Over the past few years, tablets have become just as important as cell phones. In many ways that have certainly eaten away at the laptop and desktop computer market. As the fact that these devices are easier to carry around than laptops and have a more hands-on user experience has really played in their favor. For many folks, their tablet is just as essential as a phone would be. In this day and age, you can actually get a SIM card for tablets. To be more precise this was actually something that could be done even with some of the first-generation tablets. This is at least true with the 1st generation iPad. Yet, in those days it was not as popular.
The reason why it may be worth exploring this option is that you could potentially get internet coverage on your tablet at a lower rate than you would on your phone! Maybe not because the SIM card is going to cost less. The difference could be in the fact that you are not running the risk of getting hit with roaming fees. Which, is of course a real possibility and actually a common occurrence for people who don’t know how international coverage works. With some tablets you may have to worry about some of the same issues that you could face with your phone. As far as making sure that your tablet is unlocked and things of that nature. Since there are many topics that we need to cover let’s get going. These are some of the most important things that you are going to need to know to be able to get a SIM card on your tablet.
- Where did you get your tablet?
- What type of SIM card does a tablet use?
- The cost of getting coverage abroad with a tablet
- Is it worth it to get a SIM card for tablets instead of your phone?
- Can you get hit with roaming fees on your tablet?
- Using Your Tablet As A Wifi Hotspot
Where did you get your tablet?
The reason why this question is relevant, is because you may have the same issues that you would face with your cell phone. If you bought the tablet from a mobile service provider there is a chance that your tablet is locked to your service provider. What you are going to need to do is get your tablet unlocked. Just as you would with a phone that you got from your service provider and you want to add a foreign SIM to.
Many people may be surprised by this since they may have never actually activated any type of SIM card on their tablet. They just use it via wifi. So how can you know whether or not your tablet is locked to a particular service provider? There are actually different ways that you can figure this out. If you turn the tablet off and then turn it back on and you see the logo for a service provider on a loading screen your tablet is most likely locked. You can’t delete the service provider app from your tablet? Then you are most likely facing the same deal.
If you are heading out of the country and you want to see if you can get coverage abroad through a tablet then, it would be a good idea to have it unlocked before you leave. Especially if you are headed to a country where you don’t know the native language all that well. Trying to get your tablet unlocked can be a real pain if you can’t even ask where the nearest restroom is in that language. Just like with phones there is a chance that you can get it unlocked at a cell phone store. That is usually not a 100% guarantee. The best advice is to back all of the data that you have saved on your tablet up. Put it up in the cloud, do whatever it is that you have to do. As you probably know data loss is one of the more common issues when trying to unlock any device.
What type of SIM card does a tablet use?
Again, this is one of those questions that will depend on the type of tablet that you are dealing with. When doing the research to write this article there was a sense of surprise in figuring out that most iPads work on regular SIM cards. Knowing Apple it would not have been odd to see them introduce a special SIM card that can only be used by iPads making consumers spend way more money. Yes, this is a shot at Apple, but this article is being written on a MacBook so take that as you please. If you have an iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad Mini, 7th through generation iPads you are going to need a Nano SIM card. The 4th through first-generation iPads are going to run on a micro SIM card. As expected most of the newer versions are actually going to have the capability to run on an eSIM. This is another area where we can see that Apple is going big on eSIM tech. That can make things a bit more difficult. Most service providers abroad don’t offer a prepaid eSIM package. For the most part though, most of these newer versions do have dual SIM capabilities.
Most of the Microsoft Surface tablets that you are going to find out there are going to run on a nano-SIM. Microsoft much like Apple is going into the eSIM realm. In these cases what you are going to need to do is download an eSIM app. That is essentially going to allow you to look for coverage in many other parts of the world. There is an argument to be made that eSIM technology is going to be widely adapted to tablets faster than it will on phones. For now though, those are some of the main options that you are going to have!
The cost of getting coverage abroad with a tablet
There are essentially two ways to get coverage with a tablet. You can just go out and buy a regular SIM card. Some companies though will have SIM cards that don’t work with tablets. Mainly because the minutes and other features that are usually included in the plan don’t apply to tablets, watches, and other gadgets. For these situations the best thing that you can do is get a data-only plan. These SIM cards as their name suggests give you only data and no calling options. There are different companies that are going to offer this worldwide. As was mentioned before, it is a good idea to search for the only data option. Whether you are looking for a local or foreign SIM card. These cards can typically go for the same prices that you would get with “cell phone” SIM cards. Which is going to be around 30 dollars or more for around 6GB of coverage.
Is it worth it to get a SIM card for tablets instead of your phone?
Yes, and no really. If you are someone who uses apps like Facebook, and Instagram to communicate with others and you use your tablet more than you use your phone it could certainly make sense. Another option could be to use your tablet as a wifi hotspot. If you are going to do that though, it may be a better idea to buy a wifi hotspot! Essentially you are going to be able to do the same thing that you do with your phone on a tablet except make a call. Of course, as we have covered in other articles on the site you can call through online apps these days. That is why we mention that there are some people that are actually going to be ok with just tablet coverage. Of course, even though tablets are portable devices, they are not as portable as cell phones.
It would be a great deal if you were able to get data online SIM cards at a discount price. Then it would totally make sense to basically ditch your phone for however long you are going to travel. In most of the options though, there is really no advantage to data only coverage. You are going to be paying the same amount of money that you would, to buy a SIM card for your phone. Most SIM options that you are going to find out there are going to include at least some phone minutes and maybe even texts! For the same price that you would get pure data. Just putting that out there it is hard to make a case for getting a SIM card for tablets only. If you want to get coverage on every device you would probably have to spend a pretty penny. That doesn’t mean that you can’t do it though.
It Probably Wouldn’t Make Sense
If you wanted to use your tablet as a hotspot and connect your phone to it, it would probably make more sense that you do it the other way around. It is going to be easier for you to find an unlimited data plan abroad. This can cost you 60 or 70 dollars. Make sure though, that this plan gives you the option to share your wifi. If it does, then you would only have to get coverage on one device. Then just share the data across the board. This could actually work with other phones as well. Get one SIM card with unlimited data and just share that data with other devices. Read the fine print. A lot of times you can’t connect more than 2 or 3 devices at once. Your speed can take a hit after you use up x amount of data. Still, getting one SIM with unlimited data could be the best option.
Can you get hit with roaming fees on your tablet?
One of the questions that we tend to get revolves around roaming fees for tablets. As far as we know this should not be a problem. If you get a SIM card for tablets that only allows you to have access to a limited amount of data. Once you have used up the data you are going to be cut off. In some services providers, you will be offered extra data and it will be your choice whether or not you want to take it. The charges won’t be added to your bill at the end of the month. Which, is a typical way that roaming fees are charged. Now, all of this is what happens when you are using your data locally. As far as getting roaming fees latched on for using your data while abroad that is also not likely. Think about most of the pure data plans as prepaid plans. Essentially even if you have the auto-pay option enabled your service provider still has to ask you to pay for service upfront.
What typically happens is that you are not going to be getting international coverage on pure data plans. There is just no reason to sugarcoat this. If you travel abroad you are most likely going to have to get an international SIM card. If you want coverage on your tablet. What we really want to explore though, is whether or not it even makes sense to buy coverage for a tablet internationally to use it as a wifi hotspot.
Using Your Tablet As A Wifi Hotspot
One of the only ways where it would make sense to actually buy a lot of data for your tablet is if you are planning on using it as your wifi hotspot. If you are the head of a group or family it could make sense to spend even 100 dollars on data that can be shared by multiple devices. That means for a family of 4 people in total if you were to get everyone a SIM card you could end up paying a minimum of 100 dollars for the basic coverage SIM card. If you had to buy coverage for 4 phones of course. Even if you are a large group it would not make sense to get into a family plan abroad. Usually, SIM cards abroad don’t have family discounts. In those cases, it may be a good idea to just buy a bunch of pure data and use a device such as a tablet as the hotspot for everyone to log in and use that connection.
What are the negative aspects of doing this? Well, for the most part there is going to be a limit to the number of devices that you can have logged in at once. Also, the more devices that you have the slower the connection will probably get for each of them. As with any mobile connection it is going to work better in some places than in others. It is a good idea to check out the type of coverage that you can expect to receive in each area that you are visiting. If you think that you will always have access to 4G coverage on your whole trip, we hate to break it to you. That is probably wishful thinking.
Final Thoughts: SIM Card For Tablets
As we just mentioned, there are certain instances where it can make sense to actually go out and buy a SIM card for tablets. So that you can get international coverage. To be fully honest, these situations are usually not the norm. Even in the last scene that we painted where you can use your tablet as a wifi hotspot, it kind of makes sense. Just because, for the most part tablets are going to allow more devices to be connected at once in comparison to using one phone as that hot spot.
Then again, if you are someone that uses their tablet more than you use your phone, then it is really a no brainer. Go get coverage on the tablet and use that data and share it with your phone. You are probably going to be better off buying a SIM card for tablets that provides plenty of data. Of course, this is going to cost you more money. That is just a fact of life though, if you want more products you need to pay more.
After saying all of this, would it make sense to even take your tablet abroad? If you are not an avid tablet user it may not make that much sense. If you are traveling across the pond you are going to need voltage regulators to charge all of your devices. This can be a pain all in itself. If you are someone who uses their tablet a lot, you probably know the challenges. If you are going to be using up a lot of data, it is going to cost you. Having said this, if you want internet access you are going to be able to obtain it. So, it really comes down to what your needs, goals, and habits happen to be!