6 votes

Anyone have any experience with eSIMs?

Posted by ali
Tags: ask.advice, phones.smart, esim, travel

I have ordered a phone with an eSim this week and I have been reading a bit into it.
As far as I know so far, you just have to download an app and you can just book some extra data as needed - it seems especially cool because you can just book a local plan when you're abroad instead of getting a local sim card. Which can be more or less a hassle - 2019 I went to South Africa where it was pretty easy to get a sim card at the airport, 2018 I went to India, where it was a hassle.
I guess for people in the US this is not a problem? Some of my friends have global contracts, and I had that too when I was there via googles project fi. We don't really have an equivalent in Germany

I found the following pages in case anyone also wants to look into it
https://esimdb.com/ - this is an overview page about different esims
https://www.airalo.com/ - this is one specific offer that seems to be the cheapest for Germany, which is where I would try it, since I live here haha

5 comments

  1. [5]
    Farun
    Link
    You pretty much got the process right. I hope you're aware that the site you linked only offers data-only SIM cards, so no phone number.

    You pretty much got the process right. I hope you're aware that the site you linked only offers data-only SIM cards, so no phone number.

    2 votes
    1. [4]
      ali
      Link Parent
      Data only is fine for me, I actually use a data only sim at the moment as well haha. Do you use an esim? Have you used it abroad?

      Data only is fine for me, I actually use a data only sim at the moment as well haha. Do you use an esim? Have you used it abroad?

      2 votes
      1. [3]
        Farun
        Link Parent
        I only recently got a phone with both eSIM and a traditional one. I have a travel eSIM installed (not really used yet, probably won't, because it's data only and I prefer having a local number)...

        I only recently got a phone with both eSIM and a traditional one. I have a travel eSIM installed (not really used yet, probably won't, because it's data only and I prefer having a local number) and I also have the T-Mobile prepaid eSIM app installed for when I travel to the states.

        1. [2]
          ali
          Link Parent
          Having a local number is a plus, I haven’t really considered, especially cause a lot of places might not be reachable/book able online.

          Having a local number is a plus, I haven’t really considered, especially cause a lot of places might not be reachable/book able online.

          1. Farun
            Link Parent
            I prefer having one. I used to have a landline phone but tbh my mobile phone is better suited for most stuff so having a phone number is a must. And having a local number while traveling always...

            I prefer having one. I used to have a landline phone but tbh my mobile phone is better suited for most stuff so having a phone number is a must. And having a local number while traveling always feels like a big advantage as well.