Ok strap in folks, this is a saga.
I’ve been with ID for a few years now, other than a few network blackouts I’ve not had major issues. I needed a better phone as mine was playing up and my latest 2 year contract was at an end. So I went through the ID app to look at upgrades and I chose the iPhone 15 pro max. I’m upgrading from an iPhone 13.
The process forced me to select a new sim, even though I was happy with the physical sim in my old phone. I could not progress through the page without choosing one, so I chose eSIM, as I would like to have 2 numbers on my phone at some point in future.
The checkout page said that if I ordered by midnight I would receive my phone the next day, which I thought was excellent service and I was thrilled.
The next day I had no contact about a shipping window. And just after midday my SIM card stopped working. I realised that ID had sent my eSIM by email and disconnected my physical SIM. I looked online to see if I could install the eSIM in my current phone and move it to my new iPhone when it arrived. The internet offered mixed answers so I went to the ID online chat. I explained that I cannot be non contactable. That the upgrade process had assured me I would have no disruption in coverage, and I need to be contactable today.
The chat representative told me categorically no. I cannot install an ID eSIM in my old iphone13 and then transfer it to the new iPhone when I receive it. It will not work and it will become a problem. So do not use the eSIM. Instead he would cancel the eSIM and reactivate my physical sim in the phone. I had to give him my physical sim number and he promised that my coverage would resume within 1 hour.
yay. I thanked him.
2.5 hours later my coverage had not resumed. I missed an important medical telephone appointment for my child. My number didn’t work when my children’s school needed to contact me. That afternoon of no phone number has caused me so many issues it is ridiculous. But when I got home I went back to the chat.
The second ID agent I spoke to told me that the first agent was misinformed. They apologised, and said that the previous agent would not have been able to reactivate the physical sim, and that I must remove it and install the eSIM on my current phone. Then when my new iPhone arrived I can transfer it over. They sent me detailed instructions of how to transfer an eSIM from one iPhone to another.
they offered to open a complaint. I said yes, and also pointed out that I had no tracking information for my new iPhone that was due to arrive today. I was given tracking info and informed that no, it was not coming that day. It was the next day.
ok, I thanked the agent. Came off the chat and removed the old physical sim and installed the eSIM. Coverage resumed.
the next day I have to have someone come to my house to wait in for the new handset because it was not delivered the day prior as advertised in the checkout process. The DPD driver arrived 3 hours after their 1 hour window (with no explanation or apology). I realise this is hardly ID’s fault, but it has added to my frustration.
I get out the instructions on the screenshots I have from the second agent as to how to transfer my eSIM from one iPhone to another. Process seems simple. I put in the code from the new iPhone to the old iPhone and the message comes up… “the SIM in your old iPhone does not support eSIM transfer. Contact ID for assistance”.
But I can’t contact ID because it’s 19.56pm because the delivery was late, the phone took its sweet time transferring everything over AND I had to put my children to bed. Their agents clock off at 8pm and the chat wouldn’t connect me to an agent 4 mins before clock off.
I went to apple online for support. They say that only some networks support eSIM transfer between iPhones. So it seems that ID Mobile do not offer this service.
So now I’m left with a new phone I can’t use, and another day tomorrow when I can’t work because I have to sit, for even more time, on their chat, because they won’t call me, and they won’t give me an email address. All I wanted to do was get a new phone. I’m paying more than £20 more a month! And tomorrow I’ll be on my 3rd day of massively affected work. I have an open complaint but no one has contacted me yet. The agent wouldn’t give me an email address to send my issues to because apparently no one at ID has an email there.
Does anyone have another suggestion? Anything I can do to resolve this without having to go back to ID chat where their agents all tell me different things and I’m getting more and more problems caused.
