Activating eSIMs from the MaaS360 Portal

Information about deploying an eSIM configuration from the MaaS360 Portal to activate cellular data plans on eSIM-capable devices.

Traditionally, cellular devices required a physical nano-SIM to activate a cellular plan from a carrier. Carriers assigned a cellular plan and would ship the device with the SIM card. Modern devices now support an embedded SIM (eSIM) that can digitally store this information and function without consuming physical space on the device.

In MaaS360, you can use device actions to deploy eSIM configuration to eSIM capable iOS and iPad devices. This configuration contains an eSIM URL that is purchased from vendors such as Verizon or AT&T. After the deployment, MaaS360 installs the eSIM profile and then activates the cellular plan on devices.
Note: This feature is supported on iPadOS 13+ and iOS 13+ devices.

Deploying eSIM configuration from the MaaS360 Portal

Prerequisites: Administrators must ensure the following:
  • Devices are registered with a cellular network provider.
  • The eSIM provider URL and network tether information is available.
  • (Optional) A device group that requires eSIM activation is created in advance.
Follow these steps to deploy eSIM profiles to multiple devices:
  1. From the MaaS360 Portal Home page, go to Devices > Groups.
  2. Hover over the More option below the device group and then select Manage eSIM Configuration.
  3. Enter the Provider URL and select the Requires Network Tethering checkbox if the device uses network tethering.
    Example of carrier URLs:
    • Verizon: https://2.vzw.otgeuicc.com
    • AT&T: https://cust-001-v4-prod-atl2.gdsb.net
    • T-Mobile: https://t-mobile.gdsb.net
  4. Click Continue.
Follow these steps to deploy an eSIM to an individual device:
  1. From the MaaS360 Portal Home page, go to Devices > Inventory.
  2. Click the View option below the device to open the Device Summary page.
  3. Click the More option in the top-right corner and then select Manage eSIM Configuration. The Manage eSIM Configuration window is displayed.
    eSIM configuration
  4. Enter the Provider URL and select the Requires Network Tethering checkbox if the device uses network tethering.
    Example of carrier URLs:
    • Verizon: https://2.vzw.otgeuicc.com
    • AT&T: https://cust-001-v4-prod-atl2.gdsb.net
    • T-Mobile: https://t-mobile.gdsb.net
  5. Click Continue.

Tracking the eSIM deployment status

After deploying the eSIM profiles to devices, administrators can track the deployment status in the Device History page:

eSIM status

Protecting eSIM on devices

After the eSIM is activated on devices, administrators must preserve the data plan when resetting devices and prevent users from accidentally modifying data plans.

To protect the cellular plan, administrators must turn off the following iOS MDM policy settings and republish the policy:
  • Supervised Settings > Allow erase All Contents & Settings
  • Supervised Settings > Allow Cellular Data Usage Modification

To retain the data plan, administrators must select the Preserve Data Plan checkbox when issuing the Wipe action.

eSIM Wipe action