eSIM use on the rise while some telcos lag behind

More and more mobile customers are choosing eSIM, according to Vodafone, one third of the telco’s new sign-ups over the last 12 months opting for the cardless technology. Yet despite its apparent popularity, many providers in Australia are yet to support eSIM, meaning their customers miss out on potential benefits.

Instead of a disposable plastic card that can be inserted and removed, an eSIM is a rewritable SIM card built into your phone itself. This has a few benefits, including easy setup for new plans, overseas travel, dual-SIM functionality, and using wearables on the same plan as your phone.

But eSIM isn’t yet supported by all providers in Australia and it usually means more effort when setting up a new phone.

The list of mobile providers in Australia is growing, but there are still some big names that haven’t joined the party, despite the apparent rise in popularity.

Even so, the eSIM mobile plan shopper has plenty of options. Here’s a look at the bigger brands that support eSIM (though some providers only support eSIM for postpaid plans):

• Telstra
• Optus
• Vodafone
• AGL
• amaysim
• Boost Mobile
• Circles.Life
• Everyday Mobile
• Exetel
• felix Mobile
• iiNet
• Kogan Mobile
• Lebara
• Mate
• More
• SpinTel
• Superloop
• Tangerine
• TPG

And here’s a quick comparison of eSIM plans from these providers, sorted by their popularity over the last seven days:

Of the mobile providers that don’t support eSIM, some notable names Aussie Broadband, Belong, Catch Connect, Coles Mobile, Dodo, iPrimus, LycaMobile, Moose Mobile, numobile, Southern Phone, and Yomojo.

Belong, is notable in particular, given it’s wholly owned by Telstra – which does support eSIM. Though the carrier does claim to be bringing the capability in the “not-too-distant future”.

Smaller brands such as this are often when you’ll find some of the cheapest mobile plans around, meaning your options are more limited if you’re keen on keeping your monthly bill low. There are still plenty to choose from, but you might miss out on some limited-time mobile plan deals if eSIM is a non-negotiable feature for you.

eSIM makes it almost trivial to switch mobile providers. Instead of waiting for a new card to turn up in the mail, you can sign up to a new plan and get started right away. To get going, you’ll need internet access so you can download an “eSIM profile” from your provider, after which you just follow the instructions to finalise setting up your new plan and provider.

Even if your phone has a built-in eSIM, it will still  have a physical SIM card slot. That means it’s effectively a dual-SIM phone, letting you run two different plans through the same device. 

This can be handy for business because you get the benefit of only carrying around one phone, while not needing to hand out your personal number to professional contacts. And if you’re worried about getting contacted outside of work hours, you can enable or disable each SIM separately, meaning your work calls and texts can stay within work hours.

Dual-SIM is also handy for international travel because you can keep your Aussie plan while also using a travel SIM or a local SIM at your destination.

Travelling with eSIM can take a lot of the hassle out of finding local plans or making sure you bring a different travel SIM for every country or region you plan on visiting. If eSIM is supported at your destination, the process for getting set up should be the same for switching your eSIM between providers in Australia.

All you need to do is find a free WiFi network and an idea of what local plan or provider you’d like to go with. You can even get it set up before you arrive. But if you plan to do this, it’s wise to make sure your Aussie plan is linked to a physical SIM card. That way you can have both plans running at the same time, and you won’t need to go back through the hassle of re-linking your eSIM to your Australian provider once you’re home.

Some wearable devices – smartwatches in particularly – have eSIM functionality. This means you can leave your phone at home and still get full use out of your eSIM gadgets. That includes data, calls, and texts, depending on the device.

For example, you can take your Google Pixel Watch 3 out for a run and still stream music or podcasts, and receive messages, texts, or any other notifications you’ve set up on the watch – all without need for a phone.

The downside is eSIM-enabled wearables are often more expensive. Going back to the Pixel Watch 3, the eSIM versions are $170 more expensive than the non-eSIM options.

While setting up a new plan with eSIM is easy, transferring a plan between two phones is a different story. With a physical SIM card, all you need to do is eject it from one handset and pop it into another. But with eSIM, it’s no always so cut-and-dry.

Much of the time, you need to get in touch with your carrier to transfer your phone number between devices. But not always.

iPhones have a “Quick Transfer” feature that can make eSIM transfer easy, as long as your carrier supports it. In Australia, that list is currently limited to one provider: Vodafone. 

Samsung and Google-branded Android phones have a built-in function via the Settings menu, which can let you transfer between two functioning Android devices using a QR code.

And transferring between Android and iPhone (or vice versa) usually requires you to follow specific instructions on your provider’s website.