Comments on: Finding the Best eSIM for International Travel: Your Ultimate Guide

By: Nora

Nora — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 21:11:48 +0000

Hi Ian,
What a fantastic comment – thank you for sharing your experience!
Indeed, the biggest challenge to using an eSIM is the 2-factor authentication. There are two potential ways around it:
A) Some phone plans allow for “wifi calling and texting” which means you can still get your authentication texts/calls if you are on a WiFi connection, with your roaming turned off.
B) You could forward your home phone number calls and texts to your eSIM number.
C) If you can’t forward to the eSIM number (eg: the French number) because it’s long-distance, then you can forward them to a local online number, that you can get from services like Skype or Hushed or Tossable Digits, which for a small fee, give you a phone number that can be used over WiFi and Data.

Hope this helps!

By: Ian Wilson

Ian Wilson — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 11:50:13 +0000

Hello, I just came to this discussion via Xero shoes. I live in Canada and recently made a trip to the UK; I purchased an Esim from Orange for this trip, this gave me a phone number and data. This is what I found:
– It worked but I had to manually select the right data gateway on my phone
– I had way more data than I needed (Whatsapp uses very little)
– I was provided with a French phone number and I found that modern phones know how to dial correctly if your contacts are stored correctly in the “+” format. The phone had no trouble correctly calling a Canadian number from the UK with a phone that had a French phone number.
– I was caught out by one thing. I have 2 factor authentication set up on bank accounts and other things. This works by sending a text message to the number that they have on file. My normal phone number was not active while I was away (company does not offer international roaming) so I was unable to log in to some services that I use.
-One thing that I worried about but did not end up being a problem was if Whatsapp would want to re-verify my account using my normal phone number. I don’t know if this ever happens in practice

By: Nora

Nora — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 16:06:07 +0000

In reply to SARA PUGH.

Hi Sara,
Fantastic questions – thank you for asking!
A data eSIM has no phone number attached to it, so it won’t overwrite your other phone number. However depending on the phone you have, you may or may not be able to continue to use your StraightTalk eSIM while also concurrently using your data eSIM – you need a dual eSIM phone for that (a phone that allows you to use more than one eSIM at a time).
Worst case scenario, you can go into your phone’s settings to switch eSIMs as and when you like during your trip; you just might miss incoming calls when your StraightTalk is turned off.

As for Italy/Greece/Turkey, you can check the data eSIM company you’re considering using; they will tell you which countries are covered in their regional packages.

By: SARA PUGH

SARA PUGH — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 19:36:10 +0000

Thank you for this! I just bought a new phone and got one w/ esim, unlocked for my upcoming international trip. I’m still trying to figure out how it all works though. For example, i dont use a regular phone company, i buy a prepaid service every month through StraightTalk wireless. if they program my new phone’s esim to keep my old number etc…then when i purchase an international data esim, does it overwrite the esim or what? I want to be able to set it up before my travel so that i’m not hassling with it in foreign countries. It’s my first time traveling abroad! OH, and one other question: my trip starts in Istanbul, goes to greece and then ends in Venice – so is all of that considered Europe or should i get a global esim??!

By: Nora

Nora — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 22:56:42 +0000

In reply to Sarah.

Hey Sarah,
SOOOOOO glad this worked out for you! I’m super happy with Airalo’s global 365 plan – it’s great value! Enjoy India!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 06:20:23 +0000

Excellent article. I purchased the Airalo 365 day, 20GB eSIM like you. I did the research myself and found there is not much else out there for 365 days. Incidentally I am currently in India, encountered the same SIM card issues as you, and this SIM was a lifesaver!

By: oneearthhotels

oneearthhotels — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 06:39:43 +0000

It was a great article, thanks for sharing!