eSIM port issues

I received emails on Monday telling me to activate my eSIM, so I did.

By Tuesday I had two eSIMs on my iPhone - the 'temporary' Smarty one and my old network one - I was still able to use my phone as usual. The helpdesk told me the temporary eSIM was required as part of the porting process, but it didn't work for data or calls - everything was still going from my old number. 

Wednesday morning I received a text from my previous provider saying the switch had taken place, I also received an email from Smarty confirming this. However, I had no signal and was not able to send messages or receive calls until I got home in the evening and could connect to my WiFi. I was told by 3 different helpdesk operators to wait until the end of the day (what does that even mean?), to turn my phone on and off again, to request a new eSIM from my dashboard, to NOT request a new eSIM from my dashboard, to 'be patient', that what I was experiencing was totally normal and all part of the process.

How do I get my phone to work on the Smarty eSIM? I have no confidence in the helpdesk's ability to solve this problem and have seen numerous similar issues on this forum with no real solutions