There is a bad eSim stuck in my new iPhone 13. How do I force the phone to get rid of this bad eSim?

Update: Thought I should finish the thread - I ended up going back to my carrier and after two full days of 6+ hour phone calls and one strongly worded email, the carrier finally decided to unlock my phone. I was then able to set up my phone, access settings, and (yay!) delete the bad eSim.

Should it have taken that much time to get my carrier to unlock the phone - no. However, I think the carrier was very very generous. They shouldn't have had to unlock the phone. In doing so, they risk me taking the phone and using a different cellular service. I am sticking with them as I firmly believe they didn't do anything wrong (their customer service problem solving process definitely could be improved though). I blame Apple for this issue and guys at the genius bar (when I went the 2nd time) also agreed. There should definitely be a way to access the cellular settings of the iPhone and thus be able to add/delete eSIMS before the phone is functional/activated - just like with regular SIM cards.

If you have the same issue - good luck groveling with your carrier. The only solution is to have them unlock the phone, which is against their best interests if they want to ensure your business for that time period the phone is locked. My advice - speak up, firmly state (and restate if needed) that the only solution (stated by Apple to me) is for the phone to be unlocked. If they complain, ask why you have to be the middle man between Apple and them. Apple provided the solution (unlock the phone), if they are not happy with that solution, they should be the ones groveling with Apple.

Ultimately, if multiple carriers start complaining and stating that the user needs to be able to delete/add eSIMS before the phone is activated, I am guessing Apple will implement the fix asap!

Yes, thank you, I do understand that carriers control the eSIMs, just as they do with physical SIM cards.

My complaint is that with a physical SIM card, you can always just take the SIM card out if it is not working/you want to change it (and it abides by your carrier's guidelines/rules) - Apple gives the user the power to do that by building the physical feature into the phone (you stick a paperclip into the hole in the side of your phone and immediately have access to the SIM card. You don't need anything on the phone to work). This makes it easy on the carrier as well. If something goes wrong with the SIM/phone, they can send their customer a new SIM and the customer can replace it themselves or take the SIM card out and put it in a new phone.

With eSIMS, the user no longer has any control over their SIM card if they cannot access their settings (like when they are setting up a new phone). I cannot physically pull the bad SIM off the phone as it is an eSIM and can only be accessed via settings. In other words, the phone must work/be set up in order for the eSIM to be accessed by the user.

Now, I am working with my carrier to try and unlock my phone/delete the bad SIM/allow me access to settings, but it is unfortunate it is taking so long for them to figure out a solution when the bad eSIM just needs to be deleted from my new phone. There should be a combination of buttons/a button in the initial set up that deletes the eSIM/gives user access to the cellular portion of the phone's settings so they can delete/add eSIMS. With this reasoning, my opinion is that this is something Apple should address, not my carrier.

Update: Apple is pointing fingers at the carrier. The carrier is pointing fingers at Apple. Nobody will fix my phone. Nobody will replace my phone. Nobody will refund me.

I believe this is a major design flaw - the fault is on Apple - there should always be an easy way to delete/add/edit SIMs - INCLUDING eSIMS! Allow users into their cellular settings before the quick start page.

I am unhappy, Apple - now I am out $1000 with no solution.

Update: carrier gave up after 5hr problem solving session - said this is Apple’s issue. Off to the Genius Bar tomorrow.