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Should I activate via eSim or Sim card?

My Pixel 2 is arriving sometime today and I'm on Fi. After hearing about some problems with eSim activations, is it better to activate with my old Nexus 5x's sim card? Or is it fine to activate via eSim? What would you do with a new phone?

To me, the advantage of the esim is that I can have Fi on the esim and use another carrier's physical sim, then easily switch (you can't use both simultaneously). Also, the esim is new and cool.
Other than that, it might be simpler to stick with a physical sim, as it would be easier to put in another phone if your Pixel 2 has a problem.

Depends on your carrier, my coworker had sprint tell him the esim is invalid to them. So they had to order him a sim (was using a s6)
On my Fi, i mine was preactivated to the esim when i got it

skullzaflare said:
Depends on your carrier, my coworker had sprint tell him the esim is invalid to them. So they had to order him a sim (was using a s6)
On my Fi, i mine was preactivated to the esim when i got it
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Click to collapse
I forgot to mention that I'm on Fi as well. I guess it means that mine will be preactivated as well.

beefamato said:
I forgot to mention that I'm on Fi as well. I guess it means that mine will be preactivated as well.
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Well i say preactivated, but thats not 100% right.
So when i powered it up and went through setup, after logging into my google account it popped up "Fi activation" and processed, kicking my 5x with fi sim off (confirming first of course)

skullzaflare said:
Well i say preactivated, but thats not 100% right.
So when i powered it up and went through setup, after logging into my google account it popped up "Fi activation" and processed, kicking my 5x with fi sim off (confirming first of course)
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If you haven't already, consider ordering a data sim. It's free and it will let you use data on the 5x.

foosion said:
If you haven't already, consider ordering a data sim. It's free and it will let you use data on the 5x.
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Yea i have it in it with my hangouts installed, so if something happens i just power it on and i can call/text with hangouts

Google Pixel 4 Dual SIM Support

Is it the same as Pixel 3a? DSDS? or DSDA as per rumor in Feb https://www.xda-developers.com/google-pixel-4-dual-sim-rumor/ ?
I found this incomplete doc from T-Mobile eSIM settings: Google Pixel 4. It mentioned '10 profile'. Would this a doc copied from iPhone and it is not completed?
https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-41557

louiskkchan said:
Is it the same as Pixel 3a? DSDS? or DSDA as per rumor in Feb https://www.xda-developers.com/google-pixel-4-dual-sim-rumor/ ?
I found this incomplete doc from T-Mobile eSIM settings: Google Pixel 4. It mentioned '10 profile'. Would this a doc copied from iPhone and it is not completed?
https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-41557
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same as the 3a. That's a very old article when they were talking about DSDS on the P3 which never came to be with one IMEI. As for DSDA here's the quote from the first article which should help clarify it for you. The P4 does not have two radios either.
Lastly, there’s Dual SIM, Dual Active (DSDA), in which both SIM slots can be actively used for calls, texts, or data simultaneously. Although the Pixel 3 doesn’t have the hardware to support DSDA (it lacks a second radio)....

Yes, the Pixel 4 supports DSDS.

How many IMEI provisioned on pixel 3a? Android police have a post showing 2 IMEI labeled on pixel 4 XL retail box.

The 3a has two, it was updated to DSDS in software a little while back.

FWIW, there is an article on Ars about how Google is going to not only support DSDS on the P4s, but actually enable them if you're on Fi (I am).
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/10/google-fi-will-soon-connect-you-to-two-lte-networks-at-once/
I pre-ordered my Flame through Fi, 'financing' it over 2 years, and it arrived today. As soon as I opened it, I popped the instructions, and this is what it says in there:

It works, I activated it with my T-Mobile physical SIM and Project Fi eSIM. I was very excited to finally have this for about 2 hours, then I found out it broke my visual voicemail. WHYYYY GOOGLE WHYYY must you always ruin everything with some bizarre quirk?

mdmogren said:
It works, I activated it with my T-Mobile physical SIM and Project Fi eSIM. I was very excited to finally have this for about 2 hours, then I found out it broke my visual voicemail. WHYYYY GOOGLE WHYYY must you always ruin everything with some bizarre quirk?
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I'll bet it broke RCS too.

Sh...... you're probably right.

It has to do with carrier provisioning. With most dual SIM phones there's an option where you can choose which SIM is used for voice, data and texts. You need to make sure your line with visual voicemail is utilizing the same service for data also. There is same issue with MMS which will hinder any group text capabilities. I have been trying to figure it out for years. Inhave found best use scenario for me is to keep everything on primary line and switch to data on a need only basis with second SIM. Voice and texts will still work with second SIM whenever needed.
Sent from my SM-F900U1 using Tapatalk

skinnytoo2 said:
It has to do with carrier provisioning. With most dual SIM phones there's an option where you can choose which SIM is used for voice, data and texts. You need to make sure your line with visual voicemail is utilizing the same service for data also. There is same issue with MMS which will hinder any group text capabilities. I have been trying to figure it out for years. Inhave found best use scenario for me is to keep everything on primary line and switch to data on a need only basis with second SIM. Voice and texts will still work with second SIM whenever needed.
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You've had dual SIM phones for years? Which ones, just curious. Were any of them esim?

eSIM is brand new, so never had dual with it. This might actually be the first device with both. I think my first dual SIM was Huawei Mate 8 in 2015.
Sent from my SM-F900U1 using Tapatalk

skinnytoo2 said:
eSIM is brand new, so never had dual with it. This might actually be the first device with both. I think my first dual SIM was Huawei Mate 8 in 2015.
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Yeah dual physical sim has been around for a while mostly outside the US. I don't use visual VM so I can't attest to that. But dsds breaks RCS no matter how you have it set up under network settings. Very frustrating but that's on my 3a. Hopefully on Thursday that will change with my P4. Not holding out a ton of hope though.

It may *not* break for people like me, who use Fi and will have it provisioned for DSDS using physical SIM as well as eSIM, but both using Fi as the provider.

johnlgalt said:
It may *not* break for people like me, who use Fi and will have it provisioned for DSDS using physical SIM as well as eSIM, but both using Fi as the provider.
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Click to collapse
That is entirely possible. But you won't know that for some months yet. In the meantime Fi with Verizon physical is kaput.

bobby janow said:
That is entirely possible. But you won't know that for some months yet. In the meantime Fi with Verizon physical is kaput.
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Wait, so you can't do Verizon physical with Fi esim?

rester555 said:
Wait, so you can't do Verizon physical with Fi esim?
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Pretty sure, and I am also sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but Verizon branded (bought from Verizon, or anywhere else as a Verizon variant) have the eSIM disabled by Verizon.
Using an unlocked version on the Verizon network should work fine.

rester555 said:
Wait, so you can't do Verizon physical with Fi esim?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We were talking about RCS at the time, not DSDS. You couldn't get RCS working with Fi and Verizon but now it's been figured out. Sort of. What I have found is that if I change everything over (sms, voice, data) to Fi then reboot I can get RCS with either Fi or Verizon and even change back to Verizon as the defaults. But if I reboot with Vzw as default I lose RCS. I have to go back and redo it all, reboot and then it sticks until the next reboot.
---------- Post added at 11:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 AM ----------
uicnren said:
Pretty sure, and I am also sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but Verizon branded (bought from Verizon, or anywhere else as a Verizon variant) have the eSIM disabled by Verizon.
Using an unlocked version on the Verizon network should work fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eSim was disabled on the P3 and the 3a (XL too) on Verizon branded phones. Someone said a P4 / XL Verizon bought phone can use the eSim just not with Verizon. I've not seen actual confirmation of that, only one person. So if anyone bought the P4 / XL from a Verizon store or online please post if eSim is available with another provider.

Well I have bought an unlocked phone from Fi and went to Verizon to get a physical sim and got it working. Loving it so far, but can confirm that the RCS issue works like @bobby janow stated. I can't get it to work with Verizon default after reboot. Has to be fi to get it to work until next reboot.

Can you have a different ringtone for each line/SIM?

eSIM/dual SIM on AT&T variant

Got my AT&T variant today. Doesn't look like eSIM funcationality is enabled. Second IMEI and eSIM shown but greyed out and no way to activate. Is this true? If so, does anyone know if unlocked version allows for eSIM use so you can get dual sim? I need dual SIM for both US (AT&T) and international travel (Singapore).

no dual sim on unlocked version either

uicnren said:
no dual sim on unlocked version either
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Click to collapse
Really? Why put the eSIM in if you're just going to disable it?

well that's a bummer. Hopefully someone will come up with some firmware or we'll see a country release the 4G version of the phone that will work in the US and support dual SIM. I do, however, use wifi calling a lot and right now the iPhone seems to be the only choice that can be AT&T wifi calling compatible and dual sim.
Thanks for letting me know - i also had an order for the unlocked variant that I will cancel.

TGUY25 said:
.... I do, however, use wifi calling a lot and right now the iPhone seems to be the only choice that can be AT&T wifi calling compatible and dual sim....
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Pixel 4/4XL unlocked versions (as well as bought thru AT&T) will do Wi-Fi calling and HD Voice on AT&T (sometimes requires a little work on your part to bug AT&T).
Also, I cannot find anyway to do Wi-Fi calling on the Flip, let alone HD Voice, though it is perfectly clear with calls I have made so far.

I bought the ATT version of the flip so getting wifi calling. I didn’t think Pixel 4 was dual sim? Before various bans, I had decent luck getting HD voice on Huwawei phones but never WiFi calling unless ATT firmware (or iPhone)

TGUY25 said:
I bought the ATT version of the flip so getting wifi calling. I didn’t think Pixel 4 was dual sim? Before various bans, I had decent luck getting HD voice on Huwawei phones but never WiFi calling unless ATT firmware (or iPhone)
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Typical AT&T treatment of BYOD with regards to Wi-Fi.
Pixel 4's are physical SIM and eSIM.
Basically you can (if you find a tech who can/will) provision the account with an IMEI that supports those features, and your SIM is current, it will/should work. My 4XL is currently set up like this (and previous Pixels as well).

Thx didn’t know about the pixel 4 - I did the same thing with IMEI numbers. I bought a cheap galaxy phone from ATT for the sole purpose of having an IMEI that shows ATT. It won’t help WiFi calling which needs firmware support but has consistently gotten HD voice to work. Hopefully a different variant of the flip will show up with dual sim support that can be used on the ATT network

TGUY25 said:
I bought the ATT version of the flip so getting wifi calling.....
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Click to collapse
Slightly off topic, but if you have a minute, could you post where the setting(s) for Wi-Fi calling actually are (if there is any), I'm curious to see if they are on mine (I can't find any as of yet).
Thanks.

It gave me the option to setup when I ran. Y hone setup. It’s all under connections in setting or you can search setting for WiFi calling. I believe this is only available with the ATT firmware

TGUY25 said:
It gave me the option to setup when I ran. Y hone setup. It’s all under connections in setting or you can search setting for WiFi calling. I believe this is only available with the ATT firmware
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Click to collapse
I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious, and yes, seems its only on AT&T branded device(s).

On the unlocked version, I was able to access the hidden SIM manager menu using Activity Launcher and enable the second SIM. However, even after doing so, it doesn't seem that I can do much with it.

I saw same you can see it but it's not really enabling it (under about phone, esim is still greyed out). I bought a European Version of the phone that is supposed to have dual sim enabled and is arriving tomorrow - I will report back if I can add my AT&T plan to the eSIM and use my SG SIM card on the second line and how it works. Even if I get that to work, i will have to give up wifi calling (since not an AT&T variant of the phone) and usually - Samsung pay doesn't work (but usually google pay does). i will report back. Love the phone but without the ability to use 2 SIMs, it will sadly be doing back.

TGUY25 said:
I saw same you can see it but it's not really enabling it (under about phone, esim is still greyed out). I bought a European Version of the phone that is supposed to have dual sim enabled and is arriving tomorrow - I will report back if I can add my AT&T plan to the eSIM and use my SG SIM card on the second line and how it works. Even if I get that to work, i will have to give up wifi calling (since not an AT&T variant of the phone) and usually - Samsung pay doesn't work (but usually google pay does). i will report back. Love the phone but without the ability to use 2 SIMs, it will sadly be doing back.
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Click to collapse
I thought that the Wi-Fi calling piece was becoming more universally supported, regardless of variant. I have the unlocked version and Verizon Wi-Fi calling (and HD calling) are both working.

Hi, I got one in Czech Republic and the dual sim (eSim/normal Sim) dual standby. the setting for eSIM are under Connections>>Sim card Manager, there should be a section with eSIMS and you select 'add mobile plan' (in CZ you scan the barcode of the eSIM thats provided by the operator). Wifi calling is in the phone app under call settings and can be activated for both sim 1 and sim 2 at the same time

I got the UK version of the phone. I have an AT&T phone number on an eSIM and have the eSIM card (with the QR code). I removed the plan from my old device (a Galaxy Fold Dual SIM I bought in Singapore that worked fine with both SIMS) and then tried to "add the plan" onto my new flip. I scanned the QR code and get the message "Your mobile plan is already being used on another device. For more information, contact your service provider.: I called AT&T and advanced tech support added the new IMEI's(both physical and eSIM) to that number on their end but still getting the error. They were at a loss for a solution. Any ideas on how to fix this? Really love the phone though useless to me without the ability to use an eSIM for my AT&T number.

BTW, yes to calls over LTE (VoLTE) with AT&T SIM on UK variant of the phone and, not surprisingly, no joy on Wifi Calling

You need a new QR code from ATT. If you are using an older QR code it wont work.

Are both SIMs 3G capable?
TGUY25 said:
I got the UK version of the phone. I have an AT&T phone number on an eSIM and have the eSIM card (with the QR code). I removed the plan from my old device (a Galaxy Fold Dual SIM I bought in Singapore that worked fine with both SIMS) and then tried to "add the plan" onto my new flip. I scanned the QR code and get the message "Your mobile plan is already being used on another device. For more information, contact your service provider.: I called AT&T and advanced tech support added the new IMEI's(both physical and eSIM) to that number on their end but still getting the error. They were at a loss for a solution. Any ideas on how to fix this? Really love the phone though useless to me without the ability to use an eSIM for my AT&T number.
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I gonna buy the UK model and so I can use both my personal and company numbers on one phone.
My company's number is nano sim and the supports 3G and 4G
My personal number is esim and supports 3G and 4G
Neither my personal nor company number network support 2G.
I read somewhere that while Z Flip is dual sim, one of the sims only support 2G. is that right? Can anyone confirm it?

went to AT&T store, moved my old esim (galaxy fold) to a physical sim, activated and tested on physical SIM then converted it again to eSIM (new QR code). Worked! Had trouble going from eSIM to eSIM but converting to physical SIM in the middle of the process (something I read on another forum) fixed it.

Question SIM Card Manager

I have a Canadian model Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) and have an issue with how Samsung handles dual SIM set-up.
Here's my screen under Settings - SIM Card Manager.
https://imgur.com/a/1TjegB4
I want the Bell SIM (physical SIM) to handle most data-intensive tasks, but the Shaw one (eSIM) to handle SMS/MMS/RCS Messaging. It seems that if I set Bell as my Primary SIM, then the Shaw one won't allow MMS or RCS Messaging. It tells me to switch my primary SIM to Shaw if I want to do that.
It's been a while since I had a dual SIM Android phone but I don't recall having similar issues in the past. I don't think it's an APN thing either as these features work if only one SIM is available.
Any ideas? Apparently non-North American units have a more typical SIM Card Manager settings app that lets you specify which SIM is for data and which is for calls.

Maybe a regional Settings difference......?
My Note20 ultra (snapdragon) has more options in this regard:

Any idea if it's possible to get the SIM Card Manager APK from your phone? I doubt it would work but it's worth a try.
Someone in the Reddit thread I made about this mentioned it was indeed a North American thing.

Try either of these - see if it works......
(couldn't find a "SIM card manager".apk file)

Darn. The SIM Toolkit app won't install as it says the Package is invalid,and the SIMMobilityKit one just wouldn't install.
If someone with an S22 Ultra Snapdragon unit outside of North America could try, maybe that'll work

You could try flashing a non-North American stock Snapdragon ROM (e.g. China/ Thailand/ Korea)?

Anyone with a non-North American Snapdragon Galaxy S22 able to extract the SIM Manager app? Don't feel comfortable flashing a foreign ROM in case I brick ny phone or trip Knox

Looks like this is a more complex issue than what I thought. It's not a specific APK that's accessed when accessing the SIM Card Manager. Pulling a logcat reveals a process called "NU.SimCardManagerUtils"
Why Samsung cripples North American phones by limiting functionality of Dual SIM mode is beyond me (well OK, it's likely the carriers, but still.....)

Devhux said:
Anyone with a non-North American Snapdragon Galaxy S22 able to extract the SIM Manager app? Don't feel comfortable flashing a foreign ROM in case I brick ny phone or trip Knox
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW there's pretty much no chance of tripping knox by flashing a signed fw and not unlocking the bootloader (not like you can anyways)
I am also curious at this and probably won't get to try flashing until my 2nd S22U arrives

I believe for some carriers Talk/Text/Data have to be on the same SIM card to make RCS work.

peteve said:
I believe for some carriers Talk/Text/Data have to be on the same SIM card to make RCS work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would happily disable RCS to get better control over SIM card usage, but I don't think that's the case. RCS is supposed to be network agnostic, well except maybe AT&T where they just flat out hijack RCS.
I really truly wonder why anyone would still use that ****ty carrier tbh.

Yeah,this goes beyond RCS. Even downloading MMS messages from the non-Primary SIM won't work,and I've had no issues on iPhones or other Android devices. Even someone in my original Reddit post commented they can do it with an International phone (admittedly a Note 20, but it appears Samsung has been crippling the North American phones ever since they finally gave us eSIM.
Sadly I'm not a developer, so even if I flashed my phone with a ROM from a different region and compared logcat output from opening the same screen, I likely wouldn't understand what the differences are or what it's actually asking.

The s22 is different to my prior s21 in this way too. Before you could independently choose which sim did voice, data and SMS. Now it's one sim or the other for all three.

Wait, really? Were both from the same region?
If so, sounds like we'll have to try pressuring Samsung to put it back (however feeble that might be).

Devhux said:
Wait, really? Were both from the same region?
If so, sounds like we'll have to try pressuring Samsung to put it back (however feeble that might be).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually think it's simpler the new way. Otherwise I had to toggle three items every time I switched sim.

Devhux said:
Darn. The SIM Toolkit app won't install as it says the Package is invalid,and the SIMMobilityKit one just wouldn't install.
If someone with an S22 Ultra Snapdragon unit outside of North America could try, maybe that'll work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have any luck with solving this?

dtg7 said:
Did you have any luck with solving this?
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Click to collapse
Sadly no.

I am convinced Samsung is doing this in the Americas due to some backdoor deals with the carriers. The carriers do not want us to be able to use different sims for different things. They want you to have to purchase one expensive plan from them. This is the most compelling thing pushing me back towards the Pixel 6 Pro. Glad I still have it.
To overcome the MMS on the non-primary sim, I had to install a third-party messaging app. Pulsesms. I would rather use google messages.
For the phone calls, I just installed google dialer which lets you select the primary calling account (sim).
I have half a mind to file a complaint with my state's consumer protection board. It doesn't seem right that they can place these kinds of restrictions on US handsets, even if you buy it unlocked.

drfundy said:
I am convinced Samsung is doing this in the Americas due to some backdoor deals with the carriers. The carriers do not want us to be able to use different sims for different things. They want you to have to purchase one expensive plan from them. This is the most compelling thing pushing me back towards the Pixel 6 Pro. Glad I still have it.
To overcome the MMS on the non-primary sim, I had to install a third-party messaging app. Pulsesms. I would rather use google messages.
For the phone calls, I just installed google dialer which lets you select the primary calling account (sim).
I have half a mind to file a complaint with my state's consumer protection board. It doesn't seem right that they can place these kinds of restrictions on US handsets, even if you buy it unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you mean "overcome mms in non primary via third party"? The problem is the non primary can't be used for data, and mms requires data.
The main problem here is use of data. Default sim for calling and texting can be set per contact thru the Samsung phone app. But data can't be switched to non primary. That's what there's no workaround for right now.

dtg7 said:
How do you mean "overcome mms in non primary via third party"? The problem is the non primary can't be used for data, and mms requires data.
The main problem here is use of data. Default sim for calling and texting can be set per contact thru the Samsung phone app. But data can't be switched to non primary. That's what there's no workaround for right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I am saying is, that when I use pulsesms as my SMS app, it is able to send MMS using either number. I don't know how it does it, but it does.
With the google phone app, you can pick a sim card as the default for all contacts.

Question 2 esim

Can i have two esim in pixel 7 pro?
Any disadvantage in having esim

Yes you can have two eSIM active together within same time.
disadvantage would be if you need to move the sim to other phone. As for the rest, i'd say, eSIM is better than SIM

otonieru said:
Yes you can have two eSIM active together within same time.
disadvantage would be if you need to move the sim to other phone. As for the rest, i'd say, eSIM is better than SIM
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Click to collapse
You actually cannot have two eSIMs active at the same time. Only a few of us ever had that capability and we all appear to have had it removed at some point. Now it's a matter of waiting for Google to add the feature but I'm not holding my breath.

otonieru said:
Yes you can have two eSIM active together within same time.
disadvantage would be if you need to move the sim to other phone. As for the rest, i'd say, eSIM is better than SIM
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Click to collapse
Thank you so much

I haven't had the best experience so far with my two Sims on my Pixel 7 Pro. Even though I have assigned certain contacts with designated calling SIMs, often times the call is still made with wrong SIM. This is annoying because this ends up giving those contacts my personal number instead of my work number. Both sims are with Verizon, so ideally both should have good service at the same time or bad service at the same time. It would make sense if one sim was with AT&T for example and had no cell service, so the phone would understandably fails over to the other sim to make the call - but I don't see that being the case here.