#eSIM is awesome, but it has a fatal problem nobody tells you about

Recently, I’ve been seeing big shots all stockpiling a bunch of esim cards—turning it into something like stamp collecting #Giffgaff #csl #O2 #lyca #Saily
If you currently have several eSIMs in your hands.
I really recommend you spend 2 minutes checking:
Is the QR code still there?
Can you still find the purchase email?
When you change phones, do you know how to save it?
Because most people’s path with eSIM is the same:
First, you feel it’s great.
Then you start stepping into pitfalls.
I’ve been messing with eSIMs across more than a dozen countries.
The more I use it, the more I get a feeling that:
The biggest problem with this thing has never been “how to turn it on.”
It’s:
When something goes wrong, how do you keep yourself alive.
Thread👇
1/
Let’s talk about the normal situation (when changing phones).
Actually, it’s not bad.
Most carriers have just three playbooks:
Rescan the QR code
The backend sends you a new one again
Or ask you to contact customer service
As long as your old phone can still power on and still be online—
basically, you can fix it.
It’s annoying, but it’s not fatal.
2/
But the problem is that a lot of people don’t realize one thing:
eSIM isn’t a “card.”
It’s more like a “binding relationship” in the carrier’s backend.
When you delete it,
your phone is actually “letting the carrier know”:
I’m leaving.
Unbind it.
3/
Sounds pretty normal, right?
But the real trap is right here 👇
4/
If one day your phone suddenly dies:
Won’t power on, water damage, motherboard failure.
Then it gets awkward.
Because it never got a chance to “say goodbye.”
The carrier might still think:
Your eSIM is still on that machine.
5/
Then you end up walking a very familiar route:
Find customer service
Send an order
Verify your identity
Explain a bunch of things
Wait for review
Sometimes you even have to pay again
Honestly, this whole thing is pretty draining.
6/
What’s even more frustrating is:
Different countries and different carriers aren’t using the same logic at all.
Some are easy to talk to:
A few clicks and they resend the QR code.
Some:
You have to contact customer service.
And some are even more ridiculous:
They make you go to a physical branch store.
When you’re abroad, people really go silent.
7/
A lot of pitfalls actually happen “before you buy.”
What you see is:
✔ instant activation
✔ globally usable
✔ scan to use
But what nobody tells you is:
What if it breaks?
What if you change phones?
8/
And there’s also this special case with iPhone.
Yes, there is “quick migration.”
But pay attention:
It works well only between iPhones.
And it also depends on whether the carrier is willing to cooperate.
Android users basically can forget it.
9/
Now for an even worse situation:
The device just breaks directly.
That’s the most troublesome one.
Because you can’t even take the step of “deleting the eSIM.”
It’s like the card is still in the old phone.
But the phone is gone.
10/
At this point, the carrier usually won’t automatically help you restore it.
What you need to do is:
Prove you are you
Prove you bought it
Prove that card is yours
And then wait for them to handle it slowly.
Some also charge a fee.
Honestly, it’s kind of torture.
11/
So my real feeling right now is:
eSIM is indeed convenient.
But its “sense of security” is actually weaker than a physical SIM card.
If a physical card breaks:
Pull it out → get a replacement card → done
If an eSIM breaks:
There’s a process, verification, waiting, and it might even get stuck.
12/
I’m not saying eSIM is bad.
I use it myself too.
But after using it for a long time, a very real conclusion becomes clear:
It solves the “hassle of inserting a card.”
Not the “risk problem.”
13/
So if you’re playing with eSIM right now:
I really recommend you do one thing:
Back up the QR code, the order, and the emails.
Don’t wait until something happens and only then find out:
You can’t even find the entry point.
That feeling is pretty awful.
At most one GG card and one US card is enough for web3 big shots to use—don’t collect cards just to collect, or you’ll become a card slave.