Cheapest eSim around?

Scam · 7 Feb 2022 at 18:43

Following on from my other thread about using my corporate iPhone for dual sim, annoyingly company IT are telling me now that our Vodafone business accounts do not provide eSims :confused:

So that would mean I would have to use the physical sim slot for my corporate number, and use the eSim for my personal number. Problem is, I'm on Giffgaff which don't support eSim, and having done some digging it seems that most/all other PAYG providers also don't? Even operators like O2, Three etc. support eSim on contracts, but not on PAYG :confused:

tldr; what's the cheapest eSim deal you can get?

Scam · 9 Feb 2022 at 10:57

Also, any danger of losing my number swapping from a physical Giffgaff sim to a SIMO eSim contract? I'm seeing Vodafone do a £6/month 12 month contract which looks the best I can find; https://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/bundles-and-sims/sim-only-deals/basics/c/

mrk · 10 Feb 2022 at 22:32

As long as you have your PAC from Giffgaff then your number will follow over to the new eSIM contract. You just have to tell the new network the PAC when you activate your new SIM and the rest is done behind the scenes.

Semple · 10 Feb 2022 at 22:36

How much does your PAYG bill cost you a year? You can get very basic sim only contracts with some major networks for a fiver a month. I presume you're relying on your work contract to provide internet access? So yours is just for phone calls etc?

Scam · 10 Feb 2022 at 23:17

Semple said:
How much does your PAYG bill cost you a year? You can get very basic sim only contracts with some major networks for a fiver a month. I presume you're relying on your work contract to provide internet access? So yours is just for phone calls etc?

I currently pay £10/month for my Giffgaff goodybag. You're right, I get unlimited data on my work SIM so I only need calls and texts. Hardly any of either!

Annoyingly that £6 Vodafone Basics deal doesn't let you roam - as in you can't text or phone whilst abroad. So that's out.

This is doing my nut now.. Only the big networks (not resellers) provide eSims and most of them only on their pay monthly deals. So PAYG is out, but I really want to pay less than £10/month on preferably a 30day or realistically a 12 month contract - which is harder than you think to find! :confused:

I thought I found a great deal on Virgin but they don't offer eSims at all yet..

I did a live chat with EE and she confirmed their SIM only pay monthly contracts can give you an eSim. They're all getting on for £14+/month though iirc, apart from this weird one that you can't find directly on their site :confused:

https://5g.co.uk/transfer?27833346

Vodafone's standard SIM only deals are getting on for £20/month min too. What's going on?

Scam · 16 Feb 2022 at 18:20

i'm thoroughly confused.. It seems they all do low-cost SIM only packages on contract which is great, but things are limited. Vodafone have 'Basics' which means you can't use your phone abroad at all. The EE deal I found looks good but going through checkout the name came up as 'Essentials' so I'm trying to figure out what's included and what's not.

Now I see O2 have a £6/month SIM only deal but I've no idea what it's called or what might not work when abroad :confused:

Obviously I dont care about data, but I want my phone to work whilst abroad, at least to receive calls!
https://www.moneysupermarket.com/mo...es=false&unlimitedTexts=false&giftCategories=

mrk · 16 Feb 2022 at 21:33

Essentials plans are limited to 60Mbps download if I remember right. Even if it's 5G your download speed will be limited although when I was on an Essentials plan I was able to get 90Mbps download and uploads were around 30Mbps.

Semple · 16 Feb 2022 at 22:47

I'd be surprised if any tariff won't let you receive phone calls abroad. Even PAYG tariffs 20 years ago could do this.

Your only issue is whether you can make calls out of the plan allowance, or if they charge you extra for it.

Scam · 16 Feb 2022 at 23:01

Semple said:
I'd be surprised if any tariff won't let you receive phone calls abroad. Even PAYG tariffs 20 years ago could do this.

Prepare to be surprised! I can't find the proper link now but you can read this:
https://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Pay-monthly/Vodafone-Basics-and-Roaming/td-p/2600699

I think I've figured out that O2 are actually the only ones that don't charge you automatically for roaming data - not that I care about data. But at least it's cheap, and has unlimited minutes and texts (that work abroad) and is only £6/month. Oh and they confirmed I can get an eSim too.

azibux1 · 21 Feb 2022 at 22:12

Did you get this sorted?

The deal I found and took from mobiles.co.uk is Vodafone, sub £10 a month after cashback and is not Vodafone basics

That might fit your list of requirements?

Scam · 22 Feb 2022 at 10:50

azibux1 said:
Did you get this sorted?

Yeah I went with the O2 £6/month (5GB, unlimited text/mins) top of this list I linked above.

Just got off the phone to them as my sim still isn't working. My number has ported ok from Giffgaff (phew), but the sim card they sent me wasn't activated :rolleyes:

Means they need to replace the eSim pack that was due in the post today, so I'll have to wait another 1-3 working days for a replacement eSim pack to turn up before I can start dual-sim'ing on my work iPhone. Lame, but getting there..

I also wasn't getting 5G on my work sim (Vodafone) which is annoying. I've asked IT if I should or not. Shame, but I live in London and travel mostly on the tube so 5G is about as useful as a chocolate teapot so wgaf

azibux1 · 22 Feb 2022 at 11:23

Scam said:
Yeah I went with the O2 £6/month (5GB, unlimited text/mins) top of this list I linked above.

Just got off the phone to them as my sim still isn't working. My number has ported ok from Giffgaff (phew), but the sim card they sent me wasn't activated Means they need to replace the eSim pack that was due in the post today, so I'll have to wait another 1-3 working days for a replacement eSim pack to turn up before I can start dual-sim'ing on my work iPhone. Lame, but getting there..

I also wasn't getting 5G on my work sim (Vodafone) which is annoying. I've asked IT if I should or not. Shame, but I live in London and travel mostly on the tube so 5G is about as useful as a chocolate teapot so wgaf

Glad you got (or at least getting) there in the end!

Hate this kind of stuff but is nice when it's sorted

Scam · 22 Feb 2022 at 11:51

azibux1 said:
Hate this kind of stuff but is nice when it's sorted

Ugh I know it's always painful.

Good news my (physical) O2 sim now works.. and of course my eSim pack now arrived in the post. The support guy is sending a new one because he thinks the QR code on this one now won't work. I'm not convinced - am tempted to try it rather than wait 3 days for the post - but also don't want to break anything...