How are folks using the Pinephone (sim swapping?)

[ryo]

In the USA :

Yeah some people do the swap of a sim card from a working phone.

BUT in the USA,  getting a new sim card is not a big deal,  sim cards can be bought online, or from discount stores, Dollar Stores, Big Box stores.
 ( No we do Not (yet) need government I.D. to get a sim card )

Basic service can be purchased for as little as $5 USD per month,  service with data starting at $15-20 USD per month.
 
While some of the main carriers are stricter, 
  Most of the resellers (MVNO's) are fairly Painless and easy to set-up and use,   via "Online" or "On-phone"

Sounds like a different world.
Over here we need a government ID, they can only be purchased at ISP providers, and on top of that they cost at least 5000 yen a month, around 3000 yen for the barest minimum.
Big carriers like Softbank need to know your IMEI number before they even send you a SIM card, and lock you into that specific IMEI.
But Rakuten Mobile doesn't need a fixed IMEI, and can be used on any device you want.

There are things like rental SIM cards or data only SIM cards that don't require an ID, but they are generally meant for foreign travelers and other types of tourists, and never come with a real phone number, so they are purely data only.