[MikeElmendorf]

Has anyone been able to activate the eSIM with a Verizon business account? It will not accept our account login when I follow the steps in the MyBMW app, but the login credentials are correct.

Anyone succeed in doing this?

Thanks.

[Crued]

Have same situation, same issue. Did you get anywhere with this?

[MikeElmendorf]

Far from it, Crued.

I actually tried again last week. Was bounced from place to place with Verizon. No coherent answers, other than we can't activate it on a business account.

BMW says it is a Verizon limitation.

Makes no sense. If we want to send them an additional $20 a month, why wouldn't they want it? It's like activating an iPad or a Watch.

[BMW5151]

I also have a Verizon Business account, contemplating a 550e. What does one lose by not activating the e-sim?

[Crued]

Originally Posted by MikeElmendorf

Far from it, Crued.

I actually tried again last week. Was bounced from place to place with Verizon. No coherent answers, other than we can't activate it on a business account.

BMW says it is a Verizon limitation.

Makes no sense. If we want to send them an additional $20 a month, why wouldn't they want it? It's like activating an iPad or a Watch.

3 hours on the phone, 2 international transfers.... Not possible on business account. I converted my entire business account to a personal account, went in and it worked right away. There was of course some financial considerations... but it's my account and I wanted it, so I did it.

[SkykingUSA]

Originally Posted by BMW5151

I also have a Verizon Business account, contemplating a 550e. What does one lose by not activating the e-sim?

I don't think you'll miss much by not activating the eSIM. You will miss out on the following.

• You can't use the built-in YouTube app in iDrive.
• Your car will not act as a hot-spot and your phone(s) will not be able to connect to the car's local Wifi network. Of course, your phones will still connect to the mobile networks as usual.
• You won't be able to take and make calls with the car if you don't have your phone with you.

These days, I suspect most of us use our phone for the key to the car so it would be rare not to have our phones with us when we are in the car. Plus, I don't think many folks will be watching YouTube in the car on the YouTube app built into iDrive. Most of us also don't NEED our phones to connect to a wifi network instead of a mobile network while in the car.

I think those are the major things you would be missing. Perhaps the local wifi would be important if your kids have iPads or other devices that are wifi-only. Then, they would just connect to the car's wifi when they're in the car and you don't have to deal with turning on your phone as a hot spot.

[BMW5151]

Originally Posted by SkykingUSA

I don't think you'll miss much by not activating the eSIM. You will miss out on the following.

• You can't use the built-in YouTube app in iDrive.
• Your car will not act as a hot-spot and your phone(s) will not be able to connect to the car's local Wifi network. Of course, your phones will still connect to the mobile networks as usual.
• You won't be able to take and make calls with the car if you don't have your phone with you.

These days, I suspect most of us use our phone for the key to the car so it would be rare not to have our phones with us when we are in the car. Plus, I don't think many folks will be watching YouTube in the car on the YouTube app built into iDrive. Most of us also don't NEED our phones to connect to a wifi network instead of a mobile network while in the car.

I think those are the major things you would be missing. Perhaps the local wifi would be important if your kids have iPads or other devices that are wifi-only. Then, they would just connect to the car's wifi when they're in the car and you don't have to deal with turning on your phone as a hot spot.

Thanks very much for the concise response. None of those items you mentioned are of any concern for me, so the e-sim is not an issue.

[MikeElmendorf]

Agreed--thanks. Moving this to the stack of things I don't care about!

[Scrapula]

I actually use You Tube. On Wednesdays, I commute to work and take my son to college. While waiting for him to get out of class, I watch videos. You also need the eSIM for the Air Console games, which I played once. I might try them again. Definitely something to do while you are waiting for someone - airport pick up, waiting in the car when your spouse is shopping, etc. The screen size is decent and better than looking at a phone.

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by Scrapula

I actually use You Tube. On Wednesdays, I commute to work and take my son to college. While waiting for him to get out of class, I watch videos. You also need the eSIM for the Air Console games, which I played once. I might try them again. Definitely something to do while you are waiting for someone - airport pick up, waiting in the car when your spouse is shopping, etc. The screen size is decent and better than looking at a phone.

You don't need eSIM for the Air Console games. There is also a TiVo video app built into the car that has a ton of movies and TV programs. You don't need eSIM for that either (just the entertainment package through the Connected Drive store which you get a one year trial of anyway).

[Crued]

Does eSIM enable the car to use 5G for the data it does need though?

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by Crued

Does eSIM enable the car to use 5G for the data it does need though?

Not required for Air Console or video app. The car uses the 5G data connection it already has for other functions (map updates, server communications, etc.) for these apps.

[G35c6MT]

I tried the e-sim for 2 months on AT&T. Got very little use out of it then it started to act up right when i really needed it for a hotspot with good reception & I haven’t been able to reset/recover the internet service.

I tried removing the e-sim and starting over, restarting iDrive. Nada.

Just got done cancelled the service entirely. Also, AT&T was billing me $31/mo due to taxes on 2 lines because of how their system works.

Nothing of value was lost.

[Sturob]

The other possible caveat (/what do I not miss by not using eSIM) is that it appears to me that the car can only use 5G.

I’m in a huge metro area with 5G coverage (Houston), but even in town, “inside the loop,” there are areas of spotty 5G coverage. The car gets really unhappy and it doesn’t seem like it can flip to LTE.

That may be explicit in some documentation I have failed to read, but it is my observation.

Stuart