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Carrier T-Mobile (postpaid) eSIM

George Knighton

George Knighton

macrumors 65816
Oct 13, 2010
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jarman92 said:
That’s not correct...Verizon allows eSIM for post-paid plans only; prepaid lines are not supported.
Click to expand...

I think that for most United States regular consumers, this is what makes sense.

The eSIM is not supported by that many carriers in that many countries.

It makes sense for the T-Mobile consumer's main cellular plan to be on the eSIM.

Then the consumer keeps a private T-Mobile line on a physical SIM for when he is "off," and if he travels where he needs a specific foreign data nano SIM, he can plug that into the physical tray without having to speak with anyone or run any risks.

I'm sure T-Mobile will come through for us in the end.

I have my main T-Mobile cellular plan on an eSIM, and I got there before they were being so careful about people who asking about a SIM swap.

It works just fine. I use it in conjunction with my other T-Mobile number and with an Xfinity Mobile number for those very rear occasions that the Verizon MVNO might have better coverage (and that's really quite rare these days).

I don't know why they're waiting, but I have to assume from their history with me of such excellent human support that it has to do with a genuine, if seldom seen problem with using an eSIM.
 
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jarman92 said:
And in that time both Verizon and AT&T have rolled out support. T-Mobile also already supports eSIM on the iPad and Watch, so there’s no good excuse for them not being ready for this at launch.
Click to expand...

And they won’t say anything either, which is what really annoyed me. I have international travel coming up and wanted to use my Three UK SIM without having to carry 2 phones like always. So I left for Verizon. People shouldn’t have to spend hours trying to trick or convince a TMO rep to let them do this. If TMO doesn’t want to support it, I’ll go where it is.
 
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0970373

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George Knighton said:
The position that I'm in, I don't think I'd ever do that.

I'd consider buying the XS Max A2104 (dual physical SIM, all bands) before I left T-Mobile.
Click to expand...

To each their own. The Verizon service has been great. I have service inside the house w/o need of the TMO booster. I forgot how convenient basic things like that were. And it is faster in my area. And my bill is only $5 more a month.

You’d consider flying to HK or paying the markup to get it on eBay. I’ll pay the $5. And I can use it now.
 
George Knighton

George Knighton

macrumors 65816
Oct 13, 2010
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E3BK said:
To each their own. It the Verizon service has been great. I have service inside the house w/o need of the TMO booster. I forgot how convenient basic things like that were. And my bill is only $5 more a month.

You’d consider flying to HK or paying the markup to get it on eBay. I’ll pay the $5. And I can use it now.
Click to expand...

I understand. We have different needs, and at my age I'm paying T-Mobile so little that I don't think I'd ever switch unless they do something sublimely, totally stupid. :)
 
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star67

macrumors newbie
Dec 18, 2018
1
0
nutmac said:
T-Mobile might update their app to offer more painless process eventually, but I couldn't wait.

I followed solodogg's awesome instructions to activate eSIM on T-Mobile. I had to make few minor adjustments, but the process is relatively easy.

What you need:
  • iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or iPhone XS Max
  • Upgraded to iOS 12.1.1
  • SIM removal tool from your iPhone packaging or paperclip
  • Connected to Wi-Fi
  • T-Mobile app
  1. Launch the Settings app, then General, then About. Hold onto EID field (probably begins with 8904) for few seconds and select Copy.
  2. Launch the T-Mobile app, then click on the text chat support icon (upper right corner, next to the phone support icon).
  3. When representative welcomes you (wait time was about 10 minutes for me), type "I would like to initiate a SIM swap. My EID is " (hold on to the text chat field then select Paste to fill in the EID number).
  4. T-Mobile rep might ask few minor questions like phone model and phone number.
  5. T-Mobile rep will eventually initiate the SIM swap, then send a confirmation PIN SMS (takes a minute or two).
  6. Type in the confirmation PIN.
  7. After few minutes, you will get a confirmation SMS. Thank the rep.
  8. Remove the physical SIM card (you do not need to shutdown your phone).
  9. Launch the Settings app, then Cellular, Add Cellular Plan, then Enter Details Manually.
  10. Enter the SM-DP+ Address: cust-005-v4-prod-atl2.gdsb.net
  11. Click Next. If it fails, repeat steps 9 and 10.
  12. If asked for Confirmation Code, enter the last 4 digits of your social security number or phone number.
  13. You are done. Verify Cellular, P2 page, making sure all the settings are unchanged and Cellular Plans and Usage are same as before. Your eSIM maybe initially assigned with "Secondary" Cellular Plan Label. Change it to "Primary" or whatever you prefer.
On the physical SIM slot, I am using a SIM card from the promotional voice line, which will be given to my younger kid eventually.
Click to expand...

I just went into a T-Mobile store and explained this to a representative. She was very patient, first looking over some text instructing how to respond to eSIM questions from customers. Then she gladly put in my EID as a new SIM. I had to connect to WiFi before the SM-DP+ Address would accept and immediately got a new icon (3 dots on top of 3 dots) near the wifi/LTE strength indicator in the upper right indicating that the eSIM was working. I did not enter anything for Activation Code nor Confirmation Code.
 
J

jarman92

macrumors 65816
Nov 13, 2014
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George Knighton said:
I think that for most United States regular consumers, this is what makes sense.

The eSIM is not supported by that many carriers in that many countries.

It makes sense for the T-Mobile consumer's main cellular plan to be on the eSIM.

Then the consumer keeps a private T-Mobile line on a physical SIM for when he is "off," and if he travels where he needs a specific foreign data nano SIM, he can plug that into the physical tray without having to speak with anyone or run any risks.

I'm sure T-Mobile will come through for us in the end.

I have my main T-Mobile cellular plan on an eSIM, and I got there before they were being so careful about people who asking about a SIM swap.

It works just fine. I use it in conjunction with my other T-Mobile number and with an Xfinity Mobile number for those very rear occasions that the Verizon MVNO might have better coverage (and that's really quite rare these days).

I don't know why they're waiting, but I have to assume from their history with me of such excellent human support that it has to do with a genuine, if seldom seen problem with using an eSIM.
Click to expand...

I got them to activate the eSIM a few days ago, and it works great. Not 100% sure I agree with your diagnosis though.
[doublepost=1545175989][/doublepost]
Starship67 said:
Wow, no wonder the internet is so full of misinformation LOL
Click to expand...

Lol. I read that it was only for prepaid in a few places but idk why. Anyone can download the app and see that eSIM is supported only for post-paid plans.
 
J

jarman92

macrumors 65816
Nov 13, 2014
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4,657
George Knighton said:
:)

I will have to start adding the disclaimer that mine is just one dumb old man’s opinion.

Did you put your main cellular plan on an eSIM?
Click to expand...

Yep! The only weird thing I've noticed is that when I'm SMS chatting it says "Number changed to Primary" between every message. Idk what it means but its not causing any problems soooooooo
 
rjmcinnis

rjmcinnis

macrumors newbie
Dec 18, 2018
2
0
I was able to get a rep to try, and the voice part worked no problem.

However, I have no DATA. Any suggestions?

I also get no LTE label in the tab. But in settings it says data is active.
 
rjmcinnis

rjmcinnis

macrumors newbie
Dec 18, 2018
2
0
George Knighton said:
Remember to enable LTE for Voice & Data in the settings for the individual line.
Click to expand...
Thanks George for replying. I assume you mean under Cellular>cellular data options>enable lte>voice & data? I checked and it is enabled. Any other thoughts or suggestions?

FIGURED IT OUT:
For some strange reason, DATA doesn’t work without the SIM tray in the phone. I have no idea why, but when I put the empty SIM tray in, I immediately got the LTE flag and data works now!?!
 
Last edited:
George Knighton

George Knighton

macrumors 65816
Oct 13, 2010
1,391
346
[QUOTE="rjmcinnis, post: 26923799, member: 1159473"
For some strange reason, DATA doesn’t work without the SIM tray in the phone. [/QUOTE]

LOL... I knew that. It never occurs to me that we use the iPhone with the SIM port open. :)
 
J

josh256

macrumors newbie
Nov 4, 2013
5
0
Is anyone able to confirm the 12.1.2 update hasn't broken this [great] work around. The reason I ask is that when I [successfully] activated my eSIM/postpaid using the instructions above I received a warning popup stating my plan was not certified for eSIM use (after which everything worked fine). I'd like to make sure they aren't retracting the EID/eSIM mappings on uncertified plans via 12.1.2 which explicitly states "Fixes bugs with eSIM activation", etc...
 
George Knighton

George Knighton

macrumors 65816
Oct 13, 2010
1,391
346
I am on 12.1.2 (16D5024a) and everything with the eSIM is working fine.

My main cellular plan is on an eSIM, and I am only using that one eSIM together with a physical SIM that will switch between a private line on the same carrier, and another carrier's SIM when I am looking at differences in coverage.
 
J

josh256

macrumors newbie
Nov 4, 2013
5
0
George Knighton said:
I am on 12.1.2 (16D5024a) and everything with the eSIM is working fine.
Click to expand...

Okay thanks. This morning I hopped an elevator to an underground garage and likely had no signal for 4 to 5min. 20+ minutes later I noticed I couldn't make/receive calls nor FaceTime audio/video. Both lines reporting full signal/bars and LTE connectivity on cellular network etc.. rebooting the phone resolved everything but I can't recall that ever happening to me before.

In my case: primary plan, default voice line and cellular data were both mapped to the [Rogers/Canada] SIM and not the [T-Mobile/USA] eSIM. (Stateside I map default voice line and cellular data to T-Mobile).

Upgrading now..
 
George Knighton

George Knighton

macrumors 65816
Oct 13, 2010
1,391
346
Messaging with Digits is not 100%, IMHO.

Nevertheless, it is very useful for some people. Useful, but not as useful as dual SIM.

With Digits, mustn’t you have a separate device for the Digits number, somewhere?

:)
 
W

waynester

macrumors member
Apr 23, 2015
51
2
I followed the instructions as directed and first person I started to chat with did it no questions asked. She even gave me a link on how to set it up after she did the sim swap.
 
a.y.n

a.y.n

macrumors 6502
Jul 7, 2009
350
95
San Francisco
You guys had much better luck than me. I tried via iMessage Business Chat twice, and the chat on their website once. None of them would do it. First rep told me I had to go into the store to get a QR code, I told her I could enter the information manually, and she stopped responding. Second rep sent me a link to t-mobile site on eSIM, and wanted me to use the prepaid eSIM app to do it lol. Last rep told me eSIM was only available for prepaid and some pitch about how they're already ahead with DIGITS.
[doublepost=1545351861][/doublepost]Ok, tried it one more time and it went super smoothly. It really depends on the CSR.
[doublepost=1545353709][/doublepost]I'll add that I had one minor hiccup after getting eSIM working, my Apple Watch no longer had the t-mobile cell plan active. It showed up as "NOT IN USE". To fix that I tapped on "Add New Plan", and it re-added my existing plan to the watch and now it seems to be all good.
 
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