About to go to Singapore for a couple of weeks and will be looking to use a Singtel HiCard for phone / data.
I'm currently with Optus postpaid and am considering changing my Sim to an eSim so that I can have access to my Oz number but with data off, and relying on the SingTel physical sim for all data.
I feel unexplainably possessive about my Optus sim card which I've had for years. Does anyone know of any downside of giving up my sim and switching to an eSim?
No downside. It’s created literally for the use case you described.
Only downside is it's more difficult to move it to another phone.
Existing Telstra customers without an eSIM can now also use the app to request a swap to an eSIM. However, if you're a new customer, you'll still need to visit a Telstra store or have a QR code mailed to you by post as with a traditional SIM card.
What
none, but you should use the e-sim slot for the least likely to switch sim.
Or you should use it for your secondary number, so if you break your iPhone you can still pull your SIM card for your main number out and put it in any spare phone so you can still send and receive calls.
This might be important
On iPhone 12 models, iPhone 11 models, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR, you can use a physical nano-SIM for a mobile data plan and an eSIM for one or more other mobile data plans. If you don't have a nano-SIM and your service provider supports it, an eSIM can serve as your only mobile data plan.
I feel unexplainably possessive about my Optus sim card which I've had for years. Does anyone know of any downside of giving up my sim and switching to an eSim?
It's more fiddly if you switch between different phones often, but if you don't, then it's completely fine.
For example, I have a personal phone and a dual-sim work phone. I generally carry both phones since I don't want work snooping on my personal phone, but sometimes when I'm travelling (domestically) for work, I'll put my personal SIM into my work phone so I can still take personal calls, but do not have to carry two phones whilst travelling.
This sort of thing takes a few seconds to do with a physical SIM, but is fiddly with eSIMs. Also reliant on your providers' systems to do this switcheroo as well.
Not really any downsides to esim when I was with Optus I used it on my iPhone 12.