eSIM thread
#1351



Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,699
Europe should really be $1-2/GB, you are overpaying. There are even payg esims with no expiry at that rate
#1352




Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: I 35 south bound, finally stopped
Programs: LT PPro/Emerald 4mm, *A GLD, Delta Silver, burned out medical provider, executing our estate plan
Posts: 1,775
from the page I linked "Phones in the US with the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL "
This statement does not include the Pixel 10a
co pilot answer
What the Pixel 10a actually supports
- eSIM support: Confirmed. The Pixel 10a can activate an eSIM.
- Dual SIM capability: It uses Dual SIM, Dual Standby (DSDS) with one physical SIM + one eSIM.
- Two eSIMs simultaneously: Not supported. Only Pixel 7 and newer flagships support dual active eSIMs, and the Pixel 10a is not in that category.
Last edited by boerne; Yesterday at 9:07 am Reason: added data
#1353


Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 7,034
from the page I linked "Phones in the US with the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL "
This statement does not include the Pixel 10a
co pilot answer
This statement does not include the Pixel 10a
co pilot answer
What the Pixel 10a actually supports
- eSIM support: Confirmed. The Pixel 10a can activate an eSIM.
- Dual SIM capability: It uses Dual SIM, Dual Standby (DSDS) with one physical SIM + one eSIM.
- Two eSIMs simultaneously: Not supported. Only Pixel 7 and newer flagships support dual active eSIMs, and the Pixel 10a is not in that category.
Google support:
You can use 2 eSIM profiles at once if:
- You have a Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, or later phone.
- Your carrier allows this feature.
https://support.google.com/pixelphon...33862131675-NA
Or Google AI
#1354
Moderator: Hyatt, American Express; FlyerTalk Evangelist




Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, AA EXP, UA Silver, Hyatt Glob, Mlife Noir (=> Marriott Amb), invol FT beta tester
Posts: 21,669
"Phones in the US with the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL model dont use physical SIMs, and are eSIM-only."
(I bolded the part you left out)
This is irrelevant to your original statement, which was "I have not found any documentation supporting 2 esims on a pixel 10a" since it is describing certain models which ONLY support eSIM (but even then, it does not say they are limited to a single eSIM, merely that they do not have a physical slot)
However, as I explained, the page you linked to says further below that "You may use 2 eSIM profiles at once if you have a Pixel 7 or later phone."
A Pixel 10a is later than a Pixel 7, so this is the info you were looking for.
I am including screenshots in case we are perhaps getting different versions of the Google doc page.


#1355



Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: DAL
Posts: 2,231
#1356




Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,963
For example, you can easily buy an Orange SIM here: https://www.esimholidays.com/en for 10 euro that gives you 80 GB in Spain and 15 GB in the rest of Europe. Because you are getting a real local SIM it has a phone number and 500 minutes in calls included. 5 Euro more gets you 260 GB in Spain, 22 GB in the rest of Europe.
For a recent trip to Spain, I bought an eSIM from vodafone.es for similar pricing and data allowance, which also included US data roaming.
I recently bought an eSIM from Lycamobile UK for 5.00 that included 30 GB of UK data, 12 GB of EU data, and 100 international calls.
These are just examples. In all cases I downloaded the eSIM before I left the US and it worked upon arrival.
The Orange SIM worked in Europe without first activating in Spain - in fact, I never used that SIM in Spain.. The one caveat is not to buy a local carrier SIM before leaving the US unless your trip takes you to the country of the SIM first or you have confirmed that the SIM need not be activated first in the SIM's home country.
#1357




Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Sunny So Cal
Programs: SPG, HH, IHG, BA, DL
Posts: 297
Works perfectly fine.
Now monitoring amount of actual data being used....
#1358




Join Date: Sep 2022
Programs: United Mileage Plus
Posts: 1,747
Got answers back from SIM Local:
1. Yes you can purchase online with US credit card and install with QR code.
2. Prices are mostly the same between stores and online.
3. If KYC is required you upload passport and selfie.
4. No roaming if purchasing a first-party carrier eSIM like EE or 3. They also sell some MVNO-branded eSIMs so presumably those could roam on another domestic carrier.
1. Yes you can purchase online with US credit card and install with QR code.
2. Prices are mostly the same between stores and online.
3. If KYC is required you upload passport and selfie.
4. No roaming if purchasing a first-party carrier eSIM like EE or 3. They also sell some MVNO-branded eSIMs so presumably those could roam on another domestic carrier.
So I went and got this eSIM, 150 GB for 20. A better price than the Orange Euro eSIM which is typically 40 or more for 100 GB.
It worked fine in York and on the train from LHR into central London and then on the train up to York, which was delayed by over an hour so the connectivity was more than just entertainment, it was needed to figure out alternative routes.
But then after 3-4 days I drove from York to Whitby, a seaside town NE of York. It does draw a fair number of tourists, though I'm not sure how it compares to the Yorkshire Dales in popularity.
In any event, as soon as I arrived, the speeds just crashed, under 1 Mbps, if it connected at all. I contacted SIM Local, after awhile they said to contact EE.
I researched and apparently it's just poor mobile networks here. The EE eSIM shows 2 or 3 bars of 5G. But I tried my T-Mobile eSIM and it selected EE and 5G but it was also poor. I tried all the other networks. Some had no signal, others were LTE or E for Edge.
So hopefully this is just the locale, not this prepaid eSIM being purposely capped.
When I do speed tests, it would take a good long time to start and then finish the download at under 1 Mbps most of the time and sometimes, it would start the upload with a big burst, over 70 Mbps once, but then it would drop fast and end up also under 1 Mbps. So I wonder if EE is capping speeds here or maybe capping this eSIM thinking I hit some data cap but I've only used about 12 GB before coming to Whitby.
#1359



Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: London, UK
Programs: bmi DC, BAEC
Posts: 1,970
I got stuck in Crewe station for an hour yesterday due to train problems, and despite my phone showing I can decent signal strength (on O2 network), it just wouldn't work.
I had to use the station wifi to get internet access.




