I have 5 esims and swap betwen them offten, click and done. SIMs are a pita.
Seems to be migration to phones every other week for reviews is an issie but not one most people are going to have ? I've had the same phone for years now
this post was submitted on 31 Dec 2025
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Until you have to move them to another phone. Especially if there is special provisioning on the SIM that you have to call the carrier to provision every time a new eSIM is issued, since few scenarios let a direct eSIM copy occur. (Apple may be the only one.)
I've been using Google Fi for the last few Pixel phones I've been on. Each time I've switched, during setup I just get asked if I'd like to activate the phone (with a warning that my old one will be deactivated) and I click yes. It's then active before I can even complete the phone's OOBE setup.
Android also does apparently have a "copy to another device" function mentioned here, but they hint to what you said regarding carrier limitations applying. Though Apple's quick eSIM transfer has a similar note as well.
Definitely seems like a "When it all lines up, it can be convenient, but when it doesn't you're fucked" situation.
I think the nightmare starts when your phone stops working completely, I experienced this without eSim and it was already complicated for a switch, I guess eSim adds some problems, but overall I think it still makes things easier, especially when you travel and the roaming fees are too expensive
What are your use cases for all those SIMs?
Three uses I could see:
- Personal
- Work (if no work phone)
- Travel (providers like Saily allow you to take a temporary sim for a country you're visiting, basically what used to be the people selling sims at the airport. eSIM makes it less shady and basically one-click) [maybe multiple of these if they travel often because different providers are better in certain regions]
Extrajudicially unlicensed medication dispenser.
Rug Realer
It depends on what you change more often.
If you change your provider more often, than eSIMs are fine. You don't have to wait for anything in the mail, or go to a store.
If you (me) keep your provider for a couple decades, a physical SIM card can be moved to any new phone at any time, without even needing to talk to your provider. Never mind asking them to approve your new niche little phone they've never heard of, and don't know will work (it will)
Out of curiosity, what sort of reasons do people have to switch out their SIM? I haven't done that in a long time myself, but I might not be the typical user.
I travel internationally semi-regularly. I use an eSIM when not traveling, and will buy a local physical SIM if I'm visiting somewhere where local service is cheaper than my roaming rates.
If you travel internationally, you might need to swap sims out.
If you are a phone reviewer, you would have to swap it frequently. For the average person, maybe if they have two devices, one each for work and personal, with just a single line. Not very common tho.
For the average person, maybe if they have two devices, one each for work and personal, with just a single line. Not very common tho.
I've never heard of anybody doing that, and I work in an industry where separate work phones are extremely common. 99% of them are company-supplied.
I do that exact thing. My shop doesn't supply a phone, just a small stipend (like $30) and they lock they ever loving shit out of any phone you use that for. We can't have cameras for example, and require specific mobile apps.
Only $30? Jesus... I'd just use that stipend to fund a basic prepaid plan on an equally basic device. If they're gonna cheap out on the stipend, then I see no issue getting the cheapest device. Calls and texts only, and only available when you're on the clock.
I did use it for a very basic device, that'd be the one I swap my card out of. I happen to like having plenty of mobile data, as it lets me move around the city easily enough when on-call.
Sometimes just switching to another phone I don't mind losing with it not having anything important on it depending on where I'm going, but wanting internet and phone access just in case.
It might be useful to switch phones when you're going somewhere with a high risk of loosing your phone or the phone getting stolen.
Phone manufactures, who create some very good smartphones but put inside of them only 1 physical Sim slot, what forces you to either choose another model or start using eSim.
I switch mine out fairly often. I can't use a phone with a camera at work, so i just swap it out for my normal phone on Friday. Alternatively I'd either need 2 lines, 2 providers, or whatever. Instead i just toss the work phone in the drawer and use the phone i had from before.
I used an eSIM a few years ago, but it always felt iffy and reminded me too much of Verizon's old CDMA networks where the phones had no SIMs and were permanently tied to the carrier no matter what. Then my phone (Pixel 7 Pro) decided to take a shit, leaving me with no phone number for several days while I waited for the replacement SIM.
eSIMs have their place for secondary lines, like a different carrier for certain low-service situations that pop up here and there in my area, but otherwise I now only run a physical SIM for my main line.
I personally like eSIM. I have an app by my phone provider where I can just create or move a eSIM in minutes.
And additionally, I can just create a new eSIM with a new number in just about the same time. When my wife got a new phone, I just created a new eSIM for her old phone. This way, she could use them both for a week or two.
So you're now fully bound to your ISP, their proprietary shit app, and their servers providing you a new SIM instead of just swapping a physical piece of hardware in seconds. Getting new SIMs in an ideal condition is the only advantage.
Only if your phone is locked to your carrier. On which case, you were already bound to them and their policies.
I have esims from an international provider when I travel. My phone is unlocked.
So you're now fully bound to your ISP
Do you think you can only use an eSIM on a locked phone? Physical SIM or not, a carrier locked phone is a locked phone. You can use eSIMs on unlocked phones just fine
their proprietary shit app, and their servers providing you a new SIM instead of just swapping a physical piece of hardware in seconds
The difference is you don't have to physically go someplace to get a card or have one shipped to you. You just need the Internet and an app.
You're complaining about semantics with no real difference, just convenience 99% of the time.
For me wanting to switch to a Linux phone in the future it seems less than ideal to have esim instead of physical.
You're right, i need to use this specific app to change my eSIM. But I'm not bound in any way that I can't change providers. In fact, eSIM makes switching to another provider even simpler.
I wouldn't be so dramatic. Transferring an eSIM is only a few clicks, there is no need for searching the little thingie to open SIM compartment, no searching for the right hole to stick it into, no fear of losing the tiny SIM card during the process. I would say the transfer process is pretty hard, mainly for older people or people with bigger fingers. On the other hand, you still need the operator and his servers and proprietary code for the SIM to be useful (unless you are building your own network).
Unless your carrier requires you to go down to their physical store and pay a fee to move your eSIM to another device.
You're complaining about a carrier policy, not eSIMs in general. Most carriers don't have that requirement.
In fact I never even heard of that before, and I'm an American where that's exactly the type of nickel and dime bullshit they'd do.
Have you had to recover from a failed device yet? Managing the SIM with the app will work great as long as the app is in fact working, but it's not obvious how you would go about connecting a new device when the old device is not available.
I did not do it yet myself, but I would just install the app on the new device, and register it again - exactly the way I did it the first time. Anytime a new eSIM is created, the old profile will revoked. At least, thats what the FAQ says.
Swapping sims is easier now. You scan a QR code, wait 30 minutes, restart phone and you're good to go. No need to wait for a sim card to be mailed to you. No need to purchase a sim card in the local store.
But if I am trying to debug some mobile connection related thing I can't be waiting 30 minutes to swap it back and forth every time. Then I won't be able to solve the problem in a timely fashion.
That isnβt the normal use of a smartphone. For the average person who rarely changes network and doesnβt debug connectivity issues eSIM is the better option.
Well, yes, under normal circumstances things work properly and do not need to be debugged. But generally eventually any system encounters abnormal circumstances, and one does not want the correct answer to be "give up on that system forever and go home".
I moved to eSIM a few years ago and I had to switch back to physical.
Why did you switch back?
If I recall correctly my service provider was unable to transfer my esim to a new phone unless I switched to physical.