Best Travel Sim card?

[ramboflyer]

On our last overseas trip in 2015 I purchased an Australia Post travel sim card which I have kept active. With this sim you are allocated a Estonian (sounds like something out of Dilbert) phone number.

It worked out ok but I wonder if there is a suitable alternative where you can keep your own number? This can be helpful for those back home you didnt give your Elbonian number to and sometimes you give airlines and hotels contact numbers and out of habit you give them your normal mobile number.

I was told in the past that Vodaphone have a sim you can use for $5 a day. You are charged if you use the phone and then only a maximum of $5 a day. I dont know if I misunderstood or if it has changed but having a look at the Vodaphone web site it seems that you have to sign up to a plan and then your $5 gets you access to your normal phone and data usage.

I dont want to sign up to a plan as I am very happy with the Aldi prepaid deal that I currently have.

We are heading overseas again later this year (Italy & Greece) and I wonder if there is a sim where I could keep my own number and not cost a fortune. Data is not that important as there plenty of free wifi to use these days.

 

[coriander]

I cant see how to "turn data roaming off" (on my Samsung Galaxy S5) so I assume that means just turning mobile data off.

Try Settings | Connections | Mobile Networks | Data Roaming (Connect to data services when roaming)
Choose from Disable | National Roaming Only | All networks.

HTH.

Edit: the above was for S8. Just checked my wife's work S5 and the steps are:
Settings | More Networks | Mobile Networks | Data Roaming.
Choose from Disable | National Roaming Only | All networks.

 

[coriander]

People with the fancy dual sim phones, how do they work? Do they essentially function the same as a normal phone but with some kind of option within the settings or whatever to switch between sims? Seamless use?

I'm considering the Sony Xperia Z3 or Z3+ dual sim but I've never had one before so I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into.

Dual-sim phones are seamless operators.

Adding to moa9999's post above, I remembered finding some images (uploaded by Whirlpudlian "Rocket Man" to give appropriate credit) when I was doing my due diligence on the dual-sim S8. I just found them (one of the very few "advantages" of being off work with cellulitis) and thought I'd post them here for your information. My own phone simply shows my Optus sim in sim1 as my Vodafone sims haven't arrived yet (the ebayer is a slow shipper) so isn't the best example yet. The screen below is accessed by tapping Settings | Connections | Sim card manager; as you can see, you can assign either sim to calls, text, data:



When making a call you're given the option both on dial pad and contacts list to use either sim1 or sim2. I love this, the thought of not having to maintain two sets contacts on two phones was a real deal maker for me when trying to decide between one phone or two.

BTW, over the past 7 years, every time I add a phone number to my contacts list, I've always immediately changed the phone number from 04nn to +61 4nn (mobile) or 03 9nn to +61 3 9nn, so my contacts list is ready to go anywhere in the world.



HTH.

 

[ramboflyer]

Edit: the above was for S8. Just checked my wife's work S5 and the steps are:
Settings | More Networks | Mobile Networks | Data Roaming.
Choose from Disable | National Roaming Only | All networks.

Thanks for that. After rereading my post I figured it out. I was confusing "Data Roaming" with "International roaming" the latter of course being for your sim to pick up local networks for calls and texts.

 

[OzEire]

Does anyone have recent experience of using SimCorner who have kiosks in both SYD and MEL international terminals plus online. I am tempted to get a US and/or UK sim sorted before flying out...able to buy here with AUD and have the data ready to go when we land rather than seeking out a local sim in the airport (bleary eyed after a long flight) or after getting in to the city (finding a shop, dealing with local rules for ID checking, trying to use a foreign credit card or cash, etc.)

 

[Irishbazz]

Currently in Scotland and using the sim from three.co.uk network mentioned previously in the thread.

£20 for 3000 minutes and texts to UK numbers and 12 gigs of data. Setup in store within minutes, no ID required for the prepaid one month sim. Heading to NYC and HK over the next two weeks and the sim is compatible at no extra cost for communication between the better half and myself, or to any other UK number. Just depends if your heading to the UK or not? Three.ie does not support the package.

 

[ChrisDPom]

Just done a 3 week European trip and locally purchased/ topped up PAYG SIMs worked fine for calls and text when moving to another country in the EU but did not allow data usage.

Checked with 4 providers in the UK + 3 each in Germany & Austria.

Only SIMs on a plan will also get data usage in another country - PAYG SIMs will not.

 

[coriander]

Currently using Vodafone NL sim (ex-ebay) PAYG sim with 4G (3GB+1GB bonus for €20) in the EU - Finland, Denmark, Germany and even Switzerland (not an EU country) so far. Using text and data mainly, working like a charm except on DB ICEs at 250km/h - Google can't keep up.

 

[coriander]

FYI, Vodafone NL sim in Samsung S8 while wandering around in Munich.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Currently in Scotland and using the sim from three.co.uk network mentioned previously in the thread.

£20 for 3000 minutes and texts to UK numbers and 12 gigs of data. Setup in store within minutes, no ID required for the prepaid one month sim. Heading to NYC and HK over the next two weeks and the sim is compatible at no extra cost for communication between the better half and myself, or to any other UK number. Just depends if your heading to the UK or not? Three.ie does not support the package.

Agree. Don't bother buying before you leave Aust. We just bought two sims from Three, one £20 and one £10 from shop in London (there are lots). Insert sim, get txt msg, reboot and all working in 5 minutes. (Unlike Vodafone who can't get a sim working in under 12 hrs!)

Very easy.

Now using them in Spain with free roaming etc.

 

[daft009]

Only SIMs on a plan will also get data usage in another country - PAYG SIMs will not.

Not true. As coriander posted and I used in July the Vodafone Netherlands prepaid SIM works great within the EU

 

[phily]

Does anyone have recent experience of using SimCorner who have kiosks in both SYD and MEL international terminals plus online.

SimCorner are excellent for supplying UK & US Sims. However, their MEL outlet closed some years ago, and at SYD I've not been able to find them. I've used their postal delivery service with success. Of course you pay a premium to get your SIM before you go, so it's just a matter of whether you want the Sim before you arrive or you want to save a few dollars.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Not true. As coriander posted and I used in July the Vodafone Netherlands prepaid SIM works great within the EU

EU changed the laws last year to stop the roaming ripoff by telecos. Now free roaming is available all over U.K. And Europe as part of all plans.

 

[ChrisDPom]

Not true. As coriander posted and I used in July the Vodafone Netherlands prepaid SIM works great within the EU

It seems to come down to where you buy the PAYG SIM card.

As I stated, none of the UK, German or Austrian providers I tried had a data usage option in other countries while Vodaphone NL seems to have offered it.

This is still quite new so others may roll it out, but check with the provider before you buy.

 

[phily]

As I stated, none of the UK, German or Austrian providers I tried had a data usage option in other countries while Vodaphone NL seems to have offered it.

Not correct. Get a Three (3) Sim from either Simcorner at SYD or from one of their stores in the UK, make your first usage in the UK, and you then get 9GB of data a month whilst roaming throughout Europe, plus the USA, NZ and even back in Australia. Three has had this deal for about 3-4 years now which they call "Feel Like Home".

 

[futaris]

Buy International Prepaid Mobile SIM Card UK and Europe | SimCorner

 

[RB]

Not correct. Get a Three (3) Sim from either Simcorner at SYD or from one of their stores in the UK, make your first usage in the UK, and you then get 9GB of data a month whilst roaming throughout Europe, plus the USA, NZ and even back in Australia. Three has had this deal for about 3-4 years now which they call "Feel Like Home".

Perhaps the difference in opinion comes down to if the user has to make the first usage in the UK?

 

[ChrisDPom]

Asked at a 3 store in the UK. on 12/08/2017 (day I landed). Said all their PAYG SIMs are OK for phone calls and text in Europe but not data.

So if this is still available to new puchasers, their staff don't know about it.

 

[OzEire]

Just depends if your heading to the UK or not? Three.ie does not support the package.

Thanks @Irishbazz ... im heading JFK direct to DUB and then LON a week later, so unless SIMcorner has a workaround my first usage will probably be DUB not UK. This is presuming i will use a US sim there as I've found having a local cell number really matters in the US.

 

[greenfrog86]

Asked at a 3 store in the UK. on 12/08/2017 (day I landed). Said all their PAYG SIMs are OK for phone calls and text in Europe but not data.

So if this is still available to new puchasers, their staff don't know about it.

Not my experience. They have a prepaid sim and you top it up with a particular selection (20 pounds) and it gives 12GB of data for 30 days and you can use 9 of them overseas. They're just updated the website and I was pleased to see Singapore was recently added.
You can find all the details on the three uk website.

In terms of simcorner, I used them for my September Europe trip and so did my friends. They didn't start in the UK so simcorner met their needs as they couldn't have bought the three uk sim from Greece. Whilst I agree you have options if starting in the UK, I don't think the advice from others here saying simcorner is a waste of time is useful in these circumstances.

 

[greenfrog86]

Thanks @Irishbazz ... im heading JFK direct to DUB and then LON a week later, so unless SIMcorner has a workaround my first usage will probably be DUB not UK. This is presuming i will use a US sim there as I've found having a local cell number really matters in the US.

If you buy from simcorner you get a uk sim from three and you do not need to activate it in the UK. My friends started in Greece and never set foot in the UK during a month in Europe.

I think the other poster meant that if you buy in Ireland from three then you won't get the same deal that three uk offers (which is the version that simcorner sells).