You're mis-remembering (or this was a very, very long time ago).

Registering a new SIM in Australia requires going through a KYC process, which requires providing either an Australian drivers, an Australian Medicare card, or an Australian or International Passport. If it's an International Passport it needs to have either an Australian visa/ETA, and/or it needs to have been used to enter Australia (I'm not sure exactly what is enforced here - but any random international passport will NOT work).

I used Amaysim as my primary internet for several months recently without issue. Obviously it depends on what you're using them for, but IMHO their speeds are fine (obviously it depends on the usual things like how close you are to a tower). In general, Optus is seen as a better provider than Vodafone, and in most areas on par with Telstra (Telstra does have better coverage in some areas, but many of those areas are only available on their 'retail' network which is not available to most MVNOs).

Most providers will allow you to sign up for an eSIM from their website, so no app required. This includes Telstra themselves (plus several of their MVNOs), Amaysim, and countless others.

I was in Sydney and Melbourne last year.

I bought a Vodafone kit at either Coles or Woolworths. Maybe I went online to register it, I don't recall. But it wasn't the first time I bought one of these kits on sale at a supermarket

I also bought a Boost kit from Coles in Melbourne, with the idea of maybe using it if I used all of the data on the Vodafone SIM during my trip. Mostly because it seemed like a big bargain for like 12 AUD or something like that.

I still have it and I'm going next month so I don't know if I would be able to convert it to eSIM. I read on Whirlpool that you need their app, which again isn't on the US App Store.

If it was Vodafone or Telstra or even Optus, I suppose I could go into a store and ask if they would activate on one of their devices and convert it to an eSIM for me.

Either that or I take my older iPad, which I'd rather not do, to be able to use physical SIMs.

I've had my Optus SIM for awhile, but I don't remember any KYC requirements when I bought it. That probably rules out converting it to an eSIM.

I had a similar issue with Taiwan Mobile two years ago. At the time, I didn't have residency there, so I was just a visitor. The shop was reluctant to move my SIM card over to an eSIM because they needed two forms of ID, one of which was local. Whether that requirement didn't exist when I had gotten the SIM card a decade earlier or the shop at the time didn't follow the rules, I don't know.

The process is simple enough that it's very possibly you did it but just forgot. For a foreign visitor you just need to enter your passport number (you also need name/date of birth/etc, but that's collected for different purposes anyway). That's it. No need to scan anything/take photos/etc, and no actual matching to confirm that the details you've given are actually yours and not someone else. They do check the details are valid, and for foreigners that means checking with immigration, but the process is automated and only takes a few seconds.
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I'll guarantee that you did, however as I said above it's such a simple process that you simply just forgot.

This was over a decade ago, so it's possible.

This happens all the time for region/country specific apps, typically transit/taxi, fastfood, mobile carriers, supermarket

On Android, you can try to use open source aurora store to download and install . Apple, no such workaround. Both apple/android, you can change region maybe 1-4 times a year but can complicate existing app subscriptions or gift card valances

not the best solution, but you can also use a mobile hotspot device.

The entire app store is geofenced, app developers get to decide which app stores will carry its app.

I also believe, but am not entirely certain - that the geofencing is based on the home country of your app store, not your physical location. So if it won't download for you where you are, it won't download when you are physically in Australia.

For Google it's (at least primarily) based on the country of your Google account, which can't easily be changed - not your geolocation. However you can have multiple accounts, in different countries, and you can have them all logged into Google Play at the same time, which gives access to apps from both countries. Obviously this has scalability issues - it works fine with 2 or 3 countries, but isn't going to work if you want apps from a dozen or more countries..

eg, I'm currently in Australia. If I select my Australian Google account in Play and search for 'Boost mobile' I get the app for the Australian Boost Mobile and not the US one. If I switch over to my US Google account and do the same search, I get the US Boost Mobile app, but NOT the Australian one. Using my US acct, there's no way to get the Australian Boost Mobile app (which is needed to purchase one of their eSIMs)

I searched for apps from the Aussie carriers. Only the Telstra one shows up.

As docbert pointed out, for Android it's based on your Google Account country, which is difficult to change but you can just make an extra account. The downside is that you don't get updates unless the spare account stays logged in.

For iOS, you can change your App Store country in your phone's settings--it's a different setting than the 'region' of your iPhone, and they don't have to match. The page says it requires a payment method but you can often just fill in an address in that country and pick 'none' for the payment method. Installed apps will update even if you've changed your country to one where that app isn't supported.

Most of the geofencing seems to be for security purposes with finance apps or to maintain regionalization of the app, e.g. Domino's Pizza has a completely different app in the U.S. vs. India so they can reduce annoyance from downloading the wrong one by geofencing the app.

Can you sideload the correct version onto the phone?

Android - Sure

iPhone - If you try, CEO Tim Apple will come around your house and beat you with an iMac. (ie, no)

I am heading for Uruguay, Argentina and Chile in early March, do you have any recent experience or advice for e-sims in these countries... I am using an iphone 12.

Thanks

G50

Just got back from a trip to Morocco, and I used this Morocco eSIM service. It worked great, and I was really impressed with the prices. The cheapest plan starts at just $9, which is perfect for a short stay. It turned out to be a good choice, but I�m always open to exploring other options, too.