T-Mobile on Thursday previewed their eSIM activation app for the iPhone. The app will allow iPhone XR and iPhone XS owners to configure a second line on their device without the need to visit a retail store. The Magenta carrier is expected to launch the eSIM program before the end of the year.
T-Mobile is rolling this app out to its staff for training tomorrow and aims to launch it by the end of the year, according to sources close to the development and rollout. For now, it will only support adding prepaid plans to eSIMs; the thinking seems to be that it will be used for inbound roaming and secondary lines, with customers still going into stores and getting physical SIMs activated for primary lines and family plans.
The app activates a second, prepaid line of service on an iPhone by walking users through a simple setup process. Subscribers will use their email address to authenticate and verify the new services. The app will check the device’s eSIM compatibility, then if everything checks out, the onboard eSIM will be provisioned and a secondary phone number will be assigned.
The app will initially be restricted to prepaid lines of service, as the wireless provider believes most users will be adding a roaming or secondary plan to their eSIM instead of a primary line.
T-Mobile plans to train its personnel on the app on Friday to ready them for a public debut later this month.
iPhone XR and iPhone XS models offer dual-SIM technology, which enables the use of two phone numbers and two subscription plans on a single iPhone.
