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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

#231

Post by raron »

waweic wrote: post #16

Technologically, eSIMs are pretty nice. The electrical interface between the phone modem and the eSIM is the same as with a real SIM card, and the eSIM can run the same applications as a real SIM card, so at this point you can buy smartcards that can be swapped between devices and run eSIM applications. esim.me, 9esim and the "sysmocom eUICC for eSIM" (seems to be the most open/friendly at this point) are some of the…

> The major advantage is now that the expensive and time-consuming part of provisioning a new mobile service (sending out a physical SIM card)

I don't know, choosing service package, signing paperwork, identifying and other KYC stuff (tens of minutes) for me was always much more time-consuming than the few seconds of reading the barcode(?) from a new SIM card and giving it to the customer (or putting it into an automatically addressed envelope).

I can't see any advantage of eSIMs except that it makes harder to change providers what they of course really like.

(Anyways the security of the whole PTSN is a joke and publications about cracking cell networks, why SIM cards are even a thing? I would suspect an customer-id@service-provider.country and a password would work, too. Maybe with a zero-knowledge password proof.)

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

#232

Post by TacticalCoder »

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…

> 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.

TBH that's most people on most subjects.

First one that comes to mind:

"I'm an honest citizen and never did anything wrong and never had a bank account frozen, hence it never happens to honest citizens who did nothing wrong".

Honest. But oh-so-very dumb.

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

#233

Post by otterley »

a456463 wrote: post #194
thiht wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 Yeah over exaggerations are probably not helping the cause. I’ll stick with eSim

Proving the OP's point. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean somebody else doesn't

That's not the point. eSIM failures are not even remotely comparable to murders in severity. These are paper cuts.

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

#234

Post by otterley »

raron wrote: post #231
waweic wrote: post #16

Technologically, eSIMs are pretty nice. The electrical interface between the phone modem and the eSIM is the same as with a real SIM card, and the eSIM can run the same applications as a real SIM card, so at this point you can buy smartcards that can be swapped between devices and run eSIM applications. esim.me, 9esim and the "sysmocom eUICC for eSIM" (seems to be the most open/friendly at this point) are some of the…

> The major advantage is now that the expensive and time-consuming part of provisioning a new mobile service (sending out a physical SIM card) I don't know, choosing service package, signing paperwork, identifying and other KYC stuff (tens of minutes) for me was always much more time-consuming than the few seconds of reading the barcode(?) from a new SIM card and giving it to the customer (or putting it into an autom…

> I can't see any advantage of eSIMs

They are incredibly handy when you are traveling abroad, you don't speak the local language fluently, you want cheap data, you don't want to study 100 different prepaid plans from 10 different local primary and MVNO carriers to figure out the best offer, you don't want to wait for the shops to open because your flight landed late at night, and you don't want to scan your passport and send it to the carrier for verification and wait for hours for approval (yes, in many countries, KYC is required even for prepaid SIMs). I've lived that experience and I can't say I miss it.

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

#235

Post by renewiltord »

starkparker wrote: post #185
renewiltord wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, eSIMs are built for high trust locations. I just use Google Fi and they’re pretty decent about it all. This whole “switching a carrier” business is kind of pointless busywork I don’t do any more.

Odd how it works out, but my work Pixel 8 on Google Fi forgets its eSIM about once every three Android updates. Usually takes 15 minutes to an hour to work itself out, with no indication as to what happened or why. Turned me off completely from eSIM-only devicess and Google Fi for personal use. Hell, as I write this my on-call phone just notified me that its eSIM isn't valid. Good thing I'm not on call yet!

Classic Google. I’ve used the eSIM on iPhone flawlessly across numerous countries for 8+ years now. It’s typical that their stuff wouldn’t work on their own hardware.

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

#236

Post by decimalenough »

ValentineC wrote: post #127
decimalenough wrote: post #116

On the other hand, international roaming has become so much cheaper now that swapping SIMs when you travel is no longer necessary. The legacy carriers still try to fuck you over, but MVNOs and dedicated travel SIMs offer amazing rates: I can get a year of roaming across 120 countries for around US$15.

> I can get a year of roaming across 120 countries for around US$15. Which plan is this? That sounds pretty awesome to have handy at all times. I'm assuming it's probably just 1GB or so though.

https://www.amaysim.com.au/international/roaming

A$25 gets you 2GB for a year, there are beefier versions too.

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

#238

Post by hexbin010 »

bob778 wrote: post #188
ifh-hn wrote: post #29

eSIMs are another way for big tech and government to track and identify you. Gone will be the days you could pop into a shop and get a burner.

Those days are long, long gone (15 years ago) for most of the US/UK/EU/Australia and parts f Asia. You require government ID to purchase which gets tied to the IMEI.

Not true in the slightest in the UK. You can walk into many shops and get a SIM for £1 in cash, no ID, as easy as buying a Mars bar

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

#239

Post by exabrial »

mbirth wrote: post #214
exabrial wrote: post #189

eSim is fine, SMS "authentication" is once again the f#?*ing problem. Its going to take congressional action before we can get rid of this menace. All we're doing is half-ass offloading credit and identity checks to cellphone carriers, which do this, and by having a cell phone, you've probably been through an identity and credit check.

Still beats a specific sum or $0.01 transaction with a code appearing on your bank statement. ;)

The'll literally do anything except actual security.

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

#240

Post by presentation »

raron wrote: post #231
waweic wrote: post #16

Technologically, eSIMs are pretty nice. The electrical interface between the phone modem and the eSIM is the same as with a real SIM card, and the eSIM can run the same applications as a real SIM card, so at this point you can buy smartcards that can be swapped between devices and run eSIM applications. esim.me, 9esim and the "sysmocom eUICC for eSIM" (seems to be the most open/friendly at this point) are some of the…

> The major advantage is now that the expensive and time-consuming part of provisioning a new mobile service (sending out a physical SIM card) I don't know, choosing service package, signing paperwork, identifying and other KYC stuff (tens of minutes) for me was always much more time-consuming than the few seconds of reading the barcode(?) from a new SIM card and giving it to the customer (or putting it into an autom…

Really? I live in Japan, eSIMs made it very easy for me to switch carriers 3 times when I was shopping. Just had to click the “agree” checkbox in the ts and cs for each carrier when I switched, provide the transfer code (which is always in an easy to find place in their management dashboards), and then plug that into the form when signing up for the new carrier. Then my butt did not have to budge from my couch as the eSIM was provisioned and my old service was cancelled automatically. Definitely beat schlepping it to the physical stores of each carrier in ye olde times.
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