Apple iPhone 14 to be launched in September is rumoured to have no physical SIM. The company is only going to offer the option of e-SIM. However, the e-SIM concept is not new. So far, many phones have this feature. But currently this service is only available in phones which have at least one physical SIM. That is, a dual SIM phone with at least one physical SIM provided. On the other hand, the physical SIM system is being done away with by the iPhone. In such a situation, the big question before the users is that how does e-SIM work? Also where to buy it from. However, the good thing in India is that Jio, Airtel and VI have started providing e-SIM services. In that case, today we are going to inform you, how you can port your physical SIM to e-SIM?
Lets Talk About e-SIM in India
The full form of e-SIM (embedded-SIM) is an Embedded Subscriber Identity Module that is embedded in your phone, smartwatch or tablet. Actually, unlike other SIM cards, e-SIM cannot be inserted into the phone. The company manufactures the e-SIM while manufacturing the phone itself. This SIM comes in the hardware of the phone. This saves space on the phone and eliminates the need to make a separate SIM tray. Nowadays, there is a trend of e-SIM in many phones. However, in terms of service there is no difference between e-SIM and regular physical SIM. In addition, e-SIM supports all regular networks like 4G/5G. You might be wondering if the e-SIM will be locked to only one network since it is not removed? So it’s not like that. The e-SIM is portable. This means you can switch to a new network easily.
How to get an eSIM in India ?
Talking about service providers that allow users to use eSIM, three major telecom operators in the country – Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel offer eSIM functionality. If a user has a smartphone that supports eSIM and wants to activate the eSIM, they can follow the steps on the official websites of all the three telecom providers. Links to eSIM guides from all three companies are provided below. Note that the activation process varies from company to company. Moreover, it is also different from the OS on smartphones.
Smartphones/Devices Supporting e-SIM
The e-SIM was introduced in India in 2018 with the iPhone XR, XS and XS Max, after which both Jio and Airtel announced support for the e-SIM soon after. Around the same time later, Vi also announced support for e-SIM. However, BSNL is yet to announce the support of e-SIM in India. Jio, VI and Airtel offer prepaid and post-paid recharge packs of e-SIMs at the same rates as regular physical SIMs. At the same time, apart from the iPhone XR and XS series, there are more phones with eSIM support in India, the list of which is given below.
- iPhone SE 2020
- iPhone 11 series
- iPhone 12 series
- The Samsung Galaxy LTE
- The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2
- The Samsung Galaxy Gear S3
- Moto RAZR Flip Phone, etc
How to Transfer an eSIM from One Phone to Another Phone ?
If you have upgraded to a new e-SIM phone, you can visit an operator store to transfer your e-SIM from your old mobile phone. Be it Airtel, Jio or VI store. You will be given maximum one physical SIM for your E-SIM. Insert it into your new smartphone and convert your physical SIM to e-SIM.
