eSIM Setup
Great news! Your Tachyon already comes with an eSIM profile preinstalled. You can use this profile to connect to the internet and the Particle Cloud out of the box.
If you'd like to add a third-party eSIM profile, you can follow the instructions below to manually provision one.
At a glance
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Power cycle modem |
| 2 | Download eSIM profile with RSP URL |
| 3 | Enable eSIM profile |
| 4 | Stop particle-tachyon-rild service |
| 5 | Verify active ICCID |
| 6 | Connect using custom APN (manual for now) |
| 7 | Switch back to Particle eSIM (optional) |
What is an eSIM?
An eSIM (Embedded SIM) is a programmable SIM built into your device. It can store multiple profiles and allows you to switch carriers or plans remotely.
The eSIM architecture is defined by GSMA SGP.22, which specifies how eSIM profiles are downloaded and managed through a secure process called Remote SIM Provisioning (RSP).
An RSP URL (Remote SIM Provisioning URL) is used to securely download an eSIM profile to your device.
Important Notes
- Sticky custom APN support is coming soon, for now, custom APNs require manual configuration after each boot using 'connect'
- SIM slot selection is coming soon, by default, the internal eSIM slot is used.
eSIM Third-party Setup
This guide walks you through manually setting up and provisioning a third-party eSIM profile on Tachyon.
Please read through all instructions before starting.
1, Prepare the modem
Log in to your Tachyon as root and execute the following commands:
particle-tachyon-ril-ctl disconnect
particle-tachyon-ril-ctl power off
particle-tachyon-ril-ctl power on
Tip: You can monitor progress via serial debug console or a separate SSH connection:
journalctl -u particle-tachyon-rild -n 100 -f
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2, Download the eSIM profile
Start the download of your new eSIM profile using the RSP (Remote SIM Provisioning) URL provided by your carrier or eSIM provider:
particle-tachyon-ril-ctl esim download '<rsp_url>'
The RSP URL is a secure activation link, provided by your carrier or eSIM provider, typically in this format:
LPA:1$https://example.sm-dp-plus.com?activationcode=XYZ123
• The LPA:1$ prefix is required. • The URL may include query parameters or long tokens. • If entering this command in the terminal, you may need to quote the URL in single quotes ' '. • If the URL contains special characters &, $, ?, =, %, quoting ensures correct parsing.
You can monitor the results in a separate terminal:
particle-tachyon-ril-ctl esim status --follow
• Download starts: 100 • Download success: 101 • Errors: higher 1xx numbers
Note: The download typically takes about 30 seconds but may take a couple of minutes depending on your network connection.
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3, Enable your eSIM profile
Once the profile is downloaded, enable it:
particle-tachyon-ril-ctl esim enable <iccid>
You can retrieve the active ICCID by running:
particle-tachyon-rild sim
The newly downloaded profile will appear in the list of profiles.
- Enable starts: 300
- Enable success: 301
- Errors: higher 3xx numbers
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4, Stop the modem service
Stop the particle-tachyon-rild service to apply custom APN settings:
systemctl stop particle-tachyon-rild
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5, Verify active profile
Verify your active ICCID:
particle-tachyon-rild sim
If your ICCID is not active:
- Re-run esim enable iccid if the profile is listed.
- Re-run esim download if not listed.
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6, Connect with custom APN
Manually connect using your custom APN:
particle-tachyon-rild connect <apn>
Custom APN persistence is coming soon, for now, steps 4 and 6 must be repeated after each reboot.
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7, Switching back to Particle eSIM profile
If you want to switch back to the default Particle eSIM profile:
particle-tachyon-rild disconnect
systemctl start particle-tachyon-rild
particle-tachyon-ril-ctl esim enable <iccid>
particle-tachyon-ril-ctl connect
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Default profiles on the eSIM
The eSIM contains three profiles by default:
- TS.48 test profile — you can delete this.
- Two Particle-provided eSIM profiles — you cannot delete these.