Boogie711

Hi Folks - I haven't seen any reviews for Flexiroam, so I thought I'd contribute one.

Flexiroam is a travel sim solution for people who spend a lot of time "hopping" through countries. (A hop: 1-2 day trip, where it's just not practical, you don't have time, or it's not economical to buy a dedicated sim just for that country.)

Rather than a separate SIM card, Flexiroam will send you a sticker. This sticker goes on the back of your existing home SIM card, so you don't have to worry about losing it or swapping out SIM cards on a plane.

Sticking the sticker unto the back of your existing SIM card is surprisingly easy. I followed the instructions and had zero problems, and trust me - I can find a way to screw things up. I'd say the difficulty level on this is about a 2 on a scale of 1-10. They include a handy template, so you just need to put your own sim card in the cutout inside the plastic, and the sticker will overlay exactly where it needs to go.

Then you download the Flexiroam App. This allows you to switch between your home SIM card, and the Flexiroam SIM. It's all done 'in-app.'

Flexiroam coverage is available in over 100 countries. I had a recent trip to the UK with stops in the USA, France, Netherlands and Spain so it was a great chance to try it out.

When I land, it takes about 60 seconds to find a network. Perhaps not even that long.

Speeds varied. In Canada you can only get 3G, but about half of those 100 countries offer 4G coverage. I did a speedtest in every country, but speeds ranged from 1mb up/down to an impressive 30mb up/down in Spain. Pings were consistently in the 70-90 millisecond range. I never had a problem with basic phone usage - GPS, email, etc.

All in all, I was impressed and will be keeping my Flexiroam X package. The only downside I've seen so far is that (at least with my Samsung Galaxy S6) there's a consistent and persistent notification. I wish I could make that go away, but I've learned to live with it. It's also only for data. I did make some phone calls using Skype and a VOIP app, but as always, YMMV.

The appealing part is the rates. Flexiroam offers quite a few promos, but they charge $9.95 a year, and then $30 a Gb. I thought that was better than my Truphone SIM at $0.10/mB, or $100/Gb for sure. I bought and used my first Gb at a $20 intro rate.

Positives - low rates, high speed data, lots of coverage internationally, easy to use.

Negatives - only for data (you can't text or send/receive phone calls), persistent Android notification.

You can order your own by first downloading the app on Google Play or the App Store. Once you install the app, you can purchase a starter kit - with shipping it will be about $8 to North America, which includes the SIM sticker. My sticker arrived less than a week after I ordered it.

Shameless pandering - if you do decide to go for it, my referral code is 7Y9AMAYE - punch that in when you register and you'll get 100Mb free data.

I'm happy to answer any questions, either via PM or in the thread below.

LAXlocal

Hi...... sounds interesting

is the $9.95 a year starting when you order it or when you first use it ?

can you use it in a Tablet ?

does the $30 for the first GB roll over after the first year or is it gone

Thanks

Boogie711

Do you have a SIM you use in your own tablet? Then this should work just fine. You just need to use the app to switch back and forth.

The $9.95 a year is from when you order it, although delivery only took 3-4 days. They ship from Singapore and I'm in Canada so I was impressed.

I believe the membership fees are independent of the data packages.

edcaya

At $30/GB, Flexiroam doesn't compare as favorably to KnowRoaming's 1/3/7-day unlimited data packages.

theworld

Not a fan of the sim sticker. I used the sticker option previously with Knowroaming and it was a bit annoying. Wish they come out with a separate sim card (like Knowroaming has).

One thing attractive about Flexiroam is the coverage is much better than Knowroaming and Keepgo. I think Flexiroam works best if you are supplementing it with, say wifi everywhere you go rather than all you can eat data (at which point Knowroaming is a better proposition).

Boogie711

That's not applicable for a lot of cases.

For example, I was in France for 8 hours last week. Landed at CDG, transferred to ORY, quick overnight hotel, out in the morning. I needed Uber, and the ability to do some chatting on my phone for the 1 hour transfer to Ory. Wifi won't work because I'm in a car.

Know Roaming would have cost me either .15/mb for pay as you go, or I'd be forced to buy the entire day at $7.99. Even though I'm sleeping for 3/4 of that day.

Flexiroam cost me .03/mb - or one-fifth the KnowRoaming cost.

Dubai Stu

I always advice my friends to use their phone (or other device) domestically for two weeks the way they would use it internationally, e.g. don't constantly stream music, Netflix, but don't hesitate to Google Map, check your emails, and try to make calls VOIP if that is what you are doing internationally. Are you planning on uploading photos to Facebook/Pintrest? Then do it domestically?

Then check your usage patterns. Obviously it will be a rough proxy. If you live in a car city, you are not likely to Uber. Your calling pattern will differ as well. Verizon (in the US) has a $10 a day option abroad where you can use your phone in 60 countries as if it was at home. For some people, that is a great option. For others that is $55 down the drain on a ten day trip given their low data usage.

Yes, $30 a gig can be cheaper than $10 a gig if you have a year to use it. Many of us go through a gig in under a week.

LAXlocal

can you put this "sticker" on any sim , active or not ?

the sticker idea is great if you have a dedicated overseas phone , but is there also a chance it will activate while you are in the USA ?

And at least in Europe I would really like to have a Call back number or be able to send and recieve text messages for hotel or dinner reservations or meeting up with people,

Boogie711

In their FAQ they say there's no reason you couldn't use the sticker on an inactive SIM, but obviously, when you use the app to switch it back to "Home" you're not going to get very far.

The only way it could accidentally activate would be if you did it through the App. The (albeit annoying) persistent Android notification stays on all the time, so it's easy to verify you're on HOME or FLEXIROAM X at a relative glance.

I already use a virtual number via voip.ms which allows me to receive text messages via a dedicated app on my phone, so texting wasn't a concern for me, anyway.

theworld

SMS is really so much of a concern these days, esp when you are abroad? I guess where I live, 99% pretty much use Whatsapp or something similar (and this is partly because you have to pay for intra network SMS).

LAXlocal

yes because everyone has SMS ,

yes you can use whatsapp , Line etc after you know the other party is using the same App and get their user name ,
But an SMS uses a phone numbr you already know....

PlatinumScum

+1 on the Flexiroam service.

My only caveat is that I wasn't able to get their sticker to work with an AT&T micro-SIM. Flexiroam assumes that a micro-SIM will have a nano-SIM "punch-out" that provides a recessed setting for their sticker, but AT&T micro-SIMs don't have this. I had to swap my micro-SIM for a nano-SIM at a local AT&T store and use an adapter.

It's a bit Rube Goldberg, but it worked well during recent trips to the U.K. and Spain.

irwins0001

Does anyone know if Flexiroam supports tethering?

Boogie711

I had no problem using my Samsung Galaxy S6 as a hotspot a few times while in the UK.

PlatinumScum

Anyone tried Flexiroam in Singapore? If so, how did it work?