this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2024
372 points (97.9% liked)

Technology

59534 readers
3209 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
L3s@lemmy.world
L3s@fry.gs
L4s@fry.gs
L4s@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
372
More and more people are ditching carrier roaming in favor of travel eSIMs (www.androidauthority.com)
submitted 7 months ago by fne8w2ah@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
113 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Well, this is a bit tricky to answer:

  1. The e-sim in a phone is a separate chip with proprietary firmware. The chances of a FOSS version of this HW are nearly nonexistent. It would require developing your own silicon and putting it into your own phones. Chances of FOSS FW for this proprietary HW are also very small, because it is difficult and there is not much reason to do so.
  2. Currently, registering an e-sim requires a proprietary app (usually google). There is no FOSS alternative. Work on one is slow and there are some IP issues.
  3. Using an e-sim does not require a proprietary app. So you can remove google services or remove their access to the e-sim HW once you have it registered. GrapheneOS uses this.
[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Huh, TIL, an esim is literally a sim soldered into the board.

Now I wonder, could something like the Pinephone FOSS modem firmware register a sim and resolve point 2?

[–] DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I am not an expert but I don't think a modem has anything to do with registering the e-sim.

Even if it did, the hard part is probably getting the e-sim data/keys to be registered, not the uploading it to the e-sim chip itself.