I use eSIM a lot during travels. My last phone doesn't came with eSIM support and I bought an eSIM adapter. It's nice because you switch it to another phone like a normal chip.
Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM
141–150 of 292 posts
Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM
#142I bought my parents their first smartphones back in 2023. I got unlocked iPhone SE3's w/ physical SIMs. I was quite pleased.
My father recently had a problem w/ the phone showing SIM-related error messages. He called the carrier and they "helpfully" switched him to an eSIM.
The best laid plans... >sigh<
Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
Shouldn't it be the same thing? You either have the DAC on your phone convert the digital music file to an analog signal and send it over the aux cord to the speakers in the headphones, or have the digital file sent over Bluetooth and converted by a DAC in the headphones, right? It's not like you're plugging your headphones into a record player.
> have the digital file sent over Bluetooth and converted by a DAC in the headphones, right This is not how Bluetooth wireless audio works. PCM audio is re-encoded on-device into any one of a few Bluetooth-capable codecs that is then streamed to the client device. This is a primary cause of latency.
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Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM
#144For 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.
In theory, all carriers could do this.
Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM
#145Had 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…
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Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM
#146> 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.
>It might be more expensive than the competition By a _substantial_ margin, because the best bang-for-your-buck strategy with smartphones for a long time has been to buy used or refurbished popular flagships for the last one or two years. As much as I like what Xperias are doing with a headphone jack and an SD card slot, the used market for them is almost non-existent. Even if you somehow manage to get a good deal, i…
Those magnetic wallets seem like a terrible idea.
Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM
#147Some random person I met dropped their phone in a river, just after arriving in a foreign country. He bought a new phone, but getting back to his phone number was not easy or possible for him (while in a foreign country). If he had an eSIM it would have quickly solved the problem for him. Instead he had to wait until he got home to pop in a new SIM card. I learned from this experience that maybe eSIM is a good idea a…
FWIW, I dropped my phone in the Chicago River. Crossing a drawbridge, I pulled out my phone to check the time. It slipped and fell - right into the gap in the middle. I peered through the gap to see if was there, and was able to see the splash it made.
Neither SIM nor eSIM would have helped.
In that case, I waited to get home (I didn't live in Illinois) and got a new SIM by mail.
Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most phones that cost less than ~300 USD still have a headphone jack and microSD slot. I've never understood spending more than that on a phone anyway, you can't exactly use all that processing power on a phone operating system. Unfortunately some of the bad features from expensive phones have been moving down to the cheaper ones, like the destroyed screen that's missing its corners and has a hole for the camera in i…
Are the cameras as good?
If you're so concerned about camera quality ... buy a dedicated camera.
A 32 MP+ point-and-shoot starts at about $40, though goes up from there (to several thousand dollars for top models). As a bonus, it has an expected life far exceeding that of a smartphone.
Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM
#149The first time I heard about eSIM, I assumed it was a scheme to make switching phones and providers hard again, but I had no idea the situation was this dire.
Re: Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM
#150I transferred my number from Mint Mobile to Visible 8 months ago or so. I tried to at least. They initiated the number transfer before accepting payment from me. Their iOS app was bugged and their web app had no way to pay. I engaged support and they escalated to engineering. Still had no phone number or cell access for 3 days, with an upcoming trip planned. Ended up getting them to transfer it to US Mobile which has…
On the upside, your phone can be thinner now and the down time gives you, the chance to admire its aesthetic without distraction.