Offline profile configuration for wireless devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to "Offline Profile Configuration for Wireless Devices." The present application describes a phased method for configuring eSIM profiles to wireless devices. Credentials are preloaded into the eUICC during the manufacture of the eUICC and are subsequently used to load the eSIM profile into the eUICC without requiring an active real-time connection with an MNO configuration server. Multiple Binding Profile Packets (BPPs) may be pre-generated and encrypted by the MNO configuration server for the eUICC and transferred to a BPP aggregator server before the eUICC is assembled in a corresponding wireless device. A local configuration server in a manufacturing facility mutually authenticates and connects with the BPP aggregator server to download and store one or more of the encrypted BPPs for later installation on the eUICC. The local configuration server then mutually authenticates and connects with the eUICC to load at least one of the one or more pre-generated encrypted BPPs into the eUICC during assembly and / or testing of the wireless device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The described embodiments set forth techniques for electronic subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile configuration for wireless devices, including a phased approach for configuring bootstrap and / or fully functional eSIM profiles. Background Art

[0002] Many mobile wireless devices are configured to use a removable universal integrated circuit card (UICC) that enables the mobile wireless device to access services provided by a mobile network operator (MNO). Specifically, each UICC includes at least a microprocessor and a read-only memory (ROM), wherein the ROM is configured to store an MNO profile, which the wireless device can use to register and interact with the MNO to obtain wireless services through a cellular wireless network. The profile may also be referred to as a subscriber identity module (SIM). Typically, the UICC takes the form of a small removable card (often referred to as a SIM card) that is inserted into the UICC receiving area of ​​the mobile wireless device. In recent implementations, the UICC is directly embedded into the system board of the wireless device as an embedded UICC (eUICC), which may provide advantages over traditional removable UICCs. The eUICC includes a rewritable memory that may facilitate the installation, modification and / or deletion of one or more electronic SIMs (eSIMs) on the eUICC, wherein the eSIM may provide new and / or different services and / or updates for accessing extended features provided by the MNO. The eUICC can store multiple MNO profiles (also referred to herein as eSIMs) and can eliminate the need to include a UICC receiving area in a wireless device. In addition, some wireless devices capable of cellular communications (such as wearable wireless devices, home automation Internet of Things (IoT) wireless devices, and vehicles equipped with cellular wireless) may not support UICC.

[0003] Profiles (including bootstrap configuration profiles with limited functionality and eSIM profiles with full cellular service capabilities) may be downloaded from a network-based server to the eUICC of a mobile device as encrypted bound profile packets (BPPs). Preloading profiles to the eUICC prior to assembly may not be feasible or practical because the target wireless device may not be known when the eUICC is manufactured; and, since the manufacture of the eUICC may be performed significantly ahead of the assembly and manufacture of the target wireless device, the preloaded bootstrap profile on the eUICC to be used for subsequent download of a fully functional profile may be outdated and difficult to modify once the eUICC is manufactured and delivered to the manufacturing facility of the wireless device. Encrypting and distributing profiles in real time after the purchase of the wireless device (e.g., during initialization of a user) may require an available data connection and delay initial setup, resulting in a suboptimal user experience. A phased approach for allowing offline profile configuration may improve customization of the wireless device for the user. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] The present disclosure will be more easily understood through the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like structural elements.

[0005] Figure 1 A block diagram showing different components of an example system configured to implement the various techniques described herein, according to some embodiments.

[0006] Figure 2 According to some embodiments, Figure 1 A block diagram of a more detailed view of exemplary components of a system.

[0007] Figure 3 A block diagram of an exemplary offline eSIM configuration process for a wireless device is shown according to some embodiments.

[0008] Figure 4A and Figure 4B A flow chart illustrating an example of a staged offline eSIM configuration for a wireless device according to some embodiments.

[0009] Figure 4C A flowchart illustrating examples of additional actions that may be performed after or during initialization of a wireless device according to some embodiments.

[0010] Figure 5 A block diagram of exemplary elements of a mobile wireless device according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] Representative applications of the methods and apparatus according to the present application are described in this section. These examples are provided only to add context and aid in understanding the described embodiments. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other cases, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments, well-known processing steps are not described in detail. Other applications are possible, so that the following examples should not be considered restrictive.

[0012] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in accordance with the described embodiments. Although these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments, it is to be understood that these examples are not limiting; other embodiments may be used and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the described embodiments.

[0013] The described embodiments set forth techniques for electronic subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile configuration for wireless devices, including a phased approach for configuring a bootstrap eSIM profile and / or a fully functional eSIM profile to a wireless device. Wireless devices that support electronically downloadable profiles (e.g., i) an on-demand eSIM, or ii) one or more limited-functionality configuration eSIMs for initializing and subsequently loading a fully functional cellular eSIM on an eUICC) are becoming more common. Efforts are underway to standardize profile assignment to wireless devices using a multi-phase approach that includes a first phase during manufacturing and firmware configuration of an eUICC for a wireless device, and a second phase during assembly and / or testing of an eUICC in a wireless device at a device manufacturing facility. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of wireless devices may have the flexibility to load a bootstrap eSIM profile and / or a mobile network operator (MNO) eSIM profile during manufacturing, assembly, and / or testing of wireless devices at an OEM manufacturing facility. A plurality of sets of transaction credentials may be preloaded into an eUICC of a wireless device during manufacture of the eUICC, and at least a portion of the transaction credentials may be subsequently used to load one or more bootstrap profiles and / or fully functional cellular service eSIM profiles into the eUICC of the wireless device without requiring an active real-time connection to a configuration server of the MNO. A plurality of binding profile packets (BPPs) may be pre-generated and encrypted for each eUICC by various mobile network operator (MNO) configuration servers (e.g., subscription management data provisioning (SM-DP+) servers), and transferred for secure storage to one or more BPP aggregator servers prior to assembling the eUICCs associated with the encrypted BPPs in their respective wireless devices at an associated manufacturing facility. A local configuration server in the manufacturing facility may mutually authenticate with and securely connect to at least one of the one or more BPP aggregator servers in order to download and store the one or more encrypted BPPs for later installation on the respective eUICCs to which the encrypted BPPs were already associated when pre-generated. The local configuration server in the manufacturing facility may then mutually authenticate with the eUICC of the wireless device and securely connect to it to load at least one of the one or more pre-generated encrypted BPPs to the eUICC during assembly and / or testing of the wireless device. The root certificate of the local configuration server in the manufacturing facility server may be pre-loaded to the eUICC during chip manufacturing of the eUICC and later used by the eUICC for authentication of the local configuration server. The eUICC may require authentication of the local configuration server before downloading the encrypted BPP to the eUICC. The local configuration server may also authenticate the eUICC, for example, by checking the signed payload received from the eUICC to verify the certificate chain against the standardized field deployment root certificate, and by checking the eUICC signature accompanying the signed payload.The eUICC may need to be authenticated by a local configuration server to ensure that the encrypted BPP is loaded into the correctly associated and authentic eUICC. The eUICC may generate an installation notification for the eSIM profile after extracting the eSIM profile from the BPP and installing it in the eUICC of the wireless device. The installation notification may then be sent to the applicable MNO SM-DP+ server associated with the eSIM profile, for example, when the wireless device is initialized by the user of the wireless device after purchase. Multiple eSIM profiles from multiple BPPs may be installed on the eUICC, and multiple notifications of eSIM profile installation may be sent during (and / or after) initialization of a wireless device including an eUICC with eSIM profiles installed thereon. Different types of profiles may be associated with the same eUICC, such as configuration profiles, MNO-specific profiles, different modifications of MNO-specific spectra, etc. The SM-DP+ server does not need to communicate directly with the local configuration server in the manufacturing facility, but may communicate with the BPP aggregator server via one or more standardized interfaces. The security of the encrypted BPP may be maintained by requiring a one-time use encryption key pair, where secret (private) keys are maintained by the eUICC and SM-DP+ respectively and corresponding public keys are provided to each other for secure encryption and decryption of the encrypted BPP including the eSIM profile.

[0014] References below Figures 1 to 5 However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these drawings is for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting.

[0015] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram of various components of a system 100 configured to implement the various techniques described herein, according to some embodiments. More specifically, Figure 1 A brief overview of a system 100 is shown, which includes a mobile wireless device 102 (also referred to as a wireless device, wireless device, mobile device, user equipment (UE)), etc., a set of base stations 112-1 to 112-N managed by different mobile network operators (MNOs) 114, and a set of configuration servers 116 in communication with the MNOs 114. Additional MNO infrastructure servers such as those used for account management and billing are not shown. The mobile wireless device 102 may represent a mobile computing device (e.g., of or ) or a wearable device capable of cellular communication (e.g., an Apple Watch), base stations 112-1 to 112-n may represent cellular wireless network entities (including evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs or eNBs) and / or next generation NodeBs (gNodeBs or gNBs)) configured to communicate with mobile wireless device 102, and MNO 114 may represent different wireless service providers that provide specific cellular wireless services (e.g., voice and data) to which mobile wireless device 102 may subscribe, such as via a subscription account of a user of mobile wireless device 102.

[0016] like Figure 1As shown, the mobile wireless device 102 may include processing circuitry (which may include one or more processors 104 and memory 106), an embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC) 108, and baseband radio circuitry 110 for transmitting and receiving cellular wireless radio frequency signals. The baseband radio circuitry 110 may include analog hardware components, such as antennas and amplifiers, and digital processing components, such as signal processors (and / or general / limited purpose processors) and associated memory. In some embodiments, in addition to or in lieu of the eUICC 108, the mobile wireless device 102 includes one or more physical UICCs 118 (also referred to as subscriber identity modules (SIM) cards). The components of the mobile wireless device 102 work together to enable the mobile wireless device 102 to provide useful features to a user of the mobile wireless device 102, such as cellular wireless network access, non-cellular wireless network access, localized computing, location-based services, and Internet connectivity. The eUICC 108 may be configured to store multiple electronic SIMs (eSIMs) for accessing cellular wireless services provided by different MNOs 114 via connections to their respective cellular wireless networks through the base stations 112-1 to 112-N. For example, the eUICC 108 may be configured to store and manage one or more eSIMs of one or more MNOs 114 for different subscriptions associated with the mobile wireless device 102. In order to be able to access services provided by the MNO 114, the eSIMs are reserved for subsequent download and installation to the eUICC 108. In some embodiments, the eUICC 108 obtains the one or more eSIMs from one or more associated provisioning servers 116. The provisioning servers 116 may be maintained by the manufacturer of the mobile wireless device 102, the MNO 114, a third-party entity, etc. The eSIM data communication between the MNO provisioning server 116 and the eUICC 108 (or between the MNO provisioning server 116 and the processing circuitry of the mobile wireless device 102 external to the eUICC 108, such as the processor 104) may use a secure communication channel. In some embodiments, the server aggregates a set of one or more cryptographic Binding Profile Packs (BPPs) for the eUICC 108, each BPP comprising a profile intended for the eUICC 108. In some embodiments, a local configuration server in a manufacturing facility obtains at least one of the cryptographic BPPs to be loaded into the eUICC 108 during manufacturing of an associated mobile wireless device 102 in which the eUICC 108 is assembled. In some embodiments, one or more configuration eSIMs and / or fully functional eSIMs are preloaded on the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102 during manufacturing, assembly, or testing of the mobile wireless device 102.In some embodiments, at least one limited functionality, bootstrap-configured eSIM profile is preloaded into the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102 during manufacturing, after the eUICC 108 is assembled into the mobile wireless device 102. In some embodiments, at least one fully functional eSIM is preloaded into the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102 during manufacturing, after the eUICC 108 is assembled into the mobile wireless device 102. In some embodiments, the at least one fully functional eSIM is loaded into the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102 after being received by a user of the mobile wireless device 102 (e.g., during initial setup of the mobile wireless device 102 or after a reset and reinitialization of the mobile wireless device 102). In some embodiments, the at least one fully functional eSIM may be provided to the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device via a secure data connection established using the bootstrap-configured eSIM profile preloaded on the eUICC 108.

[0017] Figure 2 According to some embodiments, Figure 1 A block diagram of a more detailed view 200 of certain components of the mobile wireless device 102 is shown. Figure 2 As shown, the processor 104 in conjunction with the memory 106 may implement a main operating system (OS) 202 configured to execute application programs 204 (eg, native OS applications and user applications). Figure 2 As shown, the eUICC 108 may be configured to implement an eUICC OS 206 that is configured to manage the hardware resources of the eUICC 108 (e.g., a processor and memory embedded in the eUICC 108). The eUICC OS 206 may also be configured to manage the eSIM 208 stored by the eUICC 108, for example, by downloading, installing, deleting, enabling, disabling, modifying, or otherwise performing management of the eSIM 208 within the eUICC 108 and providing access to the eSIM 208 to the baseband radio circuit 110 to provide access to wireless services to the mobile wireless device 102. The eUICC 108 OS may include an eSIM manager 210 that may perform management functions for various eSIMs 208. Figure 2 As shown in the illustration, each eSIM 208 may include a plurality of applets 212 that define the manner in which the eSIM 208 operates. For example, one or more of the applets 212, when implemented in conjunction with the baseband radio circuitry 110 and the eUICC 108, may be configured to enable the mobile wireless device 102 to communicate with the MNO 114 and provide useful features (e.g., phone calls and Internet access) to a user of the mobile wireless device 102.

[0018] Likewise Figure 2 As shown, the baseband radio circuit 110 of the mobile wireless device 102 may include a baseband OS 214 configured to manage the hardware resources (e.g., processor, memory, different radio components, etc.) of the baseband radio circuit 110. According to some embodiments, the baseband radio circuit 110 may implement a baseband manager 216 configured to interact with the eUICC 108 to establish a secure channel with the MNO provisioning server 116 and obtain information (such as eSIM data) from the MNO provisioning server 116 for managing the eSIM 208. The baseband manager 216 may be configured to implement services 218, which represent a collection of software modules that are instantiated by various applets 212 of enabled eSIMs 208 included in the eUICC 108. For example, the services 218 may be configured to manage different connections between the mobile wireless device 102 and the MNO 114 depending on the different eSIMs 208 enabled within the eUICC 108.

[0019] Figure 3A block diagram 300 of an exemplary offline eSIM provisioning process for a mobile wireless device 102 is shown. The manufacturing of the eUICC 108 for the mobile wireless device 102 (including loading firmware into the eUICC 108) may be performed independently (in time and location) of the manufacturing of the mobile wireless device 102. A hardware (chip) vendor 302 may manufacture a certain number of eUICCs 108 and load firmware obtained from a software (firmware) vendor 304 into the manufactured eUICCs 108. Each eUICC 108 may be assigned a unique eUICC identifier (EID) value, which may be communicated by the software vendor 304 to the hardware vendor 302 as a set of EID values, each of which is to be individually associated with a manufactured eUICC 108. The software vendor 304 may also communicate the set of EID values ​​to a local provisioning server 310 located at a contract manufacturing facility (factory) where the mobile wireless devices 102 are manufactured, assembled, preloaded with native firmware / software, and / or tested. The software vendor 304 may generate and associate one or more sets of credentials with a specific EID value to be assigned to a specific eUICC 108 that will later be assembled into a mobile wireless device 102 at a manufacturing facility. Each set of credentials may include a transaction identifier (xID) value and a one-time use eUICC public / private key pair {otPK.eUICC.ECKA, otSK.eUICC.ECKA} that is specifically generated for use with the eUICC 108 identified by the attached EID value. Multiple sets of credentials may be generated for the same EID value. The one or more sets of credentials may be securely transmitted by the software vendor 304 to the hardware vendor 302 and loaded into the eUICC 108 by the hardware vendor 302. In addition, the software vendor 304 may provide the hardware vendor 302 with a root certificate (e.g., CERT.HSM.ECDSA) of the local configuration server 310 to load into the eUICC 108 for later use by the eUICC 108 to authenticate the local configuration server 310. The software vendor 304 may further transmit the EID values, and for each EID value, the associated xID value and the one-time use eUICC public key (otPK.eUICC.ECKA) to the bound profile packet (BPP) aggregator server 306. The one-time use eUICC private key (otSK.eUICC.ECKA) is only provided to the hardware vendor 302 for secure loading into the eUICC 108, and must not be made available to other entities to maintain the confidentiality of the one-time use eUICC private key in order to ensure cryptographic security.

[0020] The BPP aggregator server 306 communicates with one or more configuration servers (e.g., SM-DP + 308 servers) of one or more MNOs to obtain one or more encrypted BPPs of the eUICC 108 associated with the EID value. The BPP aggregator server 306 may provide the EID value of the eUICC 108 to the one or more SM-DP + 308 servers together with one or more associated transaction identifier (xID) values, a one-time use eUICC public key (otPK.eUICC.ECKA), and in some cases, one or more preferred profile types (profileType). Each specific xID value of the eUICC 108 is sent to only one of the SM-DP + 308 servers together with the associated one-time use eUICC public key otPK.eUICC.ECKA and an optional requested profileType value. Exemplary profileType values ​​may include a general configuration profile, a configuration profile of a specific MNO, an eSIM profile of a specific standard (e.g., 4G-LTE, 5G, etc.), an eSIM profile of a specific revision, etc. The one or more SM-DP + 308 servers may generate and return an encrypted BPP. Each encrypted BPP may be generated by the SM-DP + 308 server using a different one-time use eUICC public key otPK.eUICC.ECKA and a one-time use server private key otSK.DP.ECKA generated by the SM-DP + 308 server. The SM-DP + 308 server that generates the encrypted BPP may return the encrypted BPP to the BPP aggregator server 306 together with the encrypted one-time use server public key otPK.DP.ECKA for the BPP, which corresponds to the one-time use server private key otSK.DP.ECKA. Since the encrypted BPP provided to the BPP aggregator server 306 is encrypted using the one-time use eUICC public key otPK.eUICC.ECKA, and the BPP aggregator server 306 does not have access to the corresponding one-time use eUICC private key otSK.eUICC.ECKA (which is maintained secretly by the associated eUICC 108), the BPP aggregator server 306 cannot read the encrypted BPP data. Some metadata from the BPP may be provided by the SM-DP + 308 to the BPP aggregator server 306 in an unencrypted (readable) format along with the encrypted BPP, such as an integrated circuit card identifier (ICCID) value included in the BPP and used to identify the profile in the BPP. The BPP aggregator server 306 may store the information obtained from the SM-DP + 308 server for later retrieval and upload to the local configuration server 310 which may be uploaded to the corresponding eUICC 108.

[0021] The credentials and encrypted BPP of the eUICC 108 may be generated before assembling the eUICC 108 into the mobile wireless device 102, thereby saving the time of loading one or more BPPs into the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102. The BPP aggregator server 306 may transfer one or more BPPs to the local configuration server 310 as needed, in response to a request from the local configuration server 310, or triggered by the BPP aggregator server 306 itself. In some embodiments, an MNO network entity other than and / or in addition to the SM-DP + 308 server may interface with the BPP aggregator server 306 to obtain eUICC information (e.g., eID value, xID value, one-time use eUICC public key, and profile type), thereby generating an encrypted BPP of a specific profile type and providing it to the BPP aggregator server 306.

[0022] At the manufacturing facility where the eUICC 108 is installed into the mobile wireless device 102, the local configuration server 310 may obtain a set of encrypted BPPs associated with the eID value and xID value of the eUICC 108 before assembling and / or testing the eUICC 108 in the mobile wireless device 102. Real-time encryption of the BPPs by the MNO SM-DP+ 308 configuration server during assembly, configuration, and / or testing of the mobile wireless device 102 is not required because at least a portion of the credentials of the eUICC 108 are provided to the SM-DP+ 308 configuration server via the BPP aggregator server 306 in advance. In addition, the BPP aggregator server 306 may provide the encrypted BPPs obtained from the SM-DP+ 308 configuration server to the local configuration server 310 in the manufacturing facility before the eUICC 108 is assembled into the mobile wireless device 102. In fact, the encrypted BPPs may be generated and available separately from the associated eUICC 108 and before the eUICC is supplied to the manufacturing facility. After assembling the eUICC 108 into (or in conjunction with) the mobile wireless device 102, the processing circuitry of the mobile wireless device 102 may obtain the associated EID value of the eUICC 108 and the set of available (unused) xID values ​​stored in (and / or associated with) the eUICC 108. The processing circuitry of the mobile wireless device 102 may initiate a configuration session with a local configuration server 310, which in some embodiments may be co-located in a manufacturing facility, where the local configuration server 310 previously received the EID value of the eUICC 108 from the software vendor 304. In some embodiments, the local configuration server 310 authenticates communications received from the mobile wireless device 102 by checking a signature payload originating from the eUICC 108. For example, the local configuration server 310 may verify the certificate chain against a GSMA root certificate deployed in the field and a signature provided by the eUICC. The local configuration server 310 may verify that the EID value obtained from the processing circuit of the mobile wireless device 102 is consistent with the EID value previously obtained from the software (firmware) vendor 304. The local configuration server 310 may select one or more of the xID values ​​and return one or more encrypted BPPs with the associated one-time use SM-DP+ server public key otPK.DP.ECKA, applicable metadata, such as the ICCID value, the selected xID value, the EID value of the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102, and the associated profileType value of the profile included in the encrypted BPP to the processing circuit of the mobile wireless device 102. The processing circuit of the mobile wireless device 102 may provide all (or at least some) of the information obtained from the local configuration server 310 to the eUICC 108.The eUICC 108 may use the information to authenticate, verify and / or install one or more eSIM profiles obtained via decryption of the BPP using a combination of the SM-DP+ server public key otPK.DP.ECKA and a one-time use eUICC private key otSK.eUICC.ECKA corresponding to the one-time use eUICC public key otPK.eUICC.ECKA used by the SM-DP+ 308 server to decrypt the BPP.

[0023] In some embodiments, the one or more eSIM profiles installed from the encrypted BPP include at least one configuration eSIM 208 profile having limited functionality and configured for subsequently obtaining a fully functional eSIM 208 profile of a specific MNO. In some embodiments, the encrypted BPP includes at least one fully functional eSIM 208 profile configurable for cellular services with respect to a specific MNO. In some embodiments, a user of the mobile wireless device 102 can initialize the mobile wireless device 102 and select and configure at least one fully functional eSIM 208 profile for cellular services with respect to a specific MNO without using wired or wireless data connectivity, thereby implementing at least one fully functional eSIM 208 profile on the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102. In some embodiments, one or more interfaces between the BPP aggregator server 306 and one or more of the SM-DP+ 308 configuration servers operate according to one or more Global System for Mobile Association (GSMA) standards. In some embodiments, one or more interfaces between the BPP aggregator server 306 and the software (firmware) vendor 304 and / or the local configuration server 310 at the manufacturing facility operate according to a non-standardized proprietary protocol. In some embodiments, the mobile wireless device 102 does not include a receiving area for the UICC 118.

[0024] In some embodiments, one or more encrypted BPPs for the eUICC 108 are discarded by the local configuration server 310 and replaced with one or more new encrypted BPPs obtained from one or more MNO SM-DP+ 308 configuration servers via the BPP aggregator server 306. The replacement of the encrypted BPP for the eUICC 108 may be performed before the encrypted BPP is loaded into the eUICC 108, such as to update the information contained in the eSIM profile included in the encrypted BPP and / or change the functionality of the eSIM profile. In some embodiments, the local configuration server 310 communicates with the BPP aggregator server 306 to regenerate one or more BPPs including new and / or updated eSIM content, wherein the BPP aggregator server 306 communicates with the appropriate MNO SM-DP+ 308 configuration server to obtain the updated encrypted BPP. When the discarded BPP has not been installed in the eUICC 108, in some embodiments, the SM-DP+ 308 configuration server may reuse the previously used one-time use eUICC public key otPK.eUICC.ECKA and the associated xID when regenerating the newly updated BPP. In some embodiments, the SM-DP+ 308 configuration server may reuse the previously used one-time use server private key otSK.DP.ECKA when regenerating the newly updated BPP. In some embodiments, the SM-DP+ 308 configuration server uses one or more new one-time use server private keys otSK.DP.ECKA when regenerating the newly updated BPP, and provides the corresponding new one-time use server public key otPK.DP.ECKA with the regenerated newly updated BPP to the BPP aggregator server 306, thereby providing to the local configuration server 310 for uploading to the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102.

[0025] In some embodiments, one or more encrypted BPPs (and / or eUICC profiles extracted from encrypted BPPs) loaded to the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102 are deleted from the eUICC 108 (e.g., by the local provisioning server 310) while the mobile wireless device 102 is in a manufacturing facility and replaced with one or more new encrypted BPPs obtained from one or more MNOSM-DP+ 308 provisioning servers via the BPP aggregator server 306. An eSIM profile that was previously installed from a BPP and then deleted may be replaced by a new eSIM profile extracted from the new encrypted BPP of the eUICC 108. Deleting and replacing a BPP and / or eSIM profile on the eUICC 108 while the mobile wireless device 102 is in a manufacturing facility may be used to update information contained within an eSIM profile loaded into the eUICC 108 and / or change functionality of the eSIM profile. In some embodiments, the local configuration server 310 communicates with the BPP aggregator server 306 to regenerate one or more BPPs including new and / or updated eSIM content, wherein the BPP aggregator server 306 communicates with the appropriate MNO SM-DP + 308 configuration server to obtain the new and / or updated eSIM profile included in the updated encrypted BPP. When the discarded profile is installed in the eUICC 108, the SM-DP + 308 configuration server may not reuse the previously used one-time use eUICC public key otPK.eUICC.ECKA and associated xID when regenerating the new updated BPP. Instead, the local configuration server 310 may communicate with the BPP aggregator server 306 to cause one or more MNO SM-DP + 308 configuration servers to generate a new updated BPP using a new set of credentials associated with the same eUICC 108 (e.g., a different xID value and eUICC public / private encryption key pair than those previously used). In some embodiments, some of the eUICC credentials previously generated by the software vendor 304 for the eUICC 108 remain available for use by the BPP aggregator server 306 to provide to the SM-DP+ 308 configuration server to generate a new updated BPP. In some embodiments, the SM-DP+ 308 configuration server uses one or more new one-time use server private keys otSK.DP.ECKA in generating the new updated BPP, and provides the corresponding new one-time use server public keys otPK.DP.ECKA with the regenerated new updated BPP to the BPP aggregator server 306 for provision to the local configuration server 310 for upload to the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102.

[0026] Figure 4A and Figure 4BFlowcharts 400, 460 of exemplary offline eSIM provisioning processes for obtaining and installing one or more provisioning bootstrap eSIMs 208 and / or fully functional eSIMs 208 on the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102 are shown. At 404, the device processing circuitry 402 of the mobile wireless device 102 may send a GetProvisioningProfilesInfo message to the eUICC 108. At 406, the eUICC 108 may return an EID value of the eUICC 108 and a set of one or more available (unused) xID values. At 408, the device processing circuitry 402 of the mobile wireless device 102 may initiate the provisioning of the eUICC 108 by sending a StartProvisioningSession message to the eUICC 108. Figure 3102. The local configuration server 310 co-located at the manufacturing facility is shown to initiate offline eSIM configuration. The StartProvisioningSession message may include at least one of the EID value of the eUICC 108, the available (unused) xID value, and the ProfileType of the eSIM 208 profile of the eUICC 108 to be configured to the mobile wireless device 102. Exemplary ProfileType values ​​include: i) a bootstrap configuration profile, which may be for a specific MNO, dedicated to one or more MNOs, or generic to multiple MNOs, and ii) a fully functional cellular service eSIM for a specific MNO, such as AT&T, Verizon, etc. At 410, the local configuration server 310 may check the pending BPP for the ProfileType indicated in the StartProvisioningSession message based on the EID value of the eUICC 108. When there is at least one pending BPP for the ProfileType of the eUICC 108 associated with the EID value, the local configuration server 310 may select one of the xID values ​​at 410 and then send a message to the device processing circuit 402 of the mobile wireless device 102 at 412, the message including the DeviceIdentifier value, for example, an International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) value or a hardware serial number of the mobile wireless device 102. The message also includes the EID value of the eUICC 108 and the xID value selected by the local configuration server 310. The message is signed based on the GSMA root certificate of the local configuration server (e.g., the hardware security module (HSM) root certificate CERT.HSM.ECDSA). The local configuration server uses the HSM to host its own private key for signing the message sent to the eUICC 108. At 414, the device processing circuit 402 of the mobile wireless device 102 sends an AuthenticateProvSession message to the eUICC 108, which includes the signed message from the local configuration server 310 (which includes the DeviceIdentifier value, the EID value, and the selected xID value) and the root certificate CERT.HSM.ECDSA. At 416, the eUICC 108 verifies the signature of the root certificate CERT.HSM.ECSDA and the signed message based on the certificate CERT.HSM.ECDSA. It should be noted that the root certificate CERT.HSM.ECDSA was previously injected into the eUICC 108 by the hardware vendor 302, and then the eUICC 108 was provided to the manufacturing facility for assembly into the mobile wireless device 102. At 418, the eUICC 108 verifies the received EID value.At 420, the eUICC 108 verifies the received selected xID value. When all verifications at 416, 418, and 420 are successful, the eUICC 108 sends an OK message to the device processing circuit 402, the OK message including the EID value and the selected xID value to indicate to the device processing circuit 402 permission to proceed with offline eSIM provisioning.

[0027] At 424, the device processing circuit 402 sends a message to the local configuration server 310 to obtain a BPP including the eSIM profile, for example, the message may be a GetProvisioningBPP message including the DeviceIdentifier value, the EID value, and the previously selected xID value. At 426, the local configuration server 310 may return a message to the device processing circuit 402, the message including the selected xID value of the eSIM profile included in the encrypted BPP included in the return message, metadata information (such as an ICCID value), and a one-time use SM-DP+ public key otPK.DP.ECKA corresponding to the one-time use SM-DP+ private key otSK.DP.ECKA, which was previously used for encryption of the BPP by the MNO SM-DP+ 308 configuration server. The xID value, metadata, and one-time use SM-DP+ public key may be signed using the certificate CERT.HSM.ECDSA, a copy of which is also provided in the return message. The return message also includes the encrypted BPP signed with CERT.HSM.ECDSA. At 428, the device processing circuit 402 may store at least a portion of the received metadata, such as the ICCID value. At 430, the device processing circuit 402 provides the xID value, the metadata (e.g., the ICCID value), and the one-time use SM-DP+ public key otPK.DP.ECKA to the eUICC 108 in a signed KeyExchange message. At 432, the eUICC 108 verifies the xID value. At 434, the eUICC 108 calculates a session key for configuring the eSIM profile based on the one-time use SM-DP+ public key otPK.DP.ECKA, which is generated by the SM-DP+ 308 configuration server, transparently passed to the BPP aggregator server 306, then passed to the local configuration server 310, and finally consumed by the eUICC 108. At 438, the eUICC 108 receives data from the device processing circuitry 402, the data including at least the encrypted BPP, from which the eUICC 108 may extract the eSIM 208 profile after decryption of the BPP. At 440, the eUICC 108 acknowledges receipt of the data from the device processing circuitry 402. At 442, the eUICC 108 installs the eSIM 208 profile extracted from the BPP, wherein the eSIM 208 profile may be: i) a configuration eSIM 208 profile with limited functionality for subsequently establishing a connection with the SM-DP+ 308 server and downloading a fully functional eSIM 208 profile, or ii) a fully functional (after appropriate configuration) eSIM 208 profile for accessing cellular wireless services of an MNO associated with the SM-DP+ 308 configuration server.At 444, the eUICC 108 generates an installation notification message, which can be later sent to the SM-DP+ 308 provisioning server that generates a BPP including the installed eSIM 208 profile, so that the SM-DP+ 308 provisioning server is aware of the successful installation of the eSIM 208 profile on the eUICC 108. At 446, the eUICC 108 deletes the xID value (since it is now used) and also deletes the one-time use eUICC public / private key pair (also used for offline eSIM provisioning). At 448, the eUICC 108 exits the provisioning state and sends an indication to the device processing circuitry 402 that the installation of the eSIM 208 profile is complete at 450. At 462, the device processing circuitry 402 of the mobile wireless device 102 sends a GetProfilesInfo message to the eUICC 108 and, in response at 464, obtains information about the eSIM 208 profile installed on the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102. At 466, the device processing circuitry 402 verifies the ICCID value accompanying the BPP from which the eSIM 208 profile was extracted and the successful provisioning status of the eSIM 208 profile on the eUICC 108. At 468, the device processing circuitry 402 sends an LPASignReq message to the eUICC 108, and in response at 470 obtains a message including in its payload an indication of a set of one or more eSIMs 208 on the eUICC 108 (including their respective ICCID values), wherein the message is signed by the eUICC 108. At 472, the device processing circuitry 402 forwards the signed payload message indicating the eSIMs 208 installed on the eUICC 108 to the local provisioning server 310. At 474, the local configuration server 310 may verify the signed message from the eUICC 108 and forwarded by the device processing circuitry 402, and delete the one or more encrypted BPPs including the one or more eSIMs 208 installed on the eUICC 108 and indicated in the message. At 476, the local configuration server 310 sends a confirmation message to the device processing circuitry 402 of the mobile wireless device 102.

[0028] Figure 4CA flowchart 470 is shown showing an example of additional actions that may be performed after or during initialization of a mobile wireless device 102 (e.g., after power-up of the mobile wireless device 102 after (or during) purchase by a user). At 482, the device processing circuitry 402 of the mobile wireless device 102 may send a message to the eUICC 108 to retrieve a notification list for installed eSIMs 208, including limited functionality boot eSIMs 208 and / or full functionality eSIMs 208 on the eUICC 108. At 484, the eUICC 108 may return the eSIM notification list to the device processing circuitry 402, which may include notifications for one or more eSIMs 208 associated with one or more SM-DP+ 308 provisioning servers of one or more MNOs. The device processing circuitry 402 may retrieve individual notifications for one or more of the eSIMs 208 indicated in the eSIM notification list and send the notifications to the appropriate, associated MNO SM-DP+ 308 provisioning servers. Figure 4C As shown, for example, at 486, the device processing circuit 402 sends a message to the eUICC 108 to obtain an eSIM notification for the first MNO SM-DP+ 308-1 provisioning server, receives the eSIM notification from the eUICC 108 at 488, and forwards the eSIM notification to the first MNO DM-DP+ 308-1 provisioning server at 490. At 490, the device processing circuit 402 sends a message to the eUICC 108 to obtain an eSIM notification for the second MNO SM-DP+ 308-2 provisioning server, receives the eSIM notification from the eUICC 108 at 494, and forwards the eSIM notification to the second MNO DM-DP+ 308-2 provisioning server at 496. The device processing circuit 402 may repeat the notification retrieval and forwarding for multiple eSIMs 208 installed on the eUICC 108 to provide notifications for the installed eSIMs to multiple MNO SM-DP+ 308 provisioning servers. The eSIM notification received by the device processing circuitry 402 may include a network address (e.g., a Universal Resource Locator (URL) value) of the applicable MNO SM-DP+ 308 provisioning server to which the eSIM notification is to be forwarded.

[0029] When the offline eSIM 208 provisioning process includes the installation of a limited-function, bootstrap eSIM 208 provisioning profile, the eUICC 108 of the mobile wireless device 102 may then use the bootstrap eSIM 208 profile to establish a secure data connection with the applicable SM-DP+ 308 provisioning server to obtain and install a full-function eSIM 208 profile to access the cellular services of the MNO associated with the SM-DP+ 308 server. In some embodiments, the full-function eSIM 208 profile may be installed over and replace the bootstrap eSIM 208 profile.

[0030] Figure 5 1 shows a detailed view of a representative computing device 500 that can be used to implement the various methods described herein according to some embodiments. In particular, the detailed view shows various components that can be included in the mobile wireless device 102. Figure 5 As shown, the computing device 500 may include a processor 502, which represents a microprocessor or controller for controlling the overall operation of the computing device 500. The computing device 500 may also include a user input device 508 that allows a user of the computing device 500 to interact with the computing device 500. For example, the user input device 508 may take a variety of forms, such as buttons, keypads, dials, touch screens, audio input interfaces, visual / image capture input interfaces, input in the form of sensor data, etc. Further, the computing device 500 may include a display 510 that can be controlled by the processor 502 to display information to the user. The data bus 516 may facilitate data transmission between at least the storage device 540, the processor 502, and the controller 513. The controller 513 can be used to interact with and control different equipment through the equipment control bus 514. The computing device 500 may also include a network / bus interface 511 that is communicatively coupled to the data link 512. In the case of a wireless connection, the network / bus interface 511 may include a wireless transceiver.

[0031] The computing device 500 also includes a storage device 540, which may include a single disk or multiple disks (e.g., a hard drive) and a storage management module that manages one or more partitions within the storage device 540. In some embodiments, the storage device 540 may include flash memory, semiconductor (solid-state) memory, etc. The computing device 500 may also include a random access memory (RAM) 520 and a read-only memory (ROM) 522. The ROM 522 may store programs, utilities, or processes to be executed in a non-volatile manner. The RAM 520 may provide volatile data storage and store instructions related to the operation of the computing device 500. The computing device 500 also includes a secure element 524, which may include an eUICC 108 on which one or more eSIMs 208 and / or UICC 118 (physical SIM cards) are stored.

[0032] Wireless Terminology

[0033] According to various embodiments described herein, the terms "wireless communication device", "wireless device", "mobile wireless device", "mobile station", and "user equipment (UE)" may be used interchangeably herein to describe one or more common consumer electronic devices that may be capable of performing the processes associated with various embodiments of the present disclosure. According to various specific implementations, any of these consumer electronic devices may relate to: a cellular phone or smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a personal computer, a netbook computer, a media player device, an e-book device, Devices, wearable computing devices, and any other type of electronic computing device with wireless communication capabilities, which wireless communication capabilities may include communication via one or more wireless communication protocols, which wireless communication protocols, such as protocols used to communicate on the following networks: wireless wide area network (WWAN), wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless personal area network (WPAN), near field communication (NFC), cellular wireless networks, fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE), advanced LTE (LTE-A), and / or 5G or other currently or future developed advanced cellular wireless networks.

[0034] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may also operate as part of a wireless communication system, which may include a group of client devices, which may also be referred to as stations, client wireless devices, or client wireless communication devices, which are interconnected to an access point (AP), for example, as part of a WLAN, and / or interconnected with each other, for example, as part of a WPAN and / or "ad hoc" wireless network. In some embodiments, the client device may be any wireless communication device capable of communicating via WLAN technology (e.g., according to a wireless local area network communication protocol). In some embodiments, the WLAN technology may include a Wi-Fi (or more generally, a WLAN) wireless communication subsystem or radio component, which may implement the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 technology, such as one or more of the following: IEEE 802.11a; IEEE 802.11b; IEEE 802.11g; IEEE 802.11-2007; IEEE 802.11n; IEEE 802.11-2012; IEEE802.11ac; or other current or future developed IEEE 802.11 technology.

[0035] In addition, it should be understood that the UE described herein may be configured as a multi-mode wireless communication device that is also capable of communicating via different third generation (3G) and / or second generation (2G) RATs. In these cases, the multi-mode UE may be configured to prefer attaching to an LTE network that provides a faster data rate throughput over other 3G legacy networks that provide a lower data rate throughput. For example, in some specific implementations, the multi-mode UE may be configured to fall back to a 3G legacy network, such as an evolved high speed packet access (HSPA+) network, or a code division multiple access (CDMA) 2000 evolution-data only (EV-DO) network when LTE and LTE-A networks are otherwise unavailable.

[0036] The various aspects, embodiments, specific implementations or features of the embodiments may be used individually or in any combination. The various aspects of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of hardware and software. The embodiments may also be implemented as computer readable code on a non-transient computer readable medium. A non-transient computer readable medium is any data storage device that can store data, which can then be read by a computer system. Examples of non-transient computer readable media include read-only memory, random access memory, CD-ROM, HDD, DVD, magnetic tape, and optical data storage devices. Non-transient computer readable media may also be distributed on a network coupled computer system so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed manner.

[0037] In connection with this disclosure, it is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0038] For the purpose of illustration, the foregoing description uses specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details are not required in order to practice the embodiments. Therefore, the foregoing description of specific embodiments is presented for the purpose of illustration and description. The foregoing description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments described to the precise form disclosed. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that, in view of the above teachings, many modifications and variations are feasible.

Claims

1. A method for configuring an electronic subscriber identity module (eSIM) to a wireless device, the method comprising: By a network-based Bonding Profile Packet (BPP) aggregator server: Receive a set of credentials for an embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC) from an eUICC software vendor; providing a first portion of the set of credentials for the eUICC to a first mobile network operator (MNO) provisioning server associated with an MNO; obtaining an encrypted BPP for the eUICC from the MNO provisioning server, wherein the encrypted BPP is associated with the eUICC based on the first portion of the set of credentials for the eUICC; receiving a message identifying the eUICC from a local configuration server; as well as The encrypted BPP is provided to the local configuration server for subsequent loading into the eUICC in the wireless device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the credential set of the eUICC comprises an eUICC identifier (EID) value of the eUICC, at least one transaction identifier (xID) value, and a one-time use eUICC public key.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the encrypted BPP obtained from the MNO provisioning server is encrypted based on the one-time use eUICC public key.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the message from the local configuration server includes the EID value of the eUICC and an xID value selected by the local configuration server to process to obtain the encrypted BPP.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: By the web-based BPP aggregator server: providing a profile type value to the MNO provisioning server together with the first part of the set of credentials of the eUICC, Wherein the encrypted BPP obtained from the MNO configuration server corresponds to the profile type value. The method of claim 5 , wherein the profile type value comprises a limited functionality configuration eSIM profile type.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: By the web-based BPP aggregator server: providing a second portion of the set of credentials for the eUICC to a second MNO provisioning server associated with a second MNO different from the first MNO; obtaining, from the second MNO provisioning server, a second encrypted BPP for the eUICC, wherein the second encrypted BPP is associated with the eUICC based on the second portion of the set of credentials for the eUICC; as well as providing the second encrypted BPP to the local configuration server for subsequent loading into the eUICC in the wireless device, The message received from the local configuration server includes at least a first transaction ID (xID) value for obtaining the encrypted BPP from the first MNO configuration server and a second xID value for obtaining the second encrypted BPP from the second MNO configuration server.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second portion of the credential set of the eUICC includes an eUICC identifier (EID) value of the eUICC, the second xID value, and a second one-time use eUICC public key.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second encrypted BPP is encrypted based on the second one-time use eUICC public key.

10. A method for configuring one or more electronic subscriber identity modules (eSIMs) to an embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC) of a wireless device in multiple stages, the method comprising: From the local configuration server: In the first phase: storing one or more encrypted Binding Profile Packages (BPPs) obtained from one or more Mobile Network Operator (MNO) provisioning servers, the encrypted BPPs being based at least in part on a set of credentials preloaded in the eUICC prior to assembly in the wireless device; as well as In the second phase: loading at least one of the one or more encrypted BPPs into the eUICC of the wireless device at a manufacturing facility, Wherein a profile included in said at least one of said one or more encrypted BPPs is installed in said eUICC without a real-time connection to an associated MNO provisioning server that generated said profile.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising, by the local configuration server in the first stage: providing, to a BPP aggregator server, an eUICC identifier (EID) value of the eUICC of the wireless device and at least one transaction identifier (xID) value of each of the one or more MNO provisioning servers, wherein the BPP aggregator server provides the EID value, the xID value of the at least one xID value and the corresponding one-time use eUICC public key to each of the one or more MNO configuration servers to obtain an encrypted BPP based on the corresponding one-time use eUICC public key.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising, by the local configuration server in the first stage: One or more profile type values ​​are provided to a BPP aggregator server, wherein the encrypted BPP obtained from the one or more MNO configuration servers corresponds to the one or more profile type values.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more profile type values ​​include a limited functionality configuration eSIM profile type.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the local configuration server is managed by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the wireless device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the local configuration server is co-located in a manufacturing facility where the wireless device is assembled and / or tested.

16. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: From the local configuration server: In the first phase: receiving a one-time-use MNO provisioning server public key associated with each encrypted BPP; as well as In this second phase: The associated one-time use MNO provisioning server public key is provided to the eUICC for use by the eUICC to decrypt the at least one encrypted BPP.

17. The method according to claim 10, further comprising, by the local configuration server in the first stage: The encrypted BPP obtained from one of the one or more MNO provisioning servers is replaced with an updated BPP encrypted by the one of the one or more MNO provisioning servers, the updated BPP including updated content to change functionality of the eSIM profile included in the updated BPP.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the updated BPP is encrypted using the same one-time use eUICC public key previously used to encrypt the encrypted BPP to be replaced by the updated BPP.

19. A method for configuring one or more electronic subscriber identity modules (eSIMs) to an embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC) of a wireless device, the method comprising: By the eUICC: authenticating with a local configuration server when the local configuration server is co-located with the wireless device in a manufacturing facility; obtaining, from the local configuration server after authentication, an encrypted Binding Profile Packet (BPP) previously generated by a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) configuration server; decrypting the BPP to obtain a profile; as well as installing the profile in the eUICC, Wherein the authentication to the local configuration server is based at least in part on a root certificate preloaded in the eUICC during manufacture of the eUICC.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: By the eUICC: The BPP is received from the local configuration server along with a one-time use MNO configuration server public key to be used to decrypt the encrypted BPP.

21. A network-based Binding Profile Packet (BPP) aggregator server configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

22. A local configuration server configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

23. An embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC) configured to perform the method according to claim 19 or claim 20.

Images