a new SIM, you just pop it out and pop it in the new phone. So 1min for a physical SIM vs 0-3 hours to create a new eSIM profile. I know which one will be faster. :)

Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM

#155

Post by kiwijamo »

IshKebab wrote: post #111
tezza wrote: post #102

Had a nightmare getting a holiday only e-sim in Australia Couldn’t set up easily because no wifi then I just simply could not cancel the damn thing… It required being in Australia, and like the article needed a SMS code and the support was only contactable Australian working hours… who wanted the SMS code again. So once back in Blighty there was no way… had to cancel the credit card to stop payments So you are at the…

What did you need to cancel though? Most travel eSIMs are pre-paid and time limited, not subscriptions. (Not that that doesn't suck; I'm just surprised at having a subscription in the first place.)

Might have been a local provider eSIM perhaps -- rather than one of the 'Gloabal' eSIM poviders.

Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM

#156

Post by WhyNotHugo »

Youden wrote: post #144

For what it's worth, this is entirely a carrier problem and has little to do with the technology. Various people and the article have outlined some bad experiences but to give a contrasting example: Digital Republic, a local MVNO here in Switzerland, allows you to replace your eSIM by simply logging into their web portal with TOTP-based 2FA and clicking a button. No SMS, no contact with support, no reidentification.…

I only have experience with two carriers in NL and they’re the exact opposite.

No QR code, only an iOS app which needs to be installed on the phone using the plan. My mum was visiting from abroad once and I had to download the app on her phone — which required me to first log into the App Store with my Dutch account.

Another app that could have been a QR code.

Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM

#157

Post by [deleted] »

restalis wrote: post #134
abigail95 wrote: post #17

Totally different experience. Especially when traveling for work, being able to just show up in a country, download an app, and have a working local number within minutes is fantastic. I have 6 eSIMs on my iPhone, two are active. No stuffing about with swapping physical hardware just because I've temporarily relocated myself.

"No stuffing about with swapping physical hardware just because I've temporarily relocated myself." That's exactly the use case for which the carriers offer roaming plans. The bonus is that you (as in your phone number) get to remain connected and accessible by your contacts, as no other phone number is involved at any point. One should not need to change the SIM unless is about one's phone change.

[deleted]

Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM

#159

Post by kiwijamo »

ValentineC wrote: post #135
whalesalad wrote: post #113

I just abandoned AT&T (finally) and transitioned to US Mobile (on VZW) in about 10 minutes thanks to eSIM. New iPhone's don't even work with a regular sim card any longer. Seems like most of the complaints in here re: eSIM are around how a specific carrier deals with it and less about the technology itself?

> New iPhone's don't even work with a regular sim card any longer. Many countries still sell iPhone 17 series with physical SIM slots.

Indeed I have a iPhone 17 Pro with two SIM slots with support for eSIM if I want to use it. If Apple goes eSIM only in our country like they have done in some countries, I'll go back to Samsung.

Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM

#160

Post by raffael_de »

raffael_de wrote: post #34
delta_p_delta_x wrote: post #9

> We gave up the headphone jack. We gave up the microSD card. Some people might have given it up. I personally own a Sony Xperia phone, and intend to buy another Xperia next year, which will almost certainly still have both. In fact Sony is the one manufacturer that returned to a headphone jack after having removed it for a while. It might be more expensive than the competition, but this is my voting with my wallet.

what is it that keeps you loyal to xperia?

(Why would people downvote this utterly harmless question? I don't get it.)
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