iPhone users reliant on T-Mobile’s cellular service are reportedly facing a bug related to the onboard eSIM. It causes iMessage and FaceTime to get deactivated for the victim’s phone number. The worst part of the bug is that there is no way to reactivate the service without using a physical SIM.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman ran into this bug and shared his firsthand experience on Twitter. Responding to his tweets, several other people mentioned that the issue isn’t limited to T-Mobile customers.
For the uninitiated, an eSIM is a chip built into the iPhone mainboard. It eliminates the requirement of a physical SIM if used alone. Alternatively, one can run a dual-SIM configuration on iPhone using the eSIM in combination with the physical SIM slot. Apple introduced eSIMs with the iPhone XR and iPhone XS in 2018. With the iPhone 13, the company allowed setting up a dual-phone number arrangement without a physical SIM.
There is a very nasty iPhone and @TMobile bug where iMessage and FaceTime for a device’s phone number will randomly deactivate and there is no way to reactivate it. The only solution that worked for me is getting a new physical SIM card. An extremely disappointing issue.
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 19, 2022
Recounting his experience with the bug, Gurman explained that once triggered, the bug leaves iMessage inoperable. He claims he went to a T-Mobile store and secured a physical SIM. However, another solution that worked for some users entailed removing their eSIM account and setting it up afresh. Not that this method could take some time and is rather complicated for the average user. Gurman said, “that’s complex for most people and shouldn’t need to ever be done.”
His tweets also convey that the issue is widespread. The T-Mobile representative who helped Gurman reportedly said that issue has prevailed on iPhone, and Apple has not been able to resolve it.
“This issue for sure has existed on iOS 15.4, iOS 15.5, and iOS 15.6 beta 1. Potentially earlier too, but that’s all I can confirm right now.”
Other people affected by the bug replied to Gurman’s tweets, saying Apple is aware of the issue, but little has been done to address it. We will update this post if we hear more about the issue, its scope, and possible remedial action. So, don’t forget to check back later.
Update: T-Mobile Working on a Resolution With Apple
T-Mobile reached out to Gurman. The company said it is working with Apple to resolve the issue, which seems to be related to iCloud and Apple ID. Gurman remains hopeful Apple will fix the persistent bug with an upcoming iOS update.
T-Mobile reached out to say they are working with Apple on trying to resolve the issue. Sounds early though. T-Mobile saying it is an iCloud/Apple ID-related problem. Hopefully this gets resolved in an iOS update. https://t.co/DuvSpHGP3l
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 20, 2022
