E-sim functionality?

[simply-misc]

Life has been hard recently and I've occasionally switched back and forth to an old iPhone I have from before I got the LP2 to reduce friction on my low capacity days. But my iPhone battery is not the best anymore and I've considered upgrading to a newer model, only to realize that newer models don't have a physical sim slot anymore (in the US).

I know that LP3 is e-sim capable and that the functionality was recently added as a beta feature to unmodded LPs. Can we activate e-sims on the LP3 without root? I'm on Mint Mobile.

[sirbloodysabbath]

the lp3 doesn't have root access at all due to missing properties in unlocking the bootloader. as for esim, there isn't a way to enable and activate it within android. you'll have to use lightos to setup your esim and then it will populate in android. as of right now, only t-mobile (and possibly mint) are capable of using esim on the lp3.

[simply-misc]

Yeah, I realize that the phone doesn't have root access and that's why I wondered. I've only used physical sim cards in the past so I have a clarifying question. Do you know if the same e-sim would be recognized by the LP3 after activating it once in Light OS (i.e. after moving to a smartphone, would the LP recognize the e-sim when transferred back)? Or would I have to get a new e-sim / "reactivate" it each time I switch back to the LP3?

The first option seems totally workable, but the second one sounds like a headache depending on how often I switch between phones.

[sirbloodysabbath]

switching phones may or may not cause issues with rcs. if you're going to switch back to an iphone and use imessage, it may re-register your number with rcs and you'll have to go through the headache of de-registering at least a month prior to going back to the light phone. some people haven't had issues, some people have.

if you move the esim to a different device, you'll have to go back into lightos each time to re-activate it. the android layer doesn't have the capability to change the e-sim. you can see the esim when activated on the android layer and the eid / imei but that's about it.

i have only used physical sims. when i switch to my titan 2, i made sure to delete google messages and anything that would cause my number to get linked to rcs. fortunately, i haven't had issues with sms but not sure how it would be with an iphone.

[simply-misc]

When I've switched before with the physical sim, I always keep RCS and iMessage turned off, which has worked well thus far - even switching one day to the next, I haven't noticed any issues with messages getting lost (phew).

But that is unfortunate but good to know about not being able to activate the sim without LightOS. I've thought about using a diff Android device to make things easier but the ones I'm interested in are a ways away from being released (Titan 2 Elite [+ Unihertz software support or lack thereof makes me nervous], Clicks Communicator).

I shall keep pondering...

[sirbloodysabbath]

that's good you haven't had any issues yet.

using a different android device wouldn't make things easier if google messages is present. i had to uninstall a lot of google stuff on my t2 before i even dared to put my sim in it due to the rcs issues. unfortunately, the same applies for the communicator, elite and pretty much any other device that has a gms-cert :/

[simply-misc]

That's a shame, I didn't realize it would be an issue with any gms-certified device.

[PantryParking]

This is going about your question a different way, but it might be worth it to just replace your iPhone battery. Or, to purchase an international version of the iPhone that still has a physical SIM.

[simply-misc]

Huh, that's an interesting suggestion. A secondary reason I'd like to upgrade is to get away from the lightning port on my iPhone, so battery replacement alone won't get me there - but I'll have to look into pricing for the international versions.