eSIM Functionality Available in iOS 12.1, But Carrier Support is Required

Apple's iOS 12.1 beta introduces support for the eSIM, aka a digital SIM that lets you activate a cellular plan from your carrier without needing to use a physical SIM card. In the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, the eSIM pairs with the included nano-SIM to enable dual-SIM functionality.

The eSIM in the new iPhone XS and XS Max was not available at launch, with Apple promising to activate it in a later update, which appears to be iOS 12.1.

dualsimcellularplan
eSIM settings are available by going to the Cellular section of the Settings app and choosing "Add Cellular Plan," which is the method used to add another cellular provider via the eSIM.

All contacts in the Contacts app also now list a "default [P] Primary" setting in iOS 12.1 which lets you change the default phone number that you contact each person with if you have multiple phone numbers.

dualsimcontacts
According to German site iPhone-Ticker.de, some Deutsche Telekom users are able to use the eSIM feature in iOS 12.1 to add two SIMs to their iPhones. Carriers need to implement the eSIM feature before it will work, and Apple offers a list of carriers that plan to offer the eSIM it in a support document.

In the United States, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon plan to offer eSIM support, but the carriers likely won't roll out the feature until iOS 12.1 launches to the public.

Dual-SIM support with the eSIM is useful for people who use two cellular plans at once, such as for home or work, and it is also beneficial when traveling.

As Apple outlines on its website, both numbers used with a dual-SIM iPhone can make and receive voice calls and SMS/MMS messages, but an iPhone can only use one cellular data network at a time. That means if one number is on a call, a call to the other number will go to voicemail.

Both networks are active at once, however, and with dual-SIM enabled, you will see two carrier signal readings in the Control Center.

appleesim
eSIM support will be available to everyone with an iPhone XS, XS Max (and future XR) when the iOS 12.1 update launches to the public. We've only had one beta of iOS 12.1 so far, so there is still a ways to go.

The iOS 12.1 update also includes support for Group FaceTime for up to 32 people, a new real-time Depth Control slider that can be used when taking Portrait Mode photos, and, with watchOS 5.1, new color watch face options in the Apple Watch app.

Related Forums: iOS 12, iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
maxresdefault

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...

Top Rated Comments

0970373 Avatar
88 months ago
There can be multiple email addresses, but only be one number.
This is not true. I have 2 phones on the same iCloud account and both have iMessage enabled. I can get iMessages to my UK# on my US phone and vice versa.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChromeAce Avatar
88 months ago
It's important to note that as of today the iMessage\Facetime platform only allows you to support one phone number. But with Dual Sim in place there is no reason that they could not change this. You can already support several email address's, I would not be surprised to see them add support for 2 phone numbers.
Not true. iMessage supports multiple phone numbers. Simply sign in to the same iCloud account on multiple phones and all the numbers will be usable in iMessage on all phones signed in.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
88 months ago
Need to provide feedback to Apple that the text under "Enter Activation Code" is badly aligned.....
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avanpelt Avatar
88 months ago
It will be interesting to see if AT&T locks the eSIM to their network when you choose to activate it with them like they did with the iPad Pro eSIM.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmwade77 Avatar
88 months ago
All things old are new again, remember old CDMA phones that didn't have SIM cards? This is essentially the same thing with a new name.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TrulsZK Avatar
88 months ago
In comparison to have to iPhones, the main issue for me is that you can not use both SIM cards for iMessage and FaceTime
Today I frequently send iMessages from both iPhones so only being able to send iMessages from one number is a big problem for me

Also for me both iPhones have different apps, email+calendar accounts, contacts, etc
They work independently from each other with no shared/synced data between the iPhones (other than iMessage communication for file transfer).
For this to work properly for me the iPhone should have multiple accounts, similar to accounts on Mac
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)