BigFlyer

Slightly OT - but the eSIMs from dentwireless.com have a 365 day life. 1 GB is $4.95, 3 GB is $12.99,10 GB is $39.99. Dent uses AT&T in the US, the eSIM works in 50 countries.

bukzin

I have found the support at Airalo to be good. What did they say?

exp

So you have 365 days to use those amounts of data or you have 365 days after last top up before the eSIM expires?

Do they list the carriers in different countries?

THe prices aren't too bad, especially the 3 and 10 GB would be pretty competitive in some countries.

bukzin

Excellent questions.

LordHamster

I'm a long time Google FI user, but the Pandemic has caused me to reevaluate my phone providers and look at other available options.

I've been playing with eSim stores like Airalo, Nomad, Dent, Truphone, US Mobile.

Since I've been locked down due to the covid restrictions, I've not had a chance to go overseas to test these. I did download a 1GB USA esim from Airalo, Dent, US Mobile. All three operated on the AT&T network. All three also had latency ~ 250-350ms. Of the ones I tried the US Mobile esim (resold truphone) I think was the closest to native AT&T speeds... achieving 70mbps down at my home. The others were slower but still pretty decent around 20-30mbps. I noticed that the Dent and US-Mobile esims took FOREVER to activate... but once they did they worked well. The airalo and dent esims were the only ones with a reasonable way of "topping" them off with more cash.

Long story short, I think we are entering a whole new phase in the mobile data world. FI's $10/GB is suddenly not looking as great as it once was, although they still have be most convenient and trouble-free service IMO. T-Mobile's 15GB for $50 plan is still pricy but is also a low-hassle option. These new eSim stores however have T-Mo beat in that you won't get nastygrams for actually using the data you bought.

BigFlyer

Never heard of Nomad before - but seems it is IOS only. Am I correct in assuming that it installs the eSIM without using a QR code?

Seems that the providers that use the QR code method are OS agnostic and work fine on IOS and Android, seems that the QR code method is universal.

It would be nice if they all just used the universal QR code method, or at least had that as an option.

GUWonder

Some T-mobile pay-as-you-go users used to use T-mobile's $5/day or $10/week data pass at times when needed; but now with eSIM capability they have ditched that to go for cheaper eSIM data packages than that when having a compatible device.

As eSIMs become more commonly used while keeping a primary SIM on for voice/SMS, consumers will shop around more. Then the question becomes how the increasingly oligopolistic domestic industry responds to that. The increased concentration in market power will have a tendency to raise prices back toward the actual network service operator/owners' prices and raise prices overall. But for now we are living in the the sweet spot.

LordHamster

• AirAlo - Uses the QR code or Manual Method
• US Mobile - Uses the QR code or Manual Method
• TruPhone - Uses the QR code or Manual Method
• Dent - Downloads direct to phone (iPhone & Android)
• Nomad, I downloaded the app but have not tried to buy an esim
• Wing Alpha (USA domestic only) QR Code method

I actually prefer the direct download to phone method over the QR code as the QR code method means you need two devices on hand one to show the code, the other to scan it...else you are back to manual configuration. If I recall correctly, when I used my old Pixel 4XL, I was able to add a Dent esim directly via the app via a download method of some sort as well.

Currently I'm playing with Wing Alpha which is basically an AT&T business plan reseller. With them I'm able to get a USA domestic sim with top level priority low latency etc... basically a native AT&T sim. Which is nice to couple with T-Mobile for a multi-carrier coverage. I'm torn between this and Visible as my "secondary" domestic data line.

life form

I dislike the lack of info about the networks used in particular countries. For instance, we are traveling to Chile later this year. The only option available is the regional package 'Latin America'. Info on what networks they are using in the countries included is nowhere to be found. There's also no info whether 4G is available.

draver

For an esim capable phone, Airalo posts what network they roam on if you click the package offerings for the country of choice. For instance, in Chile the carrier listed is "Operates on the Entel network in Chile" on LTE. Kinda pricey though, 1Gb, $9 for 7 days or 3Gb, $18 for 30 days. Dent also includes Chile in their 80 country list. Their pricing is 1Gb, $4.99 for 365 days, or 3Gb, $12.99 for 365 days.

For the single device with a QR code issue, it's not a big deal to just enter the few characters of code manually that will appear for the purchase. You can even copy & paste as I recall.

My travel plans include taking my iPad Mini 5 and Pro 11" along and using their esims for either Airalo or Dent (Maybe even both) and then hot spotting for data and free T-Mobile WiFi calling to and from the US. This has worked well in the past and gives others service if you travel with friends or family and cellular can be switched off on your phones.

life form

Thanks, that is really helpful. So far, I only got a chance to use GigSky. I've been considering Airalo for future travel and didn't find the details I was looking for on their web site.

draver

My experiences with Airalo are that they are a first rate company with great customer service and communication. Several times in the past I have been conversing with a rep on a Sunday while overseas. I know little about DENT except that I have purchased a 1Gb $5, 365 day plan from them to experiment with. It works fine here in the US and I get good speeds in the 20-30Mbps range. I do not know who they roam on in the States. That really doesn't matter much to me since I live here, but visitors may care. The speeds I get do have a very long ping of 300-400ms, which should be much shorter while roaming elsewhere. My experiences lead me to try and always have a backup service as a fallback. T-Mobile is generally my failsafe, but I will spend a few bucks to get higher speeds at times. Even the Chile prices I found are a far cry from what rates were a few years ago. I paid $120 for 800Mb from AT&T in the dark ages.

Now if they would only let me go somewhere nice.

TGarza

In the US, Dent Wireless uses AT&T Wireless

LordHamster

They recently switched back to T-Mobile for roaming. My previously provisioned Dent Sim was working on AT&T and now switched to T-Mobile...which makes it useless to me in the US. I was using it as a backup to my t-mobile. Now I have T-mobile as a backup to my t-mobile. :/

Airalo is nice in that they tell you right on the website what networks you roam on in each country.

TGarza

Thanks for the update. T Mobile has a weak signal in my home market and no signal at my mother’s house.