iphone xs max dual sim problem: second sim card gets disconnected

***UPDATE*** The latest update to 12.2 seems to have fixed my issue. I show signal now on both lines with my E-Sim as my personal line and physical sim as my business. Working fine since the update over the weekend

I have the same issue. I’ve found that the physical sim will work with the esim turned off. What are your esim and physical sim providers? I tried with both Verizon SIM cards and it worked fine then I tried with Verizon esim my main provider and a straight talk sim and it wouldn’t work unless one or the other was off.

I have precisely the same issue. Upgraded my X to XS specifically for the dual sim support, but I have missed so many calls and messages since on my physically sim card number. A ‘restart’ help temporarily until I suddenly get a too quiet phone once again.

Wonder if it’s a hardware or software issue, since this is an issue even after the 12.1.2 upgrade.

Anyone figured out a solution or cause?

After some trial and error I got both sims to work at the same time. With a catch though. Having my main line Verizon (esim) set as my primary Straight talk as my physical sim. The only way both would work at the same time was if I set the straight talk as my data. How ever if I use both Verizon sims all functionality works fine.

Thanks for your reply. I use my main (esim) already as both my talk and data.

My secondary (physically) only calls/messages. It works but only until my secondary suddenly become too silent and restart is needed.

Crossing my fingers for a fix.

We definitely need Apple to provide an answer, this is definitely an issue for many people in the US and abroad.

I too bought the iPhone XS Max so that I can use a single phone when traveling abroad. I am using AT&T with an eSIM and Movistar on the physical SIM, and the problem is consistent, it doesn't matter which one I have as primary for voice or data, Movistar's physical SIM will stop working when switching from Wireless or if the signal is poor. The only way to get it to work is when I turn off the line and turn it back on after about 30 seconds. The problem is that sometimes the phone will give me a SIM card error, forcing me to restart the phone.

By the way, every time that the issue happens, Face ID will stop working and I have to reenter my PIN.

Current iOS at the time of this post: 12.1.4 (16D57)

I believe I found a solution to this issue:

First let me clarify, the iPhone XS and R models only accept one physical SIM card and as many eSIM cards as you can add, however, only two of the SIMs can be active at the time.

On my end, I believe the issue started when I added the eSIM, for some reason the iPhone had problems between the primary and secondary accounts.

After much troubleshooting, I decided to replace the SIM on the phone, and after the SIM replacement I have had no further issues. I would suggest each person having issues, that while the phone is On, remove the SIM and try inserting it again, if you continue experiencing issues, I would suggest a SIM replacement.

We definitely need Apple to provide an answer, this is definitely an issue for many people in the US and abroad.

In that case, you will need to contact Apple. This is a user-to-user support forum. Apple's participation here is mostly limited to making sure the rules get followed and no fights break out.

Use the Contact Support link in the upper right corner of every page of these forums to get in touch with Apple directly.

I have this same issue in india. Specifically upgraded to Xs for the dual sim. I use Jio as my physical sim and airtel as my esim. The problem is both the sim drops network anytime and frequently, so frequent that i am not able to make any calls and cannot use data. Even after having all network bars I am not able to receice calls. I have to manually restart my phone everytime. What temporary solution I had is to use only one sim that is airtel(esim) meaning my updgrading to Xs is just a waste of money.

I had the same problem with an eSim installed for my (EU) country of residence and a "hard" sim for another EU country that I visit for extended periods of time. I had installed both data plans in my first country. Everything worked fine for both sims, until the day I traveled to my "second" country, then that sim stopped receiving calls.

The solution for me was to go to Settings>Mobile Data>[Data plan for second country] and toggle "Turn On This Line" to off and back to on again. That was all. Maybe this can help someone in a similar situation.

I have same issue on xs max in canada too i am using verizon as e sim and rogers as physical sim . I notice which sim i select as secendry account start giving me problem . Went to apple store they have no asnwer apple should do something its premium device from apple

I have one sim from At&t and regular sim from Telcel(Mexico) and when activate any second line sim or regular sim say activation needed and when try to activate say sim not supported and viceversa whit the other sim ... I can have only one line on time active but both work .... sad!

I solved this issue by disabling the 4G on the standby line

Exactly! This is the only combination I could get to show both network signals. Thanks for sharing and hopefully they get this fixed soon