Sim card or E-sim card — what’s the difference?

[AussieSunnygirl]

Feeling kind of techno challenged asking, but, can someone please explain the difference between a sim card and an e-sim? Thank you.

 

[trecile]

Here are a couple of threads that might be helpful.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/e-sim.76376

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/questions-from-a-cell-phone-idiot.72791/

 

[Robo]

This looks like a great offer, as first glance at least.
I'll dig into it. Not sure what the minimum contract period is though.

▷ Tarifa de Datos Ilimitados: Contrato Ilimitado Plus – Movistar

¡Atención! ✅ Llamadas, DATOS ILIMITADOS. Tu Tarifa móvil de GB ilimitados con 5G+ y ¡SIN PERMANENCIA!

www.movistar.es

 

[DavidR]

Sim is the traditional chip that goes in your phone - and has to be swapped if you change telco companies. Like I switched form Telstra to Optus, so I got a new sim.

When I go to Bali, I remove my Optus sim and put in my bali sim

Esims aren't physical - they are just something you register to your device - if your device allows it. Most iPhone models for the past 3-4 years have it and Samsung probably does too.

If your phone offers it, you can leave your Aussie sim in your phone while you travel and also register an esim for Spain (or even get one for the whole of Europe - which is what I'll be doing as I'll travel Europe after the Camino).

Hope that helps

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Keeping it simple, a Subscriber Identity Module is a chip that identifies your phone number and network provider. In the "old" days this chip had to be placed on a physical card to get the information into the phone. A physical SIM takes up space that could be used for more electronics or battery so it has gotten smaller over the years. Phones have gotten more sophisticated and can now handle more than one phone number. Dual SIM phones were developed that could take more than one physical SIM. Then someone got the idea of building the really tiny SIM chip into the phone. That was an Embedded SIM chip. Software was developed to put subscriber's information onto the eSIM. One way was to send a QR code to the subscriber that could be scanned by the phone's camera to initiate the magic. The latest eSIM chips can actually store many phone numbers.

The manufacturers left the "old" physical version for compatibility's sake. That was the tiny chip that had to be encased in a larger card so it could be handled by customers. Eventually the physical SIM will disappear so the manufacturer can use the space, manufacture the phone cheaper and better waterproof it.

Eventually you will be seeing iSIMs where the i means the tiny SIM chip no longer is a separate chip but is Integrated into the electronics into another chip that has to be built into the phone anyway. Customers will likely see no changes to eSIM usage but may see the name change in reviews and such.

 

[AussieSunnygirl]

Thank you everyone for your answers and threads for me to view...so much appreciated. Think I'm getting the gist of it!

 

[AussieSunnygirl]

This looks like a great offer, as first glance at least.
I'll dig into it. Not sure what the minimum contract period is though.

▷ Tarifa de Datos Ilimitados: Contrato Ilimitado Plus – Movistar

¡Atención! ✅ Llamadas, DATOS ILIMITADOS. Tu Tarifa móvil de GB ilimitados con 5G+ y ¡SIN PERMANENCIA!

www.movistar.es

Looks to be 3 months or perhaps this is just the honeymoon period to receive the reduced rate of 19:98 euros/month? There's some conditions on the site that don't automatically translate from Spanish to English, so would be wise to take time to look through/use translator to establish these.

 

[Sandra Wolf]

But what is important from what I understand is that the E-sim provides data only you cannot make a standard phone call with it? Correct?

 

[Molly Cassidy]

But what is important from what I understand is that the E-sim provides data only you cannot make a standard phone call with it? Correct?

No, I don't think that's correct. You can get all sorts of deals with E-sims. From what I have read, many people are contacting their home contract provider to get an E-sim with exactly the same deal as they already have, thus freeing up the physical sim slot for a European sim.

 

[Camino Joe 2021]

But what is important from what I understand is that the E-sim provides data only you cannot make a standard phone call with it? Correct?

I believe you can chose data only or data plus phone calls with Orange Travel E SIM card. I used the Europe option on the Frances spring 2022 with great success. Pro tip, turn off cellular data when not needed. A TMobile XR Iphone must be “unlocked” to add an E SIM card.

Select a Country to find an eSIM/SIM offer in the Europe area | Orange Travel

Planning a trip to Europe? Get prepaid sim & esim cards, top-up recharge mobile in any country. Stay connected during your holidays, trips, and sports events abroad with Orange Travel.

travel.orange.com

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

But what is important from what I understand is that the E-sim provides data only you cannot make a standard phone call with it? Correct?

No. A physical SIM and an eSIM can be used the same way (the manner in which the subscriber data gets placed on the chips first is different though). Molly's example is good.

My phone has a physical SIM and an eSIM. Currently I only use the physical SIM. I use Google Fi as my network provider; it has features I like but the basic version of Fi has expensive cellular data. The next long domestic trip away from home I will likely get a cheap data only plan to install on the eSIM. But for a trip to Spain I would most likely switch Fi to the eSIM and buy a physical SIM from one of the Spanish networks. That allows me to make reservation calls (and more importantly to get calls back on a Spanish number because they probably wouldn't call back if they see an international number). The Spanish networks provide lots of data with their plans too. But I still can swap to Fi on my eSIM if I want to call home and have my usual number show up or if I expect a two factor authentication text to show up.

Phone settings allow you to change what SIMs to use strictly for certain things or for defaults.

 

[peregrina2000]

turn off cellular data when not needed.

This has turned out to be important for me. I remember getting a notice from Vodafone, only about 7 days in from Almería, that I was almost out of data. Thankfully I was in a large enough place to have a Vodafone store. The very helpful customer service guy told me that the problem was likely to have been that I had my App Store set to automatically refresh/update apps. That uses a lot of data, continually. I turned off the App Store data option and had no problem. Since then, though, I typically do what Camino Joe recommends — just have the data turned off unless I am going to use it. The current prepaid cards give a lot of data, but even so, I will guard mine carefully on my next camino!

 

[El Cascayal]

Joe recommends — just have the data turned off unless I am going to use it.

In other words: just switch phone to airplane mode in settings.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

In other words: just switch phone to airplane mode in settings.

If you do this you will not be able to receive calls, say, an emergency one from home. You won't be able to make one either but then you could always shut airplane mode off first.

On my phone running Android 12 I can pull down from the top of the screen (like to get easy acess to the flashlight) and there is an Internet box there that I can select. The display then changes to where I can toggle whether to connect to WiFi or not with a slider but there is also a slider for internet access via cellular data from my (named) network provider. When off it will not allow automatic connection to cellular data (and gives a very clear message indicating that). I still can make and receive phone calls though.

Your phones may have something similar.

 

[El Cascayal]

On my phone running Android 12 I can pull down from the top of the screen (like to get easy acess to the flashlight) and there is an Internet box there that I can select. The display then changes to where I can toggle whether to

Here is the equivalent on an Apple. What exactly is the internet box? WiFi is not technically internet.

 

[ilbestro12]

I believe you can chose data only or data plus phone calls with Orange Travel E SIM card. I used the Europe option on the Frances spring 2022 with great success. Pro tip, turn off cellular data when not needed. A TMobile XR Iphone must be “unlocked” to add an E SIM card.

Select a Country to find an eSIM/SIM offer in the Europe area | Orange Travel

Planning a trip to Europe? Get prepaid sim & esim cards, top-up recharge mobile in any country. Stay connected during your holidays, trips, and sports events abroad with Orange Travel.

travel.orange.com

This sounds great ! Did you have to scan a QR code to put the plan on ur phone?

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Here is the equivalent on an Apple. What exactly is the internet box? WiFi is not technically internet.

There may not be a equivalent to the Android 12 internet box. The equivalent actions might be found in your phone's settings though.

I don't use any Apple products; that's not a criticism of any kind, I just don't use them. But it looks like the box you have with airplane mode and Bluetooth may be close to what I have. The green icon looks like a cell tower so I would click it and see what happens.

I did find a webpage that gives a number of ways to cut down on cellular use without getting into internet mode.

Follow These Tips to Keep Your Mobile Data Use in Check

It's time to make some changes.

www.wired.com

 

[trecile]

WiFi is not technically internet.

It's how you connect to the internet.

 

[Camino Joe 2021]

This sounds great ! Did you have to scan a QR code to put the plan on ur phone?

That’s a great question. I don’t recall the exact procedure. It was intimidating to think about, but Apple provided easy to follow instructions and the Orange purchase included links to install. To answer your question, a QR code may have been involved.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

This sounds great ! Did you have to scan a QR code to put the plan on ur phone?

I looked it up. It's old because they also mentioned Pixel 3 and 7 is coming out soon. Still, it is so simple they probably haven't changed the procedure much. The little glitch is that the QR code has to be somewhere else too besides your phone because you have to scan it with your phone. The Orange salesman's PC maybe?

A Google Chrome translation:

Activation process for iPhones
Go to Settings
Tap either Cellular or Mobile Data
Tap Add Cellular Plan
Scan the QR with the camera
Enter PIN provided together with the QR

Found on

How to activate the eSIM in your smartphone

ayuda.orange.es

 

[ilbestro12]

I looked it up. It's old because they also mentioned Pixel 3 and 7 is coming out soon. Still, it is so simple they probably haven't changed the procedure much. The little glitch is that the QR code has to be somewhere else too besides your phone because you have to scan it with your phone. The Orange salesman's PC maybe?

A Google Chrome translation:

Activation process for iPhones
Go to Settings
Tap either Cellular or Mobile Data
Tap Add Cellular Plan
Scan the QR with the camera
Enter PIN provided together with the QR

Found on

How to activate the eSIM in your smartphone

ayuda.orange.es

Cool. I see tgey have plans with text, messaging, and 30 gb data for 30 days for 40 euros. Is that considered a pretty good deal?

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Cool. I see tgey have plans with text, messaging, and 30 gb data for 30 days for 40 euros. Is that considered a pretty good deal?

Personally I don't think it is. That's because you are paying a lot for data I don't think you will use. Generally during the day a typical pilgrim is walking, not doing much on the phone. Later the WiFi at the lodging can be used. On the other hand maybe not having to spend a lot of time looking for something cheaper is worth it for you.

It's been three years since I used Orange but I remember getting four weeks with more data than I used for €15 with a similar renewal.

 

[Camino Joe 2021]

Cool. I see tgey have plans with text, messaging, and 30 gb data for 30 days for 40 euros. Is that considered a pretty good deal?

A great question that depends on your usage. My experience was ease of installation, use, and reload. I did not make or receive phone calls on the Orange sim. Therefore my limiting factor was the 30 day contract not 30 GBs. That is, I used more like 15 or 20 GB in a month. Next time I will get a data only e SIM (less $) and again use WhatsApp to communicate with lodging and WIFI calling to call home. I am no expert, there are many more knowledge pilgrims here who can give more accurate and informative suggestions.

 

[ilbestro12]

A great question that depends on your usage. My experience was ease of installation, use, and reload. I did not make or receive phone calls on the Orange sim. Therefore my limiting factor was the 30 day contract not 30 GBs. That is, I used more like 15 or 20 GB in a month. Next time I will get a data only e SIM (less $) and again use WhatsApp to communicate with lodging and WIFI calling to call home. I am no expert, there are many more knowledge pilgrims here who can give more accurate and informative suggestions.

I wanted to be able to call ahead to local albeurges. I only see 3 plans listed, 2 are 14 day plans which is weird. Orange doesn't seem like the best deal but for an esim i want to buy ahead of time, i might have to go with it

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Remember, you don't need the best deal, you will only be signing up for a few weeks. Good enough will work. The best deal might only be a coffee or two a day cheaper.*

*Or maybe not. I'm not a coffee drinker and I have no idea of what a cuppa costs at home, nevermind Spain.

 

[mla1]

This thread is super helpful! Thanks for all the info.

 

[JoanL]

Thank you everyone for your answers and threads for me to view...so much appreciated. Think I'm getting the gist of it!

Thanks for asking! The responses are informative beyond Camino... I almost understand!

 

[DoughnutANZ]

WiFi is not technically internet

I am impressed. What technically is the Internet in your definition?

 

[Kathor1]

Here is the equivalent on an Apple. What exactly is the internet box? WiFi is not technically internet.

Hi @El Cascayal, on the iPhone, the equivalent of the "internet box" is the icon with the pole that emits and receives. When you press on the relevant section that is seen in your screenshot a new window opens where there is a short text explaining these icons (as shown below) and with On/Off functions. As you can see, there is a difference between "Airplane Mode Off" and "Mobile Data Off" - which brought us to this point in the discussion.

BTW, thank you to @peregrina2000 and @El Cascayal for bringing up this topic. I've always gone into Settings to switch off Airplane Mode or Mobile Data - I hadn't noticed that there is a more comfortable way to do this. Like many others, I rarely pay attention to the improvements that come with each update. We ought to.

 

[Kathor1]

As you can see, there is a difference between "Airplane Mode Off" and "Mobile Data Off" - which brought us to this point in the discussion.

Ah, never assume that what you see is what the other person sees. My iPhone speaks European and says "Mobile Data Off". Other iPhones will say "Cellular Data Off".

 

[El Cascayal]

I am impressed. What technically is the Internet in your definition?

WiFi is a wireless communication technology. You can access internet from either cellular or WiFi access. Internet is a collection of worldwide computers that communicate with each other.
The above courtesy of my spouse who is a techie. Me, have no clue, parotting , a techie will understand, for sure.

 

[El Cascayal]

the icon with the pole that emits and receives.

@Kathar1na. Thanks for information & pictures. The icon with the pole is for cellular access. I see what you guys are getting at. I think what works for me will be keeping airplane mode off. Keeping cellular on and disabling WiFi as needed to prevent phone searching and using up data.
PS: interestingly. in downloading photo below, it required that WiFi be activated.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

@Kathar1na. Thanks for information & pictures. The icon with the pole is for cellular access. I see what you guys are getting at. I think what works for me will be keeping airplane mode off. Keeping cellular on and disabling WiFi as needed to prevent phone searching and using up data.
PS: interestingly. in downloading photo below, it required that WiFi be activated.

Not quite. Using @Kathar1na's photo you want airplane mode off, wifi off and mobile data (aka cellular data) off. Then you save battery and don't get any cellular data from the internet and thus don't eat up any of your allowance. You should still have a cellular connection for phone calls though. Give it a test by setting things as I described and then making a phone call.

 

[El Cascayal]

Not quite. Using @Kathar1na's photo you want airplane mode off, wifi off and mobile data (aka cellular data) off. Then you save battery and don't get any cellular data from the internet and thus don't eat up any of your allowance. You should still have a cellular connection for phone calls though. Give it a test by setting things as I described and then making a phone call.

Wouldn’t I want cellular on so as to be able to receive & make calls?
PS: yes, what you suggested works. Turning off cellular icon, let me make call. In other words, it turns off data! Thanks !!!

 

[Molly Cassidy]

Wouldn’t I want cellular on so as to be able to receive & make calls?
PS: yes, what you suggested works. Turning off cellular icon, let me make call. In other words, it turns off data! Thanks !!!

You need the cellular connection, but you can turn cellular data off. You don't need data to make & receive calls and SMS.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Wouldn’t I want cellular on so as to be able to receive & make calls?

As your test has shown, the phone can distinguish between connecting to cellular towers for phone calls and for connections to the internet (data).

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

A little more, note that turning on airplane mode shuts off wifi and cellular connections for both calls and data. Airplane mode is intended to shutoff radio transmissions that might cause problems with the flight, particularly on takeoffs and landings. To get to what you want for walking you have to shutoff airplane mode so you can make calls over cellular and then turn off wifi and cellular data. You can tweak these settings individually as your needs change but getting into airplane mode works with all three settings at the same time. That works so a passenger doesn't forget to shut one off and cause the plane to crash.

 

[C clearly]

then turn off wifi

Is this only to conserve battery, so the phone is not constantly searching for a wifi signal? One could leave wifi on continuously and in itself, it would not cause any additional usage of precious cellular data.

Cellular ("mobile") data - This is data transferred via your phone signal. The amount of data you have will depend on your phone plan, so you might want to conserve it. Phones have settings so that you can turn this OFF and not use any of it. Phones also have settings that stop any automatic updating of apps with mobile data - i.e. they "update only when connected to wifi".

Wifi on - The phone looks for and tells you about any wifi signals that it finds. (You may still need a password to actually connect.) This uses some phone battery but no cellular data.

Airplane mode - This is a convenient way to shut off phone calls, cellular/mode data, and wifi - all at once. You can then separately turn on the wifi, in which case the cellular data and phone calls are still off, so you don't incur any charges for those services, but you can still connect to the internet via wifi. This is convenient for people who want a phone only for emergency use (and then don't care about the cost) and for use in albergues/bars where they can use free wifi. Airplane mode is a way to conserve battery, as well, because the phone is not constantly searching for available phone signals and wifi opportunities.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Is this only to conserve battery, so the phone is not constantly searching for a wifi signal?

Last night I would have said "Yes, exactly." This morning I learned of a possible rare man in the middle attack that could happen if wifi was on but not actually connected to anything. The advice given for prevention was to always delete routers from the list of routers that you have connected to when done with a session including your own home router. This is not likely to be done by anyone we know. An easier prevention, though not as safe, is simply shut off Wifi if you are not using it.

 

[C clearly]

Last night I would have said "Yes, exactly." This morning I learned of a possible rare man in the middle attack that could happen if wifi was on but not actually connected to anything. The advice given for prevention was to always delete routers from the list of routers that you have connected to when done with a session including your own home router. This is not likely to be done by anyone we know. An easier prevention, though not as safe, is simply shut off Wifi if you are not using it.

Sigh. I am sorry I asked! I will NOT ask what a man-in-the-middle attack is, although I might google it.

But to the point of this discussion, having wifi on or off does not affect data usage.

 

[El Cascayal]

Last night I would have said "Yes, exactly."

So many innovations, so little time…I too have learned a lot from this thread. Thanks to all for the questions and the answers.
Aymarah

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Sigh. I am sorry I asked! I will NOT ask what a man-in-the-middle attack is, although I might google it.

But to the point of this discussion, having wifi on or off does not affect data usage.

Yes. I'm sorry. I should have said that the rest of your post was correct. And up until this morning I would have said it was all correct.

I'm not happy with the news either.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Thank you to @Rick of Rick and Peg and @trecile for experienced technical advice backed by personal knowledge.

 

[trecile]

Thank you to @Rick of Rick and Peg and @trecile for experienced technical advice backed by personal knowledge.

I'm not sure how I got lumped in as having technical expertise - I usually just repeat what others like you and @Rick of Rick and Peg who really know what they are talking about say.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I'm not sure how I got lumped in as having technical expertise - I usually just repeat what others like you and @Rick of Rick and Peg who really know what they are talking about say.

I included you because I have come to trust your technical advice. I suspect that you are being modest, another useful attribute that I have yet to learn.

 

[ilbestro12]

Another odd question:

I'll have my physical US SIM card in the iphone XR, but I want to get the eSIM for France/Spain. If I switch to the eSIM in my iphone settings, will it automatically block me from receiving texts and calls to my US SIM?

I don't want to get calls to the US SIM card/number and get a bunch of charges

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Another odd question:

Does this help?

 

[mla1]

Does this help?

Yes! A few days ago I had never heard of e-sim! And now I’m figuring I’ll use it on next trip! Very cool! Thanks for all this info!!!

 

[Damien Reynolds]

Lazy solution for some people, with no worries about SIM cards at all. I am from the US and my provider is ATT. I have an iPhone 13.

I just sign up for the ATT international plan. Supposedly I have the same data and calling plan as at home (unlimited). Never failed me...

Here's the catch... it's $10/day... but... they only charge you for 10 days in any billing period... so on a typical Camino where my travels cover 2 billing periods, it ends up costing me $200... which is probably 2-4 times what it would spend if I did the local sim thing...

On the other hand, I have had multiple perigrino friends along with me ask to use my phone for either data or calls, because, for whatever reason, they lost connection using their locally acquired sims. Probably user error. My connection to data or cellular calls has never failed.

Point is, if you aren't necessarily concerned about the "best deal", and you are an ATT customer from the USA, there is an easy solution for getting complete connections, like u are used to from home... easy comes with a price, though not insane depending on your point of view.

Not for everyone.

 

[peregrina2000]

it ends up costing me $200... which is probably 2-4 times what it would spend if I did the local sim thing..

This may be long division, but $200 US vs. 30 € is more like 6 times. I’m not criticizing you in any way, because after all I just posted on another thread that I typically spend at least 300€ additional for my Spain or Portugal car rental by taking the full insurance coverage. I know it can be done a lot more cheaply, and I know my credit card says they cover it, but it removes a lot of stress and hassle for me.

I think you take the same approach to phone plans as I take to car insurance, and as you say — not for everyone!

 

[trecile]

Lazy solution for some people, with no worries about SIM cards at all. I am from the US and my provider is ATT. I have an iPhone 13.

I just sign up for the ATT international plan. Supposedly I have the same data and calling plan as at home (unlimited). Never failed me...

Here's the catch... it's $10/day... but... they only charge you for 10 days in any billing period... so on a typical Camino where my travels cover 2 billing periods, it ends up costing me $200... which is probably 2-4 times what it would spend if I did the local sim thing...

My lazy and much cheaper solution is to simply use my current T-Mobile account which gives me unlimited data while I'm abroad, along with unlimited texting to/from US numbers and calls at 25 cents a minute. I usually use WhatsApp and Viber to make free or very low cost (2 cents a minute) calls instead. It's always worked well for me, and I tend to use my phone quite a bit.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

My lazy and much cheaper solution is to simply use my current T-Mobile account which gives me unlimited data while I'm abroad, along with unlimited texting to/from US numbers and calls at 25 cents a minute. I usually use WhatsApp and Viber to make free or very low cost (2 cents a minute) calls instead. It's always worked well for me, and I tend to use my phone quite a bit.

I love what's app! Seriously, Able to do calls and texts with those EUR friends met using just Wi-Fi! Set up a group and share your progress and meet new found friends where you can. Unfortunately, friends from North America were sometimes lost when Wi-Fi wasn't available...

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Eventually the physical SIM will disappear so the manufacturer can use the space, manufacture the phone cheaper and better waterproof it.

I didn't think eventually would come so fast. I just read an announcement that the upcoming US version of the iPhone 14 will not have a physical SIM.

Apple Removes SIM Card Tray on All iPhone 14 Models in U.S.

Apple today announced that all iPhone 14 models sold in the U.S. do not have a built-in SIM card tray and instead rely entirely on eSIM technology. ...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

This article discusses advantages and disadvantages to iPhone 14's use of eSIM only. This would carry through to Android doing the same thing in the future. In my opinion it is easy for the non-techie to follow. The article starts out going over much of what was discussed in this thread earlier.

The worst thing about eSIM-only iPhone 14s

FAQ: What does iPhone 14's switch to eSIM mean for privacy, security, and travel?

www.zdnet.com

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I've just read a well written article that describes the evolution of credit card sized SIM cards for the early generation car phones and loaf of bread sized mobile phones onto the mini SIM cards and smaller that we know of and then onto eSIMs and iSIMs.

Don't panic about iSIMs, as far as phone owners are concerned they are the same as eSIMs. Engineers like iSIMs as they are use less power but also use less space than SIM cards or eSIMs.

Comments at the end of the article are mainly about pros and cons of eSIMs over SIM cards and little about the information presented i the article itself.

iSIM vs eSIM vs SIM: The constantly shrinking ways carriers ID your phone

The death of physical SIM cards is quickly approaching. These are the alternatives.

arstechnica.com