If you’re adopting the Apple iPhone Air, the first thing that you’ll find out, if you haven’t already, is that it’s the first ever eSIM-only iPhone by Apple. That means you’ll have to finally accept the reality that conventional SIM cards will soon come to an end. I have been using eSIM for years, and I’ve transferred it between my devices quite frequently. However, this time, I wanted to simulate the experience as if I were new to this, and see how convenient it really is. What I already don’t like about this entire process is that Maxis charges RM10 for every single eSIM transfer or activation, which to me is absurd because there’s no physical SIM card involved, and technically, this process shouldn’t cost them anything. I deserve to cry about this because I’ve been a loyal customer of Maxis for decades, and I spend more than half a grand on my total Maxis bills every month; but despite that, I am no exception. So if Maxis wants to charge RM10 for an eSIM activation fee, then at the very least, I expect this process to be far more seamless compared to the conventional SIM card process. Right?
eSIM Registration Process
My goal here was simple. I had gotten the Apple iPhone Air and wanted to register a new principal line for it. I wanted a zero-human-interaction process, which means everything had to be online and quick. I mean, if you’re in my shoes, you’re eager to toy around with the Apple iPhone Air too, right? Naturally, I head over to Maxis Online Portal for mobile plans.
So I picked the Maxis Postpaid 109 for this purpose as it gives me unlimited 5G/4G data, calls, and SMS while still having room to add a Share Line for my family in case I need it. I think this is the best plan to go with if you’re using Maxis for mobile but another provider for your home fibre internet. If you’re already using Maxis Fibre for your home, then going for the MaxisONE Prime is definitely the way to go as it shares the quota of your home fibre with your mobile data, which essentially means it’s totally unlimited.
I have to admit, up to this point the process was extremely straightforward and simple. I filled up the details, selected the eSIM option, hit checkout and I was done. Yay! Now let’s try to activate it.
This is where you will hit the wall. For starters, you can never get this done without having an existing internet connection on your device first. I mean, it’s 2025, Wi-Fi is everywhere, so this shouldn’t be a big deal. I don’t think you woke up in the middle of a forest thinking, “Hey, I feel like getting an eSIM all of a sudden.” That said, Wi-Fi to the rescue to assist us in activation. You may also want to download the Maxis App at this point, because that’s exactly where you’ll be activating your eSIM after all.
Since the registration is all done, and my identity was verified during the process, Maxis already knows who I am and everything has checked out. I fire up the app, all ready to use my newly registered eSIM. In the interface, you will be presented with all possible eSIMs that you can choose to activate. It’s very important to make sure you are doing this process on the device that you want to activate the eSIM on. That means you can’t do it on behalf of someone else. Obviously. You can also see that the SIM status is active. Right after the registration, Maxis has already activated my eSIM, all ready to use. YAY!
eSIM Activation Process
This is where I was dumbfounded. Maxis is trying to verify by sending an OTP to a number that doesn’t even exist yet. There is no physical SIM, nor is there any other device currently using this number. So how the heck am I supposed to activate this eSIM now?
So I pick up my primary device, which thankfully still has a running mobile network, and I call Maxis Customer Service right away. After explaining the entire situation, I was told that I would have to take a trip down to a Maxis Centre. So our zero-human-interaction plan is about to come to an end after all.
Maxis eSIM Activation Kit
So I grabbed my electric scooter and head off to Maxis Centre at Plaza Low Yat to find out what is going on.
What happened here is that you need an eSIM Activation Kit to actually start using the eSIM. When you register on the portal, this kit would be delivered to the address on your record. This can take up to 1 week, according to the Maxis staff at Maxis Low Yat, by the way. At this point, the entire experience had gone sour. If I have to wait 1 week just to be able to use my new eSIM, this is worse than getting a physical SIM that can get me connected and running right away. I can’t comprehend why this kit is even necessary. Why can’t it be delivered to email instead? I’ve already provided my MyKad for identity verification if scammers are what they’re trying to mitigate here. Plus, if I was doing this at a physical outlet, the activation would still be done there and then. All that is needed in the activation kit is a barcode, which can be delivered via other verified methods.
What’s worse is that there is no mention of this Activation Kit on the checkout page that I showed earlier. The only thing mentioned there is that you need an eSIM-capable device with Wi-Fi connectivity and that there will be a RM10 charge for it.
Pokdepinion: Maybe I’m just being cranky because I got charged RM10 for this whole process?
