Pros and Cons of eSim Cards for Travel

Are you looking for the pos and cons of eSim cards for travel?

Travel can be a lot of fun but it also comes with a couple of setbacks one of which is communication. Because you are away from your day-to-day setup, whether it is work or family, it is paramount that you keep in touch as well as coordinating with the people where you are going.

And yet, it is the case that network providers are different between countries so you need to find a new one operating in the place where you are.

As it stands, eSims are the quickest way to get your messaging, calls, internet etc. rather than say, buy a physical sim card altogether. All that is required of you with the former is do a quick visit on an online site. It is freeing too in a sense that you do not have to be fixated in one place as Wi-Fi requires.

If you have been considering this way of doing things, then it is right for you to get acquainted with how things work first hence the purpose of this article. In it, you will find information about the upsides of eSim cards as well as their limitations. I will share too about what you can do about the difficulties for a smooth experience.

Lastly, we close with the common questions that people who find themselves in your position often ask and the answers thereto.

If that sounds like you, then lock-in and let’s have a go at it.

 

What are eSim cards?

Before we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of eSim cards, it works best if we explored first what it is that they are as well as how they operate. “Sim” stands for the very words that it represents in regular cards “subscriber identity module.”

Meaning that Sims store unique information that serves to separate them from one another even when using the same network. Owners then capitalize on this capacity to use them for their own ends on individual basis.

The key distinction in eSims comes in on the first letter which I am sure you will have realized by this point that it is unique to them. It stands for “embedded.”

Like the word suggests, an eSim is a chip that comes inbuilt in a phone by the manufacturer. It is not tied to any particular network though. Instead, a user downloads a mobile plan which in turn gets tied to the eSim.

Depending on the network provider that you are reliant on, activating your eSim may involve twitching a few settings, scanning a QR code etc. eSims are further distinct in a sense that a single one can host several networks at once.

When travelling therefore, what one does is outsource a plan from a service provider based in the country they are temporary staying in onto the eSim that already exists in their phone. In return, the action enables them to send texts, communicate online, and make calls– basically everything that phones do.

Deleting the guest country’s network once back home is up to you as you can still switch to the one you used before without undertaking the process. Though the plan acquired whilst traveling will seize to function the moment you fly out of course.

Keeping it until next time no doubt helps especially in cases where an individual frequently connects between two countries.

Increasingly, eSims are becoming a thing to the extent that some people in fact have no other option. For US citizens for instance, Apple has stopped making them iPhones that support the usual sim cards. This development began with iPhone 14. For the majority of us however, the phones out there come with eSims but also allow for the usage of physical sims.

eSims are also equally supported by devices outside phones though the take up here is not yet as high as with cells. These include; tablets, smart watches, and laptops.

This means that if you have reservations for using your phone or the one you own does not support eSims (as is the case with many old types), you would still have options. It’s never been more convenient!

 

Pros of eSim cards in travel

From what we have covered above, you should have begun to mark the strengths of eSims. In this section, we will go into the details of those and more.

To accomplish this, I will explore the uniqueness that accrues to eSims and are therefore not present when using regular cards. There are six points to illustrate this.

And recall, you are harnessing these strengths on top of what physical sim cards can do if you opt for the eSims model.

 

Saving costs

It is interesting to think that one would pay less money for better services but that is what entrepreneurs have become good at overtime including with eSims.  That is what people mean when they say “value for money.”

If you go the way of physical cards, three or so options are open to you and they are more expensive in comparison to eSims. The first is data roaming which is charged in prohibitive international fees.

As for new physical cards, buying them includes logistics such as transport and registration fees. The latter is true of the last alternative as well– renting pocket WiFi devices.

 

Regional coverage

Sim cards are limited by country borders as we explored earlier. With eSims however, you can really eat your cake and have it too. This is because on top of allowing the acquisition of varying plans dependent on where you are, there is also an option of using the same plan across several nations in a given region.

Imagine if you are on a tour of some kind– music, book launch, name it. It would mean that you will visit several places in a short span of time and yet, communication remains a necessity. Wouldn’t it be good if you could wild a magic wand and have all of it sorted at once? Well, that is what eSims do.

 

Environmental consciousness

Plastic is one of the most environmentally destructive materials out there. And yet, it is also one that we depend on a lot. Any innovation that tries to bring plastic usage down thus should be embraced especially if it is efficient. And that is what eSims do.

Now, it might look like the pieces of cards are small but if you think about the number of people that travel overall, the implications are huge actually. Kenya Airways alone for example, apexes at 4,000 plus flights in a year.

 

Saves time

Settling in after a long journey is hectic. You are exhausted and want to drop into sleep, you don’t know anyone around, you may also be discovering that there are things that you forgot… I would for one appreciate anything that lightens up the situation.

The thing with eSims is that you pretty much already know how to go about buying a plan as you will likely have done it already at home. So you will seamless do it once you get to it and accordingly get to something else. With the alternatives however, one is set up for more trouble.

 

Can’t be lost

One of the big issues with Sim Cards is that they are small in size. At the same time, they store information that is very intimate to us. You really don’t want to lose the contacts that you have accumulated over the years later on getting in all the trouble of finding a new contact.

Travel seems to be the antithesis of not least because even if you know the exact spot that you left the Sim but are already thousands of miles away, it does not help. Thankfully, eSims operate on software so nothing has to change about your phone in the interim.

 

Switching lines

If your phone can only handle one Sim at a time, then you know that travel is especially troublesome if you opt for physical sim cards.

True, you could have gotten yourself a sim by a network from the country that you are now stationed, but then your bundles could expire leaving you with only the option of roaming with your old line if say, you are running low on cash.

What eSim cards do is allow you make a smooth back and forth as and whenever you would like to.

 

 

Cons of eSim Cards in travel

I would be disingenuous if I said that eSims have no downsides. After all, there is nothing that is perfect. Instead, what I will do is tell you the problems associated with the model and then share along them what to do if they ever arise.

Device compatibility

As we have seen already, not all gadgets support eSims. It would be very painful thus, for you to travel counting on an eSim only to find out at the very point when you intend to employ it that the option is not open to you.

You should check before setting off thus to see whether your phone, laptop, tablet or whatever it is that you are packing has an eSim. You can do this by clicking on the “settings” icon and from the items on display, see whether there is any thing like “Add eSim” or “Add Mobile plan.”

If your phone was recently manufactured, you are most likely to find this provision and if you do, then try it before setting off just to have a feel of how things will be like. If your phone is not the kind, then you might have to buy a new one if eSims are a deal breaker for you.

 

Pricing

Strictly speaking, there are situations in which eSims are in fact much more expensive than the usual cards. For instance, when you have flown to countries where few people buy mobile plans. This means that the companies providing these services have to meet all their expenses on those that use their services.

A solution that works here is to purchase regional plans that extend to the location in question from an area with much more affordable prices.

 

Network issues

One of the things that makes travel exciting is nature. Unfortunately, some of the best places that are out there for viewing are very remote which for our eSims, it creates the problems of poor network or complete network shutdown. Laos in South East Asia is known to be one such location.

The way out on the unreliable internet is buying regional mobile plans. These rely on much more resilient bandwidth.

Where everything goes down to a zero, then you should split your adventure into two; the part where you are out on the road (during the day perhaps) and that which you attend to your phone (requires that you reside in urban settings).

 

Activation failures

Easy to confuse with network problems, is the failure to activate an eSim. Because the network service providers need to authenticate that you in fact purchased their services, it is not enough to send them the money.

So when your device displays no bars, or that the plan is “inactive” do not quickly conclude that it is a network issue. Instead, be sure to double check that you followed through with everything that the network company asked you to e.g. by checking your email. If so and things persist still, the next step is trying to reach them for help.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there reason to be concerned over privacy when using eSims?

One of the biggest scandals of the internet has been the collection of personal information for sale to third parties by the sites that we visit. Being that eSims involve working with a network provider directly then, it is only natural that we should wonder whether our data is safe with them.

 

The reality is that there are several of these companies so it is impossible to give one answer that is representative of all of them. What is achievable however, is taking control in any case.

For a start, check whether your phone allows to turn off tracking by apps (which most phones do). Proceed to apply the settings to your network provider and then you would be good. If that option is not available to you however, or you just want extra protection, then you can go for a virtual private network (also popularly known as VPNs). Examples of these are; Express, Thunder, and Super.

 

What is the best eSim provider?

Shortly, I will share some names. Before handing you the fish however, I should tell you about the process of acquiring them first not least because I cannot possibly list all the good companies.

Before acquiring eSim services, establish first the names of the best regular network providers in the area. This is because eSims are about connectivity just as much.

 

If your working with an international company on the other hand, it is likely that they would be partnering with a local service which you should checkout still.

 

As to the names that have proven themselves overtime, here we go; GigSky, Airalo, Flexiroam, and Nomad.

 

When is the best time to buy a plan?

This is heavily dependent on the type of plan that you want. If it is an international one, then you have to do it prior to travel as those mostly have prepaid arrangements. It is well worth it though as on the positive side of things, it means that you get to try the network out before you actually need it.

As for the local plans, you only can activate them once you are in the territory of travel. The advantage here is that you can always purchase more once it is used up.