Here's the order of events:
-I've been an EE customer since 2016.
-At the end of October 2018 I bought an Iphone XR with ESIM availability. So I went to an EE store where they easily converted my physical sim into an ESIM in a minute or two.
-No issues at all for 4 years: I had my french physical sim inserted in the phone alongside my EE ESIM, allowing me to use only one phone for all my business in France and England.
-On 06/12/22 Apple replaced my phone, as it was slightly bent. It was replaced with the exact same model. They transferred my french sim, and told me to get in touch with EE to get my ESIM downloaded on the new phone.
-I then went to an EE store for this, where they gave me a new physical sim card. They told me to go back home, activate it in the phone, then call 150 to have it converted into an ESIM.
-I did just that. The call center agent went through the process without any issues, and told me that everything should be ready to activate the following day.
-The following day, 07/12/22, I noticed in the early evening that there was no more reception on my phone coming from the physical EE card, so I assumed that it was time to activate the ESIM, as the physical sim seemed to be now disabled.
-So, I went to "Activate my Sim" on the EE app, where it sent me to the download page for my ESIM, as expected.
-However, when I click on "> Download eSIM" I am sent on the page to order a new physical sim (and pay £1.50 for the privilege).
-I am now stuck: my phone has no reception with the physical sim and I can't download my ESIM.
I would like to note that the above narrative is drastically simplified: on the 06/12/22 I had to go to 2 different EE stores throughout the day and I had to call EE twice, with each call lasting at least 45 minutes (half of which was only waiting for someone to answer), and I probably spent at least an hour scouring through forums and help pages on this website as well.
Throughout all of these exchanges, I received contradicting information and even some pushback (one employee asked me if I was SURE that I used to have an ESIM in my phone!?), which gave the impression that there is no cohesive understanding throughout EE as to how ESIMS work, even though they have existed for over 4 years now.
All I want is for my new phone to be exactly the same as it was before it was replaced, back when everything worked fine.
Why is that so hard?
edit: Since I'm here, I'd like to add that the first time I called EE, I did not yet have a sim from EE, whether physical or not. I therefore had to call EE with my french number. The price of that call ended up being 91€ in surcharge. Thanks!
edit2: Since I'm listing my problems caused by EE, I'm meant to receive a delivery of groceries today, however now the driver had no means of contacting me, as French numbers aren't accepted online. Thanks again!
