eSIM Quick Transfer on iPhone?

Canada_67 · ‎03-04-2023

Hi,

Does EE now support this facility? The last post I can find on the subject was around 3 years ago, at which time the answer was 'no'.

I'm looking to change an iPhone 14 Pro in the coming months, unfortunately the US version does not have a physical SIM slot any more so it's eSIM only.

I planned to convert to an EE eSIM before I go and use the Quick Transfer when setting up the new phone in the USA but wondering if this will work or should I wait until I return to the UK to set up the new device?

Thanks in advance.

Chris_B · ‎03-04-2023

@Canada_67 The iPhone now has eSim to eSim transfer via Bluetooth. Just remember if you do this and something goes wrong you’ll not get this working again until you come back to the UK.

Canada_67 · ‎03-04-2023

Thanks, I assume you mean that EE now supports Quick Transfer?

Has anyone out there successfully transferred an EE eSIM whilst abroad?

davidthornton · ‎18-08-2023

@Canada_67 I am presuming you did not receive any further information or an answer to your question, right? 😞

I am in the UK although spend a lot of time abroad, and wanted to move an eSIM from an iPhone XS to an iPhone 12. Navigating Settings > Mobile Data ... Add eSIM on the iPhone 12 showed that the EE eSIM in the iPhone XS was selectable to be transferred to the iPhone 12. I proceeded and selected Transfer Number. I cannot remember the exact wording of what occured next but I was asked to enter a code on one of the handsets that was displayed on the screen of the other. Then I was informed that the transfer was working but momentarily after that I was informed it had failed, resulting in complete loss of the eSIM. The loss required me to visit an EE store to obtain a new QR code and get the number working again. Luckily I was in the UK and near an EE store.

Two aspects of this experience stand out to me. The first that the process ultimately failed due to no obvious reason and this resulted in the loss of the eSIM. I now fear trying to the process again but isn't it supposed to function? The second being that I was asked to enter a code which involved looking at the device I was moving the number away from. If that device had been lost, stolen or damaged I would not have been able to have retrieved the eSIM from iCloud (where I believed it was backed up) to a new phone immediately.

I am aware that EE have a facility through their own website for eSIM transfer but the last time I did this it required the losing device to be able to receive an SMS. That's no good if the device was lost, stolen or damaged. I was hoping that support for Quick Transfer would render the ability to freely transfer eSIM's between Apple devices possible without hindrance.

The experience has annoyed me and the store were unable to explain why the transfer failed. I think it's quite normal to want to be able to freely move an eSIM about, within the bounds of doing it securely, but there appear to be problems with this which require a visit to a store in person or the posting of a QR code to the home address.

Chris_B · ‎18-08-2023

@davidthornton A transfer of eSim to eSim on an iPhone has nothing todo with EE. It’s a Bluetooth transfer. That code would have been the device unlock code. You might want to read THIS And if you’ve gone wrong anywhere doing this you should be looking at Apple as it’s their process and your mistake that caused the issue. EE are the ones who will get you a working signal again and its not EEs fault that you lost signal to begin with.

Canada_67 · ‎18-08-2023

Thanks for the reply - in the end I found a relatively good deal in the UK, bought the 14 Pro here and successfully transferred the eSIM whilst in the UK (and hence whilst in EE service area).

I would have preferred the US version for the extra mmW 5G bands they offer (could be interesting in USA although not yet available in UK... maybe one day....) but it is handy having a physical slot for those cheap roaming SIM's that aren't yet available as eSIMs.

One thing I noticed whilst roaming in the USA, incoming calls from family members had no incoming Caller ID and the latency on the voice was awful when calling family member, also roaming on EE, next to me... I presume this is because the roaming call is routed USA (T-Mobile) > UK (EE) > USA (T-Mobile)?

Chris_B · ‎18-08-2023

@Canada_67 All calls will be routed back to the UK then back to the US. You wouldn’t benefit from a US iPhone in the UK as networks have to support all bandwidths that the phone supports.

davidthornton · ‎18-08-2023

@Chris_B A network operator/carrier does have some control over interdevice eSIM transfer because they can deny the user of a device the option to do it .

As you may be aware, iOS 14 introduced transfer of eSIM (source: Apple) and iOS 16 added bluetooth transfer of eSIM to this (source: Apple). This implies that transfer of eSIM's are possible without bluetooth.

As you may recall from a previous post you made, EE didn't support transfer of eSIM at the time iOS 14 was current (source: a post by you, EE community)

The process I undertook did not make any mention of bluetooth on screen and you are incorrect regarding the code displayed on the screen of one of the devices, which I was asked to enter on the screen of the other, being my device unlock code. It was not my device unlock code.

@Chris_B wrote:
@davidthornton A transfer of eSim to eSim on an iPhone has nothing todo with EE. It’s a Bluetooth transfer. That code would have been the device unlock code. You might want to read THIS And if you’ve gone wrong anywhere doing this you should be looking at Apple as it’s their process and your mistake that caused the issue. EE are the ones who will get you a working signal again and its not EEs fault that you lost signal to begin with.

This is your conjecture. As far as I know, no mistakes were made by me because I followed the process on screen as instructed.

I mentioned the failed transfer in the EE store and very specifically asked two EE employees if the process functions as proposed because EE do not restrict their eSIM's from this feature unlike some other networks/carriers. I wanted to remain in the store and test the transfer feature between two iPhone devices with them present but unfortunately they were not keen. If I had done and it had failed, they would have needed to proceed through the process of biometrically verifying me again before they could have given me another eSIM. EE stores do not stock an infinite number of eSIM QR codes.

davidthornton · ‎18-08-2023

@Canada_67 I have previously transferred an EE physical SIM to an eSIM while abroad. The QR code was posted to the registered address in the UK then photographed and sent to me digitally. I scanned it and successfully migrated to eSIM.

I have also transferred an existing eSIM using the more recent process available through the customer portal at the EE website, which requires the receipt of an SMS by the losing device prior to being granted the ability to activate a replacement eSIM. This process is fine if you are still in possession of the working device you wish to transfer the eSIM from or you will not be able to receive the sms. I am aware why EE have this security step in place.

davidthornton · ‎03-01-2024

EE permitting eSIM transfer process that fails and causes loss of service

iPhone has an interdevice eSIM transfer process, that EE no longer block the use of as they use to, which will fail due to an additional step requiring the losing device to receive an SMS sent by EE to complete the transfer. Unfortunately by the time the SMS is sent the eSIM has already been deactivated from the losing device so the SMS cannot be received, rending both devices devoid of service.

The Apple iOS process detailed in section "Use eSIM Quick Transfer on iPhone" used to be blocked by EE but now it isn't. Why is it unblocked? The process makes no mention of any requirement to receive a SMS from a mobile network containing a confirmation code, but EE have inserted this undocumented step that cannot be completed because, by that time the eSIM is no longer active in the losing device. Why has EE inserted an additional and undocumented extra step which renders the whole process unusable and results in loss of SIM service until a replacement SIM is sent by post?