{"id":25889,"date":"2022-05-04T16:48:18","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T23:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/?p=25889"},"modified":"2022-05-04T16:48:18","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T23:48:18","slug":"airalo-esim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/2022\/05\/airalo-esim\/","title":{"rendered":"Airalo eSim for US Travel \u2013\u00a0by Claus Wolf"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello NosillaCastaways,<\/p>\n

Back in March, I took a trip to New York City. It was my first big vacation in over two years. The pandemic had me firmly grounded in Germany for all that time. A surreal feeling for someone who was used to being on the road for at least a week or two every month.<\/p>\n

New York is a pretty fun place and for me, it brings back lots of memories from back in the day when I was a student. However, this isn\u2019t a story about how old I feel, but about the need for mobile data abroad.<\/p>\n

Like many of you, I don\u2019t really use my phone to make calls and thus I don\u2019t miss the phone part of my phone much. However, if you take my data away, I feel severely limited. In the past, I would order a prepaid SIM card and swap it on the plane. This time I decided to try my luck with an eSim.<\/p>\n

I searched the app store for a suitable provider and there were so many options that it was super hard to make a decision. In the end I settled for Airalo at airalo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I wished I could tell you it was the result of a lengthy evidence-based search, but it basically was a well reviewed-app, that had mobile data at a price I thought fair: 5GB for 16 Dollars. What sealed the deal was that I could pay with Apple Pay.<\/p>\n

After buying the eSim I got a QR Code, which I ended up printing out and took it with me. Once I had arrived at JFK Airport, I scanned the code, followed the very detailed instructions and it appeared like all was well, except that I didn\u2019t manage to connect to the internet.<\/p>\n

I double-checked all the settings. Under Mobile Data, I had switched off my main data plan and enabled the eSim. I double- and triple-checked the instructions and had that sinking feeling that it was a scam after all.<\/p>\n

In the end, I remembered that Airalo had mentioned that the eSIM would only work with AT&T or T-Mobile, so I decided to double-check the Network I was on. And there it was, my phone had tried to attach itself to Verizon. I toggled the Network Selection from Automatic to Manual and selected T-Mobile. My date came to life. While it sounds like this might have been an ordeal, it gave me something to do while waiting to go through immigration.<\/p>\n

While away, I visited New York and Boston. The reception in both cities was perfect. The only time the internet was a wee bit shaky was in and around the Statue of Liberty, but the views made more than up for it.<\/p>\n

Compared to my previous purchase of a physical SIM, here are a few thoughts:<\/p>\n