It's been a long time since we explained here on the site all about the Yes it is on iPhones, but it was only last week, during the MM Tour VIII, that I had the opportunity to really test this new generation that came last year. Apple, by the way, prefers to call it Dual sim.
My new cell phone plan in Portugal (I now live here) does not include roaming in the United States (within the European Union only), so my option to have 4G / LTE data during the trip was to buy a carrier chip over there as did several MM Tour travelers or opt for an eSIM option.
Coincidentally, about ten days before we boarded, I was contacted by Telna, which has just launched its eSIM solution. KnowRoaming in Brazil. They offered me a 5GB test plan for the trip and that's what I used during the eight days I was in Silicon Valley.
Note the two AT&T signals in the Control Center, only one with LTE data.Adding KnowRoaming's plan to my iPhone couldn't have been easier. In Cellular Settings Add Cellular PlanI scanned a QR code and then followed a quick wizard that allows you to set a name for the plan, choose whether it is the primary or secondary, as well as determine which chip to use for cellular data.
Coincidentally, both the roaming from my Portuguese operator as KnowRoaming's eSIM have connected AT&T network in the USA. And, at least in the region where we were in Silicon Valley, I had a far superior experience from the rest of the crowd using T-Mobile.
Using this eSIM was fantastic for a few reasons:
- I activated the plan still in Portugal on the eve of my trip. That is, when I landed in the US, still from inside the plane, I already had working cellular connectivity.
- I didn't even have to touch my physical chip from the Portuguese operator, everything was digitally done in a very practical way.
- I set up the system to use data only through KnowRoaming eSIM, keeping my primary number for calls, SMS, iMessage, FaceTime, etc.
- When I landed back in Europe, with two taps I removed the eSIM from the device without any difficulty.
I have absolutely nothing to complain about from this first experience I had with the iPhones Dual SIM system and I even think that this scenario for a few days' travels best fits the proposal and the current operation of the thing.
KnowRoaming's 5GB plan is not the most generous for iPhone-intensive users (like me), but if you police its use and always connect to Wi-Fi networks when available, they are more than enough. In my eight days in the US, I consumed 3.5GB of the plan.
KnowRoaming offers eSIM plans worldwide at varying prices. In Brazil, the values are not at all attractive: US $ 21 for 1GB and US $ 94 (!) For 5GB; In the US, the same plans cost US $ 10 and US $ 40 respectively (quite competitive with local prices). The best values are in Europe in most countries, prices are $ 5 (1GB) and $ 23 (5GB). A, yes it is quite worth it!
Transparency Note: Telna did not pay for this article, only provided us with a 5GB eSIM plan for testing in the United States.
