eSIM

[Jack]

My current data provider is ridiculously expensive when going off the roaming grid, as are they all I think!

I used to use a wee burner phone and hot-spot from it when in these countries but I see the growth of the eSIM market. It's so recent even Martin Lewis is looking for information before he does his stuff!

Has anyone here used one?

Did you purchase in advance? International or local?

How easy was it through the purchase to install phase?

Did it meet expectations?

Cheers!

Japan specific a bonus!!

[speedy_gonzales]

I bought three for the family from EasySim last year for a trip to the US(like you, my carrier was charging an extortionate price and you were only guaranteed 3G service).

It worked brilliantly, very simple to set up.
Firstly, make sure your phone is suitable (believe it or not, some folk carry phones that can't take an eSim).
A decent tip is to populate the eSim details in to your phone before you fly, then when you land at your destination you simply activate it.

https://www.easysim.global/

If you want, use my referral code (RF14452RJ) to get a couple of quid off each SIM (full disclosure, I also get £2 off my next SIM).

[Jack]

I bought three for the family from EasySim last year for a trip to the US(like you, my carrier was charging an extortionate price and you were only guaranteed 3G service).

It worked brilliantly, very simple to set up.
Firstly, make sure your phone is suitable (believe it or not, some folk carry phones that can't take an eSim).
A decent tip is to populate the eSim details in to your phone before you fly, then when you land at your destination you simply activate it.

https://www.easysim.global/

If you want, use my referral code (RF14452RJ) to get a couple of quid off each SIM (full disclosure, I also get £2 off my next SIM).
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

[patch1875]

Try Roamless

[MountcastleHibs]

I bought an eSIM with Vodafone for my upcoming trip to Florida. Simple enough to install on my phone, and seems to be pretty easy to activate once across there. Only concern is the eSIM has a Dutch phone number, despite it being bought specifically for us in America. Will only know once it is activated if it’s the right thing. If it all works out though, it’ll definitely be the way I go in the future.

[overdrive]

I've used Airalo in Thailand and Turkey and it worked great. I've also used Sailly in Turkey as I got a small freebie through NordVPN (who own it I think). That worked great as well but moved to Airalo once the small allowance was up, purely because I had used it before and I think it was maybe a slightly better deal. Shop around online for what the best deals are.

Most are just data eSIMs and they are really easy. The one we had in Thailand also came with a phone number and minutes and texts. This complicated things a bit - more so for my wife who uses Apple iMessages with a group of her friends rather than Whatsapp. It didn't like it and seemed to get confused that there were two numbers on the phone. Not 100% sure if it was user error mind you.

Be careful as well with your UK SIM when abroad. If it is still switched on and you receive a call when you are away you might be charged for it. We are with O2 and had this issue in Turkey. Anytime a spam number called we were charged O2's roaming connection fee. So it might be best to switch roaming off on it. Not great if you are expecting an important call or anything mind you.

[Jack]

Thanks everyone.

It doesn't look as difficult as I thought it might be 👍

[KdyHby]

Used an Airalo eSim for travelling through Indochina earlier this year. The one eSim was needed for Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, it would have also covered another 15 countries. 10gb over 30 days costs £28.50. Was easy to set-up and use.

[Jay]

I've also used the Airalo esim for the Caribbean . No issues at all and cost less than £20 for a fortnight's use. Downloaded it onto my phone and it activated when I was in Barbados. They sent me updates on my usage and was easy to top up