eSims

Author
Discussion

RizzoTheRat

Original Poster:

25,220 posts

193 months

Saturday 16th December 2023
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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?

swamp

994 posts

190 months

Saturday 16th December 2023
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Airalo are very good. I used them in Montenegro this year, and plan to use them again for a trip to Switzerland.

tescorank

1,999 posts

232 months

Saturday 16th December 2023
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swamp said:
Airalo are very good. I used them in Montenegro this year, and plan to use them again for a trip to Switzerland.
Used them in Asia, Africa and South America and was recommended by an Airplane recovery agent no less!

CraigyMc

16,472 posts

237 months

Sunday 17th December 2023
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I used airalo for the USA earlier this year. Worked fine.

Airalo are Singapore based.

RizzoTheRat

Original Poster:

25,220 posts

193 months

Sunday 17th December 2023
quotequote all
Sounds like Airalo is a good choice then biggrin

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


peter tdci

1,774 posts

151 months

Sunday 17th December 2023
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RizzoTheRat said:
Sounds like Airalo is a good choice then biggrin

Looks like they do a referral code, any of you want to earn $3 free credit?
Go on then - try this: PETER1681

I used a global SIM last month from them. It worked seamlessly across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Qatar

peter tdci

1,774 posts

151 months

Sunday 17th December 2023
quotequote all
peter tdci said:
RizzoTheRat said:
Sounds like Airalo is a good choice then biggrin

Looks like they do a referral code, any of you want to earn $3 free credit?
Go on then - try this: PETER1681

I used a global SIM last month from them. It worked seamlessly across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Qatar
The Airalo app has pinged me that I've had two $3 referral credits today so, if either or both were prompted by this thread, thank you!

RizzoTheRat

Original Poster:

25,220 posts

193 months

Monday 18th December 2023
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One was. thumbup

peter tdci

1,774 posts

151 months

Monday 18th December 2023
quotequote all
RizzoTheRat said:
One was. thumbup
beer

LRDefender

164 posts

9 months

Monday 18th December 2023
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Another Airalo user here. I've used it across Turkey & parts of the Balkans and it was faultless.

karma mechanic

730 posts

123 months

Monday 18th December 2023
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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.


RizzoTheRat

Original Poster:

25,220 posts

193 months

Monday 18th December 2023
quotequote all
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.

karma mechanic

730 posts

123 months

Monday 18th December 2023
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Thanks. Me and my wife will be going, so we could use two referrals.

I think we can manage without actual calls and SMS for a while, so I'll probably turn off the UK SIMs completely to be on the safe side. Everything else is WhatsApp or email.

R33FAL

538 posts

169 months

Monday 18th December 2023
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peter tdci said:
The Airalo app has pinged me that I've had two $3 referral credits today so, if either or both were prompted by this thread, thank you!
Other was me... biggrin

Just so happens I am travelling tomorrow so very timely thread/recommendation.

peter tdci

1,774 posts

151 months

Monday 18th December 2023
quotequote all
R33FAL said:
Other was me... biggrin

Just so happens I am travelling tomorrow so very timely thread/recommendation.
beer

brums evil twin

308 posts

237 months

Tuesday 19th December 2023
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This is interesting for me as I work all over Asia, US and Europe

Been thinking about an eSim but not got around to researching - Seems Airlo might fit the bill.

I am in Vietnam this week and Philippines two weeks ago. Back to the UK for Christmas then into Indonesia heading to the US.

The challenge I guess is will Airlo work in all these regions?


CraigyMc

16,472 posts

237 months

Tuesday 19th December 2023
quotequote all
brums evil twin said:
This is interesting for me as I work all over Asia, US and Europe

Been thinking about an eSim but not got around to researching - Seems Airlo might fit the bill.

I am in Vietnam this week and Philippines two weeks ago. Back to the UK for Christmas then into Indonesia heading to the US.

The challenge I guess is will Airlo work in all these regions?
Yup. They have a global option.

Suspicious_user

3,979 posts

194 months

Tuesday 19th December 2023
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Have used Airalo in Italy and Thailand without issue. Cheaper than paying for the roaming fees.

djc206

12,396 posts

126 months

Tuesday 19th December 2023
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Quidco are offering 9.75% cashback at Airalo for anyone making a purchase.

brums evil twin

308 posts

237 months

Wednesday 20th December 2023
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thanks - just found the global option - now to work out how much data I need for my next trip