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Airalo Review: Get Internet Abroad in 1 Minute

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    Here’s my personal Airalo review.

    Go online. Buy an Airalo eSIM. Press a few buttons. Done.

    This is how easy nowadays you can get internet abroad. The best part being that it works in almost every country around the world, plus you can continue using your mobile number. Having worked in telecommunications and IT industry for more than 7 years, at first I didn’t believe it’s going to be that easy. But it is — it’s super easy.

    Let’s go more into details now.

    Airalo Review: How it Works?

    Ok, so how does it work?

    It works thanks to eSIM technology. This technology allows you to buy internet for your phone from Airalo without ever touching your SIM card. Normally, to use local internet abroad you buy a local SIM card. You take out your SIM, and put in the new SIM.

    With eSIM you don’t have to change your SIM.

    You just change “settings” on your phone.

    The only downside — it works only if your phone supports it.

    Here’s a list of phones that support this technology.

    Watch this 1 minute video to learn all the basics:

    How to Start Using Airalo eSIM?

    First of all, make sure that your phone supports eSIM.

    If it does support eSIM, then follow these steps:

    1. Go to the website Airalo.com;
    2. Create an account and buy yourself an eSIM (internet);
    3. Connect this eSIM with your phone (scan a QR code);
    4. Activate data roaming for your eSIM;
    5. Start using the internet.

    All of this can be done online.

    You choose a country. Then you choose a plan, and make a payment. There are smaller and bigger data plans. There are eSIMs for one country, and there are also eSIMs that can be used in multiple countries without changing anything.

    Top ups are done online as well.

    Setting Up an eSIM

    This is where it will get hard.

    This is where I’ll need to go and read the FAQ or user manual.

    But nope, turned out that I was wrong. There is nothing complicated about the setup either. You just open camera on your phone. Scan the QR code you see in your Airalo account. Click a few buttons. Name your eSIM (so you can remember what is what). Set your “regular SIM” as standard SIM, and eSIM as the SIM for internet, and you are all set.

    You don’t have to look for the right settings.

    You are taken there automatically.

    What Phones Are Supported?

    Here’s a list of phones that support this technology.

    Can You Make Calls With Airalo?

    In most situations no — because you get only internet.

    However, there are countries where you can get both calls and internet. You can find it out in advance by checking “Additional Information” in every data package in Airalo store. For example, in Thailand you can get also calls with the Dtac eSIM Airalo offers.

    For calls and sms you can always use your mobile number.

    That’s the beauty of it — you can keep using your “normal SIM”.

    What Happens When You Reach Your Data Limit?

    Internet just stops working.

    Then you can either top up your eSIM or buy a new one. In some situations top ups aren’t available, and then the only option is to buy a new eSIM. In this case I would recommend you to remove the old eSIM first, or to name the new one differently, to avoid any possible future confusions.

    Streets near Taksim square
    Street near Taksim square, Istanbul

    How do you use internet while traveling? Do you buy a local SIM in every country you travel to? Have you tried Airalo or some other similar service? What was your experience?

    Disclosure: Although my first eSIM was sponsored by Airalo, my opinions shared are my own. It’s a service I personally find very useful, and have used again.

    Featured photo by Tracy Le Blanc from Pexels

    Book Your Trip Like a PRO

    1. Book Your Flight. Find cheap flights using Kiwi.com, Momondo.com. Or subscribe to Dollar Flight Club, if you don’t want to be searching for the flights yourself. Kiwi currently is my first choice.

    2. Book Your Accommodation. Booking.com, Agoda.com and Airbnb. I use Booking and Agoda at least a dozen times a year, and Airbnb – when looking for a long-term stay. My best tip is to ALWAYS compare the price. Sometimes the same hotel is cheaper on Booking.com, other times – on Agoda. Always compare the price!

    3. Buy Your Travel Insurance. Ekta and SafetyWings are two companies I can recommend. Ekta offers some extra benefits, that will be important for those doing some higher risk activities (make sure to choose the right plan!), while SafetyWings is better for digital nomads. SafetyWings is also very affordable.

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