McBadger

I have an EE PAYG SIM (and number) that I've managed to keep alive for more than 10 years.

Having taking an iPhone update in the past year, I now find myself with a phone that only takes eSIMs.

Looking through the UK, it seems that PAYG + eSIM is a near impossible challenge, so far I've only found lyca mobile, but have no clue about them.

Is there something I'm missing here?

porkedpie

No, I found the exact same. It's very annoying, and I'm annoyed at myself for getting a US iPhone which doesn't have a sim tray (should have got one while visiting the UK or Canada). I am assuming that eventually some one will start doing PAYG eSIM, but not yet.

ckusa

Same. Just bought a new phone - 'dual SIM' - except that really it's one 'real' SIM and one eSIM. My UK number is PAYG - so that is my physical SIM: just hoping that when I get back to the US that it works with my US provider (!) - which is not PAYG, but had issues in the past.

McBadger

In what I can only describe as a very happy result, in LHR T5 the company "simLocal" offers an EE PAYG eSim (see photo!).

I chatted with the guy about this a bit, seemingly it's a simLocal airport-only special... note the simLocal/EE branding.

I asked about keeping my existing physical SIM EE number but he couldn't do it and asked me to try a EE store.

In the EE store in London, they don't sell these SIMs, and they can't transfer numbers to this PAYG eSim. (All they can offer to do is to convert a PAYG physical Sim to a monthly eSim...).

Looks like I got a new number.

ckusa

An update. Yes, my US provider, Ultra (cheap T-mobile) does eSIM. Despite the complex of setting it up on their website, I just phoned their tech support and got the eSIM barcode by email - sorted in less than a minute.