Operation turns regular iPhone XS Max into variant with two physical SIM slots

Chinese tinkerers have managed to turn regular latest-generation iPhones into a version with two physical SIM slots. If you want to repeat this feat at home, you need a lot of tools, patience and maybe a little luck.

If you want to build in the second SIM slot, you will of course need a SIM tray with space for two SIM cards, but it doesn’t stop there. Among other things, it is necessary to disassemble the various layers of the PCB, remove a chip and solder various chips together, according to the video from the Chinese Rewa.

This requires various specialized tools that not every tweaker will have on his workbench, such as heat-resistant tape and means to clean PCBs. Screwdrivers for all the different types of rare screws that Apple uses in its iPhones are also not found in screwdriver sets at the handy store around the corner, although they are easily available online.

The video shows how the Rewa employee surgically removes the e-SIM from the iPhone, after which it is necessary to remove the sim reader from the pcb and solder various underlying chips together. It is of course to be hoped that nothing breaks, because you are working on an almost microscopic level.

It is an interesting exercise, but hardly any user will try this at home with a device that has cost between 860 and 1600 euros. The warranty is voided with this operation, and it is to be expected that the Genius Bar employee at the Apple Store will look at you strangely if you say that the R27_Sim and R30_Sim chips have gone wrong and that you therefore want to have your iPhone repaired.

The latest generation iPhones sold in the Benelux – XS, XS Max and XR – also have dual SIM support. One works with a physical SIM card, the other with e-SIM. None of the major providers in the Benelux support subscriptions via e-SIMs. The variant with two SIM cards is only for sale in China.