Roger Fingas
U.S. carrier Verizon is beginning to activate eSIM lines for Apple's dual-SIM iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max, according to subscribers.
Verizon confirmed support via Twitter. To add an eSIM line, the carrier is directing people to the "Join Now" option in the My Verizon app. People using two lines will see the signal status of the second line in Control Center.
Apple enabled dual-SIM functions for 2018 iPhones with the release of iOS 12.1 in October, but at the time, no major U.S. carrier was offering compatibility. AT&T finally began eSIM activations on Wednesday in parallel with the launch of iOS 12.1.1.
As with the AT&T activation, it may take a few transfers to get a customer service representative who knows the procedure. While investigating here, it took three different transfers to get somebody who could help us on the phone.
Still missing in action are Sprint and T-Mobile, though both have promised to come onboard. T-Mobile recently previewed its eSIM activation app ahead of a December release.
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Andrew Orr
11 Comments
Xfinity Mobile, get your ass ready to join the crowd!
Definitely live. Since I’m a current subscriber, I had to contact Verizon and provide some info (IMEI and ICCID). After that, they emailed me a QR code. Removed my physical SIM, restarted my phone and scanned the QR code in Settings>Cellular>Add Cellular Plans.
I may end up using the eSIM next time I go overseas, rather than swapping for a travel SIM. Could get a bit complicated with needing different SIMs for different countries, though. If a travel SIM company jumped on board, it might be handy.
Then again, could be handy to work with a US carrier instead while there.
Only reason I did it, is so I could drop The SIM from my employer provided phone into my phone and dump their crappy android into the bottom of a drawer. No company provided apps, so don’t actually need the phone other than to receive calls. Mission accomplished. Thanks Apple and Verizon!
I had a phone with dual SIMs 12 years ago.