{"id":25394,"date":"2020-12-31T09:05:18","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T09:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=25394"},"modified":"2021-01-07T11:17:57","modified_gmt":"2021-01-07T11:17:57","slug":"three-uk-quietly-pauses-esim-support-for-mobile-smartphones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2020\/12\/three-uk-quietly-pauses-esim-support-for-mobile-smartphones.html","title":{"rendered":"Three UK Quietly Pauses eSIM Support for Mobile Smartphones UPDATE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mobile operator Three UK<\/a> appears to have “put a short pause<\/em>” on eSIM support after first adding it to their network (4G<\/a> and 5G<\/a>) for mobile handsets (NOT Smart Watches.. yet) in late September 2020 (here<\/a>), although the eSIM Support and Activation<\/a> page on their website does a poor job of communicating this.<\/p>\n

Just to recap. A traditional SIM<\/strong> (Subscriber Identity Module) card contains a tiny chip that authenticates your identity to a mobile operator, usually as soon as you slide one into a new mobile phone or other supporting device. Such cards can also store a basic list of your contacts, although online contact lists have largely superseded that feature on modern devices.<\/p>\n

By comparison a growing number of new Smartphones and Smart Watches are now shipping with eSIM<\/strong>, which essentially embeds an electronic SIM into your device and that makes it easier to switch between carriers via multiple account support (i.e. no more waiting for new SIM cards to arrive or fiddling with different ones when trying to change network). At least that’s the idea, but in practice it hasn’t always worked out that way.<\/p>\n

Sadly, Three UK<\/a>’s initial eSIM launch was a somewhat muddled affair. Most customers were told that they could only get it by visiting a Three Store, but some of those who tried this found that not all stores could do it. Meanwhile a few customers did manage to get the details sent to them by post (basically a card with a QR code on it that you have to scan), while others were told that this was not possible. Meanwhile none of this could be done online, which removes one of the advantages of even having eSIM support.<\/p>\n

The latest development is that, since early December 2020, customers are now being told by local stores, social media, and telephone support staff that the service will not be available until “early 2021<\/em>” (still only for mobile phones, not smart watches). As one support agent on Twitter<\/a> said this week: “We’ve put a short pause on eSIM after introducing it on the network recently. We’ll be resuming this again as soon as we can<\/em>.<\/span>”<\/p>\n

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Hey there. Thanks for thinking about joining us. We're not currently offering esim but following a successful trial we will be launching it soon. Keep an eye on our website for an update, early 2021. -Ali<\/p>\n

— ThreeUKSupport (@ThreeUKSupport) December 26, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n