The COVID-19 pandemic has forced dramatic shifts in the educational landscape. This study explored pre-service teachers' experiences during a four-week online practice teaching (PT) program in Pakistan amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on an exploratory qualitative research design, it examined reflections from 24 pre-service teachers that were collected before, during, and after the online PT by posting open-ended questions in Google Classroom. Data were analysed using inductive and comparative analysis strategies. Findings revealed that pre-service teachers' apprehensions regarding online PT were due to their limiting beliefs, resistance to change, unwillingness to engage, concerns about navigating their teaching presence in a less-authentic situation, and pedagogical and logistical challenges. However, systematic observations, critical reflections, and peer pre-service teachers were crucial to creating cognitive, teaching, social, and technological presence during online PT. Finally, suggestions for reconfiguring the existing models of PT for future educational practice are presented.