what is an eSIM, what do you need to use it, advantages and disadvantages

The SIM card is our line identifier in the phones and until now we could take it wherever we wanted by changing the phone, but it is better than we get used to virtual SIMsthose that live inside your phone’s chip and can be “programmed” virtually.

When it comes to virtual SIM cards, we have two types: eSIM and iSIM, depending on where you virtually live inside the device. For the end user, eSIM and iSIM are identical: a SIM card that lives in the mobile and that it is increasingly common for us to find it instead of the traditional Nano SIM slot.

What is an eSIM

The residential phone line is wired to the telephone company, so there is no loss of who’s who. On your mobile, which communicates wirelessly with the relay antennas, the way you have identify you in the telephone network It is with the chip included in the SIM card.

The chip itself hasn’t changed much, but the size of the plastic the chip is housed in has shrunk considerably throughout history: from credit card sized SIM cards to Today’s Nano SIMs, with a size of 12.3 x 8.8 x 0.67 millimeters. small

eSIM and iSIM give us another option: that there is no SIM card of any kind, but a chip inside the device itself that can be programmed by software to include our identification. In other words, we have the same thing that we had on the SIM card directly on a chip in the mobile. If we are talking about an eSIM, it is a separate chip. If it is an iSIM, it is part of the SoC itself and is even more compact.

This chip is the one that is programmed for the profile of our SIM and, in fact, can be downloaded from up to 10 different customer profilesthat is, up to 10 different mobile lines ready to work, even if it only allows to have one line active at a time on the eSIM and another on the physical SIM.

What do you need to use an eSIM?

If the above works for you, you should keep in mind that you need your device supports eSIM that your operator offers the service. In mobile phones, tablets and gadgets such as smartwatches, the eSIM has been developing for years, although it is still exclusive to the most powerful models, and not to all.

In android mobiles, you will find support in the latest Samsung Galaxy S, Z Fold and Z Flip, OPPO Find X, Motorola Razr, Xperia 1, Xperia 10, Xperia III Lite and Google Pixel, although it is to be expected that the support spreads and at some point move into the midrange and from there into the entry. You will also find it in some gadgets such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch.

You will also need your operator offers the eSIM service, something that continues to be the hot topic of some phone companies. In Europe, you will find it with the following operators:

What are the benefits of an eSIM?

The fact that the eSIM is virtual has a series of advantages and some disadvantages that we will see later. Let’s start with the eSIM Benefits compared to the physical SIM cards of a lifetime.

• Easier to activate: Forget about skewering, opening the tray, inserting the card and closing the tray. You don’t need any of this to activate an eSIM, but the process involves scanning a QR code that your carrier gives you from Settings > Mobile data > Add mobile data plan.
• They take up less space on the mobile: The eSIM takes up space, but much less than a real card, especially considering the size of the reader and its tray. A Nano SIM 12.3 x 8.8 x 0.67 mm and the eSIM chip 2.5 x 2.3 x 0.2 mm. If we talk about iSIM, it is even smaller, less than one square millimeter.
• Simplified portability: With virtual SIMs, portability is technically easier since all you have to do is download the operator’s profile with the QR code, without having to wait for the physical SIM to arrive by email.
• Up to ten numbers on the mobile: An eSIM can have up to 10 different customer profiles, i.e. up to ten mobile lines ready to use, although you can only have one or two (with Dual eSIM) active lines at that time.
• Very useful for frequent travellers: Therefore, it is very useful for those who frequently travel abroad, as they can keep local SIM card profiles in their eSIM and activate them as soon as they arrive in the country. It is also possible in some countries to buy eSIM cards from the mobile, without having to go to a store or a sales center.
• MultiSIM compatibility: One of the great advantages of the eSIM is that it is compatible with MultiSIM, that is, it uses the same number on different devices such as mobile phones and tablets or smartwatches.

What’s wrong with an eSIM

Not everything can be good. That the SIM is virtual and not a card that you can take with you and change it from one mobile to another also presents some problems or disadvantages:

• It is more difficult to change mobile: The virtual SIM resides in your mobile and you cannot remove it to put it in your new mobile when you change your mobile. Google promised us this year that it would be child’s play to transfer our eSIM to our new mobile, but like almost everything on Android, it will still take time.
• Restoring the phone can cost you money: Also, in some cases, it might even cost you money to do something as trivial as restoring the phone, in cases where your carrier will charge you for ordering a new eSIM, which doesn’t is not always the case.
• Connectivity testing is more difficult: If your coverage or Internet is weird, with a physical SIM you can always remove it and put it in another mobile to see if the problem comes from the network or your mobile, something impossible with a virtual SIM.
• Possible difficulties abroad: If you opt for an eSIM and travel to a country where physical SIM cards are still the norm, you will not have the option of buying and using a local SIM card. For now, most phones with eSIM retain the slot for a physical SIM card, but some have already dared to take the plunge and only offer eSIM.

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