Esim

[Terence_1301762]

Is smarty ever going to get with the times and start eSIM or not, in the very near future.

I would prefer to stay with my plan but if smarty are not going to be a up to date provider I’ll just have to go through the process of the PAC transfer sooner rather than never.

[MSF]

@Terence_1301762 This topic has come up very frequently but there has been no definitive reply from Smarty.

In a reply to another thread recently I wondered whether there was some associated cost that they needed to balance against the potential loss of customers who insist on an sim. Bear in mind that for many people, an sim is either of no use or else not considered essential.

[Lordvega]

I hope so, as I’d be interested in trying Smarty as Lyca on EE has no WiFi calling and no VoLTE!

[emontes]

Past time SMARTY offer eSIMs.

[JJP2RidesAgain]

I use eSIMs extensively at home and abroad, on both foreign networks and with services like Airalo. 

What is the big deal with them, why are you so keen to use them ? Both physical and eSIMs work exactly the same, there are “no bonus features”  that eSIM has over physical sims. 

[Omniposcope]

It's not about bonus features, it's because some devices either don't support physical SIMs at all  or only support one physical SIM and one eSIM. 

[JJP2RidesAgain]

That’s not true, certainly in the UK, where all devices available still use physical SIM cards.

In the USA, iPhones from the 14 series do not have physical SIM card slots, being eSIM only, but again, that’s in the USA, not here in the UK…

[Omniposcope]

I was referring to LTE enabled Smart Watches, which only support eSIMs.

[JJP2RidesAgain]

Even if Smarty did support esim, that doesn’t necessarily mean they will support smart watches.

GiffGaff, LycaMobile, Spusu and Voxi are UK MVNO’s that currently support eSIM, but none of those four MVNOs currently support smartwatches. 

it’s doubtful that UK MVNO’s will ever support esims for cellular watches because they have to be on a paired contract so that the phone number for the watch matches the one on the sim in your phone.

So this is supported by adding addons to post paid contracts  (which MVNOs don’t support) so esims for watches are only supported by the MNOs.

So it’s very doubtful that any UK MVNO will be able to support esims for cellular watches because the MNOs would need to provide them with the service of 2 sims with the same number.

If an eSIM for a smartwatch is that important to you, then you are going to have to pony up the cash to join EE, O2 or Vodafone, and pay an extra £10 a month for smart watch connectivity.

Having previously used EE and paying extra for smartwatch connectivity myself, the novelty soon wears off. Obviously though, it’s your money, your choice. 

So, don’t make the mistake of thinking that eSIM support automatically means smartwatch support, as it does not. 

[WelshPaul]

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@JJP2RidesAgain wrote:

it’s doubtful that UK MVNO’s will ever support esims for cellular watches because they have to be on a paired contract so that the phone number for the watch matches the one on the sim in your phone.

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Only applies to Apple smart watches. Other brands allow the installation of stand alone eSIM's just like a mobile phone.

[JJP2RidesAgain]

Do the networks support that ? If so, is the standalone eSIM the same number as the phone, or a separate number ?

[WelshPaul]

There is nothing to support, it's just a stand alone eSIM. I once installed a Vodafone Pay Go eSIM on a Samsung Watch and it worked just fine for calls, texts and data.

[MarkyR74]

How about so us iPhone users can have two sims on our phones! Because no one single provider, especially Three, is capable of providing a service all over the country. The iPhone only has one physical sim slot, but allows 5 I think esims. It’s modern progression too. I’m actually scrapping my S arty SIM and moving to ID Mobile as they now use eSIM and Three’s network. When Smarty move into modern times I’ll come back over.

[WelshPaul]

I have a SMARTY SIM installed on my iPhone 14 PRO and a Vodafone eSIM.

An iPhone can hold a maximum of eight eSIM's although only one eSIM can be active when using a physical SIM too. If you don't have a physical SIM inserted in your iPhone, then you can only have two eSIM's active at any one time.

[MSF]

@emontes  For what particular reason?

[emontes]

Edit: Double posted.

[WelshPaul]

It looks like SMARTY is going to be the last MVNO that piggybacks off the THREE network to implement eSIM support. Currently, THREE UK now offer eSIM's to both Pay Monthly and Pay Go customers.

THREE UK MVNO's that offer eSIM's:

• iD Mobile
• Honest Mobile
• RWG Mobile

THREE UK MVNO's that do NOT offer eSIMS:

• SMARTY
• Superdrug

It's looking more and more likely that the iPhone 16 series will no longer have a physical SIM slot. I wonder how this will effect SMARTY moving forward? 🤔

[MSF]

@WelshPaul  Good point about iPhones. As I recall, the 14 & 15 only had a physical slot due to Europe; people who bought one in the US found nowhere to insert their physical sim.

[plm0031]

The latest iPad Pro does not have a sim slot, so esim is the only option.

[MarkDav_1795153]

Please get on and provide an ESIM on Smarty!  I may have to leave if you can’t.  I want to use a local sim when outside UK and EU, so I want to me able to put a sim in my phone whilst retaining access to the Smarty network, which would work once Smarty implement eSIM.  eSIM now please.  

[MSF]

@MarkDav_1795153  From posts stretching back some while, it doesn't look like smarty plan to introduce Esims in the near future.

As an alternative (and one I have successfully used) how about an Esim when outside the UK & EU and retain the Smarty sim in the physical socket? There seem to be some pretty reasonable deals on Esims overseas - would that work for you?

By the way, you are not writing to Smarty employees here and so we have no direct 'clout' on what happens.

[MarkDav_1795153]

Thanks, I know that option, but physical Sims are easier to find overseas and purchase.  For example on arrival in Dubai, I was handed a free one at the airport.  Not used an eSIM, so not sure how easy they are to set up.  Will try next time I’m outside EU and UK.