Develop Bugs

Dual SIM: active eSIM & SIM

Fellow XDA Devs:
A capability that a few of us approximated but never fully accomplished was using two Carriers on the Pixel 2 XL (active and passive modes).
Now that the Pixel 3 class is released, does anyone have insight on the feasibility of Active eSIM & Active SIM? That would be such an amazing feather which some much cheaper phones accomplish. I recognize that the Telecom overlords (i.e. Verizon and AT&T) would fight tooth and nail against this capability as the technology would diminish their control).
Thus, it may require playing under the hood and determining if the hardware can support. Appreciate any perspectives or insight you may have
Regards,
Herb

I'd be really surprised (and a little disappointed) if the hardware didn't support active/active, so fingers crossed it happens at some point - or is made to happen by one of the resident geniuses here.... but the box shots I have seen only have one IMEI so who knows?

hschreib said:
Fellow XDA Devs:
A capability that a few of us approximated but never fully accomplished was using two Carriers on the Pixel 2 XL (active and passive modes).
Now that the Pixel 3 class is released, does anyone have insight on the feasibility of Active eSIM & Active SIM? That would be such an amazing feather which some much cheaper phones accomplish. I recognize that the Telecom overlords (i.e. Verizon and AT&T) would fight tooth and nail against this capability as the technology would diminish their control).
Thus, it may require playing under the hood and determining if the hardware can support. Appreciate any perspectives or insight you may have
Regards,
Herb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, no reason to believe the 3 will be any different than the 2 with regards to active dual sim.
Another 'issue' would still be the eSIM can only be used with Project Fi (unless Google changed their mind).

Yes, but imagine Google Fi on the eSIM and the ability to install any other carrier (domestic or ESPECIALLY International) on the nano-SIM. Appreciate the feedback, markd66 and uicnren. Cheers, Herb

hschreib said:
Yes, but imagine Google Fi on the eSIM and the ability to install any other carrier (domestic or ESPECIALLY International) on the nano-SIM. Appreciate the feedback, markd66 and uicnren. Cheers, Herb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you can do that now, you just can't use them concurrently.
Obviously having both active simultaneously is what is desired, but given past history, its not going to happen.

I spoke to the Google Pixel Support and they confirmed that it won't support dual sim.

Ha dual sim? Verizon is not even letting you use the esim in the Pixel 3 XL. At least th 2 XL let you switch between sims. Not true dual but better than nothing. I used the fi for work calls and used the verizon for my personal calls. The sad part is this will not be a major issue so it will be ignored. I will either have to go back to 2 XL or walk with two phones...

Are you saying they have the esim blocked?

Yes that is correct. I really blows

Dazedust28 said:
Yes that is correct. I really blows
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying active/active is blocked or the e-sim. On my pixel 3 xl I can now scan a qr code from any carrier or enter in the code manually to activate e-sim. Unfortunately T-Mobile doesn't do esim yet.

My wife is looking to get a pixel 3 and switch to Fi, and was hoping to use the esim thing to also have her work Verizon # on it. Is that a thing that's even possible?

DOMF said:
My wife is looking to get a pixel 3 and switch to Fi, and was hoping to use the esim thing to also have her work Verizon # on it. Is that a thing that's even possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If she or you are buying through Google, that should be no issue.
eSIM only works on Fi anyway, so you'd then need to get a VZW SIM.

DOMF said:
My wife is looking to get a pixel 3 and switch to Fi, and was hoping to use the esim thing to also have her work Verizon # on it. Is that a thing that's even possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, only one active at a time.

Can confirm, can't buy a VZ phone and use eSim. It is disabled

I believe that you can only use one sim at a time. At least that was my experience with the 2XL. Both sims (e and nano) can be active, but you have to switch service to use. I did this traveling internationally.
As for blocking the sim, I cannot comment since I didn't experience this (Google version).

uicnren said:
If she or you are buying through Google, that should be no issue.
eSIM only works on Fi anyway, so you'd then need to get a VZW SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pixel 3 supports eSIM with any carrier by scanning QR code provided by the carrier the same way iPhone XS does. There are few carriers supporting QR code eSIM right now, but launch is imminent on iPhone XS for more, and QR codes should work on Pixel 3 too.

How do you use the eSim on the Pixel anyway?

I wanted to bring this thread back to life as I am interested in the potential capabilities regarding active dual sim, but also wanted to clear up a few things.
the eSIM is not locked to project fi
the eSIM is not disabled
Verizon does not support eSIM (yet)
T-Mobile US does not support eSIM (yet)
the eSIM isn't being 'blocked' by anyone.
I want to know if the hardware would somehow allow dual active. I have two of these devices to test on. I don't know where to start

I'm on Project Fi using eSIM and also have a Giffgaff physical SIM installed just as a backup. It's very quick and easy to switch between them. When I first contacted Fi support to set it up I asked if this was feasible and they said definitely. So confirming that setup does work, but not dual active.

samnada said:
I'm on Project Fi using eSIM and also have a Giffgaff physical SIM installed just as a backup. It's very quick and easy to switch between them. When I first contacted Fi support to set it up I asked if this was feasible and they said definitely. So confirming that setup does work, but not dual active.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know the Apple 3 watch also uses eSim. I'm just waiting for Apple to put the hammer down on Verizon and demand eSim support. Then we'll have it on the Pixel 3 / XL for other than Fi. I'm figuring early 2019 but we'll see. Even so, this will not be eSim dual active but dual standby. It will be some time before manufactures (major ones) will go dual active. Pixel 4, iPhone XI?

Question Can I "convert"physical SIM as eSIM on Pixel 6 pro?

Just got the phone. Makes nice photos, so I'd like to make it my primary phone over Xiaomi 11 Pro I had until now. Also, it's a Pixel, so I'm hoping to finally go back to custom ROMs and kernels after a (too) long time of chinese lock-out from such atrocities (as rooting, unlocking and custom ROMs are)
However, I realised that the phone actually only has one SIM slot, not two as advertised in the shop (without looking carefully at the fine print)
Anyway, I have two SIM cards, none from an operator that would be eSIM compatible.
Is it possible to "convert" a physical SIM to an eSIM somehow?

as long as your provider supports esim you can swap

velis74 said:
Just got the phone. Makes nice photos, so I'd like to make it my primary phone over Xiaomi 11 Pro I had until now. Also, it's a Pixel, so I'm hoping to finally go back to custom ROMs and kernels after a (too) long time of chinese lock-out from such atrocities (as rooting, unlocking and custom ROMs are)
However, I realised that the phone actually only has one SIM slot, not two as advertised in the shop (without looking carefully at the fine print)
Anyway, I have two SIM cards, none from an operator that would be eSIM compatible.
Is it possible to "convert" a physical SIM to an eSIM somehow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am currently using At&t with an esim, and I have Verizon on a physical sim. It works beautifully.

Perhaps I was unclear: I do not have an option of QR code or download of an eSIM. I only have two old-style physical SIM cards. I need one of those converted to eSIM.
Is this possible using some custom tool, some custom ROM maybe supports that or anything like that?

No you cannot. You have to call your cell service provider and ask for an eSIM activation because eSIM uses your IMEI2 instead of IMEI1.

You can't convert a sim to an esim. You have to get an esim from your provider (if they support them) and then they will port your number to the new esim once it is loaded onto your phone. Some can do this pretty much instantly, many like porting on physical sims it can take a few hours, or even a day or so to port across.

Also keep in mind, that many carriers send out the e-sim in physical format (they give you a piece of paper with a QR code to scan), so you will have to wait for a couple days until you can use E-SIM (some carriers allow you to access the QR code in their respective app/website, so keep that in mind and chose accordingly).

Question eSim and Root

I saw an ad for a Google Pixel 6 PRO that doesn't accept a physical SIM chip, allowing only eSIM usage. The problem is that the Pixel eSim is not unlocked in my country, so there is no possibility to use it. I wanted to know if with root I could circumvent this.

KiYOxz said:
I saw an ad for a Google Pixel 6 PRO that doesn't accept a physical SIM chip, allowing only eSIM usage. The problem is that the Pixel eSim is not unlocked in my country, so there is no possibility to use it. I wanted to know if with root I could circumvent this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My pixel 6 Pro has a physical nano sim

lil_michelle said:
My pixel 6 Pro has a physical nano sim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but apparently there was a carrier block for physical Sim entry. The only one available is the eSIM but it is blocked in my country. I wanted to know if I can unlock one of the two entries with root.

KiYOxz said:
Yes, but apparently there was a carrier block for physical Sim entry. The only one available is the eSIM but it is blocked in my country. I wanted to know if I can unlock one of the two entries with root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I see, I've never seen that. I would check the LSPosed repo and magisk repo and see. Sorry can't answer it.

When you say esim is locked in your country you mean the carriers offer esim for other models but pixel 6p is not compatible? If that's the case I'm 99.9% sure that it will work no root needed. If they insist to tell them your model just say you have an iPhone. Had the same issue some years ago. Bought a used 4xl from UK with blacklisted physical sim due to debts, no way to remove it from blacklist unless paid out, but esim IMEI was not blacklisted and in my country pixels not supported as well and every carrier representative was saying it will not work. Of course it worked and since then I have used several esims on p4xl p5 p6 and now on p6 pro and pixels still not supported for esim (+ 5g volte etc) in my country

Sp_Ark said:
When you say esim is locked in your country you mean the carriers offer esim for other models but pixel 6p is not compatible? If that's the case I'm 99.9% sure that it will work no root needed. If they insist to tell them your model just say you have an iPhone. Had the same issue some years ago. Bought a used 4xl from UK with blacklisted physical sim due to debts, no way to remove it from blacklist unless paid out, but esim IMEI was not blacklisted and in my country pixels not supported as well and every carrier representative was saying it will not work. Of course it worked and since then I have used several esims on p4xl p5 p6 and now on p6 pro and pixels still not supported for esim (+ 5g volte etc) in my country
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's like a block from Google, for example the Pixel does not accept a 5G signal in my country, but with root you can bypass this. The same happens with eSim, but I don't know if root solves it.

KiYOxz said:
It's like a block from Google, for example the Pixel does not accept a 5G signal in my country, but with root you can bypass this. The same happens with eSim, but I don't know if root solves it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see I don't believe you will find something cause it's a little bit different than making it register to a 5g network. Usually when it comes to sim locks the IMEI is getting blocked and unfortunately Google phones getting blocked (sim lock blacklist etc) via Google s servers and the unlock comes as an OTA. I don't even believe even if you manage to change the IMEI (illegal) that you'll make it work. There are some modules and apps that require root that say they can change IMEI but in most cases they have to do with older phones and especially mediatek ones. Maybe a professional with special tool boxes (like octopus) can do something

Sp_Ark said:
I see I don't believe you will find something cause it's a little bit different than making it register to a 5g network. Usually when it comes to sim locks the IMEI is getting blocked and unfortunately Google phones getting blocked (sim lock blacklist etc) via Google s servers and the unlock comes as an OTA. I don't even believe even if you manage to change the IMEI (illegal) that you'll make it work. There are some modules and apps that require root that say they can change IMEI but in most cases they have to do with older phones and especially mediatek ones. Maybe a professional with special tool boxes (like octopus) can do something
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks

KiYOxz said:
I saw an ad for a Google Pixel 6 PRO that doesn't accept a physical SIM chip, allowing only eSIM usage. The problem is that the Pixel eSim is not unlocked in my country, so there is no possibility to use it. I wanted to know if with root I could circumvent this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try a ubigi Esim... It's free and you can test your hypothesis... Here in my country almost all carriers that provides a esim doesn't work with pixel 6 pro. if ubigi esim works it's not a esim blocking problem.

Question eSim on Chinese version with Oxygen OS?

Hello,
I'm a foreigner living in China and I'm very interested in the OP11. I noticed that the Chinese version doesn't mention the eSim on OP Chinese website, but that the international version has dual sim + eSim. To be fair I never see any Chinese version of phones with eSim.
I was wondering if once we switch the OP11 Chinese version to Oxygen OS, does the eSim is activated? Can you see it in the settings? Is that working?
Thanks in advance.

slayer03 said:
Hello,
I'm a foreigner living in China and I'm very interested in the OP11. I noticed that the Chinese version doesn't mention the eSim on OP Chinese website, but that the international version has dual sim + eSim. To be fair I never see any Chinese version of phones with eSim.
I was wondering if once we switch the OP11 Chinese version to Oxygen OS, does the eSim is activated? Can you see it in the settings? Is that working?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eSim requires a hardware component and I assume that it's not installed in the Chinese version to save money. So even if you had the option on a converted unit, it probably won't work

XDRdaniel said:
eSim requires a hardware component and I assume that it's not installed in the Chinese version to save money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Incorrect. It's built into the SoC now. They started it with Snapdragon 888 (and OnePlus didn't activate that one either).
Introducing Integrated SIM - The next generation of SIM technology
While mobile technology continues to advance at a breathtaking pace, security solutions must also evolve quickly to address increasing security challenges...
www.qualcomm.com

Thanks for your reply guys. I guess we need to wait for more development on the OP11 to discover if the eSim can or cannot be activated.
I remember when I had the OP5, at that time it was only 1 hardware version of phone, but just the software that changed.

XDRdaniel said:
eSim requires a hardware component and I assume that it's not installed in the Chinese version to save money. So even if you had the option on a converted unit, it probably won't work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Chinese Oneplus 11 comes with "ORoaming", it let's you to "purchase international data packages without a SIM card", that sounds like eSim to me.

alexander宇 said:
My Chinese Oneplus 11 comes with "ORoaming", it let's you to "purchase international data packages without a SIM card", that sounds like eSim to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your feedback. Do you still have Color OS or have you flashed to OxygenOS?

ColorOS

alexander宇 said:
My Chinese Oneplus 11 comes with "ORoaming", it let's you to "purchase international data packages without a SIM card", that sounds like eSim to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They've had this since at least the OnePlus 9. They never allowed anyone to actually use it for anything other than that stupid roaming though.
OnePlus Community
Introducing our new OnePlus Community experience, with a completely revamped structure, built from the ground-up.
community.oneplus.com

EtherealRemnant said:
They've had this since at least the OnePlus 9. They never allowed anyone to actually use it for anything other than that stupid roaming though.
OnePlus Community
Introducing our new OnePlus Community experience, with a completely revamped structure, built from the ground-up.
community.oneplus.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know Chinese carriers haven't introduce eSim yet except for Apple watches, eSim would be of no use to most Chinese customers. At least the hardware is there, my guess is you will get fully functional eSim after converting to OxygenOS.

alexander宇 said:
As far as I know Chinese carriers haven't introduce eSim yet except for Apple watches, eSim would be of no use to most Chinese customers. At least the hardware is there, my guess is you will get fully functional eSim after converting to OxygenOS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that they have added eSIM support to US models, I would suspect that the software will activate it, but don't quote me on that, and also the process of converting regions is much more dangerous now that there is no MSM Tool available so people who plan to do this should also be prepared to have to fork out cash to have the phone repaired in case they brick it.

Plus, I forget which thread mentioned this- some US bands missing on Chinese versions

horsecharles said:
Plus, I forget which thread mentioned this- some US bands missing on Chinese versions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah tmo's N71

alexander宇 said:
yeah tmo's N71
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More than that.
My post in another thread:
It's missing B71 as well as n71 and n25 which means poor performance on T-Mobile. It is likely missing 3.45GHz n77 as well because there's no reason to certify that on a Chinese device and T-Mobile is preparing to deploy that at the end of the year.
It's missing B13 which means no Verizon support. The omission of mmWave significantly impacts many larger Verizon markets too.
It's missing B14, B29, B30 as well as their 5G counterparts and likely is missing 3.45GHz n77 as well as mentioned above but unlike T-Mobile, AT&T has already been deploying this as a number of their markets they can't use the rest of their n77 holdings until 2024 (mine included).
Anyone buying these phones for US use will definitely experience problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I converted to oxygen os today using the OFP rom cause I my call is blocked today, after switching I can call with no issue atm and can use 5g which I wasnt able to on color os, Verizon

sunxutian said:
I converted to oxygen os today using the OFP rom cause I my call is blocked today, after switching I can call with no issue atm and can use 5g which I wasnt able to on color os, Verizon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you use eSim?

I am curious about this, too. Anyone flashed the Chinese version to global rom, and have esim can confirm?

kwokchun said:
I am curious about this, too. Anyone flashed the Chinese version to global rom, and have esim can confirm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
My mobile provider's app recognises that the phone supports eSIM but I haven't gone through the steps to test it actually works.
I can toggle the eSIM on/off in settings too. When I turn it on, it disables the physical SIM in slot 2.
I might have another play around with it later on and see if I can sign up to another phone provider, in the name of testing the functionality haha

Ok, so I've tried to set up eSIM on the converted China version and it doesn't work.
While the option enables and shows as a device feature, tapping on the Add button does nothing.
I'd say the hardware is disabled on the China version.

br3tty said:
Ok, so I've tried to set up eSIM on the converted China version and it doesn't work.
While the option enables and shows as a device feature, tapping on the Add button does nothing.
I'd say the hardware is disabled on the China version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for taking one for the team! That's good to know.

sunxutian said:
I converted to oxygen os today using the OFP rom cause I my call is blocked today, after switching I can call with no issue atm and can use 5g which I wasnt able to on color os, Verizon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
switching to OOS can solve the region block problem? As I am not in a region-lock country, I cannot tell other users.

Question Are you able to use simultaneous multiple eSim?

Like with iPhone, where you set one primary for data while still getting calls from all?
Thanks in advance.

horsecharles said:
Like with iPhone, where you set one primary for data while still getting calls from all?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When this phone oneplus 11 only has 1 esim. How could dual esim work?

MrSteelX said:
When this phone oneplus 11 only has 1 esim. How could dual esim work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firmware. 15 months ago they were working on this for Android 13.

horsecharles said:
Firmware. 15 months ago they were working on this for Android 13.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The oneplus 11 will never support 2 esims. No software will ever change that on this phone.

MrSteelX said:
The oneplus 11 will never support 2 esims. No software will ever change that on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google developed code for Android to do away with needing more than one eSim- 2 software channels would handle this. Way back then it was projected to make it into 13.
Plus there's a third party Android app that's supposed to accomplish that also.
I'm traveling and left phone behind.
I'm debating whether to return it between wanting a brighter screen, no mmwave + waiting on slow as molasses T-Mobile to enable triple 5G aggregation... & just noticed OP tablet has both phone & messaging icons.
I'm guessing it won't be native calling- rather shortcuts for continuing on computer.
But if it is I'll return phone for tablet instead- Unlimited Plan on only cost $5 (Metro deducts $5 each from other phone plan & tablet plan- Family Plan style. Or go to T-Mobile with tablet- they offer $10 Unlimited Business Tablet Plan).
Then I'll wait for OP 12. On Metro when you upgrade a phone thru them they'll give you another line for free.

The way oneplus decided to use it was either have 2 physical sims or 1 physical sim 1 esim. Why is this so hard to accept.

MrSteelX said:
The oneplus 11 will never support 2 esims. No software will ever change that on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are completly wrong. support for dual eSim is ready for Pixel 7 on Android 13 QPR2 Beta 2 update +. Will be default ready on A14 for other manufactors.

While i can't tell for the future (no idea about hardware/software limitations on this), i currently have 1 physical SIM and 2 eSIMs in my OP11. And :
- I can store as many eSIM in the phone as i want (or at least several since i was able to switch between 3 eSIMs).
- You can only have ONE active eSIM at the same moment.
Settings to switch eSIMs are a bit cumbersome but that's OK, it works fine.

My pixel 7 Pro has two esim at one time active so I'm pretty sure it'll make its way into the OnePlus 11 but it was a beta so it'll have to wait until it's fully compatible with all manufacturers I use beta software on my pixel so I get the newest features

You do realize the question is on the oneplus 11 can you use 2 esims at the same time.

Thank you for all the replies.
Dual eSim is a Google thing for all Android phones. Messages & Dialer supposedly give you choice of Sim to use? Sounds like it took a while and still needs work. iPhone handles it ideally- you can select which default handles data & separately which one the calling.
But it'll do for now. You can install T-Mobile app and get offered a free eSim Unlimited 90 day trial. Verizon offers 30 or 60 days, many others offering ¼-½ month.
Although the follow up or alternative to this- iSim, is already on the way for late this year- will be embedded \ won't need dedicated eSim.

horsecharles said:
Although the follow up or alternative to this- iSim, is already on the way for late this year- will be embedded \ won't need dedicated eSim.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iSIM has been available in Qualcomm devices since the Snapdragon 888 and is effectively eSIM built into the SoC. I would be surprised if the phone manufacturers aren't using this to enable eSIM as otherwise they would have to be using a separate eSIM chip at an added cost.