Hi Quectel ( @Jason ),
Quectel need to clarify the e-SIM support situation for their modems
The information available on which Quectel models support e-SIM, is very vague.
It seems to me that incorrect ideas are circulating about which Quectel models have the support, for instance this page https : // sparktour . me /2022/11/20/configure-esim-me-card-with-pc-sc-reader/ says “at present, the LTE modules that support eSIM are mainly Quectel RM-50xQ series and Dell’s DW5821E”. Is it so? Where on Quectel’s web site is this stated?
What that page talks about is support for the “e-SIM profile” in Microsoft Windows, which Microsoft documents here: Use an eSIM to get a cellular data connection on your Windows PC - Microsoft Support
Reading that makes me think, are there different levels of e-SIM support?
Few guesses about e-SIM support
For RM50xQ, googling led to this document https://www.quectel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Quectel_RM50xQ_Series_5G_Specification_V1.2.pdf and it says eSIM is “optional”. That is incredibly unclear, @silvia / Quectel can you clarify please
Regarding RG50xQ (note G not M), on the other forum thread Firmware for RM502Q-AE - #40 by herbert.pan-Q see the link to this document https://forums.quectel.com/uploads/short-url/6xIQXOIcNiiRGmiEMUmjxIyHwOp.pdf , and it says “RG500Q-EA&RG502Q-EA” do not have the support but all others (RG500Q-EU RG501Q-EU RG502Q-EU RG500Q-CN RG500Q-GT RG502Q-GT) have it.
Please clarify: Are there different levels of e-SIM support?
The natural follow-up question about which Quectel modems have e-SIM support is then, how do you use the e-SIM support. On Windows, the e-SIM profile section becomes accessible thanks to the Quectel drivers. On Linux,
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To manage e-SIM profiles, are you supposed to use the quectel_lpad tool offered by Quectel, for all Quectel models? (Discussed here RG501Q-EU ESIM (consumer QR code esim) - #3 by esom )
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To connect to an e-SIM for which the profile was, can AT commands be used?
It sounds like AT commands for e-SIM functionality are in the documentation but did not work. Do they actually work presuming the Quectel modem has the latest firmware?
Many thanks for your clarification.
Some references
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Various pages point out that e-SIM support can vary with firmware versions. The pre-installed firmware may not support it. Here is a long thread re. RM502Q firmware Firmware for RM502Q-AE - #328 by fguerrprot .
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The thread Quectel eSIM/eUICC supported hardware - #40 by karm discusses e-SIM support.
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At https://www.quectel.com/product/5g-rm50xq-series and in the broschure Quectel_Product_Brochure_v7.6.pdf, there is no clear mentioning of eSIM support for RM50xQ (RM500Q, RM502Q, RM505Q).
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Silvia mentions here Questions regarding RM520N-GL support for e-sim - #3 by esom that the firmware release notes mention if eSIM is supported. Not sure if there are levels. Well @silvia where is the firmware found to be downloaded, is the firmware for all Quectel models and including changelog published in this downloadable archive "
Quectel_Customer_FW_Download_Tool_V6.8_EN" at Quectel_Customer_FW_Download_Tool_V6.8_EN | Quectel ? -
More documentation: https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/RM50x
Update: Gosh, by googling, I found a product sheet for RM50xQ (= RM500Q, RM502Q, RM505Q) here https://www.quectel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Quectel_RM50xQ_Series_5G_Specification_V1.2.pdf . It says all RM50xQ have “eSIM” as “optional”. That may mean supported, but it really lacks detail.
Here is the same product sheet for another model https://www.quectel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Quectel_RM520N-Series_5G_Specification_V1.1.pdf and it says optional there too. @silvia / @Jason what does this mean?