Reminds me of the time in ~2002 when a friend rang up Telecom to order ADSL and got "what's ADSL?" back. At least an eSIM is new; ADSL had been around for a few years at that point!

I think I got a dud "tech" on the phone, he said I need to go into the store and "purchase an eSIM" as its not free and I asked about eSIM only being compatible with Spark purchased devices at this stage and he said no its not exclusive to Spark purchased devices. Also he mentioned it is only available on new iPhone's and he asked when I purchased mine (its a launch XS Max) to which he replied it wont work as the device was purchased last year.. sigh

@hio77 You may not have anything to do with eSIM details but I think you know more then the CSR/Tech who forgot to read the memo by the look of it.

I won't waste anymore time on it I'll ring a store tomorrow and get the word before popping into one.

This one looks like a stuff up of Vodafone NZ-like proportions. And telcos wonder why they are the most frequently complained-about lot?

The least they could do is state this is for Spark sourced devices only on the website. It's not shown anywhere. Would save people a lot of time messing about trying to get it working.

PoHq:

 

The least they could do is state this is for Spark sourced devices only on the website. It's not shown anywhere. Would save people a lot of time messing about trying to get it working.

 

 

 

Really? It's at the top of the first page I came to - https://www.spark.co.nz/help/mobile/set-up/set-up-esim-devices/

Must have been added in very recently.

Is there any "good" reason why they lock it to spark purchased devices?  I can understand on android phones etc however iOS devices get the telco config file depending on the sim / esim on the device.

tripp:

 

Is there any "good" reason why they lock it to spark purchased devices?  I can understand on android phones etc however iOS devices get the telco config file depending on the sim / esim on the device.

 

The web page linked above indicates that they are intending to introduce support in the future for devices not purchased from Spark's retail channel. So, this implies that it's a short term technical limitation.

There would be no difference between a Spark bought iPhone vs an apple.com/nz bought iPhone though?

dfnt:

There would be no difference between a Spark bought iPhone vs an apple.com/nz bought iPhone though?

 

I recall another thread here on Geekzone fairly recently with posts claming that eSIMs would offer people more freedom than physical SIM cards. That same thread had a number of people explaning that it would not neccessarily be the case. Looks like the latter is proving to be correct. I'm happy to keep my physical SIM card which I can insert into any compatiable device without any of this fussing around. No need to go back to the days of CDMA-style lock in thank you very much. Will be interesting to see how eSIMs fare as carriers can either make it difficult to use (making their use pointless) or fully buy into its potentinal (which has yet to happen).

My million dollar quetion is: What is the killer app for eSIMs? I don't see the point in them for watches as I always carry my phone with me. If I happened to go on a run without my phone, I'd be fine with the watch buffering my run data and uploading on my return to my phone.

The only benefit (sort of) I can sort of see is for signing up to overseas carriers during overseas travel however I wonder how well it'll actually work in the long run for regular travellers. One issue that has come to mind is what happens when you get a new phone? I assume foriegn prepay eSIMs will be attached to one phone more-or-less forever or very difficult to transfer over to a new phone (if you remember to do that!). I have a European SIM card which I keep current which will always work no matter what phone I put it in. Can't make the same guarantee about eSIMs as it's is clearly up to the operator whether they make it easy to swap phones or not (and whether or not they have other restrictions that would not otherwise apply to physical SIMs).

I shall look on with interest. I just hope eSIMs don't end up pushing out the option for physical SIMs.

So spark is locking out non spark purchased iphones. 

If so would that mean if I were on holiday somewhere overseas And wanted to get a local e-sim for my iphone I wouldn't be able to use it because THAT carrier has also locked out non carrier purchased phones? 

Or will it be network operator dependent ?

Apart from having two numbers Im struggling to see what the hype is. 

ALTRON:

 

So spark is locking out non spark purchased iphones. 

 

If so would that mean if I were on holiday somewhere overseas And wanted to get a local e-sim for my iphone I wouldn't be able to use it because THAT carrier has also locked out non carrier purchased phones? 

 

Or will it be network operator dependent ?

 

Apart from having two numbers Im struggling to see what the hype is. 

 

It's the craziest thing ever. Let people who have purchased an iPhone through Spark use other networks, but don't let people who have purchased an iPhone from Apple to use the Spark network with an eSIM! Maybe someone from Vodafone suggested it to them and they thought it was a good idea!

KiwiSurfer:

 

My million dollar quetion is: What is the killer app for eSIMs? I don't see the point in them for watches as I always carry my phone with me. If I happened to go on a run without my phone, I'd be fine with the watch buffering my run data and uploading on my return to my phone.

 

Go for a run without my phone and still stream music (without having to remember to download it first) and have a way to call for help if something happens to me or someone who I am related to. 

Still be contactable without all the distractions of a phone - looking at you social media

Turn by turn directions without a phone

I see plenty of uses for a watch without a phone that provides always on connectivity.