A few years back, if you hear the word eSIM, you might think what it is. But now, it is not the case. Most smartphone users know what an eSIM is and how to use the eSIM. However, still, some are pretty unfamiliar with eSIM. We will discuss the eSIM, its use, advantages, disadvantages of eSIM, etc.
If you are the one who is planning to take an eSIM, you can understand, what are the good parts and downsides of using an eSIM on your mobile. Later you can decide whether to take the eSIM or not. So let’s see them in detail.
What is an eSIM?
Without any technical aspects, we can explain what an eSIM is. eSIM means an embedded SIM card that replaces the traditional physical SIM. For example, suppose you are taking an eSIM for your number. In that case, there won’t be any physical SIM card, and the mobile connection is set up using some configuration and is added directly to the handset.
In a typical case, you will have a physical SIM card that you can insert into the SIM slot of your mobile. Here, all the configurations regarding the number are embedded in the physical SIM card chip. Your phone will read all the configuration details of the number from the chip.
On the other hand, eSIM doesn’t have any physical SIM, and hence you can’t insert it into the SIM slot. For eSIM, the configuration is added within the phone set itself. So, if you are using eSIM on your mobile, you can use the mobile connection without inserting a physical SIM card on your device.
eSIM is comparatively a new technology and widely used in mobiles like iPhone, Google Pixel, Few Samsung Phones, Moto Razr, etc.
Can I use eSIM on iPhone
Yes, you can use eSIM on your iPhone if it is in the following list. The eSIM supported iPhone models are iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13, and iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 12 models, iPhone 11 models, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.
iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, and iPhone 13 Mini supports dual eSIM, and hence you can either use two eSIMs or one eSIM with a physical Nano-SIM. The rest supports one eSIM and one Physical Nano-SIM.
So, all the iPhones mentioned above support dual SIM with at least one eSIM card. However, you can only use one Physical SIM on the older iPhone model like iPhone 6, 7, etc., and hene dual SIM support is not available.
eSIM on Android Devices
eSIM is not relevant for most Android devices, as almost all android devices come with physical dual SIM support. You can insert two physical SIM cards on nearly all Android devices. Some flagship mobiles like Google Pixel, Moto Razer, some models of Samsung don’t have the dual physical SIM card option, and there you can find the option of eSIM.
Advantages of eSIM
The main advantage of the eSIM is for iPhone users. However, as said before, Android users don’t require the eSIM feature as Android devices come with dual SIM features by default.
If you are switching from Android to iPhone, then the eSIM feature might be helpful as you might be using dual SIM previously on your Android device.
Disadvantage of eSIM
Even though the eSIM makes a single SIM device like the iPhone to a dual SIM phone, there are some major disadvantages. It includes.
You need to convert your existing SIM card to an eSIM first. Some providers provide the conversation via SMS, and you can convert the existing physical SIM to an eSIM from your home. On the other side, if the telecom provider is not offering the conversion online, then you need to visit the nearest store to get your eSIM
Since the eSIM is embedded as the configuration within the phone, you cannot put the eSIM on another handset. Therefore, if you need to put the SIM to another mobile for any reason, then with eSIM, it is not possible.
If you switch to a new device, either Android or an iPhone, you need to take a new eSIM or a physical SIM again to use it on the new device.
If you are an eSIM user, you have the option to delete the eSIM configuration on your phone. if you accidentally delete the configuration, it can’t be restored, and in that case, you need to revisit the store to take a duplicate eSIM or physical SIM
Conclusion
eSIM is very handy if you are using devices like Google Pixel, iPhone, etc., so that you can use two SIMs on such devices. However, the disadvantages also need to be considered. If you switch mobile phones frequently or think you need to use the same SIM or the number on different mobile, then eSIM is not a good choice for you.
On the other side, if you are sure that you will not change the handset for the past few months or years, there is no issue using the eSIM on your eSIM supported mobile phones.