Back in the "day" it was rather straightforward to reactivate a previously used Rogers or Fido SIM which was assigned to my account. This was before we had eSIM and when SIM cards were always included gratis with your new phone.
Unfortunately, speak/chat to anyone at Rogers/Fido these days they'll gaslight you and say that never was the case or provide a flat out no response.
The reason I bring this up is there are times when a Fido eSIM is necessary and there are times when we need a physical SIM.
Previously, many years ago, occasionally, I had Rogers/Fido CSRs falsely say that it's a one time use only, but I always proved them wrong. I would escalate the issue and provide the previous Rogers or Fido physical SIM number and they'd add it back on. Notes were placed on my account should others try to say no, and want to charge me for a new SIM.
- The only pre-requisite was it had to have remained on that same account. You couldn't reuse the SIM if you left Fido and ported over to Koodo , then return back to Fido (as an example).
How the process currently works is that after we (pay) to have an eSIM QR code generated (Shaw/Freedom don't charge for this) your previous physical SIM becomes "deactivated" but my question is if it in fact gets completely deactivated and it's trash now?
I know I can/will escalate my question to Tier2 tech support but I'd rather not. I would also like there to be a "record" for others to reference should they ever need to reuse a physical SIM such as swapping out phones or if they have more than one phone and their provider doesn't offer eSIM such as common with many prepaid monthly pay-as-you go plan. While eSIMS are convenient, they do have many limitations which most people aren't aware of. Sadly, dual (physical) SIM phones are not available in North America. iPhones in the USA no longer come with physical SIMS. However, if not mistaken, in other countries, an iPhone may have two physical SIM slots PLUS eSIM.
Anyway, l'm waiting to see what the "experts" here say. If I don't agree with the answer, I'll verify the information with Tier2 support where I have a specific non-public number to call provided by Tier 3 and Tier 2 managment. I'll eventually post back my info. Until then, I look forward to the response from the Fido mods et al.
