So, I finally broke down and got a physical SIM card, transferred my service to that card using the PM app and deactivated the eSIM. Now everything is working fine. Never was able to figure out why the phone wouldn't connect to the mobile internet using the eSIM card.
I must say, however, that my experience with PM customer support was absolutely abysmal. I thought it would be hard for customer service from large corporate entities to get any worse, but Public Mobile (and by extension, Telus) have managed push the bar even lower.
The CS agent, Alex, didn't want to spend any time or effort actually helping me troubleshoot the device. Kept blaming the user, the device, the fact that they can't "see" the device settings, anything possible to avoid having to work with me to actually try to find a solution. The agent didn't come across as very technically skilled or knowledgeable at all. It was a big waste of time.
The total lack of any kind of phone support even when a new customer is with a non-working device is a huge black mark on this company. Here, in the community forum, I at least got the impression that people really wanted to help. I'm thankful for all of your suggestions, even if none helped to solve the original problem.
