BigFlyer

I suppose you could contact Truphone and ask if you were actually contemplating buying an eSIM.

I don't believe Three is in any of the countries I listed - although I suppose they could use the Three roaming partners.

der_saeufer

I see that KnowRoaming is now the cheapest eSIM for short trips to the U.S.

Anyone know whose network they roam on?

edit: looks like KnowRoaming is Telna, which is the same provider Airalo uses for U.S. eSIMs so I suppose it'll do what Airalo seems to do lately where T-Mo is the default but AT&T also works.

ESpen36

KnowRoaming sells eSIMs that use different network providers in each country. I suspect it will be whichever network(s) supports prepaid data eSIMs, which I know T-Mobile does.

Also, before buying KR, compare prices with Airalo. It might be almost the same, and IMHO, it's worth paying a bit more for the convenience of being able to monitor your data usage live on the Airalo app.

der_saeufer

I just got back from my trip to the U.S. with the KnowRoaming eSIM. At least for the U.S. it's just another Telna eSIM, same as Airalo but half the price (though without any way to monitor data usage, as ESpen36 points out).

It defaulted to AT&T but could be forced to T-Mo and had a French IP address from a block belonging to OVH. As you'd expect, data speed was fine but pings were high.

Edit to add: LTE on both networks. No 5G on T-Mo, and I was in an area without AT&T 5G.

paperwastage

iphone eSIMs can be backed up and restored via iCloud. i think must be same iphone, unsure

some eSIM providers will allow you to delete and reactivate (typically using their app to reactivate)

databases:
https://esimdb.com
https://esims.io/
https://esimfy.com
https://mobimatter.com
(they are sometimes outdated though)

(global-ish, long data >30days)
Dent is useful for 365-day data expiry (currently $10/GB, but seems to be fluctuating and they make you convert to their intenral currency first, which is annoying)

PAYG (you should look at minimum data charge increemnt)
mtx connect PAYG
-- $0.012 euro per MB (12 EUR/GB) "global", check coverage map. says every 30 days, unsure what that means
-- 10KB increment at end of each session
-- expiry (18 months after last topup, min 10EUR)
-- other: need to provide ID when signing up
-- other: esim should be able to replace for free (have to contact them)

esim.net
-- has various rates for PAYG (eg $9/GB on AT&T, has)
-- 20KB increment
-- expiry 3 months (topup $10 minimum every 3 months)
-- other: includes +44 UK number for calls (various rates, eg $0.07 outgoing $0.03 incoming if you're on AT&T calling another AT&T or T-mobile or Verizon )
-- other: hash calling is slightly cheaper (it acts like using a calling card)
-- other: free incoming SMS
-- other: has some niche providers (different rates, like GCI alaska, Choice Wireless in Nevada/Arizona/Colorado, Viaero in Colorado/Kansas/nebaska/Wyoming)


surfroam
-- various rates for PAYG (eg $20/GB for USA)
-- 1MB increment at end of each session
-- expiry 12 months (topup extends expiry on existin credit, SIM expires 12 month after last data usage)

cwsim (ComfortWay)
-- various rates for PAYG (eg 11.67 EUR for AT&T)
-- increment ?
-- expiry ?
-- other ?

sim2fly?
-- they used to have PAYG data, but cna't find it now
-- increment
-- 1 year expiry (topup like $1 to extend 3 month)
-- other: has Thai +66 phone number, can call/text (various rates eg $0.20/min in usa), free incoming


bnesim
? app does not connect on my phone wifi

onesimcard
-- various rates for PAYG ($50/GB on att)
-- think it's 20KB to 100KB increment?
-- expiry?
-- other: includes EU and US number, free incoming calls, free incoming texts

esimplus
-- various rates for PAYG (eg $6.9/GB USA)
-- 1MB increment
-- expiry?

drimsim
-- various rates for PAYG (eg 20 EU/GB USA)
-- 1kbyte increment
-- expiry ? physical card says 360 day inactivity = 0.5eur/month, use call/message/data, will extend 360 days
-- other: (can rent phone number, but can only use with their APP aka VoIP) to receive free incoming calls/sms via wifi/data
-- other: esim can be replaced for free
-- other: 10eur for eSIM

mobilitypass
-- various rates for PAYG (eg $180/GB for USA)
-- expiry 365 days (topup = extend 365 days)
-- other: incoming text free, calls various rates
-- other: has niche providers like esim.net (Choice, Commnet, Pulse, Viaero, UTC, ...

I found an interesting product (esim.me), creating new thread for this: eSIM support for phone without eSIM (can move eSIM across phones)

exp

Yeah I upgraded from iPhone 12 to iPhone 13 and in the transfer process, they prompt you for transferring your phone number over.

I said yes and I got an email from T-Mobile saying my number was transferred from IMSI number x to IMSI number Y.

Worked right off the bat.

I had had to go talk to T-Mobile last year to provision the eSIM in the iPhone 12 last year, rather than ask them for a new SIM or even transferring the SIM from the previous phone. It took about 30-60 minutes.

richarddd

Which provider is likely to be the most reliable and easiest to use for a small amount of data in Western Europe? I'd probably only need 1gb over a 7 or 10 day period. This would be a backup for Fi.

paperwastage

https://esimdb.com/region/europe

about $5-$10 (filter by 1GB), make sure the countries listed for each plan are the countries you care about

europe data is typically cheap (due to the EU roaming laws)




reliable? well

exp

Yeah we really need user reviews, in particular knowing which networks they roamed in each country.

richarddd

If I believed google and apple app store reviews, I'd pick airalo.

Reviews might include ease of setup (going from purchase to connection), speed and reliability.

paperwastage

frankly with Google Fi, i wouldn't be worried (unless there was a country not supported by Fi)



i think QR codes are more reliable than activating via app (though it's kinda tricky activating qr code on same device)

some eSIMs do list the providers in each country, most don't

the providers can change over time though

exp

Would be good feedback to have in FT though, see which eSIMs roamed on which networks, what the speeds were like, etc.

paperwastage

I'm testing KnowRoaming on usa (1GB 7 day $2.25, seems like the esim dbs say $4.50).

Knowroaming company based in canada
knowroaming uses LPA:1$consumer.rsp.global$<some activation number>

don't need to configure APN(according to knowroaming, some countries u may need to manually configure APN). , only able to connect on AT&T (tmobile doesnt connect). proxy through France OVH.
Speedtest to USA Cloudfare server is 25mbps down/1mbps up, 228ms ping
(USA -> France 75ms ping or 150ms roundtrip, so it's not that bad)

Knowroaming sim shows up as "PLAY". Could be the polish Play communications, unsufe

Ubigi - you can actually activate an empty eSIM profile for free.
it auto connected to "Ubigi network", had to manually configure apn (otherwise no data connectivity). Need mobile data via Ubigi first to create account(cannot create account via wifi). stuck at this step
EDIT: i had custom dns set (which won't resolve). once i removed custom dns, able to create profile
Ubigi seems to connect to TMobile, seems to give me NYC Transatel IP. not sure how often this would be the case (actual native IP, so low latency)
you can purchase a data plan (without any data activated), so that's better than a lot of other providers (where you have to hunt for wifi/existing data, to activate/topup)?

Ubigi company based in ??? Think Paris, haven't purchased anything Yet to see their company details though


ubigi, the esim QR code points to LPA:1$trl.prod.ondemandconnectivity.com$<some activation number>

anyone want to try if they're located in a different country?

paperwastage

knowroaming - unable to see the validity & data left. Knowrosming company based in canada

what's interesting is that you can sign into the knowroaming android app (using the serial number from the eSIM email)
you get to set up an account, then your account gets assigned a USA number

the app doesnt show anything though (no plan active, $0 balance). On the app, it does show that I used 4MB after I installed the app, but not the data I used via eSIM before installing the app
the USA number does work (free incoming text, able to receive it via eSIM). outgoing text and outgoing/incoming calls do not work (probably need $ on the account)
phone->settings shows eSIM's phone # = unknown

just wonder if i'm willing to topup ($25 minimum), probably not.


can confirm knowroaming IP (ovh fr) sometimes get blocked by flyertalk, sometimes ok. Google sometimes detect bot traffic and make you solve captcha

paperwastage

Dent wireless - no qr code, need their app to activate native esim phone
Dent wireless company based in Hong kong.

Att&TMobile seem to work

Esim shows up as "orange IL", exit IP says Orange Polska Spolka Akcyjna somewhere in Poland.

280+ ms ping to Poland server, 330+Ms ping to NY server
dent wireless app tells you remaining data&days.


71 down 1.5 up on at&t (10+10+10+5+10), 219ms ping 175ms jitter, to Wroclaw test server. Seems like up is throttled (never wavers past 1.5mbps)

my phone popped up, asking if i want to set up wifi calling, details on orange.pl/wificalling