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(Just now coming across this thread)
Originally Posted by aspro
(Post 34689122)
Just as info for others looking for eSIMs, I tried KeepGo in recent weeks in Europe. It was not a good experience. Installing the eSIM was unproblematic (but the mixed or incomplete instructions are guaranteed to cause problems for some customers), but then it went downhill. The Europe eSIM "line" (KeepGo's terminology) actually rarely connected to the listed networks in a number of the countries I visited, so that was useless when I had chosen the eSIM because of a specific local need for part of the trip (poor coverage by other networks). In Germany I got no useful connection (no data, despite all settings being correct) on one eSIM, then on a alternative eSIM they offered I got notional "Edge" coverage which was useless except for email/chat at best. In France I got no network connection at all on the first eSIM, while the replacement was more useful. In Luxembourg the automatically selected network gave no data, while manual selection of another network was useful.
Germany's not listed in the available countries for Antares though, so I assume you had one of the other ones. I then got a 2nd line "Andromeda" which I got for use in Canada in June; this was mostly useless in the western parts of Newfoundland (but had kinda expected this based on the Rogers coverage map) but kicked in once we got closer to St. John's. Have also used it in Vancouver. |
Originally Posted by lamphs
(Post 34864716)
Lots of information out there re: SIMs on arrival and eSIMs.
Month long trip, unlocked Samsung S9 - UK, Ireland, and Norway. Normally I'd just turn on the phone (AT&T) on the rare occasion that I'd need to make a call or SMS. Unfortunately, my two banks have eliminated the e-mail code option for secondary verification. The code must be SMS or I guess calling the bank. As I understand it:
In addition, if I purchase an eSIM in advance of the trip, would I have a phone number in advance? Why do I want to know? I'd need to set up the banks with my new phone number prior to leaving the US so as to not to incur a roaming fee upon arrival in the UK for the purpose of receiving a SMS from my banks in order to login and setup the new phone number. Thanks and safe holidays to all! Depending on your phone, you might be able to set up AT&T for wifi calling and use a data eSIM (which are common and easy).for the wifi. You'd need a phone with either two eSIMs or a SIM and an eSIM, plus the ability to set this up. Then you could use your existing phone number. Google Voice might work for you together with a data eSIM. Some banks don't work well with Google Voice. Many eSIMs are just data, not a phone number. Happy holidays! |
Originally Posted by lamphs
(Post 34864716)
Lots of information out there re: SIMs on arrival and eSIMs.
Month long trip, unlocked Samsung S9 - UK, Ireland, and Norway. Normally I'd just turn on the phone (AT&T) on the rare occasion that I'd need to make a call or SMS. Unfortunately, my two banks have eliminated the e-mail code option for secondary verification. The code must be SMS or I guess calling the bank. As I understand it:
In addition, if I purchase an eSIM in advance of the trip, would I have a phone number in advance? Why do I want to know? I'd need to set up the banks with my new phone number prior to leaving the US so as to not to incur a roaming fee upon arrival in the UK for the purpose of receiving a SMS from my banks in order to login and setup the new phone number. Thanks and safe holidays to all! |
Originally Posted by Airplanez
(Post 34866428)
Incoming SMS messages are always be free no matter where you roam. As long as you don't send any texts you wouldn't incur any fees. Also if you have WiFi calling you should also be able to send/receive texts over WiFi.
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Originally Posted by Airplanez
(Post 34866428)
Incoming SMS messages are always be free no matter where you roam. As long as you don't send any texts you wouldn't incur any fees. Also if you have WiFi calling you should also be able to send/receive texts over WiFi.
Originally Posted by lsquare
(Post 34866437)
Which carrier?
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Originally Posted by lsquare
(Post 34866437)
Which carrier?
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Originally Posted by lsquare
(Post 34854437)
Why doesn't it work?
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Has anyone come across an EU e-SIM with generous data and tethering capability?
Not a US resident, so Google Fi is a bit of a pain in the .... |
Originally Posted by lsquare
(Post 34866437)
Which carrier?
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Originally Posted by EuropeanPete
(Post 34870888)
Has anyone come across an EU e-SIM with generous data and tethering capability?
Not a US resident, so Google Fi is a bit of a pain in the .... |
Originally Posted by EuropeanPete
(Post 34928784)
Answering my own question - it turns out almost all EU e-SIMs have tethering enabled. I had the holafly unlimited SIM which is in retrospect the only one which didn’t.
I did say generally, I'm sure folks out there can find examples that do not follow that generalization - e.g., Visible in the US allows unlimited (throttled) tethering. |
If you travel overseas and get a local eSIM there, can you somehow switch off your physical SIM (that you don't want to use overseas) so that the phone will temporarily only use the eSIM?
Or is it better to just remove the physical SIM and store it somewhere safely? |
Originally Posted by aster
(Post 35124890)
If you travel overseas and get a local eSIM there, can you somehow switch off your physical SIM (that you don't want to use overseas) so that the phone will temporarily only use the eSIM?
Or is it better to just remove the physical SIM and store it somewhere safely? Some Android phones work the same way, but some require you to remove a physical SIM to disable it. |
Originally Posted by der_saeufer
(Post 35125025)
On iPhones, yes. In settings there's a toggle for your physical SIM just like for each installed eSIM, so you can just switch it off. I think the toggle may only show up if you have at least one eSIM installed in addition to the physical SIM.
Can you also disable and then re-enable the eSIM, for instance switching off the eSIM when departing and then turning it back on again when you return? Or do you have to set up a new eSIM each time? |
Originally Posted by aster
(Post 35127954)
Sounds good, so once I install the eSIM I can disable the physical card until I fly out.
Can you also disable and then re-enable the eSIM, for instance switching off the eSIM when departing and then turning it back on again when you return? Or do you have to set up a new eSIM each time? |
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