For more than 30 years, a SIM card has been associated with a piece of plastic that needs to be inserted into a slot. The appearance of the eSIM — an integrated SIM card - came as a surprise to subscribers. What is it? Which smartphones support the new format? How do I use eSIM and why do I need it at all? We gave answers to these and other key questions about embedded SIM cards in the material.

Technically, the eSIM is a chip that is soldered to the smartphone board. Photo: scroll.morele.net

Embedded SIM cards have become a response to emerging technologies. There were no SIM cards on the first mobile phones: each device was manually programmed by the telecom operator. The data used to identify the subscriber on the network was "sewn into the phone's memory. In 1991, classic GSM SIM cards appeared. Happy users received a physical plastic card with a chip and could install it in any mobile phone.

The first SIM cards were full-size, but over time they began to shrink in favor of compactness. Photo: bootcamp.uxdesign.cc

Further evolution turned large SIM cards into mini-SIM, and then into micro-SIM and the nano-SIM familiar today. It seems that this is enough: nano-SIM cards are tiny, they are supported by 99% of modern smartphones. But with the advent of smartwatches and similar gadgets, it became clear that even nano is a lot. You can't insert any SIM card into miniature devices without losing ergonomics. And if you insert it, how to provide each device with a card? Churning out billions of nano-SIM cards? The solution was an eSIM chip 5x6 mm, which becomes part of the device at the stage of its production.

Unlike devices from 1988, smartphones with eSIM are not linked to a single number and operator. Photo: myrepublic.net

So, eSIM is a programmable SIM card built into the device. Visually, it is a miniature chip that is soldered directly onto the board of a smartphone or other smart gadget. eSIM is not produced on a plastic carrier — it cannot be pulled out or rearranged. The chip stores data and is updated remotely: you can change the operator or number, connect several tariff plans.

The easiest way to activate the built-in SIM card is to scan the QR code received from the operator (how to get it in the Russian Federation is further in the article). First you need to connect to the mobile Internet or Wi-Fi. Further procedure:

1. On Apple devices: "Settings" — "Cellular communication" — "Add cellular tariff" — QR code.

2. On Android: "Settings" — "Network and Internet" — "Mobile network" — "Add" — "Download SIM card" — QR code.

The connection does not cause difficulties on either Android or iPhone. Photo: vietnamdiscovery.com

If you can't scan the QR code (there is no second device), you can enter the activation code manually. To do this, at the stage of adding a new tariff plan, select "Enter code" and follow the prompts of the system. On Apple smartphones (if the carrier allows it), you can convert a regular SIM card to an eSIM. To do this, it is necessary:

• Open "Settings" — "Cellular communication".
• Click "Convert to eSIM" and "Convert cellular tariff".
• Wait for eSIM activation.
• Remove the plastic media, restart the iPhone.

After activating the eSIM, the smartphone can only work with two active numbers. These can be two eSIM numbers or one number with the usual nano-SIM and one with eSIM (depending on the specific model of the device). However, you can connect more packages and tariff plans for eSIM. Operators allow you to purchase up to five rooms. At any time, you can activate one plan on eSIM, disable the other — so that it is profitable. At the same time, disabling the eSIM profile does not threaten anything: you will remain a subscriber to the telecom operator.

At first glance, the system of built-in SIM cards only changes the format: instead of plastic, the subscriber receives a virtual link to the tariff plan. But in practice, eSIM offers a lot of profitable bonuses — economic and practical.

Tourism and eSIM are made for each other. This is a real saving and comfort for the traveler. Photo: roami.ng

Roaming abroad from home operators is an expensive option. Searching for a point of sale of SIM cards upon arrival is not an easy task. You can select an overseas eSIM in advance, and then activate it without documents and prepayment. Landed — connected — smartphone is ready for surfing, chats and social networks. Many foreign operators offer free welcome bonuses: a couple of gigabytes of Internet and other joys.

The remote activation and data download format is another advantage of the built-in SIM cards. No need to go to the office, stand in line, waste time. ESIM is connected remotely and does not require complex operations with a smartphone, filling out a paper contract manually, etc. The absence of a plastic carrier ensures that the subscriber will not lose or damage the eSIM. No one will steal contacts from a forgotten SIM card, you will not have to change it at the operator's office due to worn tracks or other damage.

Which is more convenient: to carry four tiny SIM cards in your pocket or activate four additional eSIM profiles? Obviously, the second option wins. This is an opportunity to select the necessary tariff plans in seconds (for the Internet, calls, etc.) and turn off the cards so that they do not call from work. eSIM storage is already built into the smartphone — the subscriber has a huge choice of actions and zero problems.

eSIM will combine all numbers and rates in the smartphone software. Photo: airtel.in

There are few disadvantages of the eSIM format:

• Theoretically, the system is vulnerable to hacking from the outside. 100% security is not guaranteed, despite the good protection. But this is a conditional minus. There is no point in wasting time and money on an ordinary user. And if the user is not an ordinary one, they will get to him anyway.
• Not all countries in the world support eSIM. For example, an iPhone with a built-in SIM card will not work in China, and in Hong Kong and Macau, only a part of Apple's devices will be able to function normally.
• Transferring data from an old eSIM phone to a new one is not as easy as pulling out the physical media and inserting it into the slot of another device.