Verizon Expected to Implement eSIM Support for iPhone XR and XS on December 7 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Verizon Expected to Implement eSIM Support for iPhone XR and XS on December 7

Verizon is expected to implement support for the eSIM in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR on December 7, according to an internal employee memo that was shared with MacRumors.

Apple's newest iPhones have supported eSIM functionality since the October release of iOS 12.1, but to use the feature, carriers also needed to add support. At the time iOS 12.1 was released, U.S. carriers that include Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T said that support would not be implemented until later in the year.

appleesim
AT&T at the time said that there were issues with visual voicemail, while Verizon had to work out some issues that would cause performance problems when its customers activated eSIMs from other carriers.

According to the document seen by MacRumors, Verizon will be implementing dual-SIM support and it will start activating eSIMs on Friday, December 7.

"Verizon will support Dual SIM activations on physical SIMs and eSIMs on select iPhones. Please visit the training portal to learn how to activate," reads the document.

Following today's release of iOS 12.1.1, several additional carriers around the world began rolling out eSIM support, including AT&T in the United States, so it's no surprise that Verizon would will shortly after.

The eSIM, or digital SIM, is a non-physical SIM card slot that pairs with the physical SIM in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR to enable dual-SIM dual-standby, a feature that lets iPhone users have two phone numbers available at once.

With dual-SIM support, iPhone users are supposed to be able to swap between the two phone numbers readily, alleviating the need for a second phone or SIM swapping for work and travel.

Tags: eSIM, Verizon
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Dark Cherry Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Details Purportedly Leaked By Verizon's AI Assistant [Updated]

Wednesday September 9, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
A series of screenshots seemingly show Verizon's AI chat assistant answering detailed questions about the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, just hours before Apple's announcement event. The screenshots were shared privately with MacRumors by an X user who says the responses came from the "Ask Verizon" AI assistant built into the carrier's app. The conversation is timestamped September 8...
Apple iCloud Plus expansion hero

iCloud+ Now Includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Curated Apple Music Stations in Over 100 Countries

Tuesday September 15, 2026 1:43 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries. In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....
Everything New Your iPhone Can Do on iOS 27 Feature 1

50 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27 - Out Now!

Monday September 14, 2026 10:48 pm PDT by
Apple released iOS 27 this week, and despite the company's focus this year on refining its flagship operating system and nixing bugs, there are still many additional features to explore, not least of which is Apple's new context-aware Siri, re-tooled for the generative AI era. Which iPhones Support Every iOS 27 Feature? This year's major iPhone software update isn't all about AI, though,...

Top Rated Comments

rbalkun Avatar
102 months ago
The esim server is active, call Verizon and ask them to force change the imei number listed on the number to your digital sim imei listed in the about section of your phone, say that’s all you need done, they don’t need to change anything else, if the system for some reason changes the sim number listed on your account that’s fine, the IMEI for the esim just needs to be associated with your account, give it a few minutes then scan the qr code attached, it’s the same for everyone on Verizon, and make sure you are on Wi-Fi when you do it or it’ll error out.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cwosigns Avatar
102 months ago
If I have my Apple Watch paired to the eSIM, will that be a problem? I wouldn't think so, since you can have more than 1 eSIM line.
[doublepost=1544220493][/doublepost]Verizon emailed the QR code but it keeps saying it is invalid.
No problems with my Verizon eSIM and the Apple Watch account.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cwosigns Avatar
102 months ago
As expected.....what a s#$t show, Verizon......
I have called 3 times and chatted 3 times.
The calls ended with not supported, telesales call was disconnected, and totally clueless as to what an esim even was...
The chats were, one disconnect, one telesales transfer where I was told it couldn't be done, and a disconnect when the person said they were creating the QR code for me.......
Sigh........I guess I'll give it a few days and hopefully they will get their act together.....
It only took me 4 hours on the phone with Verizon. I too was transferred to telesales (twice) and eventually they disconnected and I got a text stating they'd call me back, and they never did. So I went to the store. This is what worked for me. And I asked the rep what he did on his end. This is it.

[LIST=1]
* Call Tech Support 1-866-221-4096 and be clear that you're NOT looking to start a new line of service, but transfer your existing service from a physical SIM to the eSIM.
* They should delete your physical SIM card information
* They will input the IMEI number under the Digital SIM info in Settings.
* This will begin activation and generate a QR code they will email you.
* Scan it, and it should work.
* Activation and connection to LTE takes about 5 minutes.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
riverfreak Avatar
102 months ago
Seems like it would make more sense for Verizon to use the eSim and keep the physical sim slot open — will be much easier to acquire a physical sim in my locations for a long time yet, I expect. Not sure if that configuration is supported?

Also, what about apps that are associated with a phone number, like WhatsApp? How will THAT all shake out?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
acgmph Avatar
102 months ago
Still no word from TMobile. Their reps keep promising it will be by the end of December. Hopefully they’ll support it starting this weekend.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
102 months ago
I think I finally got it set up. Verizon moved to eSIM (Primary) and T-Mobile to physical.

What happens if the iOS is reinstalled? Will we have to contact Verizon again for another QR Code?
The QR code used by Verizon is not unique, it’s the same for everyone, so just save it. (It just tells the phone to talk to Verizon’s provisioning service, which checks the digital IMEI in their account database and then does whatever it does to configure/activate the eSIM.)
As to what happens during reinstall, I’ve read some answers but can’t vouch for them so I won’t repeat.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)