Carrier List of eSim providers (Prepaid vs Postpaid)

[DumbPhone]

visible prepay soon have esim, 1 or 2 months...kaa

 

[lordhamster]

visible prepay soon have esim, 1 or 2 months...kaa

Yeah, I'm excited for that!! For a long time I used Visible Physical sim along side FI (eSim) on my phone. That way I had access to T-Mobile AND Verizon networks for ultimate coverage. Plus visible is pretty great (at least in my area).

 

[Catul]

US Mobile also expects to have eSIM available "real soon" for domestic plans (currently only available for their International roaming plans). Between Visible and US Mobile, it'll be nice to have solid Verizon MVNO options for domestic eSIM usage.

 

[ecschwarz]

It's launching on Mint Mobile for select new users at check-out (sort of a soft-launch/beta) - written by Mint Mobile's co-founder who is rather active on the subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/mintmobile/comments/jx8yi5

 

[kithytom]

eSIM for post-paid T-mobile is fully available it's officially on T-mobile website why no official support?

 

[Channan]

Yeah, I'm excited for that!! For a long time I used Visible Physical sim along side FI (eSim) on my phone. That way I had access to T-Mobile AND Verizon networks for ultimate coverage. Plus visible is pretty great (at least in my area).

That’s sort of what I plan on doing, should I ever need it, but using T-Mobile instead of Fi on an as-needed basis. I just got Visible a couple weeks ago and service is fantastic where I live. There aren’t enough people to congest the network here, so I don’t have to worry about throttling. But should I ever go to a big city for vacation or any other reason and find myself being throttled and need faster speeds, I have the T-Mobile Prepaid eSIM app already downloaded on my phone and I can just buy the 2GB/$15 or 5GB/$25 plan, depending on how long I plan to be there and how much data I think I’ll need.

I shouldn’t have any problems with speed and coverage on T-Mobile in large cities, and I shouldn’t have a problem with congestion on Visible everywhere else, so it’s the perfect setup for me. I’ll pay only $25 flat every month most of the time, but on the rare occasion I travel somewhere that I also need T-Mobile, I’ll still only be paying about $40 or $50 for the month (a little bit more, since T-Mobile has taxes and fees).

 

[max2]

How do I get T-Mobile eSIM for a new customer easily?

I tried the app but get a error every time. Anyway to do it on the direct site ?

 

[Rorosbutt]

How do I get T-Mobile eSIM for a new customer easily?

I tried the app but get a error every time. Anyway to do it on the direct site ?

I think you’d have to call them. They’ll have to send you a QR code for the eSIM.

 

[riteshritesh]

Vodafone Idea ( now known as V!)in India, adds to the list of esim supported carriers.

 

[Channan]

That’s sort of what I plan on doing, should I ever need it, but using T-Mobile instead of Fi on an as-needed basis. I just got Visible a couple weeks ago and service is fantastic where I live. There aren’t enough people to congest the network here, so I don’t have to worry about throttling. But should I ever go to a big city for vacation or any other reason and find myself being throttled and need faster speeds, I have the T-Mobile Prepaid eSIM app already downloaded on my phone and I can just buy the 2GB/$15 or 5GB/$25 plan, depending on how long I plan to be there and how much data I think I’ll need.

I shouldn’t have any problems with speed and coverage on T-Mobile in large cities, and I shouldn’t have a problem with congestion on Visible everywhere else, so it’s the perfect setup for me. I’ll pay only $25 flat every month most of the time, but on the rare occasion I travel somewhere that I also need T-Mobile, I’ll still only be paying about $40 or $50 for the month (a little bit more, since T-Mobile has taxes and fees).

So I wound up discovering Dent after I posted this. They have a 1GB plan for $5, but they had a promotion (not sure if it’s still going on) where, if you join with a referral link, you get an extra 5GB free. Plus I got 200 “Dent” when I joined and there was a one-time plan that gave 200MB for 1 Dent, so I ended up with 6.2GB of data for $5.

Best part is that the data is good for an entire year, so it makes a perfect backup option for Visible and/or traveling, as the data can be used in 80 countries.

 

[lordhamster]

Vodafone Idea ( now known as V!)in India, adds to the list of esim supported carriers.

Good to know. Would be nice to be able to get a local india eSim without jumping through hoops. I think for regular sim you have to show ID /passport etc. It is a whole production.

 

[jettie1767]

I have an iPhone 12 Pro Max on Verizon. Is it possible to get an esim with an ATT or T-Mo prepaid plan? I’m not sure which one can fill the coverage gaps in Cental NJ. I’m not even sure if ATT & T-Mo will sell me an esim if my primary line is with Verizon?

 

[ecschwarz]

I have an iPhone 12 Pro Max on Verizon. Is it possible to get an esim with an ATT or T-Mo prepaid plan? I’m not sure which one can fill the coverage gaps in Cental NJ. I’m not even sure if ATT & T-Mo will sell me an esim if my primary line is with Verizon?

T-Mobile will do prepaid eSIM as long as your phone is unlocked. You can sign up and start service with the T-Mobile eSIM app. 5G is included on all plans. This will probably matter more with iOS 14.5, when you can have 5G active on both SIMs.

If you just want data, you can sign up for the $15 Connect 2GB plan in the app (scroll down on the plan selection screen, it's not obvious), and then after everything is up and running, change your plan on the account management site to a Mobile Internet plan ($5/500MB up to $50/100GB). It's basically a normal phone plan, just with no minutes or texts and they don't care if you use it on a phone.

AT&T Prepaid can move any plan over from a physical SIM to an eSIM with a QR activation card (unique for each instance), but only includes 5G on the top plan.

 

[ian87w]

I'm really wondering why carriers around the world are so resistant in adopting eSIM. Seems like eSIM will cut their cost and attract premium iPhone/high end Android users. But no, many carriers around the world are still not adopting eSIM, or worse, only apply it on post paid/contract plans. Maybe someone can give an insight.

For example, in Indonesia, the main carriers are now creating sub-brands of themselves dubbed "digital telco," meaning you don't have to come to a store and you can apply for a number through their respective apps, and you can even customize your number. Imagine how seamless it would be if they used eSIM. But no, they had to send you physical SIM cards. Silly and dumb imo.

 

[rui no onna]

I'm really wondering why carriers around the world are so resistant in adopting eSIM. Seems like eSIM will cut their cost and attract premium iPhone/high end Android users. But no, many carriers around the world are still not adopting eSIM, or worse, only apply it on post paid/contract plans. Maybe someone can give an insight.

For example, in Indonesia, the main carriers are now creating sub-brands of themselves dubbed "digital telco," meaning you don't have to come to a store and you can apply for a number through their respective apps, and you can even customize your number. Imagine how seamless it would be if they used eSIM. But no, they had to send you physical SIM cards. Silly and dumb imo.

What's the overhead cost like for setting up eSIM activation and keeping it running? SIM cards are cheap. Like just a few cents. Meanwhile, eSIM may be a considerably hefty initial investment.

Besides, in my experience (at least in the Philippines), the people who tend to have high end devices (at least one that wasn't stolen or gray market) have postpaid plans.

Prepaid is typically more geared towards the price conscious. I set up my parents cellphones with prepaid plans when they went on vacation last year just before the lock down. I remember paying just $2-3 per week to get 4GB rollover data, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calls and unlimited SMS to all networks.

 

[john991]

Anyone know if you can have 2 active esims on the same carrier?

thanks

 

[catean]

Anyone know if you can have 2 active esims on the same carrier?

thanks

No, only one physical SIM and one eSIM active at the same time. They need 2 eSIM chips inside the phone to enable dual esim .

 

[alcorbet]

Is there a more detailed list of eSIM providers somewhere? I know Apple lists the carriers but outside of that, it lacks any useful information like if they offer post-paid or pre-paid on eSIM, if it's provisioned via app or if you have to call or obtain an eSIM card like on EE.

EDIT: Doesn't look like there is a real list out there so perhaps this can be turned into a Wiki. Let's keep quick availability info on the main post but feel free to link to a more detailed post. Just want to keep it clean and information easy to find.

China

3: Pre-paid roaming data as add-on. Need to confirm if available to non-postpaid customers.


Croatia
Hrvatski telekom (Croatian Telecom) - Postpaid only - eSIM support page - Online activation with QR code in email.


Germany

Telekom: Post-paid and pre-paid eSIM officially supported. NOTE: ID required to begin service regardless of eSIM or physical SIM. Additional information here and here.

Philippines

Globe: Post-paid eSIM only, no pre-paid support. You must visit one of the stores listed to set up.


Switzerland

Swisscom: Post-Paid and Prepaid. Prepaid QR Voucher available at every Swisscom Shop - ID/Passport required for registration (Swiss LAW)
Sunrise: Only Post-Paid.

UK

EE: Post-paid eSIM only for New and Existing contract/post-pay customers - EE eSIM support - No PAYG/pre-paid eSIM
O2: New and Existing contract/postpay customers - not PAYG/prepay - O2 eSIM FAQs
Vodafone: New and Existing customers - Vodafone eSIM support - order and activate online with QR code
Three: New and Existing contracts, Three eSIM support - in store only for now - see this post

USA

T-Mobile: No official post-paid support (some have been successful in a work-around but it isn't guaranteed and T-Mobile will not support if there is a problem). Pre-paid eSIM available via the T-Mobile eSIM app.
Verizon: Post-Paid eSIM only. Existing customers can call to have service switched to eSIM. New customers can sign up via the MyVerizon app. No pre-paid eSIM support.
AT&T: Post-paid eSIM available with $5 Blue QR card via in-store or chat. Prepaid can be switched by entering ICCID of blue QR card (if an AT&T store will let you get one or Apple Store) in account management—AT&T's online support may or may not be helpful with this.
Mint Mobile: Select new users are being offered eSIM as an option as a beta test.
Visible: Prepaid service that uses Verizon‘s network. Only one plan available (unlimited everything for as low as $25 per month) and eSIM can only be done through their app.

eSIM.net do prepaid eSIM plans that work in pretty much every country. I've got my primary line with Vodafone but use these guys for my second line and so far I'm loving the flexibility of the prepaid eSIM. Smaller, independent companies just get the consumer IMO.

 

[Dopestar]

After the one time setup:

- I have the low cost T-Mobile plan domestic and international
- On the second eSIM line I have prepaid AT&T for areas with no T-Mobile coverage
- When I travel to Europe, I turn on the Telekom eSIM line and use it for local data in all of the EU

- I don't have to remove the case
- I don't have to change physical SIM and risk losing it e.g. in an airplane or at airport (have done that before)

It is as easy as flipping a switch in the settings (takes only a few seconds) and turn on data for this plan. I do it when I board the airplane or when I land. It's much easier than the 3 SIM's I had to have before to achieve the same.

Actually, when I travelled I had two phones. My current one so I can be reached under my main number and my old unlocked phone with the local SIM for data. Now I only have to carry one phone.

On the other side, if you don't like what the OP is asking for, than you could just move on ... We do understand that not everyone travels internationally and domestic and doesn't have a large use for it.

No more swapping those SIM cards once you land to that destination. The esim feature is a plus and like you expressed this isn’t for everyone. My current use case for Esim is having a business line. I have AT&T and the set up experience was bizmare. They told me I would get a card in the mail which I never did. They pushed the information to my phone which activated my business line. I prefer this method versus getting the QRcode via card method.

 

[ecschwarz]

No more swapping those SIM cards once you land to that destination. The esim feature is a plus and like you expressed this isn’t for everyone. My current use case for Esim is having a business line. I have AT&T and the set up experience was bizmare. They told me I would get a card in the mail which I never did. They pushed the information to my phone which activated my business line. I prefer this method versus getting the QRcode via card method.

I've gone back and forth if my main number should be on a physical SIM or eSIM (mostly has depended on if that provider has supported it), but I'm not traveling much as it is anyway. I think settling on physical SIM for my main number and then using eSIM for something else (data-only roaming services mainly or maybe secondary things) will be my plan going forward.

As for AT&T, their eSIM implementation is kind of shoehorned into the existing systems. The blue QR cards basically take the place a physical SIM (with unique ICCID) so you can use one anywhere within AT&T's systems that normally requires a physical SIM card. This is nice in that it allowed AT&T Prepaid folks to move to eSIM almost immediately and some to fire up the iPad data-only plans on their phones on eSIM. Now that they're supporting EID for business (and maybe personal postpaid), that can make it easier for many.

 

[max2]

I wish you could just use data 4g lte or 5g at the same time on both sim and esim or where it would fall back on either one if the signal is too weak or no signal at all for data.

Oh well.

 

[catean]

I wish you could just use data 4g lte or 5g at the same time on both sim and esim or where it would fall back on either one if the signal is too weak or no signal at all for data.

Oh well.

Isn't that function "Allow cellular data switching" ?

 

[max2]

Isn't that function "Allow cellular data switching" ?

I was told it was not for that.

 

[catean]

As you ca see from the description of that option, is exactly what you are looking for.

 

[max2]

As you ca see from the description of that option, is exactly what you are looking for.

True but i never been able to test it