Personal eSIM brings 5G support to BMW iX and i4

BMW of North America announces today that the Personal eSIM with 5G support is coming to the BMW i4 and iX models sold in the United States. The embedded SIM allows connectivity to a cellular network without a physical, removable SIM card. Therefore, i4 and iX customers can add their cars to the existing mobile phone plans and taking advantage of the 5G antenna installed in the cars. As many as ten devices can be connected to the vehicle’s WiFi hotspot simultaneously, providing users with high-speed internet access for mobile office work or video streaming in full HD quality.

In support of BMW Personal eSIM, T-Mobile is introducing Magenta Drive for BMW. An existing T-Mobile postpaid plan can be extended with T-Mobile Magenta Drive to activate the Personal eSIM in the vehicle. Personal eSIM is linked to the user’s BMW ID, not the vehicle, so it can be transferred to other BMW vehicles that have Personal eSIM functionality. The eSIM is configured automatically when users sign in with their BMW ID and is available immediately. Set-up is completed seamlessly via the My BMW app, and once the vehicle has been added to the plan the customer’s phone does not need to be in the vehicle to make and receive calls using their current cell phone number.

But even without the Personal eSIM, BMW customers can still enjoy the low latency and high bandwidth of a 5G connection when data is exchanged between the BMW Cloud and the vehicle. For example, Remote Software Upgrades can be downloaded to the car in a fraction of the normal time required. Personal eSIM is available as part of the Premium Package on iX xDrive50 and standard on iX M60.