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Free data/trials (control-f to find the actual section for each provider)
Be ADVISED: ALL Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong version of EVERY Phone DOES NOT HAVE SUPPORT for eSim
eSIM features to consider
Unique feature
Longer term data (180day to no expiry)
PAYG data
- Eskimo 1GB 2year - Note: Even though Eskimo is based in Singapore, Singapore is not one of the included countries, probably due to regulatory reasons
- RedBullMobile 100MB 1year
- Yesim 350 coins 1 year
- ExtremeConnect
Be ADVISED: ALL Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong version of EVERY Phone DOES NOT HAVE SUPPORT for eSim
- Best device = Apple iPhone
- Supports dual eSIM (most android phones w/ eSIM have 1 physical + 1 eSIM slot, but cannot use 2 eSIMs together)
- Depending on carrier, supports DSDV (VoLTE voice calls on sim1 gets routed through sim2.data, as though you were doing WiFi calling)
- Some androids might support DSDV
- esim.me
- Allows you to use eSIM on non-native eSIM device
- Requires supported/modern phone
- Pricey / confusing options
eSIM features to consider
- Network coverage
- which networks are supported (not all eSIM list the networks, and networks can change overtime)
- You may want to avoid lower-tier networks or if your phone doesn't support their LTE/5G bands
- Amount of data
- "Unlimited" data typically has fair usage in ToS/fineprint, eg 0.5-1GB per day or 1GB every 3 days, reset on 4th day midnight. may or may not allow hotspot
- Generally data-limited plans allow full-speed w/ hotspot, some offer slow 128kbps after you hit the limit while others cut you off immediately)
- length of coverage
- eg: 1 day, 3 day, 7 day, 30day, 180day, 365day, noExpiry
- Country coverage (single country, regional/EU, global)
- Proxy/Latency/IP
- Most eSIM providers route you back to their main network, which can incur latency
- Your searches will probably geo-locate back to that main network (instead of the country you're in)
- Some of your apps may not work (eg Pandora radio only works in USA, won't work in another country)
- Data sharing / transfering of eSIM to new device
- A few providers allow you to share data, so you can split one plan with multiple eSIM devices (Eskimo, Dent, Vegolink)
- Many providers only allow you to activate eSIM profile once. if you have to switch phones, you either lose that data, or have to pay a token amount to get a new eSIM profile with the remaining balance
- Price/GB
- How data is counted per session
- Usually in ToS, usually its rounded up per 1KB/10KB/100KB/1MB increments. Obviously smaller increment is better
- Method of activation
- Some providers require you to use their app to load the eSIM
- Others send you QR code and/or activation URL, for you to manually load onto phone
- You need valid network access (via wifi or existing mobile data) to activate eSIM
- Expiry countdown
- Some providers start counting down expiry once you purchase, or once you activate eSIM onto phone, or once you set foot into country
- Speed
- generally these eSIM providers get low priority, could be a problem if there is network congestion
- you may want to consider a proper provider over an MVNO
- Visual Voicemail - it seems depending on the phone and carrier, Visual Voicemail might require a Cellular Connection through your provider or their roaming partners. So, Visual Voicemail might not work if you are using a data-only eSIM with roaming turned off for your "home line"
Unique feature
- Ubigi
- free eSIM profile. If you don't have valid plan, the eSIM still allows you to connect & browse ubigi.me (and purchase data via creditcard/paypal)
- Seems native geo-located IP but still through a regional proxy with some latency (Transactel owns part of Ubigi, and Transactel has their own backend)
Longer term data (180day to no expiry)
- Yesim (coins expire 1 year)
- Dent (1 year)
- Eskimo (2 year)
- Esimplus (no expiry)
- AIS eSIM2Fly topup (365 day)
- 3HK (365 day)
PAYG data
- Yesim (varies, deducts from sharedWallet)
- Dent (10/GB)
- RedBullMobile (varies, need to prepay per GB)
eSIM thread
#451
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: YVR
Programs: AA
Posts: 887
On Rogers and they have extortionate pricing.
Any advice on which network to choose when travelling with this to Europe to prevent roaming? Plan to use iPhone on dual sim with an airalo eSIM (data/voice roaming off, low data settings etc) and Wi-Fi calling to be reachable?
Did I miss a setting as last time it worked but I did get charged for a few days. Is it because of Wi-Fi calling being flagged as abroad?
I would really appreciate some sort of checklist that could benefit me and any others in this situation.
Any advice on which network to choose when travelling with this to Europe to prevent roaming? Plan to use iPhone on dual sim with an airalo eSIM (data/voice roaming off, low data settings etc) and Wi-Fi calling to be reachable?
Did I miss a setting as last time it worked but I did get charged for a few days. Is it because of Wi-Fi calling being flagged as abroad?
I would really appreciate some sort of checklist that could benefit me and any others in this situation.
For data select your airalo sim and make sure data roaming is on for that one
For voice, I leave my primary on for any emergency incoming calls. For outgoing calls I use whatsapp or skype
#452
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: YVR
Programs: AA
Posts: 887
I'm a big fan of Airalo and have used them many times, but I'm headed to Singapore and Airalo is showing Singapore as "sold out". I contacted them and they said they are working to get Singapore back in the coming months. (I think Airalo are a Singapore based company.)
Anyone have a recommendation for Singapore?
Anyone have a recommendation for Singapore?
#455
I'm a big fan of Airalo and have used them many times, but I'm headed to Singapore and Airalo is showing Singapore as "sold out". I contacted them and they said they are working to get Singapore back in the coming months. (I think Airalo are a Singapore based company.)
Anyone have a recommendation for Singapore?
Anyone have a recommendation for Singapore?
SingTel offers 30$ for 100GB and 50$ for 120GB 5G prepaid packs, and a whole host of lower data if you don't need 5G. Available straight from the airport.
#456
Join Date: Sep 2022
Programs: United Mileage Plus
Posts: 793
You generally pay more for a given amount of data than with physical SIMs. But for the greater convenience, a lot of people are deciding that it's worth it.
#457
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 262
I always use eSim when I am travelling to other countries. They are a cheap, simple and convenient way to get data. The disadvantage is they usually don’t have phone service. There are many ways around this, including using Google Voice, WhatsApp or Skype for phone calls, which is what I do.
#458
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,168
In the majority of "travel" eSIMs are not based in the country that you're using them in, but instead from another country and then roam into the country you're in. For example, I was recently using an Airalo eSIM in Japan, however the eSIM itself was from Singtel in Singapore, and was roaming onto the Softbank network in Japan. This works fine, but the nature of mobile phone "roaming" is that data is almost always backhauled to the country the SIM is from - so all of my traffic in Japan was backhauled to Singapore before being released onto the internet, which will add to latency. Compare that to using a local SIM where the SIM will be for the local provider, so the traffic goes out locally. For Japan->Singapore that's likely not a big issue, but if you're in Japan and you're using an eSIM that's from a provider in Europe it's not going to be a great experience.
In some occasions the travel eSIM will be from a local provider in which case this isn't an issue. For example, Airalo's eSIMs in Thailand are for DTAC, a local Thai provider. So in that case you'll get the same experience regardless of whether you're using a DTAC physical SIM, a DTAC eSIM, or an Airalo eSIM.
Another disadvantage is that eSIM's are often data only, so if you need to make phone calls/SMS/etc you can't.
The other disadvantage of eSIMs is the one you've mentioned - you often can't move them between phones, or at least, not easily. This isn't really a technical limitation, but one that travel eSIM companies put in place likely to avoid people sharing eSIMs. How big a disadvantage that is depends on how often you flip between phones, but for a travel SIM likely isn't a big problem.
In general, the advantages of an eSIM will far outweigh those disadvantages - but obviously it depends on the person and the use case!
#459
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,089
Another value add for eSIMs is that companies like Airalo have regional (and even global) eSIM options for those places that don't have roaming agreements in place, such as non-EU, where your tourist SIM might stop working the second you cross the border.
#460
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,168
Anyone heard of/used Alosim?
Prices look reasonable, but they currently have a $50-credit-for-$22 deal on StackSocial which makes their prices pretty damn good - at least for the few countries I checked.
Their website seems to imply that you "get" an eSIM which you then load data packs onto. ie, it's implying that it's a singular eSIM, rather than one for each country as you'd normally get for someone like Airalo - however I'm not sure if that's actually how it works or they are just trying to simplify the messaging for people that don't know how eSIMs work?
Prices look reasonable, but they currently have a $50-credit-for-$22 deal on StackSocial which makes their prices pretty damn good - at least for the few countries I checked.
Their website seems to imply that you "get" an eSIM which you then load data packs onto. ie, it's implying that it's a singular eSIM, rather than one for each country as you'd normally get for someone like Airalo - however I'm not sure if that's actually how it works or they are just trying to simplify the messaging for people that don't know how eSIMs work?
#461
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: NH
Posts: 5,720
This is embarrassing.
In the spirit of "there are no stupid questions" I'm hoping to get some help for an upcoming trip. You see, I feel like the information in this thread is way more technical than I need. But I also know I need information about esims. I have an iPhone and Verizon as my carrier. I'm an infrequent traveler and so last year I activated Verizon's $10 a day for both me & my husband. We were charged for each day we used our phones overseas. But in a sense it's still an active plan, since Verizon only charges the subscriber when they use their phone overseas. So if I do this wrong, it's very likely that when we travel to Europe next month, Verizon's going to charge us. 2 people, 14 days in Europe and it's going to run into some serious $$$.
I'd rather get an esim, but I am pretty ignorant about practical aspects. I don't seem to understand basic concepts. A lot of the posts here read like they're written by software engineers and I'm just a user. I don't need to know the deep technical stuff. I just need to know is how to use my phone if I get an esim for my trip, so I don't have to pay Verizon's high prices.
I believe that an esim gives me data, correct?.But not voice, right? I also understand that I should use a phone app instead of using the regular phone feature on my phone. I have a Google Voice account that I use right now to make calls when I'm home in the USA and want to call Europe. But those calls are charged by the minute. So do I need a different app? Or a local European phone number somehow?
So here's what I don't understand and would like to know, if I have an active esim card on my phone:
I hate it when people post questions and say thing like "Answer me like I'm a 5 year old". But honestly, I feel like an idiot. I'm not stupid, but I'm ignorant of the fundamentals here, and I'm hoping someone will help me understand the underlying theory.
I'd rather get an esim, but I am pretty ignorant about practical aspects. I don't seem to understand basic concepts. A lot of the posts here read like they're written by software engineers and I'm just a user. I don't need to know the deep technical stuff. I just need to know is how to use my phone if I get an esim for my trip, so I don't have to pay Verizon's high prices.
I believe that an esim gives me data, correct?.But not voice, right? I also understand that I should use a phone app instead of using the regular phone feature on my phone. I have a Google Voice account that I use right now to make calls when I'm home in the USA and want to call Europe. But those calls are charged by the minute. So do I need a different app? Or a local European phone number somehow?
So here's what I don't understand and would like to know, if I have an active esim card on my phone:
- If I just turn on my phone with an esim card, will Verizon know I'm using my phone? Does merely turning on the phone invoke that $10/day charge?
- Will someone from home be able to call me on my regular phone number? Not that I want it, but if they do, will Verizon charge me that $10 a day?
- If I don't answer the phone, do I need to turn off my voicemail? Cause in a sense, voicemail is the same as answering the phone, right?
- Can I prevent regular calls from coming to my phone altogether? Can I forward calls from my regular phone to go to a VOIP app in case I really DO want to get calls from "home" while I'm away?
- If someone from home texts me, will those texts come through? If I open those texts, does Verizon view that as using my regular calling plan?
- If I'm using a VOIP app in Europe and I want to make a call to a local European business (say, a restaurant or to call an UBER) am I making an international call? Or am I making a local call?
- Should I cancel my international plan with Verizon? (I'm thinking that is probably a "yes")
I hate it when people post questions and say thing like "Answer me like I'm a 5 year old". But honestly, I feel like an idiot. I'm not stupid, but I'm ignorant of the fundamentals here, and I'm hoping someone will help me understand the underlying theory.
#462
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,089
I believe that an esim gives me data, correct?.But not voice, right? I also understand that I should use a phone app instead of using the regular phone feature on my phone. I have a Google Voice account that I use right now to make calls when I'm home in the USA and want to call Europe. But those calls are charged by the minute. So do I need a different app? Or a local European phone number somehow?
If I just turn on my phone with an esim card, will Verizon know I'm using my phone? Does merely turning on the phone invoke that $10/day charge?
Will someone from home be able to call me on my regular phone number? Not that I want it, but if they do, will Verizon charge me that $10 a day?
If you have Wi-Fi accessible you could set the phone to airplane mode, and enable and use the Verizon line via Wi-Fi calling while in airplane mode. I don't know if you can enable or disable lines while in airplane mode though on an iPhone. With airplane mode off, there's a danger that your Verizon SIM might connect to the international network and charge $10.
If I don't answer the phone, do I need to turn off my voicemail? Cause in a sense, voicemail is the same as answering the phone, right?
Can I prevent regular calls from coming to my phone altogether? Can I forward calls from my regular phone to go to a VOIP app in case I really DO want to get calls from "home" while I'm away?
If someone from home texts me, will those texts come through? If I open those texts, does Verizon view that as using my regular calling plan?
If I'm using a VOIP app in Europe and I want to make a call to a local European business (say, a restaurant or to call an UBER) am I making an international call? Or am I making a local call?
Should I cancel my international plan with Verizon? (I'm thinking that is probably a "yes")
My suggestion would be to get an Airalo eSIM since their app is user friendly, allows you to store a credit card to recharge, and has regional eSIMs, such as European countries. Airalo might not be the cheapest option, but I think it's the best eSIM provider in the travel/visitor category.
#463
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: DAL
Posts: 1,467
AT&T iPhone user, for the Verizon sim turn data roaming off and turn Wi-Fi calling on. My son did this for a 3 week trip to the Republic of Georgia and avoided all international roaming charges. He used whats app to connect with locals. Visual voicemail uses data.
#464
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 262
For your Verizon phone you need to turn off TravelPass. You can’t do this from the app but you can do it from the Verizon website. If I recall correctly this was hard to find but it is there somewhere. If you don’t turn it off, it will activate automatically. Otherwise from your questions you seem to understand the eSIm quite well. This is what I do, it might not be the best but it works for me. Turn off TravelPass. Buy the eSIm and load it on your phone using the code. To do this I open the email with the code on my iPad then open the camera on my phone so that the code loads on the phone. Don’t activate it till you arrive. Get a GoogleVoice number. Give this to anyone who might need to call you in an emergency. Before you depart, turn off data roaming on your phone. I just turn off the Verizon SIM (Primary) completely in Settings/cellular. When you arrive, activate your eSim, this will be the Secondary in Settings/cellular. Turn data roaming on in the Secondary. If you need to make a phone call use Google Voice or WhatsApp or Skype. You will have to deposit some money in GoogleVoice or Skype. Every evening when I have Wi-Fi at the hotel, I turn the Secondary off and turn the Primary on, with data roaming turned off on the Primary and Wi-Fi calling turned on. This will download any voice mails, your phone log and any messages from your Verizon line. Then switch back to having Secondary on and Primary off.
#465
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 262
One other suggestion, if you are not completely comfortable with it, do a trial. That’s what I did, bought a US eSim for $5 so I could see how to load it, activate it and use it and become familiar with the functions in Settings/cellular before my first trip with an eSIm for a foreign country.