CN112261642A

CN112261642A - Method for transferring subscription and electronic device for supporting the same

Info

Publication number: CN112261642A
Application number: CN202010635980.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李相晖; 郑知恩; 朴知民; 潘亨镇; 徐载弦; 尹睿振; 黄善民
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-07-03
Filing date: 2020-07-03
Publication date: 2021-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 2040-07-03
Also published as: KR20210004809A; CN112261642B

Abstract

A method according to an embodiment, comprising: establishing a short-range communication connection between the electronic device and an external electronic device through a first wireless communication circuit configured to support a first communication protocol; obtaining, by a first wireless communication circuit, subscription information of a first profile stored in a first Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) of an external electronic device from the external electronic device; transmitting, by a second wireless communication circuit configured to support a second communication protocol, at least a portion of the subscription information; acquiring authentication information provided by a first server from an external electronic device through a first wireless communication circuit; sending authentication information to the first server through the second wireless communication circuit; based on sending the authentication information to the first server, obtaining, by the second wireless communication circuit, a second profile corresponding to the first profile from a second server associated with the first server; and storing the second profile to a second SIM of the electronic device.

Description

Method for transferring subscription and electronic device for supporting the same

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a method for transferring a subscription and an electronic device supporting the same.

Background

The electronic apparatus may perform wireless communication using a network provided by a communication carrier. The electronic device may use the profile stored in the electronic device to authenticate with a server provided by a communication carrier, thereby using a network provided by the communication carrier.

A Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) is a smart card used by being inserted into a mobile communication terminal. The UICC may store personal information of a mobile communication subscriber and perform subscriber authentication and service security key generation when accessing a mobile communication network, thereby enabling secure use of mobile communication.

When manufacturing a card, the UICC is manufactured as a dedicated card for a corresponding operator at the request of a specific mobile communication operator, and authentication information for network access of the corresponding operator, such as a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) application and an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), may be preloaded at the time of factory shipment.

Recently, embedded uiccs (euiccs) have been developed, which can be embedded in an electronic device (e.g., a motherboard of an electronic device) and can be installed by remotely downloading a profile. The eUICC is small in size (or can be miniaturized) and can store multiple profiles, as compared to a detachable physical UICC that can be inserted into or detached from an electronic device.

Conventionally, a user transfers a physical UICC (which is inserted into an existing electronic device) and inserts it into a new electronic device, thereby transferring a subscriber to the new electronic device while maintaining authentication information, a mobile communication phone number, and a personal phone book stored in the UICC.

However, when the subscription is intended to be transferred from a conventionally used UICC to a new electronic apparatus including an eUICC, if the new electronic apparatus does not include a structure for inserting a physical UICC (e.g., a slot for inserting the UICC), it may be difficult to transfer the subscription in such a manner that the physical UICC inserted into the existing electronic apparatus is transferred and the new electronic apparatus is inserted.

Further, a method for transferring a subscription from an existing electronic device comprising an eUICC to a new electronic device comprising the eUICC may be claimed.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for transferring a subscription and an electronic device supporting the same, which is capable of transferring a subscription without transferring a physical UICC from an existing terminal to a new electronic device.

An electronic apparatus according to an example embodiment may include: the wireless communication device includes first wireless communication circuitry configured to support a first communication protocol, second wireless communication circuitry configured to support a second communication protocol, at least one processor operatively coupled to the first wireless communication circuitry and the second wireless communication circuitry, and memory operatively coupled to the at least one processor. The memory may store instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to control the electronic device to: the method includes establishing a short-range communication connection between an electronic device and an external electronic device through a first wireless communication circuit, obtaining subscription information of a first profile stored in a first Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) of the external electronic device from the external electronic device through the first wireless communication circuit, transmitting at least a portion of the subscription information to a first server through a second wireless communication circuit, obtaining authentication information provided by the first server from the external electronic device through the first wireless communication circuit, transmitting the authentication information to the first server through the second wireless communication circuit, obtaining a second profile corresponding to the first profile from a second server associated with the first server through the second wireless communication circuit based on transmitting the authentication information to the first server, and storing the second profile to a second SIM card of the electronic device.

A method according to an example embodiment may include: establishing a short-range communication connection between the electronic device and an external electronic device through a first wireless communication circuit configured to support a first communication protocol, obtaining subscription information of a first profile stored in a first SIM of the external electronic device from the external electronic device through the first wireless communication circuit, transmitting at least a portion of the subscription information to a first server through a second wireless communication circuit configured to support a second communication protocol, the method includes obtaining, by a first wireless communication circuit, authentication information provided by a first server from an external electronic device, sending the authentication information to the first server by a second wireless communication circuit, obtaining, by the second wireless communication circuit, a second profile corresponding to the first profile from a second server associated with the first server based on sending the authentication information to the first server, and storing the second profile to a second SIM card of the electronic device.

An electronic device according to an example embodiment may include communication circuitry, at least one processor operatively coupled with the communication circuitry, and memory operatively coupled with the at least one processor. The memory may store instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to control the electronic device to: the method includes confirming that a physical first SIM is inserted into the electronic device, authenticating the first server and a user of the electronic device through the communication server using a first profile of the first SIM based on performing authentication on the user, obtaining, through the communication circuit, a second profile corresponding to the first profile from a second server associated with the communication circuit, and storing the second profile in a second SIM card of the electronic device.

Drawings

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device in a network environment, according to an embodiment;

fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example processor, communication processor, embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM), and physical sim (psim) included in an electronic device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example system for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription according to an embodiment;

fig. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 8 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription according to an embodiment;

fig. 9A is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 9B is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 11 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription, according to an embodiment;

fig. 12A is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 12B is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 13 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription, according to an embodiment;

fig. 14A is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 14B is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 16 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription, according to an embodiment;

fig. 17A is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 17B is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 17C is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 17D is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 19 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription, according to an embodiment;

fig. 20A is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 20B is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment;

fig. 20C is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment; and

fig. 20D is a diagram illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device 101 in a network environment 100, in accordance with various embodiments. Referring to fig. 1, an electronic device 101 in a network environment 100 may communicate with an electronic device 102 via a first network 198 (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network) or with an electronic device 104 or a server 108 via a second network 199 (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may communicate with the electronic device 104 via the server 108. According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may include a processor 120, a memory 130, an input device 150, a sound output device 155, a display device 160, an audio module 170, a sensor module 176, an interface 177, a haptic module 179, a camera module 180, a power management module 188, a battery 189, a communication module 190, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)196, or an antenna module 197. In some embodiments, at least one of the components (e.g., display device 160 or camera module 180) may be omitted from electronic device 101, or one or more other components may be added to electronic device 101. In some embodiments, some of the components may be implemented as a single integrated circuit. For example, the sensor module 176 (e.g., a fingerprint sensor, an iris sensor, or an illuminance sensor) may be implemented to be embedded in the display device 160 (e.g., a display).

The processor 120 may run, for example, software (e.g., the program 140) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware component or a software component) of the electronic device 101 connected to the processor 120, and may perform various data processing or calculations. According to one embodiment, as at least part of the data processing or calculation, processor 120 may load commands or data received from another component (e.g., sensor module 176 or communication module 190) into volatile memory 132, process the commands or data stored in volatile memory 132, and store the resulting data in non-volatile memory 134. According to an embodiment, the processor 120 may include a main processor 121 (e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or an Application Processor (AP)) and an auxiliary processor 123 (e.g., a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), an Image Signal Processor (ISP), a sensor hub processor, or a Communication Processor (CP)) that is operatively independent of or in conjunction with the main processor 121. Additionally or alternatively, the auxiliary processor 123 may be adapted to consume less power than the main processor 121, or be adapted specifically for a specified function. The auxiliary processor 123 may be implemented separately from the main processor 121 or as part of the main processor 121.

The auxiliary processor 123 may control at least some of the functions or states associated with at least one of the components of the electronic device 101 (e.g., the display device 160, the sensor module 176, or the communication module 190) when the main processor 121 is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, or the auxiliary processor 123 may control at least some of the functions or states associated with at least one of the components of the electronic device 101 (e.g., the display device 160, the sensor module 176, or the communication module 190) with the main processor 121 when the main processor 121 is in an active state (e.g., running an application). According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor 123 (e.g., an image signal processor or a communication processor) may be implemented as part of another component (e.g., the camera module 180 or the communication module 190) that is functionally related to the auxiliary processor 123.

The memory 130 may store various data used by at least one component of the electronic device 101 (e.g., the processor 120 or the sensor module 176). The various data may include, for example, software (e.g., program 140) and input data or output data for commands associated therewith. The memory 130 may include volatile memory 132 or non-volatile memory 134.

The program 140 may be stored in the memory 130 as software, and the program 140 may include, for example, an Operating System (OS)142, middleware 144, or an application 146.

The input device 150 may receive commands or data from outside of the electronic device 101 (e.g., a user) to be used by other components of the electronic device 101, such as the processor 120. The input device 150 may include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard, or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen).

The sound output device 155 may output a sound signal to the outside of the electronic device 101. The sound output device 155 may include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used for general purposes such as playing multimedia or playing a record and the receiver may be used for incoming calls. Depending on the embodiment, the receiver may be implemented separate from the speaker, or as part of the speaker.

Display device 160 may visually provide information to the exterior of electronic device 101 (e.g., a user). The display device 160 may include, for example, a display, a holographic device, or a projector, and control circuitry for controlling a respective one of the display, holographic device, and projector. According to embodiments, the display device 160 may include touch circuitry adapted to detect a touch or sensor circuitry (e.g., a pressure sensor) adapted to measure the intensity of a force caused by a touch.

The audio module 170 may convert sound into an electrical signal and vice versa. According to embodiments, the audio module 170 may obtain sound via the input device 150 or output sound via the sound output device 155 or a headset of an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102) directly (e.g., wired) connected or wirelessly connected with the electronic device 101.

The sensor module 176 may detect an operating state (e.g., power or temperature) of the electronic device 101 or an environmental state (e.g., state of a user) external to the electronic device 101 and then generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected state. According to an embodiment, the sensor module 176 may include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyroscope sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an Infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor.

The interface 177 may support one or more particular protocols to be used to directly (e.g., wired) or wirelessly connect the electronic device 101 with an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102). According to an embodiment, the interface 177 may include, for example, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, a Secure Digital (SD) card interface, or an audio interface.

The connection end 178 may include a connector via which the electronic device 101 may be physically connected with an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102). According to an embodiment, the connection end 178 may include, for example, an HDMI connector, a USB connector, an SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector).

The haptic module 179 may convert the electrical signal into a mechanical stimulus (e.g., vibration or motion) or an electrical stimulus that may be recognized by the user via his sense of touch or kinesthesia. According to an embodiment, the haptic module 179 may include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electrical stimulator.

The camera module 180 may capture still images or moving images. According to an embodiment, the camera module 180 may include one or more lenses, an image sensor, an image signal processor, or a flash.

The power management module 188 may manage power to the electronic device 101. According to an embodiment, the power management module 188 may be implemented as at least part of a Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC), for example.

The battery 189 may power at least one component of the electronic device 101. According to an embodiment, the battery 189 may include, for example, a non-rechargeable primary cell, a rechargeable secondary cell, or a fuel cell.

The communication module 190 may support establishing a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the electronic device 101 and an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102, the electronic device 104, or the server 108), and performing communication via the established communication channel. The communication module 190 may include one or more communication processors capable of operating independently of the processor 120 (e.g., an Application Processor (AP)) and supporting direct (e.g., wired) communication or wireless communication. According to an embodiment, the communication module 190 may include a wireless communication module 192 (e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communication module 194 (e.g., a Local Area Network (LAN) communication module or a Power Line Communication (PLC) module). A respective one of these communication modules may communicate with external electronic devices via a first network 198 (e.g., a short-range communication network such as bluetooth, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) direct, or infrared data association (IrDA)) or a second network 199 (e.g., a long-range communication network such as a cellular network, the internet, or a computer network (e.g., a LAN or Wide Area Network (WAN))). These various types of communication modules may be implemented as a single component (e.g., a single chip), or may be implemented as multiple components (e.g., multiple chips) that are separate from one another. The wireless communication module 192 may identify and authenticate the electronic device 101 in a communication network, such as the first network 198 or the second network 199, using subscriber information, such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), stored in the subscriber identity module 196.

The antenna module 197 may transmit signals or power to or receive signals or power from outside of the electronic device 101 (e.g., an external electronic device). According to an embodiment, the antenna module 197 may include an antenna including a radiating element composed of a conductive material or conductive pattern formed in or on a substrate (e.g., a PCB). According to an embodiment, the antenna module 197 may include a plurality of antennas. In this case, at least one antenna suitable for a communication scheme used in a communication network, such as the first network 198 or the second network 199, may be selected from the plurality of antennas by, for example, the communication module 190 (e.g., the wireless communication module 192). Signals or power may then be transmitted or received between the communication module 190 and the external electronic device via the selected at least one antenna. According to an embodiment, additional components other than the radiating element, such as a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), may be additionally formed as part of the antenna module 197.

At least some of the above components may be interconnected and communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) communicatively between them via an inter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., bus, General Purpose Input Output (GPIO), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), or Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI)).

According to an embodiment, commands or data may be sent or received between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 104 via the server 108 connected with the second network 199. Each of the electronic device 102 and the electronic device 104 may be the same type of device as the electronic device 101 or a different type of device from the electronic device 101. According to embodiments, all or some of the operations to be performed at the electronic device 101 may be performed at one or more of the external electronic device 102, the external electronic device 104, or the server 108. For example, if the electronic device 101 should automatically perform a function or service or should perform a function or service in response to a request from a user or another device, the electronic device 101 may request the one or more external electronic devices to perform at least part of the function or service instead of or in addition to performing the function or service. The one or more external electronic devices that received the request may perform the requested at least part of the functions or services or perform another function or another service related to the request and transmit the result of the execution to the electronic device 101. The electronic device 101 may provide the result as at least a partial reply to the request with or without further processing of the result. To this end, for example, cloud computing technology, distributed computing technology, or client-server computing technology may be used.

The electronic device according to various embodiments may be one of various types of electronic devices. The electronic device may comprise, for example, a portable communication device (e.g., a smartphone), a computer device, a portable multimedia device, a portable medical device, a camera, a wearable device, or a home appliance. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic devices are not limited to those described above.

It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present disclosure and the terms used therein are not intended to limit the technical features set forth herein to specific embodiments, but include various changes, equivalents, or alternatives to the respective embodiments. For the description of the figures, like reference numerals may be used to refer to like or related elements. It will be understood that a noun in the singular corresponding to a term may include one or more things unless the relevant context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, each of the phrases such as "a or B," "at least one of a and B," "at least one of a or B," "A, B or C," "at least one of A, B and C," and "at least one of A, B or C" may include any or all possible combinations of the items listed together with the respective one of the plurality of phrases. As used herein, terms such as "1 st" and "2 nd" or "first" and "second" may be used to distinguish one element from another element simply and not to limit the elements in other respects (e.g., importance or order). It will be understood that, if an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being "coupled to", "connected to" or "connected to" another element (e.g., a second element), it can be directly (e.g., wiredly) connected to, wirelessly connected to, or connected to the other element via a third element, when the term "operatively" or "communicatively" is used or not.

As used herein, the term "module" may include units implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, and may be used interchangeably with other terms (e.g., "logic," "logic block," "portion," or "circuitry"). A module may be a single integrated component adapted to perform one or more functions or a minimal unit or portion of the single integrated component. For example, according to an embodiment, the modules may be implemented in the form of Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs).

The various embodiments set forth herein may be implemented as software (e.g., program 140) comprising one or more instructions stored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory 136 or external memory 138) that is readable by a machine (e.g., electronic device 101). For example, under control of a processor, a processor (e.g., processor 120) of the machine (e.g., electronic device 101) may invoke and execute at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, with or without the use of one or more other components. This enables the machine to be operable to perform at least one function in accordance with the invoked at least one instruction. The one or more instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code capable of being executed by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Where the term "non-transitory storage medium" is a tangible device and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagnetic wave), the term does not distinguish between data being stored semi-permanently in the storage medium and data being stored temporarily in the storage medium. For example, a "non-transitory storage medium" may include a buffer that temporarily stores data.

According to embodiments, methods according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may be included and provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be used as a product for conducting a transaction between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium, such as a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), or may be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) online via an application store (e.g., a Play store), or may be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones). If published online, at least part of the computer program product (e.g., the downloadable application) may be temporarily generated or at least part of the computer program product may be temporarily stored in a machine-readable storage medium, such as a memory of a manufacturer's server, a server of an application store, or a forwarding server.

According to various embodiments, each of the above components (e.g., modules or programs) may comprise a single entity or multiple entities. According to various embodiments, one or more of the above-described components may be omitted, or one or more other components may be added. Alternatively or additionally, multiple components (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a single component. In such a case, according to various embodiments, the integrated component may still perform one or more functions of each of the plurality of components in the same or similar manner as the corresponding one of the plurality of components performed the one or more functions prior to integration. Operations performed by a module, program, or another component may be performed sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or in a heuristic manner, or one or more of the operations may be performed in a different order or omitted, or one or more other operations may be added, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram 200 illustrating an example processor, communication processor, embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM), and physical sim (psim) included in an electronic device, according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 2, an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 101 of fig. 1) according to an embodiment may include a processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) 210 (e.g., processor 120 of fig. 1), a communication processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) 220 (e.g., communication module 190 of fig. 1), and an eSIM 230 (e.g., SIM 196 of fig. 1). The pSIM 240 (SIM 196 of fig. 1) may be inserted into the electronic device 101. Although it is illustrated in fig. 2 by way of example that the eSIM 230 is included in the electronic apparatus 101, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the eSIM 230 can be implemented such that it can be inserted into and separated from the electronic device 101 (e.g., a structure (or medium) in which the eSIM 230 is embedded can be inserted into and separated from the electronic device 101) from the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, the eSIM 230 can be embedded in the electronic device 101 and can store a first profile related to a first communication service.

In an embodiment, the pSIM 240, as a pluggable or detachable SIM or SIM card, may store a second profile associated with a second communication service. In an embodiment, the structure associated with the pSIM 240 may be omitted. For example, the electronic device 101 may not include a slot for receiving the pSIM 240, and the electronic device 101 may include only the eSIM 230. In an embodiment, if the electronic device 101 does not include a slot for receiving the pSIM 240, the electronic device 101 may not include the second protocol stack 225 and/or the pSIM-related tasks 217.

In an embodiment, the communication processor 220 may include various processing circuitry and controls the pSIM 240 and eSIM 230. The communication processor 230 may use the second profile included in the pSIM 240 to authenticate with a server managed by an operator providing the second communication service. Based on the authentication result with respect to the second communication service, the communication processor 220 may perform data transmission or reception using the second communication service. The communication processor 220 can authenticate with a server managed by an operator providing the first communication service using the first profile stored in the eSIM 230. Based on the authentication result with respect to the first communication service, the communication processor 220 may perform data transmission or reception using the first communication service.

In an embodiment, the communication processor 220 can include a SIM interface 221 for transmitting and/or receiving data with respect to the pSIM 240 or eSIM 230. The communication processor 220 can support data communication between the processor 210 and the pSIM 240 or between the processor 210 and the eSIM 230 through the SIM interface 221.

In an embodiment, the first protocol stack 223 and the second protocol stack 225 may be implemented on the communication processor 220. The first and second protocol stacks 223, 225 can include a set of protocols related to the operation of the eSIM 230 or the pSIM 240. The first protocol stack 223 may include a task for confirming whether the eSIM 230 exists or a task for transmitting a polling signal to the eSIM 230 for a preset period. The second protocol stack 225 may include a task for confirming whether the pSIM 240 exists or a task for transmitting a polling signal to the pSIM 240 at a preset period. The communication processor 220 may support a plurality of protocol stacks including a first protocol stack 223 and a second protocol stack 225. One protocol stack may support at least one wireless communication technology among various communication schemes (e.g., GSM, UMTS, LTE, CDMA, and 5G).

In an embodiment, the interface 221, the first protocol stack 223, or the second protocol stack 225 may be implemented in software on the communication processor 220.

In an embodiment, the Local User Interface (LUI)211, the local profile assistant (LPAd)213 in the device, and the framework 215 may be implemented in software on the processor 210.

In an embodiment, the LUI 211 may provide a user interface related to the configuration of a first communication service or management of a first profile that may be supported by the eSIM 230.

According to an embodiment, the LPAd 213 may include an application for performing management of at least one profile that may be stored in the eSIM 230. The LPAd 213 may perform management of the first profile (e.g., various management including installing, activating, deactivating, and modifying the first profile, deleting the first profile, updating the first profile).

In an embodiment, a framework (e.g., a phone framework) 215 (e.g., middleware 144 of fig. 1) may provide various functionality to an application such that functionality provided from one or more resources of electronic device 101 may be used by the application. The framework 215 according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include a phone framework capable of supporting either the first communication service or the second communication service.

In an embodiment, the frame 215 may include: an eSIM-related task 216 to support a function of a first communication service corresponding to the eSIM 230; and pSIM-related tasks 217 running on the framework 215 to support the functionality of the second communication service corresponding to the pSIM 240.

In an example embodiment, the instructions, when executed, may cause the at least one processor to control the electronic device to: the method further includes requesting the external electronic device to provide subscription information in response to establishing the short-range communication connection between the electronic device and the external electronic device, and obtaining the subscription information from the external electronic device through the first wireless communication circuit in response to requesting the external electronic device to provide the subscription information.

In an example embodiment, the subscription information may include at least one of an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and a mobile station international subscriber directory number (MISDN) of the first SIM.

In an example embodiment, the authentication information may include a one-time password (OTP) generated in the first server.

In an example embodiment, the instructions, when executed, may cause the processor to control the electronic device to: transmitting an Identifier (ID) of the external electronic device and a port number of a port of the authentication information for receiving the electronic device, and at least a part of the subscription information to the first server through the second wireless communication circuit.

In an example embodiment, the second SIM may comprise an embedded SIM (esim). The eSIM may be embedded in the electronic device or may be implemented in a detachable manner.

In an example embodiment, the MSISDN included in the second profile may be the same as the MSISDN of the first SIM.

In an example embodiment, the electronic device 101 may also include a processor coupled to the second SIM. Based on the second profile being activated, the communication processor may be configured to perform communication using the activated second profile.

In an example embodiment, the instructions, when executed, may cause the processor to control the electronic device to transmit, by the second wireless communication circuitry, a profile list including the second profile stored in a second SIM to the first server based on storing the second profile in the second SIM of the electronic device.

An electronic apparatus according to an example embodiment may include: the apparatus includes communication circuitry, at least one processor operatively coupled with the communication circuitry, and memory operatively coupled with the at least one processor. The memory may store instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to control the electronic device to: the method includes confirming that a physical first SIM is inserted into the electronic device, authenticating the first server and a user of the electronic device through the communication server using a first profile of the first SIM based on performing authentication on the user, obtaining, through the communication circuit, a second profile corresponding to the first profile from a second server associated with the first server, and storing the second profile in a second SIM card of the electronic device.

In an example embodiment, the second SIM may comprise an eSIM. The eSIM may be embedded in the electronic device or may be implemented in a detachable manner.

Fig. 3 is a diagram 300 illustrating an example system for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 3, in an embodiment, a system for transferring a subscription may include an electronic device 101, an external electronic device 103, a first server 108-1, and a second server 108-2.

In an embodiment, a "Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC)" may include a chip for storing personal information such as network access authentication information, a phone book, or SMS of a mobile communication subscriber, and may refer to, for example, a smart card used by being inserted into the electronic device 101 (or the external electronic device 103) to enable the use of secure mobile communication by performing subscriber authentication and service security key generation when accessing a mobile communication network such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, and the like. Depending on the type of mobile communications network that a subscriber may access, the UICC may be equipped with a communication application of a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), a universal SIM (usim), or an IP multimedia SIM (isim), and may provide advanced security functions to load various applications such as electronic wallets, ticketing, electronic passwords, etc.

In embodiments, the UICC may include a detachable physical UICC (e.g., pSIM 240 of fig. 2) and/or an eUICC (e.g., eSIM 230 of fig. 2) that may be inserted into the electronic apparatus 101 or may be detached from the electronic apparatus 101.

In embodiments, the embedded uicc (euicc) may include a secure module of a built-in chip type included in the electronic apparatus 101, rather than a detachable type that may be inserted into the electronic apparatus 101 or may be detached from the electronic apparatus 101. The eUICC can be installed by downloading the profile, for example, Over The Air (OTA) technology. The eUICC can be applied as a UICC that can be installed by downloading a profile.

In an embodiment, the method of installing the eUICC by downloading the profile via OTA technology can also be applied to a detachable UICC, which can be inserted into or detached from the terminal. For example, the eUICC may apply not only to an eUICC that is fixed (or installed) to the electronic apparatus 101, but also to an eUICC that may be installed by downloading a profile via OTA technology and is not fixed to the electronic apparatus 101 (or removable).

In an embodiment, the UICC may include a soft SIM, which may be installed by downloading the profile into the memory of the electronic apparatus 101 via OTA technology.

Hereinafter, the UICC may be used with a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), and the eUICC may be used with an embedded SIM (esim).

In an embodiment, the profile may include access information used by the electronic device 101 or the external electronic device 103 to access a server (e.g., the first server 108-1) of the communications carrier, for example. In an embodiment, the profile may include, for example, but not limited to, at least one of an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), a Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN), a value that needs to be used when authenticating using a network provided by a server of a communications operator (e.g., a particular authentication key value), an authentication token (or access token), and the like. However, the information included in the profile is not limited to the above-mentioned examples.

In an embodiment, the subscription transfer may include a transfer of a subscription of a user (or subscriber) who owns an existing electronic device (or an electronic device currently used by a user of the electronic device 101) (e.g., the external electronic device 103) and a new electronic device (or an electronic device to be used by a user of the electronic device 101) (e.g., the electronic device 101) and has registered with the same (or one) communication carrier (or a communication service of a communication user) from the existing electronic device to the new electronic device. For example, when a subscription is transferred from an existing electronic device to a new electronic device, portions of a profile of the new electronic device (or a profile to be installed in the new electronic device), such as communication carrier identity information (mobile country/area code (MCC) and Mobile Network Code (MNC)) and MSISDN (or phone number), may be identical to portions of a profile of the existing electronic device (or a profile installed in the existing electronic device). However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In an embodiment, as the above-mentioned existing electronic device (or an electronic device currently used by a user of the electronic device 101), the external electronic device 103 (e.g., the

electronic devices

102 and 104 of fig. 1) may assist (or mediate) the operation of user authentication performed by the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 may include a SIM storing a profile corresponding to a user of the external electronic device 103. For example, the external electronic device 103 may include a SIM storing a profile capable of identifying the user of the external electronic device 103 with respect to the communication carrier (or a server provided by the communication carrier). In an embodiment, the user of the external electronic device 103 and the user of the electronic device 101 may be the same (or one) user. For example, the user of the external electronic device 103 and the user of the electronic device 101 may be the same user (or subscriber) who has registered with (or has authorization to use) a communication service provided by the same (or one) communication carrier. In an embodiment, the SIM included in the external electronic device 103 may be a physical SIM or eSIM. Hereinafter, the SIM included in the external electronic device 103 may be referred to as a "first SIM", and the profile stored in the first SIM may be referred to as a "first profile".

In an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 may be communicatively coupled with the electronic device 101 through, for example, a short-range wireless communication scheme. For example, the external electronic device 103 may be communicatively coupled to the electronic device 101 via, for example, but not limited to, bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), or Wi-Fi Direct. However, the short-range wireless communication scheme used when the external electronic device 103 is communicatively connected to the electronic device 101 is not limited to the above-mentioned example. Further, the scheme in which the external electronic device 103 is communicatively connected to the electronic device 101 is not limited to the short-range wireless communication scheme.

An embodiment of an operation in which the external electronic device 103 assists the operation of user authentication performed by the electronic device 101 will be described in more detail below with reference to fig. 4, 5, 6A, and 6B.

In an embodiment, as the above-mentioned new electronic apparatus, the electronic apparatus 101 may perform a user authentication operation with respect to a server provided by a communication carrier, and then may download a profile from the server provided by the communication carrier. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may comprise a SIM for storing a profile to be downloaded from the communications carrier (or a server provided by the communications carrier). For example, the electronic device 101 may include a SIM for downloading (or storing) a profile that is capable of identifying a user of the electronic device 101 with respect to a communications carrier. The SIM included in the electronic device 101 may be an eSIM (e.g., eSIM 230). However, without limitation, the electronic device 101 can accommodate a physical SIM (e.g., eSIM 240) through a slot other than an eSIM. Hereinafter, the SIM included in the electronic apparatus 101 may be referred to as "second SIM", and the profile to be downloaded to the second SIM may be referred to as "second profile".

An embodiment of an operation in which the electronic apparatus 101 performs a user authentication operation with respect to a server provided by a communication carrier and then downloads a profile from the server provided by the communication carrier will be described in more detail below with reference to fig. 4, fig. 5, fig. 6A, fig. 6B, fig. 7, fig. 8, fig. 9A, fig. 9B, fig. 10, fig. 11, fig. 12A, fig. 12B, fig. 13, fig. 14A, and fig. 14B (hereinafter may be referred to as fig. 4 to 14B or fig. 4 to 14B).

In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may include a management server and an authentication server.

In an embodiment, the management server may be a server that manages the status of subscriptions, communication services, and profiles. For example, the management server may include an authorization server that controls operations for transferring a subscription from the external electronic device 103 to the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, the authentication server may be a server for authenticating a user of the electronic device 101. For example, the authentication server may comprise an Authentication Authorization Accounting (AAA) server or a Home Subscriber Server (HSS).

In an embodiment, first server 108-1 may also include a web server. For example, the management server may control the web server such that the electronic device 101 displays a web page related to the subscription transfer.

In an embodiment, although the first server 108-1 is illustrated in the above-mentioned examples by way of example as including an administration server, an authentication server, and a web server, but is not limited thereto, the administration server, the authentication server, and the web server may be separate servers configured independently or may be a combination of one or more servers.

In an embodiment, the second server 108-2 may be a server that manages (or generates) the profile and provides the profile to the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, the second server 108-2 may be represented as a subscription manager data preparation (SM-DP), a subscription management data preparation Plus (SM-DP +), an off-card entity of a profile domain, a profile encryption server, a profile generation server, a profile preconfigurator (or profile provider), or a profile provisioning voucher (PPC) holder.

Hereinafter, an example embodiment of a method for transferring a subscription will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 4 to 14B.

Fig. 4 is a flow diagram 400 illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment.

Operations

401, 403, 405, 407, 409, 411, 413, 415, 417, 419, and 421 (which may be referred to as operations 401 to 421 hereinafter) according to an embodiment may be performed in the electronic device 101 (e.g., the processor 120) of fig. 3.

Referring to fig. 4, in operation 401, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may establish a short-range communication connection with an external electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3).

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may establish a short-range communication connection with the external electronic device 103 through a first wireless communication circuit (e.g., a short-range wireless communication circuit). For example, the processor 210 may control the first wireless communication circuit (e.g., the communication module 190) such that the electronic apparatus 101 and the external electronic apparatus 103 are communicatively connected (e.g., bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), or Wi-Fi Direct) through a device-to-device (D2D) communication connection. However, the short-range wireless communication scheme is not limited to the above-mentioned example. For example, the processor 210 may allow the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 to be communicatively connected in a wired communication manner.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may establish a short-range communication connection with the external electronic device 103 in response to receiving an input for subscription transfer from the user. For example, processor 210 may display a configuration screen for transferring subscriptions via a display (e.g., display device 160 of fig. 1). After receiving an input from the user for selecting an object (or icon) for transferring the subscription, the processor 210 may display a list of external electronic devices 103 capable of establishing a short-range communication connection through a display (e.g., the display device 160). The processor 210 may control the first wireless communication circuit in response to an input for selecting at least one external electronic device 103 from the list of external electronic devices 103 such that the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 are connected (or paired) in short-range communication.

Although the processor 210 is shown in the embodiment of operation 401 by way of example to use a short-range communication scheme such that the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 are communicatively connected, it is not limited thereto, and various communication schemes may be applied.

In operation 403, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may acquire subscription information of a first profile of a first SIM of the external electronic device 103 (or stored (or installed) in the first SIM) from the external electronic device 103 through the first wireless communication circuit.

In an embodiment, the subscription information of the first profile may include at least one of an IMSI and an MSISDN (or phone number) corresponding to a user of the external electronic device 103. However, the information included in the subscription information of the first profile is not limited to at least one of the IMSI and the MSISDN. In an embodiment, the phone number (or MSISDN) of the external electronic device 103 may be stored in a memory (or a designated area of the memory) of the external electronic device 103 and may alternatively or additionally be used as part of the subscription information of the first profile.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may obtain the subscription information of the first profile from the external electronic device 103 through the first wireless communication circuit in response to a short-range communication connection between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103. For example, in response to a short-range communication connection between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103, the processor 210 may request the external electronic device 103 through the first wireless communication circuit to provide subscription information of the first profile. In response to requesting subscription information for the first profile, the processor 210 may obtain the subscription information for the first profile from the external electronic device 103 through the first wireless communication circuit.

In embodiments, the first SIM may be a physical SIM that is plugged into the external electronic device 103, or may be an eSIM or soft SIM that is embedded in the external electronic device 103.

In operation 405, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send at least a portion of the obtained subscription information (e.g., at least one of the MSISDN and the IMSI) of the first profile to a first server (e.g., the first server 108-1 of fig. 3) through a second wireless communication circuit (e.g., the communication module 190).

In an embodiment, the second wireless communication circuit may be a communication circuit that supports a communication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi) capable of connecting the electronic device 101 and the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, the second wireless communication circuit may be a communication circuit that supports a different communication scheme than the first wireless communication circuit. For example, the first wireless communication circuit may be a bluetooth enabled communication circuit and the second wireless communication circuit may be a Wi-Fi enabled communication circuit. However, without being limited thereto, the second wireless communication circuit may be a communication circuit that supports the same communication scheme as the first wireless communication circuit. For example, the first wireless communication circuit and the second wireless communication circuit may be Wi-Fi enabled communication circuits. In an embodiment, when the first wireless communication circuit and the second wireless communication circuit are implemented as communication circuits supporting the same communication scheme, the first wireless communication circuit and the second wireless communication circuit may be included in the same (or one) chipset or may be included as one integrated circuit.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may identify the communications carrier (or communications carrier associated with the first profile) based on the MCC and MNC of the IMSI included in the subscription information of the first profile. The processor 210 may transmit at least a portion of the subscription information (e.g., at least one of the MSISDN and IMSI) of the first profile to the first server 108-1 provided by the communications carrier via the second wireless communications circuitry.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may send unique information of the electronic device 101 (e.g., an ID of the electronic device 101) to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit in addition to at least a portion of the subscription information of the first profile. For example, the processor 210 may transmit an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit in addition to at least a portion of the subscription information of the first profile. However, the unique information of the electronic device 101 transmitted to the first server 108-1 is not limited to the IMEI. Thus, the unique information sent to the electronic device 101 of the first server 108-1 may include at least one of a protocol version, a vendor of the electronic device 101, a model name, and a software version in addition to the IMEI.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may send a port number of a port of the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1 over the second wireless communication circuit in addition to at least a portion of the subscription information of the first profile for receiving authentication information from the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may send the unique information of the electronic device 101 and the port number of the port of the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit in addition to at least a portion of the subscription information of the first profile for receiving the authentication information from the first server 108-1.

In operation 407, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may acquire the authentication information provided by the first server 108-1 from the external electronic device 103 through the first wireless communication circuit.

In an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives at least a portion of the subscription information of the first profile from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may generate a one-time password (OTP) as the authentication information. However, the authentication information that may be generated by the first server 108-1 is not limited to the OTP. The first server 108-1 may send the authentication information to the external electronic device 103 using at least a portion of the subscription information (e.g., at least one of the MSISDN and the IMSI) of the first profile. For example, the first server 108-1 may use the MSISDN or IMSI of the external electronic device 103 to confirm (or identify) the user of the electronic device 101 (or the user of the external electronic device 103). After confirming (or identifying) the user of the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may transmit the authentication information to the external electronic device 103 corresponding to the MSISDN or IMSI of the external electronic device 103. In an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives a port number of a port of the external electronic device 103 for receiving authentication information from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may transmit the authentication information to the port of the external electronic device 103 corresponding to the received port number. In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a message including authentication information to the external electronic device 103. For example, the first server 108-1 may send a Short Message Service (SMS) message including the authentication information to the external electronic device 103. However, a scheme in which the first server 108-1 transmits the authentication information to the external electronic device 103 is not limited to the scheme based on the SMS message transmission. In an embodiment, after receiving the authentication information from the first server 108-1, the external electronic device 103 may transmit the authentication information to the electronic device 101 using a short-range communication scheme. In an embodiment, upon receiving the authentication information from the first server 108-1 through a port corresponding to the designated port number, the external electronic device 103 may transmit the received authentication information to the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, instead of receiving the authentication information from the first server 108-1 through a port corresponding to a specified port number, the external electronic device 103 may transmit the received authentication information to the electronic device 101 after receiving the authentication information (or a message including the authentication information) having a specified format from the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, the embodiment for the operation between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 in the

operations

401, 403, and 407 may be performed according to a specified protocol (or policy or rule).

In operation 409, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may transmit the authentication information acquired from the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit.

In an embodiment, although not shown in fig. 4, when the processor 210 transmits the authentication information to the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the authentication information received from the electronic device 101 is identical to the authentication information transmitted to the external electronic device 103. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the authentication information received from the electronic device 101 is identical to the authentication information sent to the external electronic device 103, the processor 210 may receive a response indicating that the authentication is complete (or successful) from the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit. For example, the processor 210 may receive a response from the first server 108-1 via the second wireless communication circuit that includes a token (or access token) required by the electronic device 101 to access the first server 108-1.

In operation 411, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may transmit unique information of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit to confirm the authorization of the electronic device 101 to access the first server 108-1 (or the authorization to use the communication service provided by the first server 108-1 after accessing the first server 108-1). For example, the processor 210 may transmit the IMEI of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 via the second wireless communication circuit. For another example, the processor 210 may transmit at least one of a protocol version, a vendor, a model name, and a software version of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit in addition to the IMEI of the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives the unique information of the electronic device 101 from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the electronic device 101 has the authorization to access the first server 108-1 based on the received unique information of the electronic device 101 (or the unique information of the electronic device 101 and the user information). In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send an authorization to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 has information to access the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send information to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1 or may send a web page URL for the electronic device 101 to display a web page of the first server 108-1 (e.g., a default web page of the first server 108-1).

In operation 413, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may request the first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription through the second wireless communication circuit. For example, in response to receiving information from the first server 108-1 indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the processor 210 may send information requesting the first server 108-1 to transfer information via the second wireless communication circuit.

In operation 415, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may receive information confirming the subscription transition from the first server 180-1 through the second wireless communication circuit. For example, the processor 210 may receive, from the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit, a URL of a web page capable of allowing the electronic device 101 to display at least one of information indicating that a subscription transition will occur, information of the external electronic device 103 (e.g., IMEI of the external electronic device 103), information of the electronic device 101 (e.g., IMEI of the electronic device 101), and MSISDN of the external electronic device 103.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may access the URL of the received web page to display at least one of information indicating that a subscription transition will occur, information of the external electronic device 103, information of the electronic device 101, and subscription information (e.g., MSISDN) of the first profile through a display (e.g., the display device 160). However, the information displayed by the URL of the received web page is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

In operation 417, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send information indicating an acknowledgement of the subscription transfer to the first server 108-1 via the second wireless communication circuit. For example, the processor 210 may receive a user input for confirming the subscription transition (or for agreeing to the subscription transition) while displaying at least one of information indicating that the subscription transition will occur, information of the external electronic device 103, information of the electronic device 101, and subscription information (e.g., MSISDN) of the first profile.

In an embodiment, in response to receiving the user input to approve the subscription transition, the processor 210 may send information indicating that the user confirms the subscription transition to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit.

Although not shown in fig. 4, embodiments of

operations

415 and 417 may be omitted when a user of electronic device 101 performs a process for agreeing to a subscription transfer at a point-of-sale of a communications carrier (e.g., when information indicating agreement regarding the subscription transfer is sent to first server 108-1 using a device installed at the point-of-sale of the communications carrier).

In operation 419, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may obtain (or download) a second profile from the second server 108-2 via the second wireless communication circuit.

In an embodiment, the MSISDN of the second profile may be identical to the MSISDN of the first profile of the first SIM. In an embodiment, the IMSI included in the second profile may be identical to or different from the IMSI of the first profile. For example, the IMSI included in the second profile may be identical to or different from the IMSI of the first profile, depending on the policy of the communications operator.

Although not shown in fig. 4, when the first server 108-1 receives information indicating confirmation of the subscription transfer from the electronic apparatus 101, the first server 108-1 may request the second server 108-2 to generate (or prepare) the second profile. The second server 108-2 may generate the second profile in response to receiving a request from the first server 108-1 to generate the second profile. In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 and the second server 108-2 may perform communication according to the global system for mobile communications (GSMA) standard. For example, first server 108-1 and second server 108-2 may perform communication directly according to the GSMA standard. However, without being limited thereto, the first server 108-1 and the second server 108-2 may perform communication through a server of another communication carrier. Further, first server 108-1 and second server 108-2 may perform communication using a communication scheme that does not comply with the GSMA standard.

In an embodiment, when the second server 108-2 completes generation of the second profile, the first server 108-1 may send information allowing the electronic device 101 to display indicating that the second server 108-2 completes generation of the second profile. For example, when the second server 108-2 completes generation of the second profile, the first server 108-1 may allow the electronic device 101 to display information indicating that the second server 108-2 completes generation of the second profile through a web page, or may transmit information indicating that the second server 108-2 completes generation of the second profile to the electronic device 101 using a push scheme. In an embodiment, when it is recognized that the electronic apparatus 101 has the authority to access the first server 108-1 in operation 411, the first server 108-1 may previously register (or previously generate) information indicating that the second server 108-2 completes generation of the second profile, which is to be transmitted to the electronic apparatus 101 using the push scheme.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may obtain the second profile from the second server 108-2 based on a global system for mobile communications (GSMA) sgp.22 standard.

In operation 421, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may store the acquired second profile in the second SIM.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may store the second profile in the first SIM (e.g., eSIM 230) through the communication processor 220.

In an embodiment, processor 210 may install a second profile stored in a second SIM. In an embodiment, the second SIM may be an eSIM (e.g., eSIM 230) or a soft SIM. In an embodiment, as the second SIM, the eSIM may be an eSIM that is fixed (or mounted) to the electronic apparatus 101 or an eSIM that is not fixed to the electronic apparatus 101 (or detachable (or removable) from the electronic apparatus 101).

Although not shown in fig. 4, in an embodiment, when the second profile is stored (or installed) in the second SIM, the processor 210 may transmit a list of profiles stored (or installed) in the second SIM to the first server 108-1 by including the second profile through the second wireless communication circuit. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may send information to the first server 108-1 via the second wireless communication circuit indicating that the second profile is stored (or installed) in the second SIM. In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may deactivate (or disable) the first profile in response to receiving a profile list including the second profile or information indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM from the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may enable (or activate) a second profile of a second SIM connected to the communication processor 220. In an embodiment, the processor 210 or the communication processor 220 may use the activated second profile to use a network (e.g., a cellular network) provided by a communication carrier associated with the first server 108-1.

Although not shown in fig. 4, an embodiment of the authentication operation performed by the external electronic device 103 connected in short-range communication with the electronic device 101 may be replaced with an embodiment of the authentication operation performed by a cloud server connected in communication with the electronic device 101. For example, processor 120 may obtain subscription information for a first profile stored in a first SIM from a cloud server communicatively connected with electronic device 101. After obtaining the subscription information for the first profile from the cloud server, the processor 210 may send at least a portion of the subscription information to the first server 108-1, and obtain the authentication information provided by the first server 108-1 from the cloud server, and send the obtained authentication information to the first server 108-1 to perform an authentication operation. Detailed embodiments of the authentication operation by the cloud server communicatively connected with the electronic device 101 will be omitted because they are identical or similar at least in part to embodiments of the authentication operation performed by the external electronic device 103 communicatively connected with the electronic device 101 at a short distance.

Fig. 5 is a signal flow diagram 500 illustrating an example system and an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment. For example, fig. 5 may illustrate an example embodiment of the operations of fig. 4 for an electronic device 101 (e.g., the electronic device 101, an external electronic device 103, a first server 108-1, and a second server 108-2) on a system.

Referring to fig. 5, in operation 501, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 may establish a short-range communication connection. For example, the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 may be connected through device-to-device (D2D) communication (e.g., bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), or Wi-Fi Direct).

In operation 503, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may acquire subscription information of a first profile of a first SIM of the external electronic device 103 (or stored (or installed) in the first SIM) transmitted from the external electronic device 103 through the first wireless communication circuit supporting the short-range wireless communication scheme.

In an embodiment, the subscription information of the first profile may include at least one of an IMSI and an MSISDN (or phone number) corresponding to a user of the external electronic device 103. However, the information included in the subscription information of the first profile is not limited to at least one of the IMSI and the MSISDN.

In operation 505, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send at least a portion of the subscription information (e.g., MSISDN or IMSI) of the first profile to the first server 108-1 over the second wireless communication circuit.

In an embodiment, the second wireless communication circuit may be a communication circuit that supports a communication scheme (e.g., Wi-Fi) capable of connecting the electronic device 101 and the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send unique information of the electronic device 101 (e.g., an ID of the electronic device 101) to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit in addition to at least a portion of the subscription information of the first profile. For example, the processor 210 may transmit an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit in addition to at least a portion of the subscription information of the first profile. However, the unique information of the electronic device 101 transmitted to the first server 108-1) is not limited to the IMEI. Thus, the unique information sent to the electronic device 101 of the first server 108-1 may include at least one of a protocol version, a vendor of the electronic device 101, a model name, and a software version in addition to the IMEI.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send a port number of a port of the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1 over the second wireless communication circuit in addition to at least a portion of the subscription information of the first profile for receiving authentication information from the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, in addition to at least a portion of the subscription information of the first profile, the electronic device 101 may send unique information of the electronic device 101 and a port number of a port of the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit for receiving authentication information from the first server 108-1.

In operation 507, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may transmit authentication information to the external electronic device 103 using the MSISDN or IMSI of the external electronic device 103.

In an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives at least a portion of the subscription information of the first profile from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may generate a one-time password (OTP) as the authentication information. However, the authentication information that may be generated by the first server 108-1 is not limited to the OTP.

In an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives a port number of a port of the external electronic device 103 for receiving authentication information from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may transmit the authentication information to the port of the external electronic device 103 corresponding to the received port number. In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a message including authentication information to the external electronic device 103. For example, the first server 108-1 may send a Short Message Service (SMS) message including the authentication information to the external electronic device 103. However, a scheme in which the first server 108-1 transmits the authentication information to the external electronic device 103 is not limited to the scheme based on the SMS message transmission.

In operation 509, in an embodiment, after receiving the authentication information from the first server 108-1, the external electronic device 103 may transmit the authentication information to the electronic device 101 using the short-range communication scheme.

In operation 511, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may transmit the authentication information acquired from the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit.

In operation 513, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic device 101 in response to receiving the authentication information.

In an embodiment, although not shown in fig. 5, when the electronic apparatus 101 transmits the authentication information to the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the authentication information received from the electronic apparatus 101 is identical to the authentication information transmitted to the external electronic apparatus 103. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the authentication information received from the electronic device 101 is identical to the authentication information transmitted to the external electronic device 103, the first server 108-1 may transmit a response indicating that the authentication is completed (or successful) to the electronic device 101. For example, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic device 101 that includes a token (or access token) required by the electronic device 101 to access the first server 108-1.

In operation 515, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may transmit unique information of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit to request confirmation of the authorization of the electronic device 101 to access the first server 108-1 (or the authorization to use the communication service provided by the first server 108-1 after accessing the first server 108-1). For example, the electronic device 101 may transmit the IMEI of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit. For another example, in addition to the IMEI of the electronic device 101, the electronic device 101 may transmit at least one of a protocol version, a vendor of the electronic device 101, a model name, and a software version to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit.

In operation 517, in an embodiment, upon receiving the unique information of the electronic device 101 from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may transmit a response to the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, upon receiving the unique information of the electronic device 101 from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the electronic device 101 has the authorization to access the first server 108-1 based on the received unique information of the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send information to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send information to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1 or may send a web page URL for the electronic device 101 to display the web page of the first server 108-1.

In operation 519, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may request the first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription through the second wireless communication circuit. For example, in response to receiving information from the first server 108-1 indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the electronic device 101 may send information requesting the first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription over the second wireless communication circuit.

In operation 521, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send information for confirming the subscription transfer to the electronic device 101. For example, the first server 108-1 may transmit, to the electronic device 101, a URL of a web page capable of allowing the electronic device 101 to display at least one of information indicating that a subscription transition will occur, information of the external electronic device 103 (e.g., IMEI of the external electronic device 103), information of the electronic device 101 (e.g., IMEI of the electronic device 101), and MSISDN of the external electronic device 103.

In operation 523, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send information indicating confirmation of the subscription transfer to the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may access the URL of the received web page to display at least one of information indicating that a subscription transition will occur, information of the external electronic device 103, information of the electronic device 101, and an MSISDN of the external electronic device 103 through a display (e.g., the display device 160 of fig. 1). However, the information displayed by the URL of the received web page is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may receive a user input for confirming the subscription transition (or for agreeing to the subscription transition) while displaying at least one of information indicating that the subscription transition will occur, information of the external electronic device 103, information of the electronic device 101, and an MSISDN of the external electronic device 103.

In an embodiment, in response to receiving the user input to approve the subscription transfer, the electronic device 101 may send information indicating that the user confirms the subscription transfer to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit.

In operation 525, in an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives information indicating confirmation of the subscription transfer from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may request the second server 108-2 to generate (or prepare) a second profile.

In operation 527, in an embodiment, in response to receiving a request from the first server 108-1 to generate the second profile, the second server 108-2 may generate the second profile and may transmit the generated second profile to the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, when a user of the electronic device 101 performs a process related to an operation for generating the second profile by accessing a point of sale of the communications carrier before performing an embodiment of operations 525 and 527 (e.g., when requesting the first server 108-1 to generate the second profile using a device installed in the point of sale of the communications carrier), the embodiment related to the generation in

operations

525 and 527 may be omitted. For example, the first server 108-1 may send a second profile transmission request to the second server 108-2. In response to receiving the second profile transmission request, the second server 108-2 may send the second profile to the electronic device 101.

In operation 529, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may obtain (or download) the second profile from the second server 108-2 through the second wireless communication circuit, and may store the obtained second profile in the second SIM.

In operation 531, in an embodiment, when the second profile is stored (or installed) in the second SIM, the electronic device 101 may transmit a list of profiles stored (or installed) in the second SIM to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit by including the second profile. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send information to the first server 108-1 over the second wireless communication circuit indicating that the second profile is stored (or installed) in the second SIM.

In operation 533, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic device 101 in response to the received profile list or information indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM.

In operation 535, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may deactivate (or disable) the first profile in response to receiving a profile list including the second profile or information indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM from the electronic device 101.

Although not shown in fig. 5, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may activate a second profile of a second SIM connected to the communication processor 220. For example, in operation 533, electronic device 101 may activate the second profile of the second SIM after receiving the response signal from first server 108-1. In an embodiment, using the activated second profile, the electronic device 101 may use a network (e.g., a cellular network) provided by a communications carrier associated with the first server 108-1.

Fig. 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription, according to an embodiment. For example, fig. 6A and 6B may be diagrams illustrating example user interface screens related to an embodiment of the operations of fig. 4.

In an embodiment, the operations of fig. 6A and 6B may be performed in the electronic device 101 (e.g., the processor 120) of fig. 3.

Referring to fig. 6A and 6B, in example 610, in an embodiment, processor 210 may display a configuration screen 611 related to subscription transition via a display (e.g., display device 160 of fig. 1). In example 610, in an embodiment, object 613 may be an object mapped to a function for adding a subscription (or for registering a new subscription). The object 615 may be an object that maps to a function for transferring a subscription.

In example 620, in response to receiving an input of the object 613 from the user, the processor 210 may display a screen 621 including

objects

623, 625, and 627 via a display (e.g., display device 160), the screen 621 including an indication of the external electronic device 101 that may be connected in short-range communication with the electronic device 103.

In an embodiment, after at least one object 623 is selected among the

objects

623, 625, and 627 indicating the external electronic devices 103 that can be connected in short-range communication with the electronic device 101, a short-range communication connection may be established with the at least one external electronic device 103 corresponding to the selected at least one object 623.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may request the external electronic device 103 to provide the subscription information of the first profile through the first wireless communication circuit in response to a short-range communication connection between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 (e.g., the external electronic device 103 corresponding to the object 623). In response to the request for subscription information of the first profile, the processor 210 may obtain the subscription information of the first profile from the external electronic device 103 through the first wireless communication circuit.

In example 630, in an embodiment, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen 631 including information for confirming the subscription transition based on information received from first server 108-1. For example, the processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), text 635 for querying whether to transfer the subscription of the electronic device 101, subscription information (e.g., MSISDN)637 of the first profile, and an object 633 for receiving input for confirming the transfer of the subscription of the electronic device.

In example 640, in an embodiment, in response to receiving input from a user for object 633, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), screen 641 indicating that a subscription transition is in preparation (or is running an operation to generate a second profile for subscription transition). For example, the processor 210 may display a screen 641 including an object 643 and text 645 indicating that the subscription transfer is in preparation through a display (e.g., the display device 160).

In example 650, in an embodiment, upon completing the operations of obtaining the second profile from the second server 108-2 and storing (or installing) the second profile in the second SIM, the processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen 651 that includes an object 653 indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM. For example, comparing examples 610 and 650, processor 210 may also display an object 653 indicating that screen 651 stores the second profile, as compared to screen 611.

Fig. 7 is a flow diagram 700 illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment.

In an embodiment,

operations

701, 703, 705, 707, 709, 711, and 713 (which may be referred to as operations 701 through 713 hereinafter) may be performed in an electronic device (e.g., processor 120) of fig. 3.

In fig. 7, it may be assumed that the user of the electronic apparatus 101 is in a state of registering with the communication carrier (or a server using a network provided by the current (or existing) communication carrier), and it may be confirmed that the subscription of the first profile corresponding to the registration information of the communication carrier is in a state of being activated in the first server 108-1. For example, in the embodiment of fig. 7, it may be assumed that a first SIM (or the external electronic device 103 into which the first SIM is inserted or embedded) is present and that the subscription of the first profile is active in the first server 108-1. However, without being limited thereto, the embodiment of fig. 7 may include the following cases: the subscription of the first profile is active in the first server 108-1 even if the first SIM storing the first profile is separate from the external electronic device 103 or is not embedded in the external electronic device 103.

Referring to fig. 7, in operation 701, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send user information for authenticating a user of the electronic device 101 to a first server (e.g., the first server 108-1 of fig. 3) through a communication circuit (e.g., the communication module 190 of fig. 1).

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may send the user information to the first server 108-1 via the communication circuit for authentication using an authentication scheme defined in open authentication (OAuth). For example, the processor 210 may send an account (e.g., an ID) and a password registered in the first server 108-1 to the first server 108-1 through the communication circuit. However, the authentication scheme for authenticating the user of the electronic apparatus 101 is not limited to OAuth.

In an embodiment, after receiving input from the user to register a subscription for the communications carrier (or register a new subscription) and select the communications carrier, the processor 210 may send user information for authenticating the user of the electronic device 101 to the first server through the communications circuitry (e.g., the communications module 190). For example, the processor 210 may display a screen including an object for selecting subscription registration for a communication carrier through a display (e.g., the display device 160 of fig. 1). Upon receiving an input from the user for selecting an object for subscription registration of a communication carrier, the processor 210 may display a screen including an object for selecting a communication carrier through a display (e.g., the display device 160). Upon receiving an input for inputting user information (e.g., an account and a password registered in the first server 108-1) after receiving an input for selecting an object of a communication carrier, the processor 210 may transmit the user information for authenticating the user of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the communication circuit.

Although not shown in fig. 7, when the processor 210 transmits the user information, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the user information received from the electronic device 101 is identical to the user information registered in the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the user information received from the electronic device 101 is identical to the user information registered in the first server 108-1, the processor 210 may receive a response from the first server 108-1 through the communication circuit indicating that the authentication is complete (or successful). For example, the processor 210 may receive a response from the first server 108-1 via the communication circuit that includes a token (or access token) by which the electronic device 101 accesses the first server 108-1.

In operation 703, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may transmit unique information of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the wireless communication circuit to confirm the authorization of the electronic device 101 to access the first server 108-1 (or the authorization to use the communication service provided by the first server 108-1 after accessing the first server 108-1). For example, the processor 210 may transmit the IMEI of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 via the second wireless communication circuit. For another example, the processor 210 may transmit at least one of a protocol version, a vendor of the electronic device 101, a model name, and a software version to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit in addition to the IMEI of the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives the unique information of the electronic device 101 from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the electronic device 101 has the authorization to access the first server 108-1 based on the received unique information of the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send information to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send information to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1 or may send a web page URL for the electronic device 101 to display the web page of the first server 108-1.

In operation 705, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may request, via the communication circuitry, the first server 108-1 to register a subscription. For example, the processor 210 may send, via the communication circuitry, information requesting the first server 108-1 to register for subscription in response to receiving information from the first server 108-1 indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the information of the first server 108-1.

In operation 707, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may receive information confirming subscription registration or subscription transfer from the first server 180-1 through the communication circuit. For example, the processor 210 may receive information from the first server 108-1 over the communication circuit confirming (or selecting) whether to register a new subscription with the communication carrier or to transfer the subscription from the external electronic device 103 to the electronic device 101. Upon receiving information for confirming whether to register a new subscription for a communication carrier or to transfer a subscription from the external electronic device 103 to the electronic device 101, the processor 210 may display the received information through a display (e.g., the display device 160). In an embodiment, processor 210 may display a web page via a display (e.g., display device 160), the web page including at least one of the following information: information indicating that a subscription can be transferred from the external electronic device 103 to the electronic device 101, information of the external electronic device 103 (e.g., IMEI of the external electronic device 103), information of the electronic device 101 (e.g., IMEI of the electronic device 101), and MSISDN of the external electronic device 103, as well as an object for registering a new subscription for a communication carrier and an object for transferring a subscription. However, the information displayed through the web page is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

Although not shown in fig. 7, if the user of the electronic apparatus 101 is authenticated through operation 701, or if the electronic apparatus 101 (and/or the user of the electronic apparatus 101) is recognized to have authorization through operation 703, the first server 108-1 may confirm that the user of the electronic apparatus 101 is in a state of being registered with a communication carrier (or a server using a network provided by the communication carrier), and may confirm that the subscription of the first profile corresponding to the registration information for the communication carrier is in a state of being activated in the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, upon recognizing that the subscription of the first profile corresponding to the registration information for the communication carrier is in a state of being activated in the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may transmit to the electronic apparatus 101 not only information for confirming subscription registration but also information for confirming (or inducing) subscription transfer so that the user of the electronic apparatus 101 may recognize the presence of the first profile corresponding to the registration information for the communication carrier.

In operation 709, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send, to the first server 108-1, information indicating an acknowledgement of the subscription transfer to the first server 108-1 over the communication circuitry. For example, the processor 210 may receive user input for agreeing to the subscription transition (e.g., for selecting an object for subscription transition). In response to receiving the user input to approve the subscription transition, the processor 210 may send information to the first server 108-1 via the communication circuitry indicating that the user confirms the subscription transition. Although not shown in fig. 7, the processor 210 may receive a user input for registering a new subscription for a communications carrier (e.g., a user input for selecting an object for registering a new subscription for a communications carrier). Upon receiving user input to register a new subscription for the communications carrier, the processor 210 may send a subscription registration request to the first server 108-1 over the communications circuitry.

In operation 711, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may retrieve (or download) a second profile from the second server 108-2 via the communication circuit.

In operation 713, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may store the acquired second profile in the second SIM.

Since the embodiments of operations 711 and 713 are at least partially identical or similar to the embodiments of operations 419 and 412, a detailed description thereof may not be repeated here.

Although not shown in fig. 7, in an embodiment, when the processor 210 sends a subscription registration request to the first server 108-1 over the communication circuit, the processor 210 may retrieve the third profile from the second server 108-2 and store (and install) the third profile in the second SIM. In an embodiment, the third profile may be different from the first profile and the second profile. For example, the subscription information (e.g., MSISDN) of the third profile may be different from the subscription information of the first profile and the second profile.

Fig. 8 is a signal flow diagram 800 illustrating an example system and illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription according to an example embodiment. For example, fig. 8 may be a diagram illustrating an example embodiment of the operations of fig. 5 for the electronic device 101 on a system (e.g., the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1, and the second server 108-2).

Referring to fig. 8, in an embodiment, in operation 801, the processor 210 may transmit user information for authenticating a user of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the communication circuit. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may send the user information to the first server 108-1 via the communication circuit for authentication using an authentication scheme defined in open authentication (OAuth).

In operation 803, in an embodiment, upon receiving the user information from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, in response to receiving the user information from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the user information received from the electronic device 101 is identical to the user information registered in the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the user information received from the electronic device 101 is identical to the user information registered in the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the first server 108-1 indicating that the authentication is complete (or successful).

In operation 805, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send unique information of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the communication circuit to request confirmation of the authorization of the electronic device 101 to access the first server 108-1 (or the authorization to use the communication service provided by the first server 108-1 after accessing the first server 108-1).

In operation 807, in an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives the unique information of the electronic apparatus 101 from the electronic apparatus 101, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic apparatus 101.

In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1 based on the received unique information of the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send information to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send information to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1 or may send a web page URL for the electronic device 101 to display the web page of the first server 108-1.

In operation 809, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may request the first server 108-1 to register a subscription through the communication circuitry. For example, the electronic device 101 may send information requesting the first server 108-1 to register for subscription through the communication circuitry in response to receiving information from the first server 108-1 indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-.

In operation 811, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send information confirming subscription registration or subscription transfer to the electronic device 101. For example, the first server 108-1 may transmit information for confirming (or selecting) whether the electronic device 101 registers a new subscription with a communication carrier or whether the subscription is transferred from the external electronic device 103 to the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, if the user of the electronic apparatus 101 is authenticated through

operations

801 and 803 or if the electronic apparatus 101 (and/or the user of the electronic apparatus 101) is identified as having authorization through

operations

805 and 807, the first server 108-1 may confirm that the user of the electronic apparatus 101 is in a state of being registered with a communication carrier (or a server using a network provided by the communication carrier), and may confirm that the subscription of the first profile corresponding to the registration information for the communication carrier is in a state of being activated in the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, when recognizing that the subscription of the first profile corresponding to the registration information for the communication carrier is in a state of being activated in the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may transmit to the electronic apparatus 101 not only information for confirming subscription registration but also information for confirming (or inducing) subscription transfer so that the user of the electronic apparatus 101 may recognize the presence of the first profile corresponding to the registration information for the communication carrier.

In operation 813, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send information indicating confirmation of the subscription transfer to the first server 108-1 through the communication circuit. For example, the electronic device 101 may receive a user input for agreeing to a subscription transfer. In response to receiving user input to approve the subscription transfer, the processor 210 may send information to the first server 108-1 over the communication circuit indicating that the user confirms the subscription transfer.

In operation 815, in an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives information indicating confirmation of the subscription transfer from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may request the second server 108-2 to generate (or prepare) a second profile.

In operation 817, in an embodiment, in response to receiving a request for generating the second profile from the first server 108-1, the second server 108-2 may generate the second profile and may transmit the generated second profile to the electronic apparatus 101.

In an embodiment, when the user of the electronic device 101 performs a process related to an operation for generating the second profile by accessing a point of sale of a communication carrier before performing the embodiments of

operations

815 and 817, the embodiments related to the generation in

operations

815 and 817 may be omitted.

In operation 819, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may obtain (or download) the second profile from the second server 108-2 through the second wireless communication circuit, and may store the obtained second profile in the second SIM.

In operation 821, in an embodiment, when the second profile is stored (or installed) in the second SIM, the electronic device 101 may transmit a list of profiles stored (or installed) in the second SIM to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit by including the second profile. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send information to the first server 108-1 over the second wireless communication circuit indicating that the second profile is stored (or installed) in the second SIM.

In operation 823, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic device 101 in response to the received profile list or information indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM.

In operation 825, in an embodiment, in response to receiving from the electronic device 101 a profile list including the second profile or information indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM, the first server 108-1 may deactivate (or disable) the first profile.

Fig. 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription, according to an embodiment. For example, fig. 9A and 9B may be diagrams illustrating example user interface screens related to an embodiment of the operations of fig. 7.

In an embodiment, the operations of fig. 9A and 9B may be performed in the electronic device 101 (e.g., the processor 120) of fig. 3. Referring to fig. 9A and 9B, in example 910, in an embodiment, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160 of fig. 1), a configuration screen 911 related to subscription transfer. In example 910, in an embodiment, object 913 may be an object mapped to functionality for adding a subscription (or for registering a new subscription). The object 915 may be an object mapped to a function for transferring a subscription.

In example 920, in response to receiving an input for object 913 from a user, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen 921 that includes

objects

923 and 925 indicating a communications carrier.

In an embodiment, processor 210 may receive a user input for selecting object 923 among

objects

923 and 925 indicating a communication carrier. In an embodiment, the communication carrier indicated by the object 923 may be a communication carrier that provides communication services through the first server 108-1 and the second server 108-2. In an embodiment, the user of the electronic device 101 may be in a state of being registered with the communication carrier indicated by the object 923, and there may be a first SIM (or an external electronic device 103 into which the first SIM is inserted or embedded) storing a first profile corresponding to registration information of the user of the electronic device 101 of the communication carrier indicated by the object 923.

In an embodiment, when the processor 210 receives a user input for selecting the object 923, the processor 210 may perform an authentication operation and an authorization confirmation operation with respect to the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may confirm that the user of the electronic apparatus 101 is in a state of registering with the communication carrier (or a server using a network provided by the communication carrier) using an authentication operation or an authorization confirmation operation, and may confirm that the subscription of the first profile corresponding to the registration information for the communication carrier is in a state of being activated in the first server 108-1.

In example 930, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen 931, the screen 931 including at least one of information 932 indicating that a transition of subscription from external electronic device 103 to electronic device 101 is possible, information 934 of external electronic device 103 (e.g., an IMEI of external electronic device 103), information 935 of electronic device 101 (e.g., an IMEI of electronic device 101), and subscription information 933 (e.g., an MSISDN) of the first profile, and an object 937 for registering a new subscription for a communications carrier (or requesting registration of a new subscription for a communications carrier) and an object 936 for a transition of subscription (or request for a transition of subscription). However, the information displayed through the screen 931 is not limited to the above-mentioned example. In an embodiment, upon receiving user input for the object 937, the processor 210 may send a subscription registration request to the first server 108-1 over the communication circuit.

In example 940, in an embodiment, in response to receiving an input from a user for object 933, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen 941 indicating that a subscription transfer is in preparation (or is running an operation to generate a second profile for subscription transfer). For example, the processor 210 may display a screen 941 via a display (e.g., display device 160), the screen 941 including an object 943 and text 945 indicating that subscription transfer is in preparation.

In example 950, in an embodiment, upon completing the operations of obtaining the second profile from the second server 108-2 and storing (or installing) the second profile in the second SIM, the processor 210 may display a screen 951 via a display (e.g., the display device 160), the screen including an object 953 indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM. For example, comparing examples 910 and 950, processor 210 may also display an object 953 indicating that screen 951 stores a second profile, as compared to screen 911.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart 1000 illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment.

In an embodiment, operations 1001, 1003, 1005, 1007, 1009, 1011, 1013, and 1015 (which may be referred to as operations 1001 through 1015 hereinafter) may be performed in the electronic device (e.g., the processor 120) of fig. 3.

Referring to fig. 10, in operation 1001, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may confirm that a first SIM (e.g., pSIM 240 of fig. 3) is inserted into an electronic device 101 (e.g., a slot of the electronic device 101 of fig. 1 capable of receiving a SIM).

In an embodiment, the first SIM may be a physical SIM that is inserted into the electronic device 101 after being detached from the external electronic device 103, the SIM including a first profile from the external electronic device 103 corresponding to registration information of a user of the electronic device 101 for a communications carrier.

In operation 1003, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send information for user authentication to a first server (e.g., the first server 108-1 of fig. 3) through a communication circuit (e.g., the communication module 190 of fig. 1) based on subscription information of the first profile of the first SIM.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may perform operations to authenticate the first server 108-1 and the user based on the subscription information of the first profile of the first SIM. For example, the processor 210 may perform an operation of authenticating the first server 108-1 and the user through an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) scheme, an Internet Protocol (IP) authentication, a header enrichment scheme (header enrichment scheme), or an OTP authentication scheme using a message (e.g., an SMS message). However, the scheme in which the processor 210 authenticates the first server 108-1 and the user based on the subscription information of the first profile of the first SIM is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may perform the operation of authenticating the first server 108-1 and the user of the electronic device 101 using the OAuth scheme shown in fig. 7 without using the subscription information of the first profile of the first SIM.

In operation 1005, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send the unique information of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 over the communication circuitry to confirm the authorization of the electronic device to access the first server 108-1 (or the authorization to use the communication service provided by the first server 108-1 after accessing the first server 108-1).

In operation 1007, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may request, via the communication circuit, the first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription.

In operation 1009, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may receive information confirming the subscription transfer from the first server 180-1 through the communication circuit.

In operation 1011, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send information indicating confirmation of the subscription transfer to the first server 108-1 through the communication circuitry.

In operation 1013, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may obtain (or download) the second profile from the second server 108-2 through the communication circuit.

In operation 1015, in an embodiment, processor 210 may store the obtained second profile in the second SIM.

Since the embodiments of operations 1005 and 1015 are at least partially identical or similar to the embodiments of

operations

411 and 421 of fig. 4, a detailed description thereof may not be repeated here.

Although it is shown in fig. 10 by way of example that a physical first SIM, which is separated from the external electronic device 103, is inserted into the electronic device 101, at least some of the embodiments of fig. 10 may also be equally or similarly applied to a case in which a SIM embedded in the external electronic device 103 is included in a state of being inserted into the physical first SIM and the second profile is stored in the SIM embedded in the external electronic device 103.

Fig. 11 is a signal flow diagram 1100 illustrating an example system (e.g., electronic device 101, first server 108-1, and second server 108-2) and illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment. For example, fig. 11 may be a diagram illustrating an example embodiment of the operations of fig. 10 for an electronic device 101 on a system.

Referring to fig. 11, in operation 1101, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may confirm that a first SIM is inserted into the electronic device 101 (e.g., a slot of the electronic device 101 of fig. 1 capable of receiving a SIM).

In operation 1103, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send information for user authentication to a first server (e.g., the first server 108-1 of fig. 3) via the communication circuit based on the subscription information of the first profile of the first SIM.

In an embodiment, electronic device 101 may perform operations to authenticate first server 108-1 and the user based on the subscription information of the first profile of the first SIM. For example, the electronic device 101 may perform an operation of authenticating the first server 108-1 and the user through an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) scheme, an Internet Protocol (IP) authentication, a header enrichment scheme, or an OTP authentication scheme using a message (e.g., an SMS message). However, the scheme in which the electronic device 101 authenticates the first server 108-1 and the user based on the subscription information of the first profile of the first SIM is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may perform the operation of authenticating the first server 108-1 and the user of the electronic device 101 using the OAuth scheme shown in fig. 7 without using the subscription information of the first profile of the first SIM.

In operation 1105, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic device 101 in response to receiving the information for user authentication.

In operation 1107, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send unique information of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the communication circuit to request confirmation of the authorization of the electronic device 101 to access the first server 108-1 (or the authorization to use the communication service provided by the first server 108-1 after accessing the first server 108-1).

In operation 1109, in an embodiment, upon receiving the unique information of the electronic apparatus 101 from the electronic apparatus 101, the first server 108-1 may transmit a response to the electronic apparatus 101.

In operation 1111, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may request the first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription through the communication circuit. For example, the electronic device 101 may send information requesting the first server 108-1 to transfer information over the communication circuit in response to receiving information from the first server 108-1 indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1.

In operation 1113, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send information confirming the subscription transfer to the electronic device 101.

In operation 1115, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send information indicating confirmation of the subscription transfer to the first server 108-1.

In operation 1117, in an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives information indicating confirmation of subscription transfer from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may request the second server 108-2 to generate (or prepare) a second profile.

In operation 1119, in an embodiment, in response to receiving a request to generate a second profile from the first server 108-1, the second server 108-2 may generate the second profile and may transmit the generated second profile to the electronic device 101.

In operation 1121, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may obtain (or download) a second profile from the second server 108-2 through the second wireless communication circuit, and may store the obtained second profile in the second SIM.

In operation 1123, in an embodiment, when the second profile is stored (or installed) in the second SIM, the electronic device 101 may transmit a list of profiles stored (or installed) in the second SIM to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit by including the second profile. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send information to the first server 108-1 over the second wireless communication circuit indicating that the second profile is stored (or installed) in the second SIM.

In operation 1125, in an embodiment, first server 108-1 may send a response to electronic device 101 in response to the received list of profiles or information indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM.

In operation 1127, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may disable (or disable) the first profile in response to receiving a profile list including the second profile or information indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM from the electronic device 101.

Fig. 12A and 12B are diagrams illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription according to an embodiment. For example, fig. 12A and 12B may be diagrams illustrating example user interface screens related to an embodiment of the operations of fig. 10.

In an embodiment, the operations of fig. 12A and 12B may be performed in the electronic device 101 (e.g., the processor 120) of fig. 3.

Referring to fig. 12A and 12B, in example 1210, in an embodiment, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160 of fig. 1), a configuration screen 1211 related to subscription transition. In example 1210, in an embodiment, object 1213 may be an object indicating the physical first SIM inserted into electronic device 101. The object 1215 may be an object mapped to a function for subscription migration.

In example 1220, in an embodiment, upon receiving an input from a user for mapping to object 1215 for a function of subscription transfer, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen 1221 including an object 1223 indicating a first SIM for performing user authentication.

In an embodiment, in response to receiving an input from the user to select the object 1223, the processor 210 may perform an operation of authenticating the first server 108-1 and the user based on the subscription information of the first profile of the first SIM indicated by the object 1223.

In example 1230, in an embodiment, based on the information received from first server 108-1, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), screen 1231 including information for confirming the subscription transition. For example, the processor 210 may display, through a display (e.g., the display device 160), at least one of text 1233 for inquiring whether to transfer the subscription of the electronic device 101, subscription information (e.g., MSISDN)1235 included in the first profile of the first SIM indicated by the object 1223, and an object 1237 for receiving input for confirming the transfer of the subscription of the electronic device 101.

In example 1240, in an embodiment, in response to receiving an input of object 1237 from the user, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen indicating that the subscription transition is in preparation (or is running an operation to generate a second profile for the subscription transition). For example, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen 1241 that includes an object 1243 and text 1245 indicating that a subscription transfer is in preparation.

In example 1250, in an embodiment, upon completing the operations of obtaining the second profile from second server 108-2 and storing (or installing) the second profile in the second SIM, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen 1251 including an object 1255 indicating that an object 1253 indicating the first SIM and the second profile is to be stored in the second SIM.

Although not shown in example 1250, in an embodiment, upon receiving information from first server 108-1 indicating that the first SIM is deactivated, processor 210 may display object 1253 (or change its display) to indicate that the first SIM is deactivated. For example, the processor 210 may shadow or obscure the object 1253 to indicate that the first SIM is deactivated. However, the display indicating that the first SIM is deactivated is not limited to the above-mentioned example. For example, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), text indicating that the first SIM is deactivated. In an embodiment, upon completing the operation of storing (or installing) the second profile from second server 108-2, processor 210 may display object 1253 (or change its display) via a display (e.g., display device 160) to indicate that the first SIM is deactivated.

Fig. 13 is a signal flow diagram 1300 illustrating an example system (e.g., electronic device 101, external electronic device 103, first server 108-1, and second server 108-2) and illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 13, in operation 1301, the electronic device 101 may receive an input from a user for inputting subscription information of a first profile of a first SIM. For example, the electronic device 101 may receive an input from a user via a display (e.g., display 160 of fig. 1) for entering the MSISDN of the first profile of the first SIM.

In an embodiment, after receiving an input from the user for selecting a communication carrier, the electronic device 101 may receive an input from the user for inputting subscription information for the first profile of the first SIM. For example, upon receiving an input from the user to select a communication carrier, the electronic device 101 may display a field (or portion) of the MSISDN of the first profile for entering the first SIM via a display (e.g., display device 160). The electronic device 101 may receive an input from the user for inputting the MSISDN of the first profile of the first SIM into a field for inputting the MSISDN of the first profile of the first SIM. However, an operation of receiving an input for selecting a communication carrier from a user may be omitted. For example, if a communication carrier can be identified (or determined) by the MSISDN of the first profile of the first SIM, an operation of receiving an input for selecting a communication carrier from the user may be omitted.

In operation 1303, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may transmit the MSISDN of the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1 through a communication circuit (e.g., the communication module 190).

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may transmit unique information of the electronic device 101 (or an ID of the electronic device 101) to the first server 108-1 through the communication circuit in addition to the MSISDN of the external electronic device 103. For example, the processor 210 may send the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 via the communication circuit in addition to the MSISDN of the external electronic device 103. However, the unique information of the electronic device 101 transmitted to the first server 108-1 is not limited to the IMEI. Thus, the unique information of the electronic device 101 sent to the first server 108-1 may include at least one of a protocol version, a vendor of the electronic device 101, a model name and a software version in addition to the IMEI.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may transmit, to the first server 108-1, a port number of a port of the external electronic device 103 for receiving authentication information from the first server 108-1 through the communication circuit, in addition to the MSISDN of the external electronic device 103.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may transmit unique information of the electronic device 101 and a port number of a port of the external electronic device 103 for receiving authentication information from the first server 108-1 to the first server 108-1 through the communication circuit in addition to the MSISDN of the external electronic device 103.

In operation 1305, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may transmit authentication information to the external electronic device 103 using the MSISDN of the external electronic device 103.

In an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives the MSISDN of the external electronic device 103 from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may generate a one-time password (OTP) as the authentication information. However, the authentication information that may be generated by the first server 108-1 is not limited to the OTP.

In an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives a port number of a port of the external electronic device 103 for receiving authentication information from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may transmit the authentication information to the port of the external electronic device 103 corresponding to the received port number. In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a message including authentication information to the external electronic device 103. For example, the first server 108-1 may send a Short Message Service (SMS) message including the authentication information to the external electronic device 103. However, a scheme in which the first server 108-1 transmits the authentication information to the external electronic device 103 is not limited to the scheme based on the SMS message transmission. In an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 may display the received authentication information (e.g., OTP).

In operation 1307, in an embodiment, the electronic apparatus 101 may receive an input for inputting authentication information from a user, the authentication information being displayed (or output) to the external electronic apparatus 103 and transmitted to the external electronic apparatus 103 by the first server 108-1.

In operation 1309, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may transmit authentication information received from the user to the first server 108-1 through the communication circuit.

In operation 1311, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic device 101 in response to receiving the authentication information.

In an embodiment, although not shown in fig. 13, when the electronic apparatus 101 transmits authentication information to the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the authentication information received from the electronic apparatus 101 is identical to the authentication information transmitted to the external electronic apparatus 103. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the authentication information received from the electronic device 101 is identical to the authentication information transmitted to the external electronic device 103, the first server 108-1 may transmit a response indicating that the authentication is completed (or successful) to the electronic device 101. For example, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic device 101 that includes a token (or access token) required by the electronic device 101 to access the first server 108-1.

In operation 1313, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may transmit unique information of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit to request confirmation of the authorization of the electronic device 101 to access the first server 108-1 (or the authorization to use the communication service provided by the first server 108-1 after accessing the first server 108-1).

In operation 1315, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic device 101 upon receiving the unique information of the electronic device 101 from the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, upon receiving the unique information of the electronic device 101 from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the electronic device 101 has the authorization to access the first server 108-1 based on the received unique information of the electronic device 101.

In operation 1317, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may request, via the communication circuit, the first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription. For example, the electronic device 101 may send information requesting the first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription through the communication circuitry in response to receiving information from the first server 108-1 indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1.

In operation 1319, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send information to confirm the subscription transfer to the electronic device 101.

In operation 1321, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send information to the first server 108-1 indicating confirmation of the subscription transition.

In operation 1323, in an embodiment, when the first server 108-1 receives information indicating confirmation of the subscription transfer from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may request the second server 108-2 to generate (or prepare) a second profile.

In operation 1325, in an embodiment, in response to receiving a request from the first server 108-1 to generate the second profile, the second server 108-2 may generate the second profile and may transmit the generated second profile to the electronic device 101.

In operation 1327, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may obtain (or download) the second profile from the second server 108-2 through the second wireless communication circuit, and may store the obtained second profile in the second SIM.

In operation 1329, in an embodiment, when the second profile is stored (or installed) in the second SIM, the electronic device 101 may send a list of profiles stored (or installed) in the second SIM to the first server 108-1 through the second wireless communication circuit by including the second profile. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send information to the first server 108-1 over the second wireless communication circuit indicating that the second profile is stored (or installed) in the second SIM.

In operation 1331, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic device 101 in response to the received profile list or information indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM.

In operation 1333, in an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may disable (or disable) the first profile in response to receiving a profile list including the second profile or information indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM from the electronic device 101.

Fig. 14A and 14B are diagrams illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription according to an embodiment. For example, fig. 14A and 14B may be diagrams illustrating user interface screens related to an embodiment of the operations of fig. 13.

Referring to fig. 14A and 14B, in example 1410, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), configuration screen 1411 related to subscription transitions, in an embodiment. In example 1410, in an embodiment, object 1413 may be an object mapped to a function for subscription transfer.

In example 1420, in an embodiment, in response to receiving an input from a user for object 1413, processor 210 may display screen 1421 via a display (e.g., display device 160) for receiving an input from the user for selecting a communications carrier. For example, the processor 210 may display

objects

1423 and 1425 indicating the communication carrier through a display (e.g., the display device 160). Processor 210 may receive input from a user to select object 1423 among

objects

1423 and 1425.

In example 1430, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may receive an input from the user for inputting an MSISDN of the first profile of the first SIM.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may display a screen 1431 via a display (e.g., the display device 160), the screen including a field 1433 for inputting the MSISDN of the first profile of the first SIM from the user. In response to receiving a user input for entering MSISDN 1433 of the first profile of the first SIM through field 1433, the processor 210 may send information comprising the MSISDN of the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1.

In example 1440, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may receive an input from a user to enter authentication information, the input being displayed to the external electronic device 103 and sent by the first server 108-1 to the external electronic device 103.

In an embodiment, processor 210 may display a screen 1441 via a display (e.g., display device 160) that includes a field 1443 for entering authentication information from a user. In response to receiving a user input for inputting authentication information through field 1443, processor 210 may send the authentication information input from the user to first server 108-1.

In example 1450, in an embodiment, based on information received from first server 108-1, processor 210 may display screen 1451 via a display (e.g., display device 160) that includes information for confirming subscription transition. For example, the processor 210 may display, through a display (e.g., the display device 160), text 1453 for inquiring whether to transfer the subscription of the electronic device 101, an MSISDN 1455 of the external electronic device 103, and an object 1457 for receiving an input for confirming the transfer of the subscription of the electronic device.

In example 1460, in an embodiment, in response to receiving an input from a user for object 1457, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen indicating that a subscription transition is in preparation (or is running an operation to generate a second profile for subscription transition). For example, processor 210 may display a screen 1461 via a display (e.g., display device 160) that includes an object 1463 and text 1465 indicating that a subscription transfer is in preparation.

In example 1470, in an embodiment, upon completing the operations of obtaining the second profile from second server 108-2 and storing (or installing) the second profile in the second SIM, processor 210 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen 1471 including an object 1473 indicating that the second profile is stored in the second SIM.

Fig. 15 is a flow diagram 1500 illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment.

Operations

1510, 1520, 1530, 1540, 1550, 1560, 1570, 1580, and 1590 (hereinafter, may be referred to as operations 1510 through 1590) according to the embodiment may be performed in the existing electronic device of the user. In an embodiment, the user's existing electronic device may be an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 101 of fig. 3).

Referring to fig. 15, in operation 1510, the processor 210 of the electronic device 101 (e.g., the processor 210 of fig. 2) may establish a short-range communication connection with a new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3).

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may establish a short-range communication connection with a new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) through a first wireless communication circuit (e.g., a short-range wireless communication circuit). In an embodiment, the processor 210 may establish a short-range communication connection between the electronic device 101 and a new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) through a D2D communication connection (e.g., bluetooth, NFC, or Wi-Fi Direct).

In an embodiment, in response to receiving an input from a user for a subscription transfer, the processor 210 may establish a short-range communication connection with a new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3). For example, processor 210 may display a configuration screen for transferring subscriptions via a display (e.g., display device 160 of fig. 1). In an embodiment, upon receiving an input from the user for selecting an object (or icon) for transferring the subscription, the processor 210 may display a list of external electronic devices 103 capable of establishing a short-range communication connection through a display (e.g., the display device 160). The processor 210 may control the first wireless communication circuit in response to an input for selecting at least one external electronic device 103 from the list of external electronic devices 103 such that the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 are connected (or paired) in short-range communication.

In operation 1520, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may receive device information from a new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3). In embodiments, the device information may include a profile list, unique information, or a combination thereof of the new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3). In an embodiment, the profile list may indicate a list of at least one profile stored in a second SIM of the new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3). In embodiments, the unique information may include an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), an Integrated Circuit Card Identity (ICCID), an EUICC Identity (EID), or a combination thereof.

In operation 1530, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may identify transferable subscription information stored in at least one first profile in a first SIM of the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, based on configuration information received from the configuration server (or config server), the processor 210 may identify, among the at least one first profile, a first profile of a communications carrier that supports subscription transfer, and may identify a subscription indicated by the identified first profile as a transferable subscription. In an embodiment, based on the configuration information, the processor 210 may identify communications carrier identity information (mobile country code (MCC) and Mobile Network Code (MNC)) of a communications carrier supporting subscription transfer, identify a first profile having the same communications carrier identity information as identified in the at least one first profile stored in the first SIM, and identify a subscription indicated by the identified first profile as a transferable subscription.

In an embodiment, if transferable subscription information is identified, the processor 210 may send the transferable subscription information to the new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3).

In an embodiment, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may confirm whether to transfer the subscription based on the transferable subscription information. In an embodiment, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may confirm whether to transfer the subscription based on the received user input while displaying a screen indicating that subscription transfer is possible through a display (e.g., display device 160 of fig. 1).

In an embodiment, if there are two or more transferable subscriptions, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may display a screen indicating that the two or more subscriptions may be transferred. In an embodiment, a new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may confirm whether to transfer each of two or more subscriptions based on received user input while displaying a screen indicating that the two or more subscriptions may be transferred.

In an embodiment, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may send whether to transfer the subscription to electronic device 101.

In operation 1540, in an embodiment, processor 210 may perform authentication with first server 108-1 based on the selected subscription information. In an embodiment, the authentication may be performed based on an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) scheme.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may perform authentication with the first server 108-1 based on subscription information received from a new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3). In an embodiment, the processor 210 may identify the first server 108-1 to manage the profile indicated by the transferable subscription information, and may perform authentication with the first server 108-1 for transferring the subscription. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may perform authentication for subscription transfer by sending an authentication request to the first server 108-1 including the IMSI, IMEI, or a combination thereof of the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, first server 108-1 may send a challenge (challenge) to electronic device 101 in response to an authentication request by electronic device 101. In an embodiment, the challenge may be a nonce used to authenticate the first SIM of the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may use the first SIM of the electronic device 101 to obtain the payload of the challenge. In an embodiment, processor 210 may send a challenge to the first SIM. In an embodiment, the first SIM may obtain the payload of the challenge based on the authentication key value. In an embodiment, the first SIM may send the payload to the processor 210. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may send the payload to the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may determine whether the authentication was successful based on the payload. In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may determine whether the authentication was successful by comparing the payload to a value converted from a challenge according to a pre-designed key for the first SIM. In an embodiment, first server 108-1 may determine that the authentication was successful if the value converted from the challenge according to the pre-designed key for the first SIM is the same as the payload.

In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a response to the electronic device 101 indicating whether the authentication was successful.

In operation 1550, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send device information of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 to confirm authorization of the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may request the first server 108-1 to confirm the authorization upon receiving a response from the first server 108-1 indicating that the authentication was successful. In an embodiment, the device information sent to the first server 108-1 may be unique information of the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, the unique information may include at least one of an EID, an IMEI, a protocol version, a vendor of the existing electronic device 111, a model name, and a software version.

In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1 based on the unique information received from the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send information to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1.

In operation 1560, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may request the first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription. In an embodiment, in response to receiving information indicating that there is authorization to access the first server 108-1, the processor 210 may request that the first server 108-1 transfer the subscription.

In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send information for confirming the subscription transfer to the electronic device 101 in response to a subscription transfer request of the electronic device 101. For example, the first server 108-1 may transmit, to the electronic device 101, a URL of a web page capable of allowing the electronic device 101 to display at least one of information indicating that a subscription transition will occur, information of a new electronic device (e.g., an EID or IMEI of the external electronic device 103), information of the electronic device 101 (e.g., an IMEI of the electronic device 101), and an MSISDN of the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may access the URL of the received web page to display a screen including at least one of information indicating that a subscription transition is to occur, information of the electronic device 101, information of a new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3), and an MSISDN of the electronic device 101. However, the information displayed by the URL of the received web page is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may receive user input for confirming the subscription transition (or for agreeing to the subscription transition) while displaying the screen.

In an embodiment, in response to receiving user input for agreeing to the subscription transition, processor 210 may send information to first server 108-1 indicating that the user confirms the subscription transition.

In an embodiment, in response to receiving information from the electronic device 101 indicating confirmation of the subscription transfer, the first server 108-1 may request the second server 108-2 to generate (or prepare) the second profile.

In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send the second profile download information to the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, the second profile download information may include URL information for the second server 108-2 to be accessed to download the second profile. In an embodiment, the second profile download information may include an activation code.

In operation 1570, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send the second profile download information received from the first server 108-1 to a new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3).

In an embodiment, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may access the second server 108-2 based on the second profile download information. In an embodiment, the new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may access the second server 108-2 based on the URL information of the second server 108-2 included in the second profile download information. In an embodiment, based on the second profile download information, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may obtain (or download) the second profile from the accessed second server 108-2. In an embodiment, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may acquire (or download) the second profile from the second server 108-2 and may store the acquired second profile in the second SIM. In an embodiment, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may obtain (or download) the second profile from the second server 108-2 based on the second profile download information. In an embodiment, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may store the obtained second profile in the second SIM.

In an embodiment, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may notify the electronic device 101 that the download of the second profile is complete.

In operation 1580, in an embodiment, when a new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) completes the download of the second profile, the processor 210 may request the first server 108-1 to deactivate the first profile. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may request the first server 108-1 to update the subscription.

In an embodiment, first server 108-1 may deactivate (or disable) the first profile in response to the subscription update request.

In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may notify the electronic device 101 that the subscription update is complete. In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may notify the electronic device 101 that the first profile is disabled (or disabled).

In operation 1590, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send information indicating that the subscription transfer is complete to the new electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3).

In an embodiment, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may use the second profile upon notifying the subscription transfer is complete. In an embodiment, upon notification of completion of the subscription transfer, the new electronic device (e.g., external electronic device 103 of fig. 3) may enable (or activate) the second profile of the second SIM and may use a network (e.g., a cellular network) provided by a communications carrier associated with the first server 108-1 using the activated second profile.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart 1600 illustrating an example system and illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an example embodiment. For example, fig. 16 may be a diagram illustrating an example embodiment of the operations of fig. 15 for an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 111 of fig. 2) on a system (e.g., existing electronic device 111, new electronic device 113, first server 108-1, and second server 108-2).

The existing electronic device 111 according to the embodiment may download configuration information from a configuration server (not shown). In an embodiment, the configuration information may include information on whether each communication carrier supports subscription transfer and information (e.g., a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)) that can access the first server 108-1 of each communication carrier.

In an embodiment, in operation 1603, the existing electronic device 111 and the new electronic device 113 may establish a short-range communication connection. For example, the existing electronic device 111 and the new electronic device 113 may be connected through D2D communication (e.g., bluetooth, NFC, or Wi-Fi Direct).

In an embodiment, in operation 1605, the new electronic device 113 may identify a profile list. In an embodiment, the profile list may be a list of profiles stored in the second SIM of the new electronic device 113.

In an embodiment, the new electronic device 113 may transmit device information to the existing electronic device 111 in operation 1607. In embodiments, the device information may include a list of profiles, unique information, or a combination thereof for the new electronic device 113. In an embodiment, the profile list may indicate a list of at least one profile stored in the second SIM of the new electronic device 113. In embodiments, the unique information may include IMEI, ICCID, EID, or a combination thereof.

In an embodiment, in operation 1609, the existing electronic device 111 may identify transferable subscription information in at least one first profile stored in a first SIM of the existing electronic device 111. In an embodiment, based on the configuration information, the existing electronic device 111 may identify, among the at least one first profile, a first profile of a communication carrier that supports subscription transfer, and may identify a subscription indicated by the identified first profile as a transferable subscription. In an embodiment, based on the configuration information, the existing electronic device 111 may identify communications carrier identity information (mobile country code (MCC) and Mobile Network Code (MNC)) of communications carriers supporting subscription transfer, identify communications carrier identity information having the same communications carrier identity information as identified in the at least one first profile stored in the first SIM, and identify the subscription indicated by the identified first profile as a transferable subscription.

In an embodiment, in operation 1611, the existing electronic device 111 may send the transferable subscription information to the new electronic device 113.

In an embodiment, in operation 1613, the new electronic device 113 may confirm whether to transfer the subscription from the existing electronic device 111 to the new electronic device 113. In an embodiment, while displaying a screen indicating that subscription transfer is possible via a display (e.g., display device 160 of fig. 1), new electronic device 113 may confirm whether to transfer a subscription based on the received user input. In an embodiment, if the user input received while the screen indicating that subscription transition is possible is displayed indicates that subscription transition is to be made, the new electronic device 113 may recognize that subscription transition is to be made. In an embodiment, if the user input received while the screen indicating that subscription transfer is possible is displayed indicates that subscription is not to be transferred, the new electronic device 113 may recognize that subscription transfer is not to be performed.

In an embodiment, if there are two or more transferable subscriptions, the new electronic device 113 may display a screen indicating that the two or more subscriptions may be transferred. In an embodiment, while displaying a screen indicating that two or more subscriptions can be transferred, the new electronic device 113 can confirm whether to transfer each of the two or more subscriptions based on the received user input.

In an embodiment, in operation 1615, the new electronic device 113 may send information indicating whether to transfer the subscription to the existing electronic device 111. In an embodiment, the information indicating whether to transfer the subscription may indicate whether to make a subscription transfer. In an embodiment, the information indicating whether to transfer the subscription may include subscription information for making a subscription transfer. In an embodiment, if there are two or more subscriptions to be transferred, the information indicating whether the subscription is to be transferred may include subscription information for each subscription to be transferred.

In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 and the first server 108-1 may perform authentication in operation 1617.

In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 may request the first server 108-1 to perform authentication. In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 may request the first server 108-1 to perform authentication based on an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) scheme. In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 may send an authentication request including the IMSI, IMEI, or a combination thereof of the existing electronic device 111 to the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, first server 108-1 may send a challenge to existing electronic device 111 in response to the authentication request. In an embodiment, the challenge may be a random number used to authenticate the first SIM of the existing electronic device 111.

In an embodiment, existing electronic device 111 may use the first SIM of existing electronic device 111 to obtain the payload for the challenge. In an embodiment, based on the authentication key value, the existing electronic device 111 may use the first SIM to acquire the payload of the challenge. In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 may send the payload to the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, based on the payload, first server 108-1 may determine whether the authentication was successful. In an embodiment, first server 108-1 may determine whether the authentication was successful by comparing the payload with a value converted from a challenge according to a pre-designed key for the first SIM. In an embodiment, first server 108-1 may determine that the authentication was successful if the value converted from the challenge according to the pre-designed key for the first SIM is the same as the payload.

In an embodiment, first server 108-1 may send a response to existing electronic device 111 indicating whether the authentication was successful.

In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 and the first server 108-1 may confirm authorization of the existing electronic device 111 in operation 1619. In an embodiment, upon receiving a response from first server 108-1 indicating that the authentication was successful, existing electronic device 111 may request first server 108-1 to confirm the authorization.

In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 may request that the first server 108-1 confirm authorization to access the first server 108-1 (or authorization to use the communication service provided by the first server 108-1 after accessing the first server 108). In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 may send unique information of the existing electronic device 111 to the first server 108-1 to confirm the authorization. In an embodiment, the unique information may include at least one of an EID, an IMEI, a protocol version, a vendor of the existing electronic device 111, a model name, and a software version.

In an embodiment, based on the unique information received from the existing electronic device 111, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the existing electronic device 111 has authorization to access the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, based on the unique information received from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the electronic device 101 has authorization to make a subscription transfer. In an embodiment, if the electronic device 101 does not have authorization to make a subscription transfer, the first server 108-1 may confirm that the electronic device 101 does not have authorization to access the first server 108-1. If the subscription of the electronic device 101 cannot be transferred (e.g., in the case of a subscription using a predetermined rate plan (e.g., a business rate plan)), the first server 108-1 may confirm that the electronic device 101 is not authorized to access the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the existing electronic device 111 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send information to the existing electronic device 111 indicating that the existing electronic device 111 has authorization to access the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the existing electronic device 111 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may transmit information indicating that the electronic device 101 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1 to the existing electronic device 111 or may transmit a web page URL so that the existing electronic device 111 displays the web page of the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, in operation 1620, existing electronic device 111 may request first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription. In an embodiment, in response to receiving information indicating that the existing electronic device 111 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the existing electronic device 111 may request that the first server 108-1 transfer the subscription. In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 may send a subscription transfer request including unique information of the existing electronic device 111 and the new electronic device 113 to the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, the unique information of the existing electronic device 111 and the new electronic device 113 may include an IMEI, an ICCID, an EID, or a combination thereof.

In an embodiment, in operation 1621, the first server 108-1 may send information to confirm the subscription transfer to the existing electronic device 111. For example, the first server 108-1 may transmit, to the existing electronic device 111, a URL of a web page capable of displaying at least one of information indicating that a subscription transition will occur, information of the new electronic device 113 (e.g., EID or IMEI of the external electronic device 103), information of the existing electronic device 111 (e.g., IMEI of the electronic device 101), and MSISDN of the existing electronic device 111.

In an embodiment, in operation 1623, the existing electronic device 111 may send information to the first server 108-1 indicating confirmation of the subscription transition.

In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 may access the URL of the received web page to display a screen including at least one of: information indicating that a subscription transition is to occur, information of the existing electronic device 111, information of the new electronic device 113, and an MSISDN of the existing electronic device 111. However, the information displayed by the URL of the received web page is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 may receive user input for confirming the subscription transition (or for agreeing to the subscription transition) while displaying the screen.

In an embodiment, in response to receiving user input to confirm the subscription transition, the existing electronic device 111 may send information to the first server 108-1 indicating that the user confirmed the subscription transition.

In an embodiment, in response to receiving information indicating confirmation of the subscription transfer from the existing electronic device 111, the first server 108-1 may request the second server 108-2 to generate (or prepare) a second profile in operation 1625.

In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send the second profile download information to the existing electronic device 111 in operation 1626. In an embodiment, the second profile download information may include URL information for the second server 108-2 to be accessed to download the second profile. In an embodiment, the second profile download information may include an activation code.

In an embodiment, the existing electronic device 111 may send the second profile download information received from the first server 108-1 to the new electronic device 113 in operation 1627.

In an embodiment, in operation 1629, the new electronic device 113 may obtain (or download) the second profile from the second server 108-2 and may store the obtained second profile in the second SIM. In an embodiment, the new electronic device 113 may obtain (or download) the second profile from the second server 108-2 based on the second profile download information. In an embodiment, the new electronic device 113 may store the obtained second profile in the second SIM.

In an embodiment, the new electronic device 113 may notify the existing electronic device 111 that the download of the second profile is completed in operation 1631.

In an embodiment, in operation 1633, upon notifying the completion of the download of the second profile, the existing electronic device 111 may request the first server 108-1 to update the subscription.

In an embodiment, in operation 1635, the first server 108-1 may disable (or disable) the first profile in response to the subscription update request.

In an embodiment, in operation 1637, the first server 108-1 may notify the existing electronic device 111 that the subscription update is complete. In an embodiment, first server 108-1 may notify existing electronic device 111 that the first profile is disabled (or disabled).

In an embodiment, in operation 1639, upon notifying the subscription update is complete, the existing electronic device 111 may notify the new electronic device 113 that the subscription transfer is complete.

In an embodiment, in operation 1641, the new electronic device 113 may use the second profile upon notification of the completion of the subscription transfer. In an embodiment, upon notifying the completion of the subscription transfer, the new electronic device 113 may enable (or activate) the second profile of the second SIM and may use a network (e.g., a cellular network) provided by a communications carrier associated with the first server 108-1 using the activated second profile.

In an embodiment, if the second profile of the second SIM is activated, the new electronic device 113 may notify the existing electronic device 111 that the second profile is activated.

In an embodiment, the new electronic device 113 and/or the existing electronic device 111 may display a screen indicating completion of the subscription transfer, thereby notifying the user of the completion of the subscription transfer. In an embodiment, the screen indicating that the subscription transfer is complete may include information indicating that a network provided by a communications carrier associated with the first server 108-1 may be used using the second profile activated by the new electronic device 113. In an embodiment, the screen indicating that the subscription transfer is complete may include information indicating that a network provided by a communications carrier associated with the first server 108-1 cannot be used using the first profile deactivated by the existing electronic device 111.

Fig. 17A, 17B, 17C, and 17D are diagrams illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription according to an embodiment. For example, fig. 17A, 17B, 17C, and 17D may be diagrams illustrating example user interface screens related to an embodiment of the operations of fig. 16.

Referring to example 1710 of fig. 17A, existing electronic device 111 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160 of fig. 1), a screen 1711 indicating establishment of a communication connection with new electronic device 113.

Referring to example 1720 of fig. 17A, the new electronic device 113 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen 1721 indicating that subscription information may be obtained from the existing electronic device 111. In an embodiment, the screen 1721 may include an object 1725 for performing the acquisition of subscription information and an object 1729 for ending or skipping the acquisition of subscription information. In an embodiment, example 1710 may be displayed after establishing the short-range communication connection in operation 1603. In an embodiment, example 1720 may be displayed after operation 1609. In an embodiment, example 1720 may be displayed during operation 1613.

In an embodiment, upon selection of the object 1725 in the screen 1721, a subscription transfer process between the existing electronic device 111 and the new electronic device 113 may be performed.

Referring to example 1730 of fig. 17B, based on the information received from first server 108-1, existing electronic device 111 may display screen 1731 including information for confirming the subscription transfer. For example, the existing electronic device 111 may display text 1735 for querying whether to transfer the subscription, subscription information (e.g., MSISDN)1737 of the first profile, and an object 1733 for receiving input for confirming the transfer of the subscription. In an embodiment, example 1730 may be a screen indicated by a web page URL received from server 108-1. In an embodiment, example 1730 may be displayed after existing electronic device 111 receives information from first server 108-1 confirming the subscription transfer to existing electronic device 111 in operation 1621.

Referring to example 1740 of fig. 17B, the new electronic device 113 may display a screen 1741, the screen 1741 including information indicating a subscription transition through the existing electronic device 111. In an embodiment, the new electronic device 113 may display a screen 1741 including text 1745, the text 1745 indicating content for transferring subscriptions through the existing electronic device 111. In an embodiment, after the new electronic device 113 identifies whether to transfer the subscription in operation 1613, an example 1740 may be displayed.

Referring to example 1750 of fig. 17C, in response to receiving an input from the user for object 1733, existing electronic device 111 may display screen 1751 indicating that a subscription transfer is being performed. In an embodiment, example 1750 may be displayed by existing electronic device 111 after receiving user input to confirm the subscription transition (or to approve the subscription transition) in the screen indicated by the web page URL received from server 108-1 in operation 1623. In an embodiment, the example 1750 may not be displayed until the existing electronic device 111 receives a second profile storage complete message from the new electronic device 113.

Referring to example 1760 of fig. 17C, new electronic device 113 may display a screen 1761 indicating that the subscription is being transferred. In an embodiment, screen 1761 may include an object 1753 and text 1765 indicating that the subscription is being transferred.

Referring to example 1770 of fig. 17D, the existing electronic device 111 may display a screen 1771 indicating deactivation of the first profile in response to receiving information from the first server 108-1 indicating deactivation of the first profile. For example, example 1770 may be displayed after the existing electronic device 111 receives the first profile deactivation notification in operation 1637.

Referring to example 1780 of fig. 17D, the new electronic device 113 may display a screen 1781 indicating activation of the second profile in response to receiving information indicating completion of the subscription transfer from the existing electronic device 111. For example, example 1780 may be displayed after the existing electronic device 111 receives the subscription update completion notification in operation 1639.

Fig. 18 is a flow diagram 1800 illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an embodiment.

Operations

1801, 1805, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1890 (which may be referred to as operations 1801 to 1890 hereinafter) according to an embodiment may be performed in a new electronic device of a user. In an embodiment, the new electronic device of the user may be an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 101 of fig. 1).

Referring to fig. 18, in operation 1801, a processor of the electronic device 101 (e.g., the processor 210 of fig. 2) may establish a short-range communication connection with an existing electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 103 of fig. 3).

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may establish a short-range communication connection with the external electronic device 103 through a first wireless communication circuit (e.g., a short-range wireless communication circuit). In an embodiment, the processor 210 may establish a short-range communication connection between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 through a D2D communication connection (e.g., bluetooth, NFC, or Wi-Fi Direct).

In operation 1805, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may obtain profile information from the external electronic device 103.

In an embodiment, when a short-range communication connection is established between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103, the processor 210 may request the external electronic device 103 to provide information of at least one profile stored in the second SIM of the external electronic device 103, and may receive the information of the at least one profile from the external electronic device 103.

In operation 1810, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may identify transferable subscription information based on information of at least one first profile of the external electronic device 103. In an embodiment, based on configuration information received from the configuration server, the processor 210 may identify, among the at least one profile, a profile of a communications carrier that supports subscription transfer, and may identify a subscription indicated by the identified profile as a transferable subscription. In an embodiment, based on the configuration information, the processor 210 may identify communication carrier identity information (MCC and MNC) of the communication carrier supporting the subscription transfer, identify a profile having the same communication carrier identity information as identified in the at least one profile of the external electronic device 103, and identify the subscription indicated by the identified first profile as the transferable subscription.

In an embodiment, while displaying the screen indicating that the subscription information may be transferred, the processor 210 may confirm whether to transfer the subscription based on the received user input. In an embodiment, while displaying a screen indicating that subscription transfer is possible via a display (e.g., display device 160 of fig. 1), processor 210 may confirm whether to transfer a subscription based on the received user input.

In an embodiment, if there are two or more transferable subscriptions, the processor 210 may display a screen indicating that the two or more subscriptions may be transferred. In an embodiment, while displaying a screen indicating that two or more subscriptions can be transferred, the processor 210 may confirm whether to transfer each of the two or more subscriptions based on the received user input.

In operation 1820, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may request the external electronic device 103 to perform user authentication for subscription transfer.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may request the external electronic device 103 to perform user authentication for subscription transfer based on the transferable subscription information.

In an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 may perform user authentication in response to a user identification request. In an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 may perform user authentication in response to a user authentication request for subscription transfer. In an embodiment, the user authentication may include authentication based on biometric information of the user (e.g., fingerprint authentication). In embodiments, user authentication may include various methods provided in the external electronic device 103 (e.g., passwords, PINs, patterns, biometric information of the user (e.g., authentication based on fingerprint, iris, and/or facial recognition)).

In an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 may perform user authentication based on the received user information (e.g., password, PIN, pattern, biometric information) while displaying a screen for requesting confirmation of whether to make a subscription transfer through a display (e.g., the display device 160 of fig. 1).

In operation 1830, the processor 210 may request the first server 108-1 to perform authentication based on the selected subscription information. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may request the first server 108-1 to perform authentication in response to receiving that user authentication is identified from the external electronic device 103. In an embodiment, the authentication may be performed based on an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) scheme. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send an authentication request comprising the IMSI, IMEI, or a combination thereof of the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may perform authentication with the first server 108-1 based on subscription information received from the external electronic device 103. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may identify the first server 108-1 to manage the profile indicated by the transferable subscription information, and may perform authentication with the first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription.

In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send a challenge to the electronic device 101 in response to an authentication request of the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, the challenge may be a random number for authenticating the first SIM of the external electronic device 103.

In operation 1840, the processor 210 may send the challenge received from the first server 108-1 to the external electronic device 103.

In an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 may use the first SIM of the external electronic device 103 to obtain the payload for the challenge. In an embodiment, based on the authentication key value, the external electronic device 103 may use the first SIM to acquire a payload for the challenge. The external electronic device 103 may send the payload for the challenge to the electronic device 101.

In operation 1850, the processor 210 may transmit the payload received from the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1.

In operation 1860, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may send device information of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 to confirm authorization of the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may request the first server 108-1 to confirm the authorization upon receiving a response from the first server 108-1 indicating that the authentication was successful. In an embodiment, the device information sent to the first server 108-1 may be unique information of the electronic device 101.

In an embodiment, the unique information may include at least one of an IMEI, a protocol version, a vendor of the existing electronic device 111, a model name, and a software version.

In an embodiment, based on the unique information received from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send information to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1.

In operation 1870, in an embodiment, the processor 210 may request the first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription. In an embodiment, in response to receiving the information indicating that there is authorization to access the first server 108-1, the processor 210 may request that the first server 108-1 transfer the subscription.

In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may send information for confirming the subscription transfer to the electronic device 101 in response to a subscription transfer request of the electronic device 101. For example, the first server 108-1 may transmit, to the electronic device 101, a URL of a web page capable of allowing the electronic device 101 to display at least one of information indicating that a subscription transition will occur, information of the external electronic device 103 (e.g., IMEI), information of the electronic device 101 (e.g., IMEI), and MSISDN information of the external electronic device 103.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may access the URL of the received web page to display a screen including at least one of information indicating that a subscription transition is to occur, information of the external electronic device 103 (e.g., IMEI), information of the electronic device 101 (e.g., IMEI), and the MSISDN of the external electronic device 103 through a display (e.g., the display device 160 of fig. 1). However, the information displayed by the URL of the received web page is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

In an embodiment, while displaying the screen, the processor 210 may receive user input for confirming the subscription transition (or for agreeing to the subscription transition).

In operation 1880, in an embodiment, processor 210 may obtain (or download) the second profile from second server 108-2 and may store the obtained second profile in the second SIM. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may access the second server 108-2 based on the URL information of the second server 108-2 included in the second profile download information. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may obtain (or download) the second profile from the accessed second server 108-2 based on the second profile download information. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may store the obtained second profile in the second SIM.

In operation 1890, in an embodiment, upon completion of the download of the second profile, the processor 210 may request the first server 108-1 to deactivate the first profile. In an embodiment, the processor 210 may request the first server 108-1 to update the subscription.

In an embodiment, the processor 210 may use the second profile after notifying the subscription transfer is complete. In an embodiment, upon notifying completion of the subscription transfer, the processor 210 may enable (or activate) the second profile of the second SIM and may use a network (e.g., a cellular network) provided by a communications carrier associated with the first server 108-1 using the activated second profile.

Fig. 19 is a signal flow diagram 1900 illustrating an example system and illustrating an example method for transferring subscriptions, according to an example embodiment. For example, fig. 19 may be a diagram illustrating an example embodiment of the operations of fig. 18 for an electronic device 101 (e.g., the electronic device 101, the external electronic device 103, the first server 108-1, and the second server 108-2) on a system.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may download configuration information from a configuration server. In an embodiment, the configuration information may include information on whether each communication carrier supports subscription transfer and information (e.g., a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)) that can access the first server 108-1 of each communication carrier.

Referring to fig. 19, the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 may establish a short-range communication connection in operation 1903. For example, the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 may be connected via D2D communication (e.g., bluetooth, NFC, or Wi-Fi Direct).

In operation 1905, the electronic device 101 may identify a profile list. In an embodiment, the profile list may be a list of profiles stored in a second SIM of the electronic device 101.

In operation 1907, the electronic device 101 may request transmission of subscription information of the external electronic device 103. In an embodiment, the subscription information may include at least one of an IMSI and an MSISDN (or phone number) corresponding to a user of the external electronic device 103.

In operation 1909, the external electronic device 103 may transmit subscription information to the electronic device 101.

In operation 1911, the electronic device 101 may identify transferable subscription information based on at least one first profile stored in a first SIM of the external electronic device 103. In an embodiment, based on the configuration information received from the configuration server, the electronic device 101 may identify, among the at least one first profile, a first profile of a communications carrier that supports subscription transfer, and may identify a subscription indicated by the identified first profile as a transferable subscription. In an embodiment, based on the configuration information, the electronic device 101 may identify communications carrier identity information (MCC and MNC) of communications carriers supporting subscription transfer, identify a first profile having the same communications carrier identity information as identified in the at least one first profile stored in the first SIM, and identify a subscription indicated by the identified first profile as a transferable subscription.

In operation 1913, the electronic device 101 may confirm whether to transfer the subscription. In an embodiment, while displaying a screen indicating that subscription transfer is possible via a display (e.g., display device 160 of fig. 1), electronic device 101 may confirm whether to transfer a subscription based on the received user input. In an embodiment, if the user input received while the screen indicating that subscription transfer is possible is displayed indicates that subscription transfer is to be performed, the electronic device 101 may recognize that subscription transfer is to be performed. In an embodiment, if the user input received while the screen indicating that subscription transfer is possible is displayed indicates that subscription is not to be transferred, the electronic apparatus 101 may recognize that subscription transfer is not to be performed.

In an embodiment, if there are two or more transferable subscriptions, the electronic device 101 may display a screen indicating that the two or more subscriptions may be transferred. In an embodiment, while displaying a screen indicating that two or more subscriptions may be transferred, electronic device 101 may confirm whether to transfer each of the two or more subscriptions based on the received user input.

In operation 1915, the electronic device 101 may request the external electronic device 103 to confirm the user. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may request the external electronic device 103 to confirm the user as to whether to make a subscription transition.

In operation 1917, the external electronic device 103 may perform user authentication in response to the user identification request. In embodiments, user authentication may include various methods provided in the external electronic device 103 (e.g., passwords, Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), patterns, biometric information of the user (e.g., authentication based on fingerprint, iris, and/or facial recognition)).

In operation 1919, the external electronic device 103 may transmit the authentication result to the electronic device 101.

In operation 1921, the electronic device 101 may request the first server 108-1 to perform authentication. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may request the first server 108-1 to perform authentication in response to receiving the recognized user authentication from the external electronic device 103. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may request to perform authentication based on an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) scheme. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send an authentication request comprising the IMSI, IMEI, or a combination thereof of the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1.

In operation 1923, the first server 108-1 may send a challenge to the electronic device 101 in response to the authentication request. In an embodiment, the challenge may be a random number for authenticating the first SIM of the external electronic device 103.

In operation 1925, the electronic device 101 may send the challenge received from the first server 108-1 to the external electronic device 103.

In operation 1927, the external electronic device 103 may acquire a payload for the challenge using the first SIM of the external electronic device 103. In an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 may acquire a payload for the challenge based on the authentication key value of the first SIM.

In operation 1929, in an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 may transmit the payload acquired from the first SIM to the electronic device 101.

In operation 1931, the electronic device 101 may transmit a payload received from the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1.

In operation 1933, the electronic apparatus 101 and the first server 108-1 may confirm the authorization of the electronic apparatus 101. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may request the first server 108-1 to confirm the authorization after receiving a response from the first server 108-1 indicating that the authentication was successful.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may request that the first server 108-1 confirm authorization to access the first server 108-1 (or authorization to use the communication service provided by the first server 108-1 after accessing the first server 108-1). In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send unique information of the electronic device 101 to the first server 108-1 to confirm the authorization. In an embodiment, the unique information may comprise at least one of an IMEI, a protocol version, a vendor of the electronic device 101, a model name, and a software version.

In an embodiment, based on the unique information received from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, based on the unique information received from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may confirm whether the electronic device 101 has authorization to make a subscription transfer. In an embodiment, if the electronic device 101 does not have authorization to make a subscription transfer, the first server 108-1 may confirm that the electronic device 101 does not have authorization to access the first server 108-1. If the subscription of the electronic device 101 cannot be transferred (e.g., in the case of a subscription using a predetermined rate plan (e.g., a business rate plan)), the first server 108-1 may confirm that the electronic device 101 is not authorized to access the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send an authorization to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 has information to access the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, if the first server 108-1 confirms that the electronic device 101 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1, the first server 108-1 may send information to the electronic device 101 indicating that the electronic device 101 does not have the authorization to access the first server 108-1 or may send a web page URL for the electronic device 101 to display the web page of the first server 108-1.

In operation 1934, the electronic device 101 may request the first server 108-1 to transfer the subscription. In an embodiment, in response to receiving the information indicating that the electronic device 101 has authorization to access the first server 108-1, the electronic device 101 may request that the first server 108-1 transfer the subscription. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send a subscription transfer request including unique information of the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 to the first server 108-1. In an embodiment, the unique information of the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 may include IMEI, ICCID, EID, or a combination thereof.

In operation 1935, the first server 108-1 may send information confirming the subscription transfer to the electronic device 101. For example, the first server 108-1 may transmit, to the electronic device 101, a URL of a web page capable of displaying at least one of information indicating that a subscription transition will occur, information of the external electronic device 103 (e.g., an EID or IMEI of the external electronic device 103), information of the electronic device 101 (e.g., an IMEI of the electronic device 101), and an MSISDN of the external electronic device 103.

In operation 1937, in an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may send information indicating confirmation of the subscription transfer to the first server 108-1.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may access the URL of the received web page to display a screen comprising at least one of: information indicating that a subscription transition is to occur, information of the electronic device 101, information of the external electronic device 103, and an MSISDN of the external electronic device 103. However, the information displayed by the URL of the received web page is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may receive a user input for confirming the subscription transition (or for agreeing to the subscription transition) while displaying the screen.

In an embodiment, in response to receiving a user input to approve the subscription transition, the electronic device 101 may send information to the first server 108-1 indicating that the user confirms the subscription transition.

In operation 1939, in response to receiving information indicating confirmation of subscription transfer from the electronic device 101, the first server 108-1 may request the second server 108-2 to generate (or prepare) a second profile.

In operation 1940, the first server 108-1 may transmit the second profile download information to the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, the second profile download information may include URL information for the second server 108-2 to be accessed to download the second profile. In an embodiment, the second profile download information may include an activation code.

In operation 1941, the electronic device 101 may acquire (or download) the second profile from the second server 108-2, and may store the acquired second profile in the second SIM. In an embodiment, based on the second profile download information, electronic device 101 may obtain (or download) the second profile from second server 108-2. In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may store the obtained second profile in the second SIM.

In operation 1943, the electronic device 101 may request the first server 108-1 to update the subscription after completing the downloading of the second profile.

In operation 1945, the first server 108-1 may deactivate (or disable) the first profile in response to the subscription update request.

In operation 1947, the first server 108-1 may notify the electronic device 101 that the subscription update is complete. In an embodiment, the first server 108-1 may notify the electronic device 101 that the first profile is disabled (or disabled).

In operation 1949, the electronic device 101 may use the second profile after notifying the subscription transfer is complete. In an embodiment, upon notification of completion of the subscription transfer, electronic device 101 may enable (or activate) the second profile of the second SIM and may use a network (e.g., a cellular network) provided by a communications carrier associated with first server 108-1 using the activated second profile.

In an embodiment, although not shown, if the second profile is activated, the electronic device 101 may notify the external electronic device 103 that the second profile is activated and/or that the first profile is deactivated.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 101 and/or the external electronic device 103 may display a screen indicating completion of the subscription transfer, thereby notifying the user of the completion of the subscription transfer. In an embodiment, the screen indicating that the subscription transfer is complete may include information indicating that a network provided by a communications carrier associated with the first server 108-1 may be used using the second profile activated by the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, the screen indicating that the subscription transfer is complete may include information indicating that a network provided by a communication carrier associated with the first server 108-1 cannot be used using the first profile deactivated by the external electronic device 103.

Fig. 20A, 20B, 20C, and 20D are diagrams illustrating an example method for transferring a subscription according to an embodiment. For example, fig. 20A, 20B, 20C, and 20D may be diagrams illustrating example user interface screens related to an embodiment of the operations of fig. 19.

Referring to example 2010 of fig. 20A, external electronic device 103 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160 of fig. 1), a screen 2011 indicating establishment of a communication connection with electronic device 101.

Referring to example 2020 of fig. 20A, the electronic device 101 may display, via a display (e.g., display device 160), a screen 2021 indicating that subscription information may be acquired from the external electronic device 103. In an embodiment, the screen 2021 may include an object 2025 for performing acquisition of subscription information and an object 2029 for ending or skipping acquisition of subscription information. In an embodiment, examples 2010 and 2020 may be displayed after the short-range communication connection is established between the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device 103 in operation 1903. In an embodiment, the example 2010 may be displayed after establishing the short-range communication connection in operation 1903. In an embodiment, the example 2020 may be displayed after operation 1911. For example, the example 2020 may be displayed during operation 1913.

In an embodiment, upon selection of the object 2025 in the screen 2021, a subscription transfer process between the external electronic device 103 and the electronic device 101 may be performed.

Referring to example 2030 of fig. 20B, the external electronic device 103 may display a screen 2031 indicating that subscription transfer is being performed by the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 may display a screen 2031 comprising text 2035, the text 2035 indicating content for subscription transfer by the electronic device 101. In an embodiment, the example 2030 may be displayed in the external electronic device 103 after the external electronic device 103 transmits the device information to the electronic device 101 in operation 1909.

Referring to example 2040 of fig. 20B, based on the information received from the first server 108-1, the electronic device 101 may display a screen 2041 that includes information for confirming the subscription transition. For example, the electronic device 101 may display text 2045 for querying whether to transfer the subscription, subscription information (e.g., MSISDN)2047 of the first profile, and an object 2043 for receiving input for confirming the transfer of the subscription. In an embodiment, example 2040 may be a screen indicated by a web page URL received from server 108-1. In an embodiment, the example 2040 may be displayed after the electronic device 101 receives the web page URL from the first server 108-1 in operation 1935.

Referring to example 2050 of fig. 20C, in response to the electronic device 101 receiving an input from the user for the object 2043, the external electronic device 103 may display a screen 2051 indicating that a subscription transition is being performed.

In an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 and the electronic device 101 may transmit and receive information indicating a current state of each other to and from each other while performing an operation for subscription transition. In an embodiment, the external electronic device 103 and the electronic device 101 may change the screen based on the current state of the

electronic devices

101 and 103. In an embodiment, in example 2050, electronic device 101 may receive, in operation 1923, a user input for confirming the subscription transition (or for agreeing to the subscription transition) in the screen indicated by the web page URL received from server 108-1, and although not shown, electronic device 101 may transmit information indicating that the user input is received to external electronic device 103. The external electronic device 103 may display the example 2050 after receiving the information indicating that the user input is received. In an embodiment, the example 2050 may not be displayed until the external electronic device 103 receives a notification from the electronic device 101 indicating activation of the second profile and/or deactivation of the first profile.

Referring to example 2060 of fig. 20C, electronic device 101 may display a screen 2061 indicating that a subscription transition is being performed. In an embodiment, screen 2061 may include an object 2063 and text 2065 indicating that a subscription transfer is being performed.

Referring to example 2070 of fig. 20D, although not shown, the external electronic device 103 may display a screen 2071 indicating deactivation of the first profile in response to receiving information from the electronic device 101 indicating activation of the second profile and/or deactivation of the first profile. In an embodiment, after deactivating the first profile by the first server 108-1 in operation 1945, an example 2070 may be displayed.

Referring to example 2080 of FIG. 20D, in response to receiving information indicating that the subscription transfer is complete from the first server 108-1 in operation 1947, the electronic device 101 may display a screen 2081 indicating activation of the second profile. In an embodiment, examples 2070 and 2080 may be displayed after the electronic device 101 receives the notification indicating that the subscription transfer is complete in operation 1947.

Further, the structure of data used in the above-described embodiments may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium via various means. The computer-readable recording medium may include storage media such as magnetic storage media (e.g., ROM, floppy disks, or hard disks) and optical reading media (e.g., CD-ROMs or Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs)).

The above-mentioned method according to an example embodiment may include: establishing a short-range communication connection between the electronic device and an external electronic device through a first wireless communication circuit configured to support a first communication protocol; obtaining, by a first wireless communication circuit, subscription information of a first profile stored in a first SIM of an external electronic device from the external electronic device; transmitting, by a second wireless communication circuit configured to support a second communication protocol, at least a portion of the subscription information; acquiring authentication information provided by a first server from an external electronic device through a first wireless communication circuit; sending authentication information to the first server through the second wireless communication circuit; obtaining, by the second wireless communication circuit, a second profile corresponding to the first profile from a second server associated with the first server based on sending the authentication information to the first server; and storing the second profile to a second SIM of the electronic device.

In an example embodiment, the obtaining of the subscription information of the first profile may include: requesting the external electronic device to provide subscription information in response to establishing the short-range communication connection between the electronic device and the external electronic device; and acquiring, by the first wireless communication circuit, subscription information from the external electronic device in response to requesting the external electronic device to provide the subscription information.

In an example embodiment, the subscription information may include at least one of an IMSI and a MISDN of the first SIM.

In an example embodiment, the authentication information may include an OTP generated in the first server.

In an example embodiment, the transmitting at least a portion of the subscription information to the first server may include transmitting, to the first server, an ID and authentication information of the external electronic device and a port number of a port of the first server through the second wireless communication circuit.

In an example embodiment, the method may further comprise: based on the second profile being activated, communicating, by a processor coupled to the second SIM, using the activated second profile.

In an example embodiment, the method may further comprise: after storing the second profile in a second SIM of the electronic device, a list of profiles stored in the second SIM is sent to the first server over the second wireless communication circuit by including the second profile.

While the present disclosure has been illustrated and described with reference to various exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the various exemplary embodiments are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. It will be further understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and full scope of the present disclosure, including the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

first wireless communication circuitry configured to support a first communication protocol;

a second wireless communication circuit configured to support a second communication protocol;

at least one processor operably coupled with the first wireless communication circuitry and the second wireless communication circuitry; and

a memory operatively coupled with the at least one processor,

wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to control the electronic device to:

establishing a short-range communication connection between the electronic device and an external electronic device through the first wireless communication circuit;

obtaining, by the first wireless communication circuitry, subscription information of a first profile stored in a first Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) of the external electronic device from the external electronic device;

sending at least a portion of the subscription information to a first server through the second wireless communication circuit;

acquiring, by the first wireless communication circuit, authentication information provided by the first server from the external electronic apparatus;

sending the authentication information to the first server through the second wireless communication circuit;

based on sending the authentication information to the first server, obtaining, by the second wireless communication circuit, a second profile corresponding to the first profile from a second server associated with the first server; and

storing the second profile to a second SIM of the electronic device.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to control the electronic device to:

requesting the external electronic device to provide the subscription information in response to establishing a short-range communication connection between the electronic device and the external electronic device; and

in response to requesting the external electronic device to provide the subscription information, obtaining, by the first wireless communication circuit, the subscription information from the external electronic device.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the subscription information includes at least one of an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and a mobile station international subscriber directory number (MISDN) of the first SIM.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the authentication information comprises a one-time password (OTP) generated in the first server, a challenge, or a combination thereof.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to control the electronic device to: transmitting, to the first server, an Identifier (ID) of the external electronic device and a port number of a port for receiving the authentication information, and at least a part of the subscription information, through the second wireless communication circuit.

6. The electronic device as set forth in claim 1,

wherein the second SIM comprises an embedded SIM (eSIM), an

Wherein the eSIM is embedded in the electronic device or is detachable.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the MSISDN included in the second profile is identical to the MSISDN of the first SIM.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a processor coupled to the second SIM, wherein, based on the second profile being activated, the electronic device is configured to perform communications using the activated second profile.

9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to control the electronic device to: based on storing the second profile in the second SIM of the electronic device, sending, by the second wireless communication circuit, to the first server, a list of profiles stored in the second SIM, the list of profiles including the second profile.

10. A method, comprising:

establishing a short-range communication connection between the electronic device and an external electronic device through a first wireless communication circuit configured to support a first communication protocol;

transmitting, by a second wireless communication circuit configured to support a second communication protocol, at least a portion of the subscription information;

storing the second profile to a second SIM of the electronic device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein obtaining the subscription information for the first profile comprises:

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the subscription information includes at least one of an IMSI and a MISDN of the first SIM.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the authentication information comprises a one-time password (OTP) generated in the first server, a challenge, or a combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein sending the at least a portion of the subscription information to the first server comprises: transmitting, to the first server, an Identifier (ID) of the external electronic device and a port number of a port for receiving the authentication information, and at least a part of the subscription information, through the second wireless communication circuit.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the first and second light sources are selected from the group consisting of a red light source, a green light source, and a blue light source,

wherein the second SIM comprises an eSIM, an

Wherein the eSIM is embedded in the electronic device or is detachable.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the MSISDN included in the second profile is the same as the MSISDN of the first SIM.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising, based on the second profile being activated, performing, by a processor coupled to the second SIM, communication using the activated second profile.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising: based on storing the second profile in the second SIM of the electronic device, sending, by the second wireless communication circuit, to the first server, a list of profiles stored in the second SIM, the list of profiles including the second profile.

19. An electronic device, comprising:

a communication circuit;

at least one processor operatively coupled with the communication circuitry; and

a memory operatively coupled with the at least one processor,

wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to:

confirming insertion of a physical first SIM into the electronic device;

authenticating, by the communication server, a first server and a user of the electronic device using a first profile of the first SIM;

based on performing the authentication on the user, obtaining, by the communication circuit, a second profile corresponding to the first profile from a second server associated with the first server; and

storing the second profile in a second SIM of the electronic device.

20. The electronic device as set forth in claim 19,

wherein the second SIM comprises an eSIM, an

Wherein the eSIM is embedded in the electronic device or is detachable.