On October 29, 2021, 15 Apple iPhone models, including the "iPhone 13" series, did not meet the technical standards in the telecommunications equipment standard certification system established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. was added to the list of confirmed terminal devices.
When providing wireless communication equipment in Japan, it is basically necessary to acquire a so-called "Technical Conformity Mark" that proves that it conforms to the technical standards stipulated by the Telecommunications Business Law. Of course, all iPhones sold in Japan are sold with this Technical Conformity Mark.
The reason why so many models of the iPhone that many people use normally are on the target list for non-conformity with technical standards, etc. is that it is confirmed that problems occur in specific cases because it was The problem is that there are cases where emergency calls cannot be made when operating with dual SIM.
All models listed this time are equipped with a physical SIM and an eSIM, and if you use a service that can use eSIM, you can operate with dual SIM. If you have a voice call compatible SIM in both of them, there will be no problem, but if one is a voice call compatible SIM and the other is a data communication only SIM, and the data communication only SIM is a "mobile" If you set it to "for data communication", you will not be able to make calls to emergency return such as 110 and 119.
However, setting up a data-only SIM for voice calls is useless. Therefore, due to a series of problems, if the target iPhone uses dual SIM with voice SIM + data SIM, emergency calls cannot be made unless the settings are changed, which could lead to a dangerous situation.
Actually, this problem was announced on September 10, 2021, just before the iPhone 13 series was announced. that have already been announced. On September 24, 2021, a common problem was confirmed for four iPhone 13 series models, and it was already clear that this problem would occur with 15 models.
So, just because it's on this list doesn't mean you can't use an iPhone with an eSIM in Japan. It is not that a series of problems has caused a problem with the equipment related to the radio waves of the iPhone, or that the content of the technical conformity mark is incorrect, but it is currently pointed out that problems will occur depending on how it is used. The response of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications seems to have been implemented to inform users that "Please do not use it in a way that causes problems."
Looking at the list of practical skill aptitudes and incompatibility, some Android smartphones and mobile phones sold by Softbank before have a problem that they cannot connect to emergency calls if they are used without restarting for a long time. It looks like there was a case. However, they seem to have been resolved with software fixes, and the current list only provides links to each company's website for software updates.
I don't know at the moment if the problem with this iPhone can be solved in a similar way, but there are workarounds such as the problem does not occur when operating with a single SIM, so it depends on how you use it. It is certain that users can continue to use their iPhones as long as they are careful. In 2019, it is not possible to reach a substantial terminal recovery, such as Asus Tech Computer's "ZenFone Max Pro (M2)", which became non-conforming due to hardware problems such as the inability to use a specific frequency. Not likely.
However, taking advantage of the dual SIM mechanism, one of the SIMs can be used as a cheap data SIM, and by covering data communication with that SIM, the cost saving technique is gaining popularity, especially among people who are familiar with smartphones. There was also something that was As a result, many people are lamenting that the series of problems has made it impossible to use the method on the iPhone, which is the most popular in the country.
But in a way, IIJ may be the one who laments the most about this issue. This is because IIJ has recently taken advantage of its position as a full MVNO that can issue its own SIMs to strengthen its services for eSIMs.
In particular, the latest rate plan "Giga Plan" is showing an aggressive stance, such as using eSIM for 440 yen per month and using 3GB of communication volume, which can be used with Rakuten Mobile's SIM that can be used for 0 yen per month. It was creating a new trend, such as attracting attention from the advanced layer of smartphones, as it was possible to use smartphones at a very low price due to dual SIM operation.
Of course, Google's "Pixel" series and other Android smartphones equipped with an eSIM do not have the same problems as the iPhone, so the saving technique of using IIJ's data-only eSIM service is still effective. However, since the iPhone has a large number of users in Japan, there is no doubt that the fact that the iPhone can no longer be targeted has hurt the user base.
Then when will this problem be resolved? I think it will be up to Apple. It's been less than two months since the series of problems were made public, and the iPhone 13 series was the target. .
From the iPhone user's point of view, we would like to request an immediate response, but it is expected that it will take some time even if the software update fixes it. iPhone users who want to make full use of eSIM are likely to have to be patient for the time being.
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