IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,924,916
Granted Patent B2
US 11,924,916 · App. 17/555,205 · Granted Mar 5, 2024

Integrated standalone flow for cellular subscription transfer

Inventors: Raj S. Chaugule (Santa Clara, CA); Alex M. Was (Cupertino, CA); Avinash Narasimhan (San Francisco, CA); Damien R. Holzapfel (Campbell, CA); He Zheng (Irvine, CA); Li Li (Saratoga, CA); Timothy M. Sheridan (Cedar Park, TX); Vikram B. Yerrabommanahalli (Cupertino, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
H04W8/18H04W12/033H04W12/35
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,924,916
App. No.
17/555,205
Granted
Mar 5, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

A user equipment (UE) is configured to transmit, to a cellular carrier, a request to activate the UE with the cellular carrier. The UE is also configured to, in response to receiving an authentication request for authenticating a user of the UE, transmit, to the cellular carrier, information identifying another UE and authentication information for authenticating the user ; prompt the user, via a display of the UE, to provide, to an input system of the UE, verification information transmitted to the other UE; transmit, to the cellular carrier, the verification information; and in response to validation of the verification information by the cellular carrier, receive an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) subscription transferred from the other UE.

Claims (49)

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising:

a transceiver; and

a processor, configured to,

transmit, using the transceiver of the UE, a request to activate the UE with a cellular carrier;

in response to receiving an authentication request for authenticating a user of the UE, transmit, using the transceiver of the UE and to the cellular carrier, information identifying another UE and authentication information for authenticating the user;

obtain verification information transmitted to the other UE;

transmit, using the transceiver of the UE and to the cellular carrier, the verification information; and

in response to validation of the verification information by the cellular carrier, receive an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) subscription transferred from the other UE.

2. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

transmit, using the transceiver of the UE and to the cellular carrier, a notification of a status of the eSIM subscription transfer.

3. The UE of claim 1 , wherein:

at least one of the request to activate the UE, the information identifying the other UE, the authentication information, or the verification information is transmitted to an endpoint configured in a memory of the UE, the endpoint configured to provide activation service to the UE, and

the verification information is obtained by prompting the user, using a display of the UE, to provide the verification information via an input system of the UE.

4. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

encrypt, before transmitting to the cellular carrier, at least one of the authentication information for authenticating the user, or the verification information.

5. The UE of claim 4 , wherein the at least one of the authentication information or the verification information is encrypted based on a configuration file including one or more keys for encrypting the authentication information or the verification information.

6. The UE of claim 5 , wherein the one or more keys for encrypting the authentication information or the password are valid for a limited time duration.

7. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the verification information includes one or more of: a one-time password (OTP), a personal identification number (PIN), a password, a phrase, an image, or machine-readable code.

8. A method of a user equipment (UE), comprising:

transmitting, using a transceiver of the UE, a request to activate the UE with a cellular carrier;

in response to receiving an authentication request for authenticating a user of the UE, transmitting, using the transceiver of the UE and to the cellular carrier, information identifying another UE and authentication information for authenticating the user;

obtaining verification information transmitted to the other UE;

transmitting, using the transceiver of the UE and to the cellular carrier, the verification information; and

in response to validation of the verification information by the cellular carrier, receiving an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) subscription transferred from the other UE.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein further comprising:

transmitting, using the transceiver of the UE and to the cellular carrier, a notification of a status of the eSIM subscription transfer.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein:

at least one of the request to activate the UE, the information identifying the other UE, the authentication information, or the verification information is transmitted to an endpoint configured in a memory of the UE, the endpoint configured to provide activation service to the UE, and

obtaining the verification information comprises prompting the user, using a display of the UE, to provide the verification information via an input system of the UE.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein further comprising:

encrypting, before transmitting to the cellular carrier, at least one of the authentication information for authenticating the user, or the verification information.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one of the authentication information or the verification information is encrypted based on a configuration file including one or more keys for encrypting the authentication information or the verification information.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the one or more keys for encrypting the authentication information or the password are valid for a limited time duration.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the verification information includes one or more of: a one-time password (OTP), a personal identification number (PIN), a password, a phrase, an image, or machine-readable code.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program code for wireless communication, the program code executable by a processor to:

transmit, using a transceiver of a user equipment (UE), a request to activate the UE with a cellular carrier;

in response to receiving an authentication request for authenticating a user of the UE, transmitting, use the transceiver of the UE and to the cellular carrier, information identifying another UE and authentication information for authenticating the user;

obtain verification information transmitted to the other UE;

transmit, using the transceiver of the UE and to the cellular carrier, the verification information; and

in response to validation of the verification information by the cellular carrier, receive an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) subscription transferred from the other UE.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the program code is further executable by the processor to:

transmit, using the transceiver of the UE and to the cellular carrier, a notification of a status of the eSIM subscription transfer.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein:

at least one of the request to activate the UE, the information identifying the other UE, the authentication information, or the verification information is transmitted to an endpoint configured in a memory of the UE, the endpoint configured to provide activation service to the UE, and

the verification information is obtained by prompting the user, using a display of the UE, to provide the verification information via an input system of the UE.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the program code is further executable by the processor to:

encrypt, before transmitting to the cellular carrier, at least one of the authentication information for authenticating the user, or the verification information.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the at least one of the authentication information or the verification information is encrypted based on a configuration file including one or more keys for encrypting the authentication information or the verification information.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the verification information includes one or more of: a one-time password (OTP), a personal identification number (PIN), a password, a phrase, an image, or machine-readable code.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 12, 2022
From: CHAUGULE, RAJ S.; WAS, ALEX M.; NARASIMHAN, AVINASH; HOLZAPFEL, DAMIEN R.; ZHENG, HE; LI, LI; SHERIDAN, TIMOTHY M.; YERRABOMMANAHALLI, VIKRAM B.
To: APPLE INC.
Reel/Frame 058632/0285 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230199471A1 · Jun 22, 2023