#app tip

Why eSIM is my new best friend

Data roaming fees are my enemy.

Alternative title: How and why to install an eSIM to save money on data roaming fees when overseas. Especially useful if you have an iPhone 14 with no SIM Tray.

I’ll keep this brief. People travelling overseas often fall into two categories:

1. Pay whatever your phone carrier lots of $$ for data roaming 🤑💸  2. Buy a local SIM card at the airport or downtown after arriving 🤓🏙

The first is easy, but costly. The second is sensible, but can be time consuming.

There’s a much better option that now exists; and middle-ground that is easy enough, and cheap enough, that you should consider.

As of 2022, every new iPhone and lots of medium or high end Android phones support my new best friend:

3. eSIM. Buy data online, in-app, before even arriving at your overseas destination. Keep your SIM in the slot. No payment to my enemy (data roaming fees) 🤩🤳

There’s lots of ways to do this, but if you’re reading now from the departure lounge of an airport or train station and want to dive right in, here’s my recommendation:

Search the App Store or Google Play Store for the Airalo app

Choose your data pack (1GB for $5 USD or 10GB for $18USD)

Follow instructions to install

Activate eSIM when you’ve arrived at your destination

🌟 Optional Bonus: receive a $3 USD sign-up credit by using this link to register, or type my referral code in the app: JEREMY0461

I also get a $3 credit when you use this link, but that’s not why I’m recommending this to you. There are lots of ways to buy eSIMs (in other apps, or in stores using printed QR codes), but personally this is the best I’ve used so far.

If there’s apps or services you find easier or cheaper, do let me know!

Airalo accepts Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or regular credit card payment.

The best part of using an eSIM when travelling? You can leave your regular SIM in your phone, using it for phone calls (if you wish), iMessage, or any other service.

No more forcing your SIM behind your phone case so you don’t lose it when you get back home.

With Airalo’s signup referral credit, you can buy a 1GB pack for $2 USD to test the service out before committing to a larger purchase.

Eventually, every SIM will be an eSIM. But for now, they’re a great option for the efficient traveller, especially when your enemies are after you.

My notes on eSIM use using Airalo

📲 Installing an eSIM takes more steps than a physical SIM, especially as it’s a second line. While apps like Airalo give great instructions, this could be simplified in future.

💵 A rate of $18 USD for 10GB in most countries is much cheaper than many data roaming rates, but won’t beat a local SIM for value in some countries.

🇪🇺 UK residents, having recently lost much of their free EU roaming due to Brexit, still often get up to 20GB free EU roaming on some plans. However once that runs out, this is a nice way to top up.

🛫 I recently visited Turkey and found the ability to buy an eSIM before even landing in the country to be useful. If you start running low on data, you can buy more before the current pack runs out. It is seamless.

🤷 For reasons unknown to me, Apple has a built-in interface to buy eSIM plans on iPad, but not iPhone. I have found Airalo much more reliable than Apple’s iPad option, and non-existent iPhone option.

👽 I haven’t tested Airalo on Android, but see no reason it shouldn’t work the same way.

🪧 You won’t recognise the name of any of these providers. The names and brands are made up, as best as I can tell, by Airalo.

🔄 Tapping any Airalo eSIM option will outline which network it will connect you to. For example, visitors to the UK will be assigned O2, but only on the 4G spectrum. This is normal, where carriers like to keep their latest-and-greatest networks for their own customers, not resellers of their network (known as MVNOs). As such, if you need a specific network for speed or coverage reasons, this might not suit you.

📶 You can leave both your physical SIM and eSIM active at the same time, and even get two status bars showing both lines. It’s the default option, having both lines active.

🪫 I did notice a small amount of additional battery drain from leaving both active. My decision was to simply disable my physical SIM while overseas (who needs phone calls anyway, right?)

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Here’s how it looks when you have two active SIMs running at the same time. For instance, your SIM (or eSIM) from home open for SMS, and your local Airalo eSIM for data:

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Below is a guide to every step of the Airalo eSIM setup on iPhone.

Step by Step

For full context, here are the exact screens I encountered when buying and setting up my Airalo eSIM in Turkey for the first time, with 10GB data.

You’ll note that iOS provides options to choose which line to use for calls, iMessage, or data. The defaults effectively route data over the eSIM, and everything else 

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Step 1: Check out

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Step 2: Order confirmation

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Step 3: A button appears to install the eSIM after purchase

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Step 4: a few pages of tips provided by Airalo

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Step 5: More instructions reiterating the previous visual guide. Tap “Install eSIM” to continue and actually get this data on the road!

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Step 6: iOS prompts the eSIM installation

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Step 7: this screen seems a bit redundant and could be merged with the previous one.

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Step 8: You could label your SIMS “home” and “away” or anything you’ll remember later on. This would likely be more important if you could install more than on eSIM at a time.

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Step 9: Which number do you want to use for calls or messages? Defaults to your physical SIM, with it presumed you’ll use the eSIM just for the data

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Step 10: the important step! You’ll want to use the eSIM for data. If setting up before you arrive in your destination, leave this on your normal SIM, and change in Settings once you land.

These eSIMs will only work in the country specified at purchase.

There’s not much more I can add here. eSIM is great for travel. Airalo is great. There’s likely going to be more good apps and ways to do this in future, but for now it’s my recommendation.

If you use this link to register your account, you will receive a $3 USD sign-up credit, or you can just type my referral code in the app: JEREMY0461. Or if you have a friend using Airalo, ask them for their referral code and they will get the $3 instead!