[izacus]

> In theory, with an eSIM it's even easier to swap in your old SIM because you don't have to deal with the physical SIM card. Especially so if you don't have the physical SIM because it's lost or whatever. In my experience it's super frustrating to have to wait for a new SIM to arrive in the mail because you lost it or the old one is faulty!

In practice however, they can be a customer hating disaster. Some telcos here even charge like 30EUR to generate a new eSIM code when you swap out phones, others need physical visit of their office for the same actions and third throttle the amount of swaps you can make.

All issues that can be severe from normal users (think of a simple case of dropping a phone and breaking it - how much money and time do you need to spend to make a temporary loaner work?)

It's yet another venue how telcos use enshittening to lock in users.

[jaclaz]

Not only, the whole stuff about eSim (and iSim) might be an issue when you have a problem on your hardware (phone):

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33121530

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32138466

[izacus]

Yeah, sometimes the telcos have a self-service portal that gives you a new QR code. However, last time I needed it, my telcos service happily returned 500 so I was left without connectivity.

Also, eSIM backup transfers don't work between brands of Android phones (e.g. from Pixel to Samsung and back).