Hey J! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your trip sounds awesome. I know you\u2019re going to have such a great time, and you NEED to try an eSIM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nope, it\u2019s not \u201ctoo techie\u201d for you. I promise. I\u2019m going to explain it very clearly. Ready?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An eSIM is literally just a SIM card that gives you mobile data (a.k.a. internet) except you don\u2019t have to fiddle with one of those little plastic cards, or touch the insides of that pretty new phone (which already supports eSIM<\/a>). It\u2019s just something digital that you install in, like, a minute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And nooooo, you are NOT going to \u201cjust use the hotel Wi-Fi\u201d like your last trip.<\/strong> Seriously, J \u2013 that\u2019s super annoying. You can use Wi-Fi when it\u2019s available, but you really need data for the times when you can\u2019t get onto Wi-Fi. Otherwise, no one can reach you and your phone is basically useless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And you guys are going to be driving around, right? You\u2019ll want data to load maps and stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know you\u2019re freaked out about the potential of a huge phone bill. I get it.<\/strong> That\u2019s why you\u2019re NOT going to do what M did last time and let your phone carrier \u2018roam,\u2019 and just hope it all works out okay. That was horrible. I will never forget his face when he saw that $500+ phone bill. \ud83d\ude33 That\u2019s NOT going to happen to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alright, let’s do this …<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s free, it\u2019s awesome (and yes I helped make it). You can find it in the App Store or Google Play, or you can click to install it<\/a>. Got it? Okay, now just make a free account. All it needs is your email address and a password, or you can click to log in with Gmail, Apple, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re going to Europe, right? Okay perfect, look for \u2018Europe\u2019 in the app and pick that as your location. Having a Europe eSIM<\/a> means you can pop around to like 35 different countries and you\u2019ll have data in all of them. It\u2019s super convenient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, the packages start at just 1GB, which is enough for a week if you\u2019re not using your phone that much. Are you going to be FaceTiming with your parents and stuff? You might want 2GB or 3GB, but you can always start small and add more later if you need it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pick one and buy it. Oh, and use code \u201cHEATHER\u201d at checkout to save $ because you\u2019re my friend and ILY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how to install your eSIM<\/a>. This just means you\u2019re putting your Europe eSIM<\/a> right onto your phone, so it\u2019s basically like another SIM card. Then if you and M go back to Europe next year (ahem, eloping, ahem) you\u2019ll already have a direct connection to Europe, ready to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, I know you\u2019re not leaving for another few weeks, but definitely do it now. It\u2019s not going to start working or anything \u2013 it will just mean you\u2019re all ready for your trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just follow the installation prompts. It might ask you to give your eSIM a label, and you can call it \u2018Europe\u2019 or \u2018aloSIM Europe\u2019 or \u2018J\u2019s Europe trip yaaaaas\u2019 or anything you want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, I said \u2018free\u2019 and it\u2019s really free. (No, this is not like that time I thought that dinner was free and it was actually an everybody-chips-in situation.) Your data from aloSIM comes with a free international phone number<\/a>, so you want to get this set up (even if you\u2019re not sure you\u2019ll use it \u2013 whatever, it\u2019s literally free). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Open your aloSIM app, go to \u2018My eSIMs,\u2019 tap on your new eSIM, and tap \u2018Calling and texting,\u2019 then redeem the free offer. Got it? It\u2019ll create an account in Hushed<\/a> (our calling and texting app<\/a>) and send you an email with info on how to log in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, go ahead and install Hushed. It\u2019s cute, right? When you\u2019re logged in, tap \u2018Add Number\u2019 and pick any Canadian number (you can get a 902 area code so it\u2019s a local call for your parents). At checkout, pick the option that says \u2018FREE.\u2019 Then you\u2019re good to go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Go ahead and give the phone number to your parents, in case they want to call you while you\u2019re away. (I\u2019d say do NOT give the number to your office in case of emergencies, except I know you will because you\u2019re so nice. Hopefully they don\u2019t call you, though.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n You know how you were worried about a huge phone bill? J, this is the part where I\u2019m going to show you exactly how to avoid that. (I can hear your relief from here, haha.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019re boarding your flight, and you don\u2019t need your real phone number to work anymore, I want you to go into your phone settings and FULLY toggle off your primary SIM<\/a>. This will mean no calls, no texts, no data, and NO possible chance of any charges on your next phone bill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep it off the whole trip, okay? You can still use iMessage<\/a> and FaceTime and stuff, or WhatsApp, or Facebook Messenger, plus you\u2019ll have your free Hushed number for calls and texts. Lots of ways to be reached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (If M insists on leaving his regular phone number on during the trip, he can do that. But tell him to toggle off \u2018Data Roaming\u2019<\/a> so his regular SIM can\u2019t use any data when you\u2019re away, and definitely have him talk to his phone carrier first because they might stick him on one of those hideous $20\/day carrier travel plans<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then stick your phone on Airplane Mode, and go enjoy your flight. Watch a movie. (I watched Cruella <\/em>on my last flight and it was actually really good.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re sitting on the plane, bored, you can use that time to make sure your phone\u2019s ready to connect whenever you land. Or you can do this part at the airport when you arrive. Either one is fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, this is the most technical part, BUT I swear, it only takes a minute. Ready?<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s literally it. You should connect to a network as soon as Airplane Mode is off. You\u2019ll be able to open your aloSIM app and see \u201cACTIVE\u201d on your eSIM. Then you can test it by Googling something, like \u2018best souvenirs to buy for your very patient, helpful friend.\u2019 \ud83d\udc40<\/p>\n\n\n\n (If your phone is being a brat and not connecting right away, toggle your eSIM off and back on \u2013 or toggle Airplane Mode on and back off) and it should kick its butt into gear.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, and you might need to \u2018let\u2019 certain apps use data<\/a> (or else they\u2019ll be restricted to Wi-Fi only) and you can prevent apps from using data if you don\u2019t want them to waste it. Some apps and background tasks suck a LOT of data<\/a>, so you can always force those to wait until you\u2019re on the hotel Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you run low, it\u2019s easy to add more data. Just open your aloSIM app, tap on your eSIM, and tap \u2018Top up eSIM.\u2019 Then you can buy another package that\u2019s connected to the eSIM that\u2019s already installed on your phone. It should start working as soon as your original package runs out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you get back home in a couple of weeks, it only takes a second to get your phone \u2018back to normal\u2019 (which for you, I\u2019m sure means checking work emails lol).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alright, I think that\u2019s everything you needed to know (and probably lots of other rambling you could have done without, ha).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have an AMAZING time, and message me if you have any questions. Oh, and if you need tech support when I\u2019m asleep because of the time difference, just open the app (or go to alosim.com) and hit the \u2018chat\u2019 button. There are people working 24\/7 and they\u2019ll help you out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n xoxo<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heather<\/p>\n\n\n\n P.S. I wasn\u2019t kidding about the souvenir. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An eSIM is literally just a SIM card that gives you mobile data (a.k.a. internet) except you don’t have to fiddle with a little plastic card.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":72421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[429,333],"tags":[451,334],"class_list":["post-72420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology-ar","category-esim-faq-ar","tag-technology-ar","tag-esim-ar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSTEP 1 (BEFORE YOUR TRIP): Download the aloSIM app<\/a>. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
STEP 2 (BEFORE YOUR TRIP): Buy a data package.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
STEP 3 (BEFORE YOUR TRIP): Install your eSIM<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
STEP 4 (THE DAY YOU\u2019RE LEAVING): <\/strong>Claim your free phone number<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
STEP 5 (RIGHT BEFORE LEAVING THE COUNTRY): Prep your phone<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
STEP 6 (ON THE PLANE, OR WHEN YOU ARRIVE): <\/strong>Activate your eSIM<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Use your data!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Add more data if you need it<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Come home, we miss you!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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