[jplona]

Why are eSIMs less convenient for you?

In all of the interactions I've had, eSIM works without issue and right away. Most of the times I've needed a physical SIM card I've had to wait for it to be mailed or plan a trip to a physical store, or the old one is the wrong size and I need a new one or an adapter.

[gambiting]

I can swap sims in about 30 seconds. With eSim I need to ask my carrier for a new eSim registration code to be generated which takes 48 hours. It's insane and I have no idea why we agreed to this standard.

[IshKebab]

Sounds like an issue with your carrier rather than the eSIM standard. I recently went to Europe and was able to buy a cheap data eSIM (1GB for £2) and activate it in the airport basically instantly.

With SIMs I would have had to order it through the post like a week in advance, and there's no way I would have gotten that price.

eSIMs are amazingly convenient for travelling: https://esimdb.com/

[jplona]

I think "insane" is a strong characterization.

I swap SIMs every couple of years, so a delay of 48h is well within the scope of planning for such an event. Additionally, I happened to do an eSIM swap today and it took about an hour.

For some use cases it's more convenient than a physical card, for some use cases (or implementations) it's less convenient. That doesn't make it insane.

[thedays]

I find eSIMs are less convenient as:

- there are far less providers that support eSIM and the ones that do generally charge more than providers that also support a standard SIM

- it’s often not possible to create a new account using an eSIM. I’ve had to buy a physical SIM and then go through a complicated transfer process and have to either wait on hold for a long time or go into a store to swap over to an eSIM with two different providers.

Most physical SIM cards these days come as a 3-in-1 that fits standard, micro and nano sizes so the size incompatibility issues seem to be mostly fixed in my country at least.

[i_love_cookies]

at&t refuses to give me a esim for the pixel6 i bought though them on the same account

the concept itself is fine the implementation is a downgrade since it gives the carriers more control

[kayodelycaon]

If you can find a corporate AT&T store in your local area, they should be able to help you. The franchise stores weren’t able to do this last time I dealt with this.

[roneythomas6]

Well just call any at&t store near you and ask them if they have eSIM and don't use their online chat for it. I had at&t eSIM on a Pixel not bought from them.