Apple is again in the news, but not for good reason. iOS users have been experiencing a severe bug on Apple handsets which they claim has been disabling FaceTime, iMessage as well as entire SIM services in some cases. This problem as of now is known to only happen with phones that have an eSIM - a digital SIM built in the form of a chip into the iPhone's motherboard. Apple first brought eSIMs to the iPhone with the launch of the iPhone XR and XS in 2018. eSIMs offer two key benefits: an easier setup process and the ability to use two phone numbers on one phone by using both a physical and eSIM. As of the iPhone 13, Apple removed the need for a physical SIM even with two numbers.
Many Apple users went on Twitter to express their frustration with this new bug. Replying to a tweet about the problem, user Chistopher Munz said, “It is interesting that you bring this story up. Last week my esim for T-Mobile on my 13 pro max in the middle of the day deactivated itself and in settings kept trying to reactivate but said no service and esim said phone not allowed.”
It is interesting that you bring this story up. Last week my esim for T-Mobile on my 13 pro max in the middle of the day deactivated itself and in settings kept trying to reactivate but said no service and esim said phone not allowed. Had to get T-Mobile to…
— Christopher Munz (@chrismunz) May 20, 2022
Another user @vhanagwal said “Yes, I literally had the same issue a few weeks ago with my eSIM and needed to switch to a physical one too. And, it took several people informing me that they've been getting messages through my iCloud email for weeks. Sigh.”
Yes, I literally had the same issue a few weeks ago with my eSIM and needed to switch to a physical one too. And, it took several people informing me that they've been getting messages through my iCloud email for weeks. Sigh.
— Vardhan (@vhanagwal) May 21, 2022
User @zazzinho13 provided an explanation saying “1/2 Yes, it is not limited to eSim only but it is a problem of the service in general. I changed carrier keeping my number but there is no way to reactivate the services on the phone number. I specify that I only use physical sim. I even replaced the new sim with another new sim”
2/2 within 72 hours but the problem persists. I am writing from Italy and my carrier is Vodafone. Nobody knows what to tell me.
— Zazzinho (@zazzinho13) May 23, 2022
He continued by saying “2/2 within 72 hours but the problem persists. I am writing from Italy and my carrier is Vodafone. Nobody knows what to tell me”
Currently, Apple support has not tweeted out anything related to the problem.