If you have a phone with an eSIM card, this basically means that your phone comes with a built-in SIM card. You are not going to actually have to physically insert a SIM card to get your phone to work. This can be a good thing, and it can be a bad thing. It really depends on how you are going to be able to handle the situation. When you have a phone with an eSIM card and you buy the phone directly from your mobile carrier, it may be harder for you to be able to insert a foreign SIM into that phone. Also at this point in time, not every country in the world has mobile services providers that offer plans with eSIM cards. These days a lot of the phones that run on eSIM cards do have the ability to house a regular SIM card.
At this point in time, it may be more difficult to obtain coverage abroad from a foreign SIM card if your phone runs on an eSIM. Of course, this is something that is set to change in the upcoming years. As the eSIM technology continues to be more widespread across the world. Many phone developers are just adopting it. Apple has undoubtedly embraced this technology. It is going to be easy for you to find a newer version of the iPhone that runs on an eSIM. While most of the other phone manufacturers have taken a lot more time to fully embrace this technology. Right now, one of the important things to consider is how not to be tied down by your mobile service provider via en eSIM. Therefore, it may be a good idea to rethink where you actually get your phone from. Also, it may be a good idea to rethink what you do with your phone when you travel.
- Is it a good idea to have a phone that needs an eSIM card for travel?
- If I can’t get an eSIM abroad what is the next best thing?
- Using a dual SIM phone
- Will I need to unlock my dual SIM phone?
- Is buying a travel phone a good idea?
- Can inserting another SIM be harmful to my phone?
- Which phone developer works best with an eSIM?
Is it a good idea to have a phone that needs an eSIM card for travel?
Phones that work on an eSIM today are a two-edged sword when it comes to traveling. It really all depends on the type of phone that you happen to have. If you were to have a phone that can only run on an eSIM and does not have dual SIM capability or a physical SIM port then you can be in trouble. What is going to happen is that you are going to be forced to find an eSIM abroad. Most companies these days are not going to offer an eSIM for a prepaid plan or just a SIM card that you could potentially use and discard for a couple of days or months.
Now, of course, there is a flip side to this. For the most part, phones these days that are being developed to run on an eSIM do come equipped with a regular SIM portal. Also, most of these phones feature dual SIM capabilities which make them better equipped for travel. It is almost a general rule that technology, as it advances, can and will make your life easier. Of course, there is a big chance that eSIMs become the way of the future. While regular SIM cards go the way of the dodo. The problem is that in-between time where you essentially have to wait for everyone to catch up. This wait time becomes more noticeable when you are trying to travel. Since not all countries are going to be welcoming new technologies at the same rate. Therefore, part of the answer should definitely be it really depends on where you travel. It is a good idea to do some specific research on the country that you are going to be visiting. That way you can get a good idea of what their mobile phone landscape looks like. Unfortunately, we can’t get to every single country in the world on this site!
If I can’t get an eSIM abroad what is the next best thing?
As was mentioned before not every single service provider out there to date is able to provide eSIM cards for prepaid plans. That being said, as was also mentioned, most of these phones do have a regular SIM portal. If that is not the case then you are not going to have that many options other than to stick to your regular service provider. That is a route though, that won’t really be explored. As it is highly unlikely that this is going to happen. As far as the question goes the next best thing for you to actually do if you are completely stuck is to buy a low budget travel phone. This is an idea that we have floated around in other articles on the site. The premise behind it is overly simple. By having another phone you are not going to have to worry about data corruption or any other problem that could come up as a result of the SIM switch or anything like that.
There is another thing that you would do well to keep in mind. Even eSIM compatible phones can come locked to the original service provider. This is basically something that is bound to happen if you bought the phone from your mobile carrier. What you are going to need to do is find a way to unlock the phone in order to be able to properly use the dual SIM feature. This may not be something that you are going to find is an issue with all phones. Yet, it is something that can happen. Therefore, it is essentially a good idea to keep it in mind before you try to make any type of moves if you will.
Using a dual SIM phone
Having an eSIM makes it easier for a phone to have dual SIM capabilities. Many of the mainstream phones that run on eSIM technology offer dual SIM capabilities. Such as all of the newer versions of the iPhone. There are many benefits to having a dual SIM phone while traveling. It is really simple you are going to be able to either activate two eSIM card or have an eSIM and a regular SIM. What you are going to have to watch out for is that switch. The thing with having two SIM cards active on the same phone is that you need to know which one you are using at all times. At least while you are abroad.
This is, of course, something that you can do easily. You just need to go into your settings and select which SIM card you want to have active at any given time. Could you have both of the SIM cards active at the same time? Yes, this is actually going to allow you to get calls and text and both numbers to the same phone. The problem that you can encounter while traveling is that if you have your regular SIM active you could be incurring in roaming costs or the daily international fee. Which, is basically what you want to avoid and the reason why you would get a foreign SIM card in the first place.
Having said this, it may seem that there are actually limited benefits to having a dual SIM phone. Which, in essence actually true at least for travel. While you are out and about in a foreign country you need to make sure that the foreign SIM is the one that is active. Again so that you won’t incur in roaming costs. This means that you are not going to be able to get calls or texts on your regular number. Which, is essentially the same thing that happens when you take out your regular SIM card to put in a foreign. So, here comes the real question what is the actual benefit that you get from having a dual SIM phone? To be honest, it makes the switch easier. It allows you to not have to keep track of multiple SIM cards. There are essentially more benefits, but some of these are not well sorted out in a sense.
Using A Dual SIM Phone & Messaging Apps
If you use messaging apps like Whatsapp, Telegram, or even regular SMS messages you are not going to be able to obtain a lot of benefits from using a dual SIM phone abroad. Why are we saying this? These apps have you register your account and tie it to a phone number. If you use a foreign SIM you could switch your account to your new number. These apps have certainly gotten better at transferring data from one number to the other. Still, you could be looking at major data loss if you don’t have your conversations on the app well backed up. This can be a real problem for a lot of people.
Technically you could change numbers and then change back and still use these apps with a foreign SIM. You would have to make sure though, that your contacts are properly saved on your account or phone device to be able to keep that data. If you don’t understand exactly what we are saying, that is exactly the point. Dual-SIM phones can be a nightmare for the use of messaging apps that have your account tied to a phone number. This can also cause trouble with your Uber account and other ride-sharing apps that tie your account to a phone number.
What is the best thing to make this easier on yourself? Try using apps that tie in with your email address rather than your phone number when you are abroad to send messages. You could choose social media options such as Facebook Messanger, Skype, even Instagram, or Snap Chat. This is going to make your life a lot easier without a doubt.
Will I need to unlock my dual SIM phone?
This a question that we have answered more in-depth in another article on the site. We are going to link to the article so you can find a better answer to this question. The thing is, you might depending on where you bought it. So, with that in mind, it is hard to give a yes or no answer to be able to clear up any of the doubts that you may have. For the most part, if you bought the actual device off of your service provider, chances are you are going to need to unlock it. Even if the phone does have dual-SIM capabilities.
Is buying a travel phone a good idea?
This is an idea that we have thrown out there multiple times on many of the articles on the site. As with many of the suggestions that we tend to make it really depends on how much you travel. It is going to depend on how much you actually use your phone. Also, how much trouble you want to go through in order to have coverage abroad. Believe it or not, having a travel phone that you could insert a foreign SIM too could be one of the easiest ways to have coverage abroad. You are not going to have to worry about messing with any of the apps on your phone. You can totally turn off your regular phone and only use it with a wifi connection. You are not going to have any trouble with losing data. If you need anything you can just transfer data from one device to the next.
The suggestion is never to spend big on a new device. Unless of course, you would want to do this. There are all sorts of devices that you could buy on a budget and could essentially fulfill some of the essential needs that you would have while abroad. Like hosting a maps and ride-sharing apps to make sure that you can get around while abroad. Again, if you are someone who travels constantly or is going to make a month-long trip the costs could totally offset. Overall it can make your life a lot easier. Throughout the site, we have two equally important goals that we want to help you fulfill. Helping you find the most budget-friendly way to get coverage abroad. While also making sure that our suggestions make getting this coverage much easier.
Can inserting another SIM be harmful to my phone?
The answer to this question really depends on what type of phone we are talking about, and what you would consider harm. Usually, the worst-case scenario is to have a phone revert back to its default settings erasing all of the data that was previously stored on the phone. The best thing to ensure that this does not become a problem is to go ahead and ensure that all of the data that you may have had stored on a particular device is backed up in some sort of way. Other than that, there is not much that you would need to worry about as far as potential danger.
The only other thing that we could potentially think about is making sure that your phone is unlocked before you make the switch, insert a new SIM in a dual SIM phone. Even if we are talking about an eSIM card. The worst-case scenario with a phone that is locked is to have all of that erased essentially for nothing as the phone is not going to be able to work properly on a new SIM. Just as a recap make sure that you are dealing with a phone that is unlocked. Also, be sure that the essential data that you have on your phone is properly backed up. Other than that, you may need to manually log in, on most of the apps that you have on you installed on your phone. That could take some time, but overall it should not be a major issue.
Which phone developer works best with an eSIM?
This is one of these things that is essentially a non-issue as well. At this point in time, there have been no reports that indicate that you as a buyer or user should shy away from the use of eSIM technology. If you want to buy a phone directly from the manufacturer and then buy a prepaid SIM from a company you would just need to make sure that the mobile services company that you want to use actually has eSIM cards for you to be able to get your phone up and running. As far as an issue with the actual tech, at this point, they are few and far between. This is essentially not something that you should be overly concerned about.