iPhone XS and the dual SIM options; how it worked for me (A tutorial)

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First, this is not a request for help, but I wanted to document what it took to move my Verizon SIM from the SIM card to the eSIM. Why do that, you ask? Because I travel internationally frequently (at least once a year) and the expense of Verizon's international plan is exorbitant to say the least. Verizon Wireless has a plan called Travel Pass that allows you to use your regular account services when overseas. In the UK, which is where we mostly travel, the cost is $10/day. Yes, $10 each and every day you send a text, make a call, or use data (including background data). Given that we tend to travel for three to five weeks at a time, that gets pricey quickly. Particularly since that's $10/day/device, so when you add my wife's iPhone to the day, it's $20/day. The also have a plan for $130/month/device for up to 2GB of data, 250 minutes talk and 1000 sent texts. Still pretty price, IMHO.

So what we typically have done is to buy a Pay As You Go (PAYG) SIM from a UK or other European provider and just swap out the SIM card. The best we have found for our purposes is a PAYG from EE, a provider in the UK. Last time we used EE it was £10/device for a month of data, about 200 minutes and unlimited texts. That converts to about $13 per month! So we have two EE SIMs, one for each of our phones, and we swap the SIM cards while enroute and just top off with a credit card when we land and turn on the phones again in the EE network.

But the XS has dual SIMs, one is an eSIM, so the thought came to me to put the EE in the eSIM and just swap the two services as needed. Unfortunately, the EE PAYG service cannot be in an eSIM, it requires a physical card. No problem, thinks I, I'll just move Verizon to the eSIM and pop the EE SIM in the one physical slot.

So I went to the Verizon Wireless website and researched eSIM and the iPhone XS. There I found all sorts of information on how to start a new account with Verizon using the eSIM, how to migrate from <<other>> providers to Verizon using the eSIM, even instructions on how to have Verizon in the eSIM and another US vendor in the other, or vice-versa. But nothing, not one single word, on how to move a current Verizon plan from the SIM Card slot to the eSIM. (BTW, if you have CDMA in one SIM, no matter which, you cannot have CDMA also in the other, so if you go two US providers, and use Verizon, pick a non-CDMA provider for the second.)

I opened a chat line to Verizon Wireless and the folks on the other end said it definitely could be done, and agreed that the idea was sound, but suggested that I go to the Verizon store nearby and get a tech there to help accomplish it, particularly as I didn't want to open a new service, or get a new number, or pay any fees for the transfer (no fees SHOULD be charged, BTW, as this is not considered an activation).

So today I went to one of the two Verizon stores in my town and the clerk there said she knew it could be done, but she had never done it herself, so she went online. Watching her face, I could see that she was puzzled by whatever she was reading. I asked and she indicated she was on the same website I had visited last night myself, but did not see how to do it. She knew it was possible, as "Larry" had done it for a customer last week. After about 15 minutes I told her to give up, there was nothing there to help her and that I would try the other store.

In the other store, they said that "Kenny" could do it as soon as he got free from his current customer, so I waited for him. He said it was no real problem, all he had to do was to put the eSIM IMEI into my Verizon account in place of the physical SIM IMEI and then scan with my phone a QR code that would be sent to his machine to complete the deal. He needed to see a picture ID to prove I was me, which was a reasonable request for security. So we got the eSIM IMEI from Settings/General and he made the change. The QR Code arrived and then the adventure began. We could not get the iPhone to properly scan the QR code.

As soon as any part of the QR code appeared in the scan window, it froze the image, and then reported that the registration could not be completed. We tried multiple ways, including pre-positioning the iPhone over the QR Code before starting the process, "sneaking up" on the code by hovering near and suddenly moving to get it fully in the scan window, asking another clerk in the store to give it a try. Nada. Then we had two simultaneous brainwaves: 1) connect to the store's Wifi network and 2) remove the physical SIM card. So we did both and bingo, it registered on first try. So if you decide to do this, remember to use WiFi for the QR Code and remove the old SIM card as soon as the eSIM IMEI is entered in the system.

So, does it work? Well, so far the answer is yes, it does. I had read that some folks had problems with hotspot not appearing, but it worked for me as soon as I tried it. Ditto for WiFi Calling. The only thing I had to do that surprised me was that to use WiFI calling I had to enter my home address for 911 calls. I seem to remember doing that way back when, but it surprised me to have to do that for the eSIM again. The only other thing I had to do was to select the eSIM as the "Primary" and then swap the EE card to Primary when on my way there. For now, I'm just using the eSIM with nothing in the card tray for the SIM. I'm going to give this a test for a while and then put the EE card in to see how that process goes. One image: Here is what shows on my iPhone as it currently configured.

IMG_0093.PNG
I have blanked out my number, but you can see that there is no SIM installed and that "P2" is being used as the Primary, which means that it is the default number used for calls, texts, data, etc.

You can read more about the dual SIM in the iPhone XS and XR here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209044

Hope that helps anyone else who is thinking of using dual SIM for travel.
 

chscag

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Thanks for the tutorial Jake. Now I guess the real test is going to be when you arrive in the UK and use the phone.
 

IWT


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A fantastic post, Jake.

Unbelievable that in this day and age, it is so difficult to get something to work which, in theory, and according to the advertising blitz which accompanied its launch, is an elementary digital exercise.

I also applaud your perseverance. I don't travel now as I used to when in gainful employment, but I'd be tempted to stay with the PAYG SIM card option. It's easy to employ, it's (relatively) cheap and "it just works".

Anyway, Bravo! Enjoy your trip to the UK whenever that may be.

Ian
 

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