Vi rolls out eSIM for Prepaid users in Mumbai, Maharashtra & Goa regions

Digital SIM: Vodafone Idea (Vi) has rolled out eSIM or digital SIM cards for its prepaid customers in Mumbai, as well as in states Maharashtra and Goa, the company said on Monday (March 4).

The technology, which supports multiple profiles on a single device, allows for the use of a second SIM card without removing the primary one.

The third-largest telco in India rolled out eSIM after the Department of Telecommunications gave a go-ahead for the service in 2023. 

While Vodafone preferred postpaid customers to pre-paid users, and restricted their use to states in regions like Punjab and Gujarat, it has now started opening up the cluster circles. Jio and Airtel, the first and second by subscriber share in India's telecom ecosystem, also have the eSIM facility.
 

“Embracing eSIM technology not only reflects our ongoing efforts to meet the evolving needs of our customers but also leverages advanced technologies

towards a sustainable future,” the company stated.

With the launch, both postpaid and prepaid customers will be able to avail eSIM features on compatible smartphone or smartwatch devices.

Which devices are compatible

Listing the compatible devices, Vi said iPhone XR and above models will support the eSIM, apart from Samsung’s range of phones including the Galaxy Series of fold phones, S21 and others.

The Motorola Razr, Next Gen Razr and Edge 40 models are also  compatible with the eSIM feature.

For Google, its Pixel 3 and above models will support the eSIM feature.

Vivo x 90 pro, and Nokia’s G60 and X30 are also among the list of devices that support the eSIM feature.

How to activate the service

Existing customers can send an SMS with "eSIM <space> registered email id" to 199.

This will result in a confirmation SMS, and customers would need to reply with “ESIMY” to confirm the change request within 15 minutes.

After the confirmation SMS, users will receive another SMS for consent over call.

The consent over call will lead to users receiving a QR code on their registered email address, which they can scan by going to Settings > Mobile Data > Add data plan.

Users will also have the option to change the data plan label for their secondary SIM.

After choosing the default line - Primary or Secondary - the eSIM will be activated in 30 minutes.

New customers can visit an offline store with an identity proof for the activation. They also have an online option for prepaid subscribers to activate the service themselves on a dedicated website.