Is there any carrier that lets you download a new eSIM online? EEs system is one of the best, when I moved SIMs with O2 when trading in for my iPhone 15 Pro they messed it up and I was left without service and had to go back to the store 3 times
While you might keep your My EE details safe you can’t say the same for a lot of people, I have a close relative who stupidly gave over a password reset code for a “40% discount” to some random on the phone, if EE let you setup an eSIM online they could’ve compromised every other account he had by performing password resets on the number they now controlled
giffgaff you can do all in the app, and I use esim.net for a Vodafone esim and it lets you generate one online as a replacement but they charge £3 I think, but it can be used multiple times
Trying to move my SIM over from o2 and have to get a code for a new eSIM
And I have to head to the store because the part of the website that let’s you request this, even if you have the old eSIM still active, is down… and transferring from another iPhone on iOS did work for EE and VF but not O2
I’ve just (apparently) got Vodafone’s 5G standalone network as part of my new phone/contract deal. Does anyone know if that makes a difference to connections/speed/battery life?
I had my S9+ mainboard replaced under warranty back in 2019. Sameday repair, dropped it off when they opened and picked it up on my lunch break (oh, the before times!). I didn’t pay so I can’t comment on how much.
Samsung also offered to replace my out of warranty Fold3 inner screen protector free-of-charge at the same store this month, but I got lazy and just ordered a kit and did it myself in the end.
EE, O2 and Three going strong – Vodafone didn’t work as hoped, so it’s on hold until it’s working as it should. The rest of the UK’s biggest networks remain at your fingertips.
In other news they also added some more apps to their list yesterday: Addison Lee, Carousel Buses - Buckinghamshire, Go Cornwall, H&C Buses - Headingham & Chambers Essex and Suffolk Buses, More Bus - Bournemouth and surrounding areas, New York - MTA Train Times, Metrobus - Surrey, Sussex and Kent buses, Oxford Bus, Plymouth Bus, Southern Vectis Bus - Isle of Wight, Swindon Bus, Merseyrail, NS International (Netherlands Train travel).
They also seem to have fixed the issue where Google Maps only worked when logged out/incognito.
I’m a bit late to honest game. I’m maybe assuming wrongly that you’re actually purchasing a foreign network sim and roaming in the UK? Do you have a non UK IMSI?
For me it shows up in iOS as “TIM” or Telenyx (a US-based company I think?). Putting the ICCID into an online lookup tool shows KPN/Telfort (Netherlands). iOS shows the sim has a US number, looking that number up says it’s a Telenyx VoIP number; I tried calling the number and some random person who isn’t me answered.
A bit more on the Honest Smart esim: I previously wrote I was sceptical of it.
I ended up biting and signing up to try it anyway out of curiosity.
It is still “beta” so acknowledging it’s likely to improve, it still has quite a few rough edges. Here’s a few:
For a while you could only use Google Maps whilst logged out/incognito (has now been fixed)
iMessage works for text but won’t work for sending/receiving images (images work through WhatsApp and Signal though)
Sometimes when I’ve tried allowed apps they temporarily don’t work at all
I usually use custom (encrypted) DNS resolver settings on my phone, I need to disable this to use the smart esim network. iOS doesn’t let you turn this off per-sim so it’s an extra faff
On the positive, they do seem to be actively adding more applications. And iOS push notifications work for everything. But I also don’t think they’ll ever cover everything you might want/need. It doesn’t cover all the messaging apps I use. They’d solve a lot of problems if you could access non-listed services even at a very limited speed.
True to my prediction, I’ve used tens of megabytes trialling it for small periods at a time. The biggest consumer is weirdly Honest’s own app, followed by maps (which have offline capabilities anyway).
So is there a conclusion? Not yet. I’m not going to recommend it to anyone at the moment, but I think I’ll keep it around a little while longer to see how it develops and also test it on some international travel.
I’ve also tried Roamless since I last mentioned them. They roam on Three/O2/Vodafone in the UK and everything seems to just work. I’ve paid them £15 (20USD top-up, they added a bonus 5USD) which can get me 10.5GB in the UK. As a backup data sim they’re quite possibly my favourite option now. Only gotcha I’ve noticed is their rates vary between country from reasonable ($2.45/gb) to “oh no” ($89.50/gb in Algeria anyone?).
