Aussie carriers that work well in the UK?

[SYD]

I wonder - are there functional differences between physical and e-sim?. I suspect it may come down to the chosen carrier and whether they only support physical and/or e-sim. IIRC not all carriers support e-sim

You can store numbers on a SIM. Which was handy once upon a time. I’m not sure that’s even possible on a smartphone!

There’s also a seperate SIM PIN which is a great way to lock your SIM permanently if you don’t know the PUK. You’d be puck’d….

 

[Quickstatus]

PUK.

Yes, I always get the PUK code when I get a SIM

 

[LDN via BNE]

We relocated to the UK in 2021 and have maintained our Australian phone numbers via a long term plan with Optus, which renews automatically every 6 months at the cost of $30. We bought a basic dual sim phone (50 quid from Amazon), put both sim cards in the phone, and now only use it to receive 2FA SMS.

If you intend to travel to Europe frequently while in the UK, O2 is the best network as most of their plans include EU roaming at no additional cost (one of the few networks who offer this now - for most of the others there is a daily charge). They also have several inexpensive plans which include roaming in an 'Inclusive Zone' - USA, Canada, Australia, NZ and a host of random countries - Botswana, Guyana and Yemen to name a few!

 

[Lat34]

No, far too many models - even just Samsung to keep track of!

Interestingly, US iPhones went all eSIM from about iPhone 12 (ie several years ago!).

Market basically determines availability of phone SIM capabilities (ie dual physical/ physical + eSIM / dual eSIM)

In essence newer smartphones have two active ”phone lines” at the same time. Phone model specs will state 2x physical; 1x physical + 1x eSIM or 2x eSIM (the future) at any point in time. Most can store multiple eSims.

Multiple eSims can be loaded onto a smartphone and activated as necessary.

 

[Lat34]

You can store numbers on a SIM.

that is sooooo yesterday!!! Always store contact info to your cloud of choice

 

[SYD]

that is sooooo yesterday!!!

Or as I said…

You can store numbers on a SIM. Which was handy once upon a time.

You could also play “Snake” on your Nokia…. Heady days!

 

[doctord]

Big shoutout and thank you to everyone that's replied. I've decided to go with Amaysim!

 

[SYD]

Big shoutout and thank you to everyone that's replied. I've decided to go with Amaysim!

I just made the switch myself! So far so good.

Afterwards, Optus sent me an email offering 50% of any plan. But since they don’t have built in roaming - pass.

 

[clifford]

I just made the switch myself! So far so good.

Afterwards, Optus sent me an email offering 50% of any plan. But since they don’t have built in roaming - pass.

I've been with Amaysim for quite a while and find their roaming plans are cost-effecive and work well.

IMO, Optus roaming is a rip off.

 

[Comoman]

Big shoutout and thank you to everyone that's replied. I've decided to go with Amaysim!

Good choice IMO

 

[SYD]

I've been with Amaysim for quite a while and find their roaming plans are cost-effecive and work well.

That was our conclusion looking for options that work for extended overseas travel.

IMO, Optus roaming is a rip off.

On paper, the Optus roaming is much the same as Vodafone and they’re not bad as an “as required” or “on demand” option, but Optus is flaky and they want you to leave it in 24/7 to mask their dodgy setup. By all accounts, Vodafone is pretty reliable to use as required (note, both let you receive SMS without activating daily roaming).

Ironically, amaysim as the Optus LCC, I’m now getting a better deal. I still get 5G access at home, I can now roll over unused monthly data (which mainline Optus didn’t) and the base roaming pack (for a year) is the equivalent of 4 days roaming - as far as calls/text are concerned. A reasonable 3rd party data eSIM can fill the data gap easy peasy.

 

[clifford]

A reasonable 3rd party data eSIM can fill the data gap easy peasy.

Indeed, I always take my Three UK SIM (with a data/voice add-on) whenever travelling to Europe. As I'll be doing this weekend.

They are quite complementary IME.

 

[SYD]

Indeed, I always take my Three UK SIM (with a data/voice add-on) whenever travelling to Europe. As I'll be doing this weekend.

They are quite complementary IME.

Yes, I’ve already put my GiffGaff SIM in my phone ready to kickstart it again in a few months time!

But any of the usual eSIM providers (Flexi, Airalo, etc) would work just fine. Just work out what’s the best value for one’s travel needs.

eSims, what is your experience.

I’ve used the Amaysim $70 roaming pack in Singapore Malaysia and Japan in conjunction with other local esims. I bought it so I could receive SMS verifications from my credit card provider and bank. Also because i wanted data if one of the local esims I bought failed. Amaysim’s roaming pack...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[LondonAussie]

Optus worked great for me when roaming in the UK & EU, but they've axed all their plans with included roaming now, finally killing off the Qantas plan with 5GB/month included roaming data.

Fun fact, my Optus phone on roaming often got better coverage and data speeds than my local UK phone in the UK (because it would switch between UK networks to the best coverage). It also got better roaming in the EU, as I think most UK networks put a speed cap on roaming data as well.

 

[doctord]

Just as an update in case others find this helpful in future -- I am on Amaysim's PAYG scheme ($0 per month) and have a Roaming pack which I've paid for in order to receive SMSes and calls overseas. I'm using this as my physical SIM card and am using an eSIM through a local provider here (Lycamobile) which also allows usage of a portion their data allowance (up to 12GB per month) while travelling around Europe.

 

[SYD]

Just as an update in case others find this helpful in future -- I am on Amaysim's PAYG scheme ($0 per month) and have a Roaming pack which I've paid for in order to receive SMSes and calls overseas. I'm using this as my physical SIM card and am using an eSIM through a local provider here (Lycamobile) which also allows usage of a portion their data allowance (up to 12GB per month) while travelling around Europe.

Yes, I’m very happy with Amaysim. I’ve been multiple times to Europe, Asia and Sth Am and works fine. The $20 roaming for sending txt and make/receive calls OS is excellent value. I’ll renew that in a few months and unused mins/txt rollover.

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by “$0 per month”?

From memory, the prepaid plans are only 4G at home and you need to go to the $30 plan (28d renewal) before 5G (capped at 100MB) kicks in.

I keep an eye on what the other local carriers are doing but amaysim still seems the best for me at the moment.

The Lycamobile UK plans were mentioned on in the eSIM thread. I’m going to look more closely at the when I’m heading to the UK next.

 

[doctord]

Yes, I’m very happy with Amaysim. I’ve been multiple times to Europe, Asia and Sth Am and works fine. The $20 roaming for sending txt and make/receive calls OS is excellent value. I’ll renew that in a few months and unused mins/txt rollover.

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by “$0 per month”?

From memory, the prepaid plans are only 4G at home and you need to go to the $30 plan (28d renewal) before 5G (capped at 100MB) kicks in.

I keep an eye on what the other local carriers are doing but amaysim still seems the best for me at the moment.

The Lycamobile UK plans were mentioned on in the eSIM thread. I’m going to look more closely at the when I’m heading to the UK next.

Hi SYD, that's correct -- the "As You Go" (previously Pay As You Go) is 4G. It's $0 for for 365 days. Realistically, I'm only utilising the Roaming Pack for SMSes and Calls.

For my UK / EU purposes, I use my Lycamobile eSIM (currently 15GBP for 30 days, but was initially 7.5GBP for 3 months) which provides 5G coverage in most areas. Through this prepaid plan, I get 50GB of data allowance a month which I can use in the UK. I can use 12GB per month of this in almost any other country around Europe. For me, that's plenty and negates the need to use my roaming data from Amaysim (hence why the 4G is sufficient as I'm not even using it).

 

[SYD]

It's $0 for for 365 days.

Just to clarify for those playing at home - what is $0? Or how did you get a 1yr plan for $0?

The current 365* days “Long Expiry Plan” is $240

1 Year Prepaid Mobile Plan with 200GB

1 Year Prepaid Mobile Plan with 200GB. Unlimited talk & text. No lock-in contract. Go on. Feel amaysim.

www.amaysim.com.au

*just noticed the 182 plan is marked down to $109 (normally $150).

Realistically, I'm only utilising the Roaming Pack for SMSes and Calls.

AFAIK, you don’t even need a roaming bundle to receive an SMS (just to send, as well as make/receive calls from OS). It as mentioned earlier, $20 for 100 mins / 100 sms (in a 12mth period) is pretty good (~$0.05 pd continuous roaming if you can work within limits - or just top again for $20 if you need more mins/SMS).

I generally don’t think the roaming plans with data are particularly good value but there is the obvious convenience factor. It’s a pity they add data but reduce mins/sms, so makes it harder to compare.

International Roaming

Ditch daily roaming charges. Add roaming in 90+ selected destinations to your plan from just $20, with 365 days to use.

www.amaysim.com.au

 

[doctord]

Oh I wasn't aware that receiving of SMSes and calls is free. Nevertheless, I do still reply to SMSes I receive on my Aussie number, so the roaming pack is absolutely fine for me.

There is a paucity of information about this online, the only thing I could find on their official website is this: Managing AS YOU GO Mobile Plan

As to how I got it -- I was initially on a paid Amaysim month-to-month plan before leaving for the UK. I then switched to this As You Go plan the day before leaving.

As to how to physically access it -- once you open your Amaysim app and navigate to "Change Plan", it should be an option under 4G plans. This is a screenshot of what I see:



Hopefully this helps, do let me know if you'd like any additional clarification.

 

[SYD]

Oh I wasn't aware that receiving of SMSes and calls is free. Nevertheless, I do still reply to SMSes I receive on my Aussie number, so the roaming pack is absolutely fine for me.

There is a paucity of information about this online, the only thing I could find on their official website is this: Managing AS YOU GO Mobile Plan

As to how I got it -- I was initially on a paid Amaysim month-to-month plan before leaving for the UK. I then switched to this As You Go plan the day before leaving.

As to how to physically access it -- once you open your Amaysim app and navigate to "Change Plan", it should be an option under 4G plans. This is a screenshot of what I see:

View attachment 440501

Hopefully this helps, do let me know if you'd like any additional clarification.

Ah, I see what you mean! I didn’t know that was an option (it’s hiding under “4G” plans in my app also - so never bothered looking!).

But perfect for keeping your Oz number alive if heading OS for an extended time for very little cost. Just keep it in credit.

Add that $20 / 12mth roaming and you covered for the occasional call/text.