Every Figgers line, on a new DragonX or on a phone the customer already owns, starts with a choice that is easy to skip past at checkout: a mailed SIM card or an eSIM. Both prove to the network who the subscriber is, but they arrive, install and transfer differently. This article explains how each works, how Figgers activates service with either one, how to guard the line against SIM swap fraud, and which option fits common situations across Florida.
Figgers Communication lists both options in the Plans menu on figgers.com. The choice does not change the plan, the price or the coverage, only how the line gets into the phone, how long that takes, and what happens when the handset is replaced.
What a SIM actually does
A SIM is a small secure element: a tamper resistant chip with its own processor and protected memory. It stores the subscriber identity, a number known as the IMSI; a secret authentication key that never leaves the chip; and the operator profile that tells the phone which network to look for.
The phone's radio does the connecting. When the handset finds the network, the network sends the SIM a random challenge. The SIM runs it through the key and returns the result; if the answer matches the one the network computes from its own copy of the key, the line is on the air. Since the key is never transmitted, eavesdropping does not reveal it, and because the identity lives on the chip, a number follows the SIM rather than the phone. A card and an eSIM perform the same authentication. The difference is where the chip lives and how the profile reaches it.
The physical SIM card: mailed, inserted, activated
After a plan purchase, Figgers mails a three in one SIM card kit. One card punches out to the standard, micro or nano size, so the same kit fits any tray. A charge of $4.99 per SIM card is listed at checkout on figgers.com. The switch flow states that a new SIM comes from Figgers within 24 hours; delivery to a rural address in North Florida or the Panhandle can take longer than delivery to a Fort Lauderdale apartment.
Installation is mechanical: open the tray with the ejection pin, seat the card, close the tray and power on. Activation is completed at figgers.com/activate, and the order confirmation carries a QR code that leads to the same page.
The card's strengths are practical. It works in any unlocked compatible phone, moves between phones in seconds with no software steps, and needs no internet connection to install. Its limits are just as practical: it can be lost or damaged, it takes a day or more to arrive by mail, and the tray needs a pin that is easy to misplace.
The eSIM: a permanent chip that downloads its identity
An eSIM is not a card. It is an embedded universal integrated circuit card, or eUICC, soldered to the phone's main board at the factory. The GSMA, which publishes the eSIM specifications, defines the eUICC as a chip that enables remote or local management of profiles in a secure way, and a profile as the data and applications loaded onto it to provide service. The chip is permanent; the carrier identity reaches it through remote SIM provisioning:
The carrier's provisioning system prepares a profile bound to the specific eUICC in the customer's phone.
The carrier issues an activation code, usually as a QR code, though it can also be typed in.
The customer scans or enters the code. Software built into the phone, which the specification calls the Local Profile Assistant, contacts the provisioning server over any internet connection, including Wi-Fi.
The server delivers the encrypted profile and the chip installs it in a disabled state. The customer enables it on screen.
The phone registers on the network exactly as it would with a card.
Nothing is mailed, so activation can finish in minutes once the order is processed. An eUICC can hold more than one profile, which allows dual SIM operation on a phone with a card slot plus an eSIM: one number on the card, a second on the chip. With no card in a tray, there is nothing for a thief to remove.
Figgers offers eSIM as an activation choice on figgers.com: order the plan on the site, then activate by following the instructions in the order confirmation. The phone must support eSIM and must be unlocked, and because Figgers does not publish a model by model compatibility list, confirm with Figgers support at 1-800-223-5435 that the phone qualifies before ordering. Two further limits follow from the design. Moving the line to a new phone means transferring the profile or having a new one issued, and a factory reset can erase the profile; FCC consumer guidance advises wiping eSIM data before an old phone is replaced.
Side by side
| Physical SIM card | eSIM |
How it arrives | Mailed three in one kit | Downloaded profile |
Time to first signal | After mail delivery | Minutes after the order is processed |
Phone requirement | Unlocked and compatible, with a SIM tray | Unlocked and eSIM capable |
Internet needed for setup | No | Yes |
Moving to a new phone | Move the card | Transfer or reissue the profile |
Credential can be pulled from the tray | Yes | No |
SIM swap fraud and how to keep your number yours
Neither format is immune to the most common attack on a phone number, which never touches the chip. In a SIM swap, a criminal persuades, tricks or bribes someone at a provider into moving a victim's number to a SIM or eSIM the criminal controls. In a port out scam, the criminal poses as the victim and has the number transferred to another provider. Either way the attacker starts receiving the victim's calls and texts, including the one time codes that banks send, and uses them to reset passwords. FCC rules adopted in November 2023 require wireless providers to authenticate a customer securely before a SIM change or port, to notify the customer immediately of such a request, and to offer an account lock against both.
The customer controls the rest:
Treat the account PIN and the number transfer PIN like a bank password; nobody legitimate will ask for them in an unsolicited call or text.
Add a PIN lock to the SIM itself in the phone's security settings, so a stolen card is useless without it.
Where a service allows it, use an authenticator app instead of text message codes for sign in.
Treat a sudden loss of signal where coverage is normally good as a warning, and contact Figgers support immediately at 1-800-223-5435.
Wipe the eSIM profile before selling or recycling a phone.
Which option fits which Florida customer
South Florida travelers. A Miami Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County resident who travels abroad often and wants a second number without a second phone can run one line on the card and another on the eSIM of a dual SIM handset. The Global Unlimited plan, listed at $85.00 per month on figgers.com, includes global texting and free Wi-Fi calling on a plane or cruise ship.
Students in Gainesville and Tallahassee. A student who changes phones during a semester gets the most from the card's portability: pull it from a cracked phone, drop it into a loaner, and the line is back in under a minute. Figgers Device Protection, listed at $8.99 per month on figgers.com, handles the cracked screen.
Seniors who prefer a card and a conversation. Figgers support answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-223-5435, and the Support page lists a customized Seniors Saver plan available by phone. A physical SIM, a phone call and the activation page complete the setup without an app.
Families on the Family 4 Lines plan, listed at $160.00 per month on figgers.com, can mix formats: a parent's newer phone may suit eSIM while a teenager's older handset takes the card.
Seasonal residents who split the year between Florida and another state are covered in the newsroom's snowbird article.
Before you order: an eight point checklist
Confirm the phone is unlocked (ask your current provider) and, for eSIM, compatible (ask Figgers support).
Check coverage at your street address at figgers.com/add-new-line.
Decide whether to port your number or start a new line. For a port, gather the account number, the transfer PIN or account password, the last four digits of the account holder's Social Security number, the device IMEI or serial number and the billing ZIP code.
Choose a plan at figgers.com/plans.
Choose SIM Card or eSIM.
Keep the account PIN and transfer PIN private.
Activate at figgers.com/activate, or follow the confirmation email for eSIM.
Do not cancel the old service until the Figgers line is active; a number can only be ported while it is still active with the current provider.
What Florida readers should do next
Match the format to the phone and the habit. If the phone is eSIM capable and speed and theft resistance matter most, confirm compatibility and order the eSIM. If the phone changes often, the owner prefers a tangible card, or the handset has no eSIM, the mailed kit is the dependable choice. Either way, lock the SIM, guard the PINs, and keep 1-800-223-5435 saved.
About Figgers Communication Inc.
Figgers Communication Inc. is an American telecommunications company and device manufacturer headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Founded by Freddie Figgers, the company provides cellular, mobile broadband, home phone and international calling services without an annual contract, and designs its own phones, tablets, laptops and connected hardware. Figgers customer support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone, text and email at 1-800-223-5435 and Customer.Service@Figgers.com, and by live chat at www.figgers.com.