eSIM contract suggestions for those that spend a lot of time abroad?

waldopepper

Hi, I'm trying to find an eSIM contract for a UK number that will allow roaming usage for longer than most networks provide - from 6 months up to most of the year in the EU. Most have a fair-usage limit of 2 or 3 months because it's assumed that occasional travel/holidays will cover this. But is there anything specifically tailored for those that spend a lot longer abroad?

Most of the requirement is for calls and texts so unlimited would be good. Ideally we would need to activate the SIM whilst abroad - can you do this?

I have looked at these so far:

Lebara - only supports iPhone Air eSIMs
Tesco 2 or 3 months/year roaming limit
O2 HomeFromHome - restricted days allowed 4 months ish
Smarty - 60 day roaming limit each time
ID Mobile - 63 days over 4 months limit

I just chatted to Lyca Mobile and everything sounded good with them (no restriction on roaming day used) but they need to scan the QR/activate the eSIM whilst in the UK. Is the same for all providers?

Thanks!

Peter999_2

Just a note, you don't actually have to have a iPhone Air to use Lebara. I just told them that I had an iPhone Air but activated the eSIM on my Google Pixel 10 and it's been fine for months.

Also, even though Lyca say that it might not be true, or at least there's usually a work around.

I went on holiday to Turkey and thought there was free wifi at the hotel - there wasn't. The Turkey law states that you cannot buy a foreign eSIM when you are actually in Turkey. When you try it just doesn't work. I got round this by remote controlling my home PC and buying it there. I then put the phone in airplane mode but with turned on Wifi and tried to activate the QR code - wouldn't work and I found out that they stop you doing that as well. However, if you get the full manual code and put it in yourself it activated straight away and worked for the duration of the holiday (I used AI to generate the code for me from the QR code).

It all depends if you can be bothered with all the hassle, I found it quite fun, haha.

flaneurs_lobster

Hi, I'm trying to find an eSIM contract for a UK number that will allow roaming usage for longer than most networks provide - from 6 months up to most of the year in the EU. Most have a fair-usage limit of 2 or 3 months because it's assumed that occasional travel/holidays will cover this.

The reason that UK mobile contracts have 2-3 month "fair-usage" policies is that this is the maximum that they can agree with the overseas mobile operators (usually on a reciprocal basis). More than this and it is deemed that you are not making "fair use" of the guest network and need a local contract to make a more equitable contribution to their costs.

There are international SIMs (and the contracts that support them). Specialist business purchases and expensive.

Might look at a "virtual" mobile service, gives you a +44 7 (or pretty much any country/prefix) number and is internet based, like WhatsApp calling or Skype (RIP). Will let you keep your existing mobile number. Check a few for the costs.

Combine this with an EU data SIM.

You could try @Peter999_2 's idea with Lyca, but I'd prefer not to use a network that supplies customer's credit card details to criminals.

Peter999_2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81909328#Comment_81909328

Yes, very true. I got caught up in that a while back.

Frozen_up_north

It's not just the UK networks that restrict your overseas use, the host network in Europe can block SIMs that are abusing their roaming arrangements.

Many ex-pats "get away with it" but there are no guarantees. A friend has used an O2 Classic PAYG SIM for several months at a time (up to 10 months in a year), but they made few outgoing calls.

waldopepper

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81909137#Comment_81909137

Oh thanks, lots of useful info. I wonder why the specifically mention the iPhone Air!

Peter999_2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81909895#Comment_81909895

It's purely because the iPhone Air is eSIM only - no physical SIM card tray at all. Good on Apple for that as it forced the mobile companies to finally start offering eSIMsg - it was either support it or lose those customers (funnily, the Air has been a bit of a flop).

Lebara have offered eSIMs for years in other countries but not the UK. They have said they'll offer it here very "soon" but Apple forced their hand for the Air. I guess they see it as a "soft" rollout so they can fix any problems before they release it for all phones.