I learned a good lesson about the iPhone this week.
Instead of readers asking questions, this week’s topic is mine.
After months of testing Apple’s new iPhone 14 Pro, it’s time to send it back.
Previously this was not a problem. I straightened out a paper clip, pushed it through the hole in the SIM card tray, ejected the SIM card, and put it back into my phone.
The age of SIM cards means you can use any phone you like, as long as the SIM fits.
What is a SIM card? It’s a small memory card that contains a phone number. The user is free to bring her SIM to any compatible phone and it will work out of the box.
Over the past few years, Apple and other phone makers, along with mobile operators, have introduced a feature called eSIMs (electronic SIMs), which are not physical SIMs. Rather, it’s a small memory built into the phone’s motherboard that stores the phone number information.
The new eSIM was an interesting feature, but since I had a SIM card in my phone, I mostly ignored it until this year.
When Apple announced the iPhone 14 model, it subtly announced that the phone would use eSIM only. I didn’t pay much attention to the announcement until my review iPhone 14 Pro arrived and I started setting it up.
During the initial setup, I was asked if I would like my number transferred to the new phone. When I said yes, I was warned that my phone number would be transferred to his eSIM on the new iPhone, invalidating the old SIM card.
At that moment, I knew I was about to step into the world of eSIMs, but I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant. When it came time to send the phone back to Apple in a few months he was sure I would have to go to the AT&T store and get a new SIM card for him.
Replacing an eSIM is easy. I forgot that the iPhone 13 Pro Max is eSIM enabled. The eSIM transfer took about 2 minutes and I didn’t have to go to an AT&T store or even speak to a support agent. I found all the information on his website at AT&T.
I logged into AT&T’s Bring Your Own Device page and decided to move my number to the new handset.
The transfer is online, so both phones must be connected to Wi-Fi.
The lesson here is don’t be afraid of eSIMs. They are simple and almost as easy to move around as a physical SIM.
Jim Rossman is a technical columnist for the Tribune News Service. He can be reached at his jrossmantechadviser@gmail.com.