eSims

[RizzoTheRat]

Heading to South Africa next week and thinking of getting an eSim for phone data as my UK and Dutch mobile providers give me terrible rates in ZA.

Loads of deals from companies that specialise in international access like Global Yo, Maya Mobile, ETravel, GlobaleSim, Instabridge, etc,

Has anyone got any experience of these 3rd party providers and know if they're worth using, or should I look for something with one of the national providers like MTN, Vodacom, etc?

[RizzoTheRat]

Sounds like Airalo is a good choice then

Looks like they do a referral code, any of you want to earn $3 free credit?

[RizzoTheRat]

One was.

[RizzoTheRat]

karma mechanic said:

I'm about to go to South Korea in the New Year (very cold, -16C expected this week) and then on the way back to Sri Lanka to warm up again. I've never used an eSIM before, so some wisdom from experienced users would be appreciated.

1. Phone is a Samsung, so it appears to have slightly different SIM settings to usual. I assume that I select the normal built-in SIM and turn off roaming. Then I select Mobile Data and set it to SIM2. Correct?

2. If somebody calls me or texts me from the UK will I still see that, or does the above ensure that I don't trigger my UK Vodafone roaming and get charged?

3. Am I better off with a global eSIM, or a regional one that covers South Korea and Sri Lanka? Thank you for the suggestion of Airalo btw.

1 - Yes assuming your phone can have multiple SIMs active at the same time. I've just installed the Airalo one in my S22, I already have 2 physical sims, now it shows the e-sim as a third, but can only have 2 active at a time, you just turn the relevant one on or off in Settings-Connection-Sim Manager. You can then set preferred SIM for calls, voice and data separately. I usually have my UK sim set as default for all 3 but can receive calls on my Dutch one, and when I make a call or send a text I can select the Dutch one if I want. When I get to ZA I'll just switch data to the Airlo one.

2 - You'll probably find you get charged to receive calls when outside Europe, check Vodaphone's website. Not sure if if you get charged if the answerphone picks it up though. The Airlo ones are data only, so if I need to make a call I'll just use Whatsapp.

3 - Can't help there, but they're pretty cheap, I've just gone with the 5GB 30 day one for $12.50 with the referral code.

[RizzoTheRat]

Looks like they do some with voice/text but I guess limited to specific countries
https://www.airalo.com/help/using-managing-esims/c...
I was looking for South Africa and they only offer data options there.

[RizzoTheRat]

Another "thanks for the advice" from me. I went with a South Africa only 30 day 5GB sim for $12.50 using Peter's discount code. Installed the software before I travelled, and it was a piece of piss to set up the eSIM. When I got off the plane I activated the e-sim and switched my data to it, but left phone and text on my UK sim. I also have a physical NL sim in the phone that's usually active but not default, so can recieve calls and messaged but calls text will go out on my UK one unless I select otherwise. My phone (S22) can only use 2 sims at a time so I only had the UK and Airalo one's active. No issues with data anywhere except one area of George where I had to use a bar's wifi to order an Uber. Data was plenty fast enough for a Christmas day Whatsapp video call to my mother.

I'll be leaving the app only phone ready to install another package next time I go outside the roaming area of my current plan.

[RizzoTheRat]

Tony_T said:

Can you still have 2 physical sims (1 disabled?) in your phone while using the esim? Thanks

Yes. I have a dual sim S22 and with Airlo esim installed I can select which 2 are active

[RizzoTheRat]

Yeah, mine let's you set preferred sim for calls, text and data.