Do you remember buying a new phone and carefully slotting the SIM card into place? Physical SIMs may be on the way out, as the eSIM enters the field.<\/p>\n
What on earth is an eSIM?
\neSIM stands for Embedded Subscriber Identity Module. It\u2019s the electronic version of the familiar SIM card. Instead of buying a chip on plastic, the chip is permanently soldered in your phone\u2019s motherboard from the factory. A traditional SIM card is kind of like an old-school gaming cartridge. To change the game, you\u2019d have to physically swap it out. An eSIM is more like downloading a game from the app store. Your network connection is no longer a physical object, but pure data. Download your carrier profile over Wi-Fi, scan a QR code, and you\u2019re connected.<\/p>\n
The perks
\nBesides not needing to physically winkle an eSIM in and out of your phone, there are other advantages.
\nNo need to buy a local SIM every time you visit a foreign country. eSIMs mean you can buy a data plan for Tokyo or Paris from your couch, download it, and use it from the moment your plane touches down.<\/p>\n
Most eSIM phones let you store multiple profiles, meaning you can have your personal line and business line active on the exact same device\u2014no more juggling personal and work phones.
\nIn the event that your phone is stolen, it\u2019s easier to track with eSIM, since it can\u2019t be removed like a physical SIM card.<\/p>\n
The catch
\nLike most new tech, there are drawbacks to eSIMs.
\nThe biggest is that it\u2019s anti-DIY. If your physical phone completely dies or shatters, you can\u2019t put the SIM in a backup phone. There\u2019s no way to physically swap an eSIM. Typically you\u2019d have to log into your carrier account by jumping through security hoops, or call customer service to transfer the digital profile to a new device. If you\u2019re thinking that that sounds difficult to do without a phone, you\u2019d be right.
\nAnother issue is that you cannot set it up without an internet connection. No Wi-Fi or cellular data means no activation. If your eSIM fails to connect when you arrive in a new country, you\u2019re stranded until you gain access to a backup.<\/p>\n
On top of that, eSIMs can fail to connect sometimes, and aren\u2019t supported by all carriers.<\/p>\n
Summary
\nBottom line is, eSIMs may be more convenient if your carrier supports them, you don\u2019t plan on swapping devices much, or you have a backup plan (like a traveling buddy) if something goes wrong while abroad. However, if that\u2019s not you, you might want to stick with the physical SIM. Best case scenario: use one of each. Many phones support having an eSIM for things like travel, while your physical SIM is ready for device-swapping in a pinch. <\/p>\n
Are you Team Plastic or Team Pixel? Share your thoughts below, and we\u2019ll see you next time for another DIYin5. <\/p>\n
Got questions about the video or Kingston products? COMMENT or contact us on SOCIAL MEDIA: 0:00 Intro Do you remember buying a new phone and carefully slotting the SIM card into place? Physical SIMs may be on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicheblog.top\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTwitter: https:\/\/twitter.com\/kingstontech<\/a>
\nInstagram: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kingstontechnology<\/a>
\nFacebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kingstontechnology<\/a>
\nLinkedIn: https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/kingston<\/a>
\nSUBSCRIBE for more DIY in 5 videos, and receive updates on the latest in Kingston\u2019s memory & storage development, plus guides on getting peak performance from your hardware:
\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCLlmpSSdRdFbd_p9oNPcGfA<\/a><\/p>\n
\n0:39 What on earth is an eSIM?
\n1:16 The perks
\n2:08 The catch
\n3:01 Summary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"