Here’s a real-life horror story

It’s Saturday, a weekend and a public holiday here in Bengaluru.

My dad’s iPhone 13 Pro Max slipped from his hand and the display shattered completely. Unfortunately, he uses an eSIM, which means he’s now locked out of his phone. No calls, no OTPs, no WhatsApp, nothing.

Now, I have several spare phones lying around, but because there’s no physical SIM, he can’t just switch devices. Transferring an eSIM requires a functioning display, which he obviously doesn’t have anymore.

So I thought, no problem, let’s repair the screen. But guess what? Every local repair shop is closed for the long weekend. And to make things worse, Airtel stores are closed too.

I even have a brand-new unused physical SIM card with me, but Airtel refuses to activate it over the phone, they insist I visit a store in person. Which, again, isn’t possible today.

So the earliest he can hope to have a working phone again is tomorrow.

Now imagine this same situation happening abroad, on a trip, or in a country where support isn’t as accessible. It would be an absolute nightmare.

Yet another reason why eSIMs are a terrible idea when things go wrong.
They’re great when everything works perfectly, but the moment something breaks, you realize how fragile and dependent the system really is.