eSims, what is your experience.

[Buzzard]

Depends on the eSim provider.
Some use a single one and you can just add credit.
Others issue a new eSim every purchase and you need to download it then activate it.
Most phones can hold 10+ in memory just with generally only 1 active at a time, though dual eSim phones with no physical SIM are beginning to roll out.

Which providers use a single eSim?
This would be handy in the future making life more eSimple ()

 

[SYD]

Which providers use a single eSim?
This would be handy in the future making life more eSimple ()

Lots! Some I have at the moment include:

Eskimo - currently my “Go To”. Also long duration plans.

Flexiroam - but they have become hideously expensive.

Kolet and Saily.

 

[Comoman]

To get that thin!

Yep - great phone IMO

Which providers use a single eSim?
This would be handy in the future making life more eSimple ()

Roamless

 

[SYD]

Anyway, I’m pondering trying the GigSky to see what it’s like. Mainly just for monitoring emails etc. Unfortunately, a 7d / 1GB plan isn’t long enough and 15d / 3GB is probably too much data….

Bit the bullet and bought a 15d/3GB plan to test. Not cheap - even after discount - landed on my 28° MC at A$81 . But that’s still cheaper than ship wifi…

PS I have a 25% off referral code if anyone needs it.

Looks like my amaysim home mobile won’t “roam” on CaS but I will experiment to see if I can at least receive an SMS…

Meanwhile, “Tahiti looks nice” - unless you want eSIM data! Many providers don’t cover French Polynesia at all! Including Flexiroam. GigSky CaS doesn’t cover it either!

Best I’ve found so far is Kolet. After some discounts, US$11 for 1GB / 30d…

 

[ShelleyB]

Meanwhile, “Tahiti looks nice” - unless you want eSIM data! Many providers don’t cover French Polynesia at all! Including Flexiroam. GigSky CaS doesn’t cover it either!

Best I’ve found so far is Kolet. After some discounts, US$11 for 1GB / 30d…

I usually use Ubigi when roaming. It's a single eSim you can reload, similar to others mentioned above. Have used it in various countries in Europe, in Tanzania and in Japan without drama. The local provider for the eSim usually has good coverage with 5G where available (can be determined in advance, before committing to buy). Have not used it there, but note that that they do cover French Polynesia with a range of options from 1Gb US$12 for 7 days up to 25Gb for US$99 for 30 days. Can also be covered as part of some of their regional options eg. Oceania.

Have nothing but good things to say about Ubigi. Once the eSim is active, easy to add new data packages as required. If you run out of data, most locations can top up without wifi or any remaining data. For well-travelled locations (eg. Japan) can often get large or even unlimited data at competitive prices.

 

[SYD]

I usually use Ubigi when roaming. It's a single eSim you can reload, similar to others mentioned above. Have used it in various countries in Europe, in Tanzania and in Japan without drama. The local provider for the eSim usually has good coverage with 5G where available (can be determined in advance, before committing to buy). Have not used it there, but note that that they do cover French Polynesia with a range of options from 1Gb US$12 for 7 days up to 25Gb for US$99 for 30 days. Can also be covered as part of some of their regional options eg. Oceania.

Have nothing but good things to say about Ubigi. Once the eSim is active, easy to add new data packages as required. If you run out of data, most locations can top up without wifi or any remaining data. For well-travelled locations (eg. Japan) can often get large or even unlimited data at competitive prices.

Yes, I have Ubigi. I was going to say that it was the 2nd cheapest I found - so far.

I find the app a bit clunky but the update looks a little better but otherwise, it’s worked well when I’ve used it.

 

[Flashback]

Senegal, do yourself a favour and only purchase an eSIM with a provider that roams onto Orange. Data point = 4 people. We each used 4 different providers, Mrs FB and I had providers that roamed onto Yas/ Tigo/ Free. Since I reported it didn't work, interestingly the SIM is gone from their site (nextsim.eu) and thus from the esimdb.com results. Mrs FB tried Monty eSIM, who don't seem to specify which networks they roam onto, however we suspect it was the same as the eSIM installed had the same configuration.

Our 2 friends used Airalo and Holafly, both which roamed onto Orange/Sonatel and had no issues at all (it sat on Orange the whole time).

I didn't bother getting the Orange one in place once we worked that out, as I only wanted mine active as a backup for internet in case the connection at the hotel wasn't great as I was trying to do my interview via Teams, however, fortunately the connection at the hotel was solid and the interview went without a hitch.

TL;DR - use an eSIM that roams onto Orange if you're visiting Senegal.

 

[SYD]

Bit the bullet and bought a 15d/3GB plan to test. Not cheap - even after discount - landed on my 28° MC at A$81 . But that’s still cheaper than ship wifi…

Closing the loop on GigSky Cellular at Sea (CaS) option eSIM.

TL;DR:
Not cheap, can be clunky to use but a good option to provide some connectivity when not paying for overpriced ships wifi and you’re spending several days at sea away from land based mobile reception.

So getting a Cruise+Shore bundle (for compatible ships) is something to consider if you’re not forking out for wifi. On our recent cruise, it wasn’t possible to pre-purchase wifi and onboard it was US$25 pd (not happening on a 12 night cruise).

We already had plenty of eSIM data to cover time ashore and when within range of shore based mobile, so just needed a little data to keep on top of emails etc.

The challenge with CaS is there’s a lot of moving parts involved - mainly the ships infrastructure. Literally at the top will be satellite connectivity into the CaS network. That is a totally different satellite connection for wifi. Then throughout the ship, there are mobile phone repeaters (think mini cell towers) that your phone connects / roams to when moving about the ship. In our experience, the CaS system didn’t work properly in our cabin. It connected, but couldn’t get data. But most common areas seem to work ok.

The real hassle was needing some manual intervention to the still get it to work. The phone might show it was connected at 4G/LTE but no data. I figured out that forcing the data to 3G worked…. Whether that’s ship specific configuration issue or a common problem - I don’t know… Anyway, it served its purpose.

Seperate to GigSky, I did discover that I could receive SMS for free on my home amaysim line over CaS, so that was very handy to know.

 

[SYD]

I’m new to eSIMs and thinking the “local SIM + international eSIM” setup could be super handy when travelling to USA/EU.

A “local” eSIM for data is redundant if you have one or more eSIMs (most providers provide a mix of country, regional or global - with increasing cost).

Has anyone tried it yet? I’m curious about real-world pros/cons — especially:

Did the eSIM give you instant data upon arrival (no hunting for a SIM card shop)?

Generally yes. Sometimes there can be a few minutes wait on the plane for a line to connect for the first time.

Were you able to keep your main SIM active (for 2FA, SMS or calls) while using the eSIM for data?

Yes. Most phones support 2x lines active simultaneously these days.

Did voice/sms work on the eSIM plan, or only data?

Most are data only but there are some bundles that provide limited calls/txt.

Any issues with signal strength, battery drain, or needing a back-up when roaming or travelling outside major cities?

Running two lines constantly can drain you phone battery faster. Turning to “Low power” mode or only turning on lines as required helps.

 

[LionKing]

Can I ask which Samsung phone supports eSIMs?
I am on Samsung S23FE and cannot support eSIMs. I wanted to have a new phone this year and I hope the new phone can support eSIMs.

 

[moa999]

A quick google says the S23FE should support eSims and was the first FE series to do so, alongside S series from S20.

 

[LionKing]

A quick google says the S23FE should support eSims and was the first FE series to do so, alongside S series from S20.

Maybe because I was purchasing from a country which does not support it?

 

[moa999]

Maybe because I was purchasing from a country which does not support it?

Possibly. Where did you buy it? Seemingly China models don't support eSims.