Terence Eden’s Blog<p><strong>Review: Roamless Travel eSIM</strong></p><p><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/01/review-roamless-travel-esim/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/01/revie</span><span class="invisible">w-roamless-travel-esim/</span></a></p><p>I've got a bunch of travel coming up to exotic locations. Previously, I've bought a local SIM card when I've landed - but they're often expensive, fiddly to fit, and queuing in an airport isn't much fun. I've also bought pre-paid SIMs which have a fixed amount of data or only last a specific amount of time.</p><p>But the big problem with those solutions is that you lose a fair bit of value unless you exhaust the SIM. If you buy a month-long package but are only on holiday for a week, that's a waste. Similarly, if you buy 2GB of data but only use 500MB, you've wasted your money.</p><p>So I'm trying <a href="https://roamless.onelink.me/OOq0/bc3oo1go" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Roamless</a> which is a PAYG eSIM.</p><p>The concept is pretty simple:</p><ol><li>Stick $10 in your account.</li><li>Visit Ruritania on holiday for a week and use data which costs $1.25/GB</li><li>Come home.</li><li>Fly off to Utopia but use 50MB of data during your 2 hour transfer at Blefuscu airport ($2.50/GB)</li><li>During your fortnight in Utopia, visit Lilliput where your phone automatically roams to the local network ($1.50/GB)</li></ol><p>And so on. The credit in your wallet decreases with use; not with time. You aren't forced to buy multi-GB bundles which you can't use. Coverage is worldwide, so you don't need to spend time looking for a local SIM.</p><p><strong>The Good</strong></p><p>It works! I signed up, paid my money, installed the Android app, and my eSIM installed itself. When I landed in Morocco, my phone seamlessly connected to the local network.</p><p>I spent a week on holiday and paid a couple of dollars for half a gigabyte of data. I think that's pretty reasonable.</p><p></p><p>Turns out most of the places I went had WiFi, so buying a dedicated SIM with a few GB of data just for Morocco would have been a waste of money.</p><p>Speeds seemed fine. I connected to a couple of different Moroccan networks on 3G and 4G - I don't think there's 5G in Marrakesh. I didn't run any speed-tests, but for maps, a bit of photo-sharing, and Signal/WhatsApp calls it did the trick.</p><p>As well as data, you can use your credit to make local phone calls. I don't think I'd make much use of the feature - but it is good to know it exists.</p><p><strong>The Bad</strong></p><p>Data costs are reasonable, but not the cheapest. You will inevitably find a better per/GB deal if you buy a local SIM with an inclusive data bundle. If you <em>know</em> you're going to be somewhere for a week <em>and</em> you're sure you'll use all the data, it might make sense to use a different product.</p><p>Costs are in US$ - so you'll need a card with low/no foreign exchange fees to get the most value for money.</p><p>As with any roaming connection, latency is increased vs using a local SIM. My IP address placed me in Belgium. That didn't cause any problems, but you probably don't want to play games which require a low ping.</p><p>The SIM will roam <em>anywhere</em> - even your home country. You'll need to either disable the eSIM or switch off roaming when you're at home. But, on the plus side, UK prices aren't too expensive.</p><p></p><p>There's no inbound calling to the SIM. If you're going to places which require a local number, you might find it convenient to pick up a local SIM to get a temporary number.</p><p><strong>The App</strong></p><p>The app isn't mandatory. You can install the eSIM via a QR code as per normal. But you'll need to use the app if you want to take advantage of any of the discount / referral codes. The app steps you through setting up the eSIM which is useful if you've never used it before.</p><p>The app itself is a bit bare-bones and doesn't look great. But it is the sort of thing you'll go into once to set up and then never again, unless you need to top up.</p><p>It will show you how much you've used and what your balance is.</p><p></p><p>The app has a VoIP client, so you can make local calls when roaming. Again, the prices aren't the cheapest per minute - but they come out of your credit and you aren't forced to buy a calling bundle.</p><p>Oh, and as a nice feature, when you return home - it reminds you to turn it off.</p><p></p><p>Not many apps will tell you to spend less money with them!</p><p><strong>Verdict</strong></p><p>Roamless takes all the hassle out of roaming through multiple countries.</p><p>If you're the sort of person who goes to one place for a set period of time, you'll almost always be better off buying a local SIM. But if you flit between countries and don't want to spend the entire journey on your phone, Roamless will suit you just fine.</p><p>There are no gimmicks or upsells - you get PAYG data which you can use <em>anywhere</em>.</p><p><strong>The Obligatory Referral Link</strong></p><p>If you <a href="https://roamless.onelink.me/OOq0/bc3oo1go" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">use code <code>TERENCEN3R</code>, we both get a $3 bonus</a>.</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/esim/" target="_blank">#eSIM</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/mobile/" target="_blank">#mobile</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/phones/" target="_blank">#phones</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/review/" target="_blank">#review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/roaming/" target="_blank">#roaming</a></p>