A SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) is a tiny little bit of circuitry that uniquely identifies your mobile modem in a cellphone, pill, or different gadget to close by mobile networks to permit entry for voice, knowledge, and texting, and handle billing, whether or not on your private home community or a roaming one. We’ve used SIM playing cards for many years, at the same time as they’ve shrunk from full dimension to micro to nano. The introduction of eSIM eliminates an exterior card totally: a reprogrammable SIM circuit (or a couple of) is saved inside a tool with a mobile modem, letting you arrange or change service with a downloadable file, through a profile, or by scanning a QR Code.
Some persons are confused about managing two eSIMs directly, nonetheless, a function that got here to iPhones beginning with the iPhone 13 collection. Fashions from that collection onward could or could not embody a bodily SIM slot (the U.S.-sold iPhone 14 and 15 collection omit them), however all iPhone 13 collection and later telephones can preserve two eSIMs lively on the identical time.
Earlier iPhone collection (beginning with the XS and XR fashions and iOS 12.1) permitting Twin SIM, as Apple types the function, however at the very least one needed to be a bodily SIM. The iPhone 13 and later do away with that requirement, permitting you to pair one bodily SIM and one eSIM or two eSIMs.
To make use of Twin SIM with eSIM, you merely activate two eSIMs; see “The right way to activate and arrange your iPhone 14’s mobile service with eSIM,” which incorporates recommendation for any eSIM-supporting iPhone. You might have already got one lively with a present mobile service plan and also you select so as to add a second.
Apple supplies controls in Settings > Mobile and in particular person apps that make it easier to handle utilizing two eSIMs (or a SIM/eSIM pair) concurrently.
Apple supplies controls in Settings > Mobile and in particular person apps that make it easier to handle utilizing two eSIMs (or a SIM/eSIM pair) concurrently.
Foundry
Apple supplies controls in Settings > Mobile and in particular person apps that make it easier to handle utilizing two eSIMs (or a SIM/eSIM pair) concurrently.
Foundry
Foundry
With two lively plans, each function that depends on mobile entry provides an possibility that allows you to select which plan to make use of, notably helpful when you have voice, SMS/MMS texting, and knowledge on each plans. You may set the default cellphone quantity and different defaults in Settings > Mobile. That is additionally the place you’ll be able to decide to “combine” knowledge when you have knowledge service on each plans; see “The right way to use two eSIMs in an iPhone to stability knowledge utilization.”
You can too select when putting a cellphone name utilizing the Telephone app or utilizing Messages for SMS and MMS which eSIM plan to make use of. The identical is true when putting calls or making different connections through the Contacts app.
This Mac 911 article is in response to a query submitted by Macworld reader Gaurav.
Ask Mac 911
We’ve compiled an inventory of the questions we get requested most incessantly, together with solutions and hyperlinks to columns: learn our tremendous FAQ to see in case your query is roofed. If not, we’re at all times searching for new issues to resolve! Electronic mail yours to mac911@macworld.com, together with display captures as acceptable and whether or not you need your full identify used. Not each query shall be answered, we don’t reply to electronic mail, and we can’t present direct troubleshooting recommendation.
