Forum Discussion
Enough is enough - eSIM *now*
As per $subject. It is now inexcusable for Smarty to not support eSIM. 3 UK support it, yet are limiting it to post-paid, with prepaid excluded. This is not acceptable.
Why are *all* US carriers supporting eSIM for post *and* pre-paid, even before Apple forced their hand, yet the UK - again - lags behind?
42 Replies
Vodafone pay go and Voxi now support eSIM.
They will all support eSIM as soon as Apple drops sim support for UK iPhones, as they did in the US for the iPhone 15, otherwise I suggest eSIM.net which offers non contract 02 and Vodafone
Be nice if Samsung and Google got together and brought that hammer down.
3 UK now - finally - supports eSIM on PAYG !!!
So does GiffGaff and Tesco Mobile.
Maybe you will stop throwing tantrums and be an adult for a change, eh ?
You have a few options to choose from now.
> So does GiffGaff and Tesco Mobile.
Both just recently started supporting them.
All you're evidencing is just how unacceptable it is that Smarty are not supporting eSIM! Ya know.. like the *entire point of my original post was*?
> Maybe you will stop throwing tantrums and be an adult for a change, eh?
ZzzZzZz
Yes. This is INSANITY. I proudly walked out of the Apple Store this morning with my new iPhone 15 not thinking for a minute that my carrier in the UK doesn't support e-sim. Is Smarty willing to risk losing a significant pool of customers who upgrade their hardware in the coming days? C'mon Smarty! Get with the times!!!!!
The iPhone 15 has a SIM slot EricCop_1431718
Not according to the staff at the store and tech support. I have the phone and do not see a SIM slot. I would love for you to be right, however!
eSIM adoption in the the UK is still mediocre in 2023. Quite a disgrace. Three has had a long history of not offering eSIMs. When anybody asks me for a carrier that can I have to say: I'd like to recommend SMARTY but this far nothing, and Three, well it's complicated.
SMARTY has a pretty compelling package, it's really a tragedy that they don't see the value in eSIM.
When you visit a country that /gets it/ you realise that eSIMs are just the way to go, SIMS can be delivered electronically, no messy paperwork and sluggard delivery times, no physical SIM to cut or chop or lose, or get stuck in a SIM slot.
What are we all waiting for UK Telecoms.
SMARTY should volunteer to be part of the solution not the problem.
shame shame shame
> SMARTY has a pretty compelling package, it's really a tragedy that they don't see the value in eSIM.
THIS. Smarty offers an overall excellent service. CS is good, coverage and speeds are fine, yet it's let down by not offering eSIM. Fix this, and hopefully if Voda keeps the Smarty brand (there's a good chance it's all closed down upon merger, unfortunately) they can continue to have good success.
There have been many threads on this forum re eSIMs.
At the current time, Smarty do not support eSIMs, just like the majority of UK networks. At as today, September 13th 2023, the only UK networks that support eSIM are EE, O2, Vodafone, LycaMobile and Spusu.
By the way, this is the Smarty community forum, a community of Smarty users. As we don’t work for Smarty, we of course have no control over its business decisions. Just like I have done, as a user of eSIMs when travelling, and knowing how convenient they are, you could always contact Smarty via webchat, to let the company know you would like them to offer eSIM.
> At the current time, Smarty do not support eSIMs, just like the majority of UK networks.
There are 4 major networks in the UK (3 UK, EE, Voda, O2). ALL of those carriers support eSIM. Smarty is the experimental brand of 3 UK. Given 3 UK now supports eSIM, they should be supporting it.
Are SMARTY a true PAYG service provider?
I suspect not - therefore, it does appear inexcusable that SMARTY do not offer an eSIM option for their monthly plans.All due respect, as nice as I want an e-sim, it's a value network and they need to keep their business interests at heart. They need some reasons to push people to Three, otherwise why would anyone be a Three customer.
3 doesn’t offer eSIM on PAYG either. eSIM costs *less* to provision, and is far better for our environment than SIM cards.
give-us-eSIM I'm afraid the 'environment' argument is not that strong.
In order to improve the environment, it would be necessary to look at the big polluters first. We can consider dirty power stations opening in China, the marine cargo fleet shifting vast amounts around the world on inefficient engines and oh yes.....large numbers of gas-guzzling cars in the US among other countries.
Not all US carriers offer eSIM. In fact, many don’t.
Name me *one* US carrier that doesn’t offer eSIM. I’ll wait….
PS - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209096 - oops. Looks like every US carrier I’ve ever heard of. It doesn’t matter if the service is pre or post paid - they support eSIM.
Waiting for you to educate us on which mythical US carrier doesn’t support eSIM.
Agreed! I can't think of one US carrier who doesn't support e-Sim. If there is one, you can be sure they will quickly update as Apple (a US company) has just released the iPhone 15 today and it only supports e-sims. If you're like me and didn't realise your carrier doesn't support e-sim before you left the Apple Store with your new phone, it's a real nightmare!
