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Originally Posted by frappant
(Post 36738570)
but I never had to present it for SIMs. I went to supermarkets and bought kits, put it in iPad and it worked.
Registering a new SIM in Australia requires going through a KYC process, which requires providing either an Australian drivers, an Australian Medicare card, or an Australian or International Passport. If it's an International Passport it needs to have either an Australian visa/ETA, and/or it needs to have been used to enter Australia (I'm not sure exactly what is enforced here - but any random international passport will NOT work).
Originally Posted by frappant
(Post 36738570)
Amayasim does have eSIM kits at retail. They are an MVNO which tend to offer speed limits. They’re on Optus network which I haven’t tried. Only have use Vodafone or Telstra.
Some carriers require using their apps for installing esims. But they’re not in the US App Store though they claim when I’m in Australia I would be able to download. Most providers will allow you to sign up for an eSIM from their website, so no app required. This includes Telstra themselves (plus several of their MVNOs), Amaysim, and countless others. |
I was in Sydney and Melbourne last year.
I bought a Vodafone kit at either Coles or Woolworths. Maybe I went online to register it, I don't recall. But it wasn't the first time I bought one of these kits on sale at a supermarket I also bought a Boost kit from Coles in Melbourne, with the idea of maybe using it if I used all of the data on the Vodafone SIM during my trip. Mostly because it seemed like a big bargain for like 12 AUD or something like that. I still have it and I'm going next month so I don't know if I would be able to convert it to eSIM. I read on Whirlpool that you need their app, which again isn't on the US App Store. If it was Vodafone or Telstra or even Optus, I suppose I could go into a store and ask if they would activate on one of their devices and convert it to an eSIM for me. Either that or I take my older iPad, which I'd rather not do, to be able to use physical SIMs. |
Originally Posted by docbert
(Post 36738590)
Registering a new SIM in Australia requires going through a KYC process...
I had a similar issue with Taiwan Mobile two years ago. At the time, I didn't have residency there, so I was just a visitor. The shop was reluctant to move my SIM card over to an eSIM because they needed two forms of ID, one of which was local. Whether that requirement didn't exist when I had gotten the SIM card a decade earlier or the shop at the time didn't follow the rules, I don't know. |
Originally Posted by Majuki
(Post 36738876)
I've had my Optus SIM for awhile, but I don't remember any KYC requirements when I bought it. That probably rules out converting it to an eSIM.
Originally Posted by frappant
(Post 36738794)
I bought a Vodafone kit at either Coles or Woolworths. Maybe I went online to register it, I don't recall. But it wasn't the first time I bought one of these kits on sale at a supermarket
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Originally Posted by docbert
(Post 36738928)
The process is simple enough that it's very possibly you did it but just forgot.
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Originally Posted by frappant
(Post 36738570)
Never heard that App Store allows apps to be geofenced. On Android, you can try to use open source aurora store to download and install . Apple, no such workaround. Both apple/android, you can change region maybe 1-4 times a year but can complicate existing app subscriptions or gift card valances |
Originally Posted by frappant
(Post 36738794)
Either that or I take my older iPad, which I'd rather not do, to be able to use physical SIMs.
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Originally Posted by frappant
(Post 36738570)
Yeah you need ETA to board flights to Australia.
but I never had to present it for SIMs. I went to supermarkets and bought kits, put it in iPad and it worked. Amayasim does have eSIM kits at retail. They are an MVNO which tend to offer speed limits. They’re on Optus network which I haven’t tried. Only have use Vodafone or Telstra. Some carriers require using their apps for installing esims. But they’re not in the US App Store though they claim when I’m in Australia I would be able to download. Never heard that App Store allows apps to be geofenced. I also believe, but am not entirely certain - that the geofencing is based on the home country of your app store, not your physical location. So if it won't download for you where you are, it won't download when you are physically in Australia. |
Originally Posted by BigFlyer
(Post 36743177)
The entire app store is geofenced, app developers get to decide which app stores will carry its app.
I also believe, but am not entirely certain - that the geofencing is based on the home country of your app store, not your physical location. So if it won't download for you where you are, it won't download when you are physically in Australia. eg, I'm currently in Australia. If I select my Australian Google account in Play and search for 'Boost mobile' I get the app for the Australian Boost Mobile and not the US one. If I switch over to my US Google account and do the same search, I get the US Boost Mobile app, but NOT the Australian one. Using my US acct, there's no way to get the Australian Boost Mobile app (which is needed to purchase one of their eSIMs) |
Originally Posted by BigFlyer
(Post 36743177)
The entire app store is geofenced, app developers get to decide which app stores will carry its app.
I also believe, but am not entirely certain - that the geofencing is based on the home country of your app store, not your physical location. So if it won't download for you where you are, it won't download when you are physically in Australia. |
Originally Posted by BigFlyer
(Post 36743177)
The entire app store is geofenced, app developers get to decide which app stores will carry its app.
I also believe, but am not entirely certain - that the geofencing is based on the home country of your app store, not your physical location. So if it won't download for you where you are, it won't download when you are physically in Australia. For iOS, you can change your App Store country in your phone's settings--it's a different setting than the 'region' of your iPhone, and they don't have to match. The page says it requires a payment method but you can often just fill in an address in that country and pick 'none' for the payment method. Installed apps will update even if you've changed your country to one where that app isn't supported. Most of the geofencing seems to be for security purposes with finance apps or to maintain regionalization of the app, e.g. Domino's Pizza has a completely different app in the U.S. vs. India so they can reduce annoyance from downloading the wrong one by geofencing the app. |
Can you sideload the correct version onto the phone?
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Originally Posted by EAJuggalo
(Post 36746692)
Can you sideload the correct version onto the phone?
iPhone - If you try, CEO Tim Apple will come around your house and beat you with an iMac. (ie, no) |
Originally Posted by Adam Smith
(Post 36639478)
.....
But I had a crappy experience in Argentina recently, so I thought I'd check out alternatives for an upcoming trip to Chile. (I will cut Airalo a tiny amount of slack on this, as there was something funky with the mobile networks in Argentina, with my regular SIM constantly re-registering itself and my carrier constantly sending me roaming e-mails as though I had just arrived in the country) But Yesim is 3x the price of Airalo in Chile. I checked a couple of places in Europe that I travel frequently, and the price is basically the same for local eSIMs (I'm puzzled why Yesim is so uncompetitive in Chile). In some places, Airalo does offer 5G. In some, no. But the Yesim website doesn't tell me what I'm getting, so maybe it's 5G, maybe it's LTE, who knows. Given I'm usually just using these eSIMs for web browsing, maps, etc, the speed difference doesn't make a big deal - if I'm in not stationary in my hotel, an airport, etc where I'm going to have free WiFi, I'm not really watching Netflix or other high-bandwidth activities. But overall my Airalo experience has been pretty good, their app works pretty well, and I have better things to do with my time than comparison shop to maybe save 3% on an eSIM. Thanks G50 |
Just got back from a trip to Morocco, and I used this Morocco eSIM service. It worked great, and I was really impressed with the prices. The cheapest plan starts at just $9, which is perfect for a short stay. It turned out to be a good choice, but I’m always open to exploring other options, too.
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