Transitioning to eSim-only could enslave us even further, as if Windows 11 secure boot shenanigans were not enough. Please raise this with your favorite digital freedom advocate. Let's be proactive on this one.
Yeah, I really hate not having to physically juggle small smartcards whenever I want to use another network/provider (my phone has several eSIM profiles installed right now), being able to choose from dozens of providers competing on price and functionality, and not having to stand in line at the SIM store first thing after a long-haul flight too.
eSIMs could have been an anti-consumer nightmare, but fortunately they were really done exactly right. I really sometimes find it hard to believe how lucky we got on that one; they could have easily been a carrier lock-in mechanism like ESN/MEID based provisioning was.
> Let's be proactive on this one.
Even if you had a point, you're years too late. iPhones are sold without a SIM slot in some countries already (and I love it).
You can't just take "important" esim out of your phone when travelling. If you lose your device or if it's stolen recovering eSIM from many countries is PITA.
I can delete mine and then reinstall it on any device from the QR code if required. Not all providers allow that, unfortunately, but I wouldn’t use one that doesn’t allow instantly receiving a new QR code in some way.
> eSIMs _could_ have been an anti-consumer nightmare
Really? Because I can swap a SIM card between phones in 30 seconds whereas swapping eSIM lies between "hoping it works" and "not possible", passing by "you'll need a document" or "visit the store, if it's anywhere in your city/country"
Yes, but that's a problem of bad people, not guns.
Either way, the end result is that I have to identify myself at a store to move some eSIMs and many are simply not transferable (particularly from Airalo)
Airalo SIMs wouldn't even exist without eSIM, so arguably that's still a consumer win, not a loss, even though I obviously also wish they were transferable.
> Transitioning to eSim-only could enslave us even further, as if Windows 11 secure boot shenanigans were not enough
How are eSIMs "enslaving" people? Or for that matter, Windows 11 secure boot? There's plenty to complain about in Windows 11 from a privacy perspective, but secure boot is your problem?
Even media created with MS's own USB imager didn't work with my DIY build. May be related to Asus' UEFI but there's no proper diagnostic facility to know. I said screw it, and used Rufus to bypass any MS nonsense at the same time.
And how? The same way SIM locks did. EU made them illegal not without reason.
> And how? The same way SIM locks did. EU made them illegal not without reason.
SIM locks were for operators to lock phones they sell you only to their network. You can install any eSIM, including from random MVNOs all around the world.
