The SIM card for most of us is a little piece of plastic card that allows us to make calls and use the Internet. But technology hasn’t stood still, so now it’s possible to replace the physical SIM card with a virtual one. Such SIM cards, which you can’t hold in your hands, but manage to retain the functions of the existing ones and are called eSIM.
So, an eSIM is a SIM card embedded in the smartphone, which does not need to be physically inserted into the phone. Visually, it’s a small chip that sits on a circuit board inside the device. The eSIM is not made on a plastic carrier, so it cannot be removed or moved.
Benefits and features of eSIM
It may seem that eSIM only changes its format: instead of a plastic card a subscriber receives a virtual tie-in to a tariff plan, but in practice eSIM offers a lot of profitable bonuses which could be economic and practical.
- Saving on roaming
Roaming abroad is an expensive option, and finding an operator to buy a SIM card when you arrive in another country is not an easy task. In addition, in some countries it is impossible to buy a SIM card of the local operator without an ID card of the country of travel. eSIM allows you to connect in advance and then activate a SIM card without documents and prepayment. When you arrive in a new country, you are connected and your smartphone is ready for calls, chats and social networks. Many foreign operators offer free welcome bonuses: gigabytes of Internet, SMS and other pleasures.
- Easy eSIM activation
To activate eSIM you don’t need to go to mobile operator’s office, stand in a queue, look for SIM card point of sale and waste your time. eSIM is connected remotely through a mobile application and does not require complicated operations with your smartphone. All you need to do in the mobile application is to choose a tariff and activate it.
- No risk to lose your card
No plastic SIM card ensures that you won’t lose or damage your eSIM. In addition, no one will steal contacts from your existing SIM card and you won’t have to change it at the mobile operator’s office because of erased parts or other damage.
- Easy data recovery process
Since the information you store in your eSIM is also stored in the operator’s cloud storage, if your cell phone is lost or stolen you only need to transfer this data to another eSIM cell phone.
- eSIMs are eco-friendly
Every year billions of plastic SIM cards are produced and discarded all over the world. Despite the fact that mankind has been using SIM-cards for many years, there is still no effective method for the disposal of SIM-cards. They are disposed of together with other waste. Special recycling methods are needed to dispose of SIM cards because they consist of different materials, each of which is recycled in its own way.
SIM cards consist not only of metal and plastic, but also contain rare mineral elements, such as gold. This makes recycling more difficult because it requires complex chemical and mechanical processes, which are themselves expensive and contaminate the environment.
The disadvantages of eSIM are few:
- Not every country in the world supports eSIM. For example, an iPhone with a built-in eSIM will not work in China, and in Hong Kong and Macau only some Apple devices will be able to function properly.
- Transferring data from an old phone with an eSIM to a new one is not as easy as pulling out the physical media and inserting it into a slot on another device.
We have prepared for you a rating of 5 services with the possibility of connecting eSIM.
- eSIM plus
One of the most popular services, which provides the ability to connect eSIM. With this service you can connect services for: incoming and outgoing calls, SMS messages, mobile Internet.
eSIM plus gives you round the clock access to customer support, connection eSIM for any device and a convenient application to manage the virtual number. All you have to do is to download the application and choose the tariff you are interested in.
While selecting eSIM plans you can connect virtual numbers from more than 120 countries. The most expensive plan allowing you to use unlimited Internet in over 120 countries will cost you 200 euro, and the cheapest plan for one country will cost €5.
- GigSky
GigSky is a service for the sale of physical SIM cards, which began selling only virtual SIM cards. In addition, among the tariffs of eSIM-cards there are only offers for mobile Internet, which, by the way, works fine. Also, one of the disadvantages is that it is impossible to connect the service making calls and sending SMS.
GigSky connects SIM cards of 116 countries, except for some parts of Africa. Popular are the tariffs of Latin America. Prices for tariffs vary, depending on the desired number of GB, on average for 5 GB a subscriber will pay about $40.
- Airalo
Another very popular service among users, which provides services to more than 200 countries. One of the advantages is that you can buy a virtual SIM card, which will be valid not only in a particular country, but also on a particular continent. You can also buy a card valid everywhere. The feature of the service is the ability to connect only tariffs with mobile data, calls, and SMS cannot be connected.
The cost of connection depends on the package of countries, the number of included gigabytes of data and days of use of eSIM. For example, for eSIM with the ability to communicate in all countries will cost you from $9 to $89 depending on the days of use and gigabytes of traffic.
- Telwel
The service is available in 160 countries of the world, the package includes only services with mobile Internet inside, the connection of SMS and calls is impossible. To find out if a virtual SIM card is connected to your phone, you need to go to the service website.
Speaking of tariffs, when connecting, you can choose eSIM for a particular country or a package with a global virtual SIM card. You can pick the tariffs based on the number of days of use and mobile Internet traffic. Prices vary from the figures above, but the most expensive package costs €20.
- OneSimCard
The service, which is praised for its stable and reliable Internet connection, provides services in more than 65 countries. It is also convenient that the connection of the virtual card is possible on almost all models of smartphones.
Tariff plans can be picked based on the country, amount of the Internet traffic and days of use. Prices range from $10 to $35 depending on the conditions you decide.
eSIM is an undeniably convenient technology that has a lot of advantages for users. When selecting a service for connecting a virtual phone number, we recommend looking at the service eSIM plus. It allows you to use not only the mobile Internet as a means of communication, but also to make calls and receive SMS messages, which in most cases is a river service, comparing with other services for connecting eSIM.
