Why YSK:

Because this scenario:

I know what some people are thinking:

My eSIM is tied to my phone, phones these days have encryption, so all I need to do is set a lockscreen password then a thief cannot access any of my data.

WRONG

At least in Android: You can just use some button combo (just look up “[Phone model] hard reset”) to get into the recovery menu and wipe all data, then reboot, and the eSIM is still there!

(Caveat to this: If you happen to have a Google account, it would force a FRP lock, and that would stop access, but most of fediverse does not like those type of online accounts, so: without a SIM PIN and without FRP locks, the eSIM is accessible to a thief)

Now the thief has your bank 2FA Codes!

TLDR: Set a pin on your SIM cards, even if it’s an eSIM (but especially if you use physical SIM cards)

(Curious: Does anyone actually use SIM PINs or do I just have a lot of paranoid regarding tech and potential hacks/exploits)

  • fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    5·
    4 hours ago

    I did not know eSIM is stored outside the normal data partition and survuves factory resets.

    Your phones OS knows nothing about the eSIM. On older devices it was entirely a separate component living in it’s own little world. Now it’s integrated into the CPU, still entirely separate from your OS.

    That doesn’t feel right.

    If someone resets it they don’t want to lose their cell connection. When you’ve lost your sim and need to get it reactivated without that form of authentication it’s a HUGE pain in the ass, and going to a store is the easiest way. I don’t want to drive to a store because I wanted to start fresh on my phone. A factory reset doesn’t wipe your physical sim.