October 2023
As summer draws to a close here in the UK, October remains a busy month for travel. Germany is seeing increased visitors for Oktoberfest, as is India for Diwali (and other festivals), and Japan where travellers flock to experience the stunning autumn foliage.
It’s also a busy month for new features in the latest eSIM Go release. See below for what’s new in Version 2.2.8 & 2.2.9.
One other thing worth knowing – September’s release of iOS 17.0 saw Apple add a host of new features, notably the ability to scan a QR code and install an eSIM from the camera roll. This improves the experience for end-users who buy an eSIM on the same device they want to install it on, removing the need for a second device or screen.
WHAT’S NEW
Data roaming enabled by default in iOS 17.2 (new eSIM installations only) 🍎
With the coming release of iOS 17.2, expected at the end of October, end-users will no longer have to manually enable data roaming on their Apple devices when using a newly installed eSIM. The bundle will simply start working without needing to enable data roaming in the settings menu (but still only in countries covered by that bundle).
- This change will simplify eSIM instals, reduce the end-user configuration required and cut support tickets.
- However, it applies to new eSIMs only. Previously installed eSIMs still need data roaming enabled via the settings menu.
- We recommend keeping the “enable data roaming” step in documentation and user guides to cater for devices on earlier iOS versions and previously installed eSIMs in use.
- eSIM bundle usage will continue to work as before i.e. solely in the countries they are assigned for, installation controlled by the user, etc.
- The change will not affect end-users’ home SIM card settings in any way (i.e. if data roaming is disabled on the home network SIM card (or eSIM) it will not be impacted).
Apple has yet to confirm the exact release date of iOS 17.2, but we expect it within weeks.
Expanded eSIM Go coverage and new 5G routes
India, Monaco and Gibraltar now include 5G network coverage, and we have struck additional 5G network agreements in Qatar and Romania. All are available now. An updated coverage sheet will be shared shortly.
Service status notifications ⚠️
We’ve listened to your feedback and added a live service notification status to the eSIM Go Management Portal menu plus a link to the full status page. And we now push notifications of any status update to both the portal and API pages to further improve visibility of any issues. Email notifications continue for all registered users. Non-registered users can subscribe to updates from the status page.
New rate sheet notifications ⚠️
Notifications will now be shown on the eSIM Go Management Portal main menu when an existing rate sheet has been updated or a new rate sheet has been added to your account. This keeps you aware of changes even if you aren’t subscribed to email notifications.
Country change notifications updated to 24hrs 🌐
Based on your feedback we’ve updated country change notifications from 14 days to 24 hours, giving you better intel for potential eSIM upsell opportunities and/or for troubleshooting end-user issues such as incorrect bundles being purchased for that country.
- Gain improved visibility of what country an eSIM is in at any time even if the bundle does not cover that country (although it must still be successfully registered to a network to trigger the notification).
- As the eSIM moves to a new country you’ll receive a new notification, but only if it has not previously been in that country in the past 24 hours (preventing unnecessary alerts where an end-user is on the border between countries and moving between network coverage).
Additional features and fixes
- Improved internal logging of API requests and orders to help diagnose issues
- Updated API documents and improved notification page layout
- Bug fix on the send SMS field in the Management Portal
If there’s something you think we should add to the next release, or if you have any ideas on how we could do things better, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team at product@esim-go.com.