An apparent iPhone eSIM bug is randomly deactivating iMessage and FaceTime. In some cases, the only resolution appears to be to install a physical SIM

iPhone eSIM bug randomly deactivating iMessage and FaceTime, requiring physical SIM

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2022-05-20 20:00:09

An apparent iPhone eSIM bug is randomly deactivating iMessage and FaceTime. In some cases, the only resolution appears to be to install a physical SIM.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman experienced the issue with T-Mobile, but others report they’ve experienced the same issue with other carriers …

An eSIM is a chip built into the iPhone 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.

There is a very nasty iPhone and @TMobile bug where iMessage and FaceTime for a device’s phone number will randomly deactivate and there is no way to reactivate it. The only solution that worked for me is getting a new physical SIM card. An extremely disappointing issue.

Thank you to the T-Mobile store rep who was able to quickly activate a physical SIM for my phone. But this shouldn’t have been an issue in the first place. They said others have come in with same issue and that Apple wasn’t able to resolve.