eSim Transfer Nightmare

[ScottC]

Both my wife and I purchased new unlocked iPhones. We have spent hours trying to get the eSims transferred over. This has been escalated for my wife's phone, but Support has not called back. I attempted, several times, to transfer using the published directions.  Now my account is locked.  Support is closed, because yes... people only use their phones during business hours. Bell support had my wife delete her eSim. Approvals have to come to my phone, which no longer works on either my old or new iPhone.  Short of a clear an simple answer from anyone, I believe the proper next step is to find a carrier that a) has support people who know what they are doing and b) actually cares abut their customers and doesn't waste hours of their time for what should be simple task.

[dks]

Thank you for your concern. You might consider taking the phones to a Bell Mobility store and ask for in-person assistance. You can also use the Chat function on the MyBell web page or call 1-800-667-0123 weekdays from 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Saturday: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. You can find that contact information here, as well. 

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day & Welcome.

This is a peer-to-peer website. We would like to provide you with further assistance, but we cannot. We do not have access to your account, billing & equipment records. Billing issues and account activations cannot be handled on this forum.

eSIMs are typically tied to a specific device and cannot be reinstalled or transferred to a new device without Bell Mobility's assistance. You will need to contact Bell Mobility and have them resend you a new QR code that you can scan in order to activate your eSIM again. If there is a problem with your previously activated eSIM, they will be able to assist you in resolving this matter for you.

You mentioned that your mobility account is now locked and you are unable to use your device. If your PIN code is active and you enter it incorrectly three times, your eSIM card will be blocked. You won't be able to use your phone, except for emergency calls. You would need to enter your PUK into your phone to unblock the SIM card.

To unlock it you must reset your PIN by entering your SIM card's unique unlock key (also called a PIN unblocking key or PUK). Follow the instructions provided below. You will need access to the internet & any web browser.

• Login to your MyBell account. Select > Mobility. Select > Device details. 

The link below will take you directly to the MyBell website. Follow the instructions as they are presented to you on the screen:

1. Log in to MyBell and retrieve your unlock key.
2. Enter the unlock key on your mobile phone.

Note: Entering an incorrect unlock key 10 times will permanently lock your SIM card.

To transfer your Bell eSIM to a new device, you will need to manually update your device information in your account, as Bell does not support Apple's built-in Quick Transfer or automated eSIM-to-eSIM transfers. You must complete this update online to get a new activation profile.

If you continue to encounter issues in transferring your eSIM to your new iPhones, please contact Bell Mobility Customer Service by Chat or by calling: 1 800 667-0123 or dial *611 from any Bell mobile device.

• Weekdays from 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Saturday: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

If more convenient, I would suggest that you visit a Bell Mobility store in your locale: Store Locator | Bell Canada

This may be the quickest and easiest way of solving your eSIM transfer issues today.

Take care.

[BellKris]

Hi there, @ScottC. Thanks for reaching out.

We wanted to check in and confirm if you were still experiencing issues. When you spoke to Tech Support before, was there a ticket created for further investigation? Have you followed up personally for updates or more details?

Let us know if you were still in need of assistance, or if you found a solution. Looking forward to hearing back from you.

Best wishes.

— Kris

[ScottC]

Kris,

 Support said they would contact us and have not reached back out.  It seems like the only remaining option is to take more time out of our day to go to a Mobility store and hope someone there can address the issue. We appreciate the advice given, but we have tried all the steps mentioned, we followed the Bell Mobility published directions, did both Chat and phone support to only end up in a worse place than where we started.

I also understand the purpose of a forum. I am choosing to use the forum to explain our frustration over the amount of time and effort taken to do what should be a simple process.  If we find a solution, I will report back to hopefully help someone else avoid the same situation.

[BellKris]

Thanks for the details and getting back to us, Scott.

We'd like to dig into why there's been such a delay in regards to the ticket, and what we can do to hopefully get things moving along ASAP. As such, we'll be reaching out in a private message to collect some further details.

Unsure how to check or send a private message? See How to send a private message

Looking forward to hearing from you.

— Kris

[Nash211 · Accepted solution]

Step 1: Request a New eSIM on Your Desktop

1. Open a web browser on your computer and log into MyBell.
2. Navigate to My Services and select your Mobility number.
3. Click on Manage my SIM and device (or go directly to the Bell Update SIM Card Page).
4. Choose the option to Transfer my service or update to a new eSIM.
5. When prompted for device info, enter your phone's IMEI2 number (found on your phone under Settings > About Phone).
6. Complete the prompt sequence on your desktop to finalize the request

[Bigvee-TO]

Just out of curiosity- will a new eSIM have the same phone number? 

BigVee-TO

[Nash211]

Number will stay the same unless you change it

[ScottC]

This was finally resolved by going into a Bell Mobility store.  The short version is the current iOS labels the 2nd eSIM "Travel" by default.  This was new to us and Bell support did not seem to know this either.  That is what created all the confusion. Support had us deleting the "Travel" eSIM and re-installing. My wife ended up with multiple "Travel" eSIMs on her phone and I had none. 

Once we got to the store, although the sales person was also not aware of the "Travel" label, she just activated one the the multiple eSIMs on my wife's phone and it worked.  For mine, it had to be installed and activated because support had me delete it.  We then went into the iPhone Settings / Cellular, selected the working "Travel" eSIM and changed the label to Bell.  Now it operates looks the same as it did on our previous iPhones.  Changing the eSIM label to Bell was important in part because the "T" that showed as the carrier on texts & calls could have been one of a few eSIMs that had the "Travel" label. 

We also figured why support never called back... Once my Bell line was active, I got a voicemail saying they were closing the ticket because I did not answer after 2 attempts to reach me. A couple things there.  1. Support was told to call a US number because our Bell numbers were not working.  2.  After spending hours on the phone with support trying to get this sorted, having the ticket closed after 2 attempted calls seems pretty lackadaisical on Bell's part. The account has 2 different emails attached to it.  A simple email before closing the ticket would have been the right thing to do.

So what did we learn?  Bell support needs to have a better understanding of how the phone OS works. Support should also make a little more effort to connect with customers in an attempt to keep them happy.  After all, isn't that the entire concept behind having a support department?  

[Aptic]

@Nash211  So if I have an iphone that uses a physical sim, and the new unlocked iphone uses esim, I set up the new iphone but ignore apples sim transfer feature?  Then once set up, I log onto MyBell and use the directions that you noted above and that will transfer my physical sim into an esim on the new phone and port my number to my new phone?

[Brian Rex]

I just entered this hell now.  I have two phones that I cannot call from (old and new are both SOS only).  I was in the process and it just crapped out and told me "Technical Difficulties".  Now, I don't have a phone to get the needed call back and my partner who (surprise!) is at her work.  I have no service Bell.  The advice to go to a storefront you gave to ScottC above is not right or I was advised wrong by the chat support.    

My partner can unilaterally change our services from Rogers to Bell but she cannot be the contact to fix this problem.

This Bell experience is now expensive.  I can't receive calls from clients.

[Brian Rex]

The agent on the chat function told me it was impossible to get this done at a Bell storefront.  Bell should get a clear process and policy on this.

i went to the Bell mobility store in Portage Place after getting the run around on “download a third party app and tell us a third number” Textnow, which an agent recommended, is a super flaky app that has would not work and (surprise!) Bell rejects all incoming calls from .  So, safe enough for my phone but not safe enough for Bell to receive a call from.

Sanchit, the rep at the Bell store should be the CEO of Bell.  He’s the only representative of the company (and he’s probably a contractor) who actually seemed to care and was attentive enough to do what the six other reps of Bell I spoke to today could but chose not to do.  If Bell wants to quibble about this then let me remind Bell that it told its agent to inform me I was NOT to go to see Sanchit while this forum says i should—Bell policy seems geared to make their problems my problems and be done.

i bought a new phone today.  A big deal for which I’ve waited and saved.  Everything transferred easily to the new phone but Bell cell service.  I spent four hours today with Bell telling me I had a problem I should figure out, giving me wrong and contradictory advice, forcing me to load shady third party apps on my phone, and giving me enough courage to admit that no one but Sanchit at this company cares about anything but me paying the bill.

i lost a day of work with no contact with clients or staff as i had no service from 11am to 3pm because Bell has no working process for moving a simple eSIM.

i feel like Bell let me know today that I’m a funding source not a client or customer.

You want to make amends?  Treat Sanchit nice.  Make him a leader.  He seems to have empathy and care.  It was never in question that he was going to resolve this in his presentation.