Good eSIM provider for Oz for a 4 day trip?

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Master Geek

#3217841 13-Apr-2024 17:19

lchiu7:

That is cool. I have the Felix eSIM installed on my Pixel 8 and I know it works.

So when I get to Oz just select Vodafone as the network (since there is probably some sort of roaming agreement between One and Vodafone), enable only 2G, enable the eSIM and turn on VoLTE and VoWiFi on the Pixel and I should be able to make/receive calls on my home number?

Yeah. Probably no need to select the network. Setting it to 2g is to prevent it from being able to connect.

I've only done it on a Samsung so hopefully will also work on your Pixel.

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#3217842 13-Apr-2024 17:20

larknz:

The cheap ones will, be fine if you are staying in the main cities. Coverage may not be too good out in the countryside.

Thanks. Will be spending all my time in Melbourne city and suburbs so should have good coverage.

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#3217855 13-Apr-2024 20:00

lchiu7:

There is an option to enter an international passport which I did but it did not manage to verify the number/name.

If you are doing it from NZ with a NZ passport, your passport won't work. You must be in Australia for your NZ passport to be validated.

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#3217856 13-Apr-2024 20:16

Apologies for double posting but here is some further context of state of play with Aussie mobile.

Telstra retail - best coverage (in terms of % of population @ 99.5%) than the other two. However only buying through Telstra, Boost, JB hifi, The good guys will get you access to the full retail network.

Telstra Wholesale - basically for their MNVO's. Offers a slightly reduced coverage footprint (98.8%) to largely mirror Optus. These cover MVNO's such as Belong, Everyday mobile etc. Some MVNO's are limited to 4G only. You'll spot these providers when they say something along the lines of "We use parts of the Telstra 4G/5G network".

Optus - provides coverage for 98.5%. Some MVNO's are limited to 4G but otherwise no coverage restrictions. Personally have found that their download speeds are good but uploads can sometimes be throttled to around ~5mbps.

TPG/Vodafone AU - smallest network by far at 96%, no coverage restrictions for their MVNO's.

My personal opinion is that I won't touch Telsim with a barge pole. I believe the way they market themselves at the airports is designed to cause confusion for tourists who may believe that they're getting a Telstra service. Their reviews online have been rather spicy too. Personally - if you have time to go to a Woolies or Coles, they have an extensive range of SIM's with many MVNO's on discount.

All three will have variable performance. In places like Sydney, all three networks have spots of congestion and its a mixed bag in terms of in-tunnel coverage (for trains). Brisbane + Gold coast is similar, you can get around on all three without too many dramas although Optus/Telstra generally will have coverage at the underground stations + tunnels whilst Vodafone won't.

I've been on all of the options above - can vouch - for general city + tourist areas (as long as near main centres), you'll be ok.

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myfullflavour

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#3217973 14-Apr-2024 02:53

That’s super cheeky that the Telstra MVNOs don’t get full use of their network!

Would the average consumer know?

lchiu7

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#3218022 14-Apr-2024 10:51

cokemaster:

Apologies for double posting but here is some further context of state of play with Aussie mobile.

Telstra retail - best coverage (in terms of % of population @ 99.5%) than the other two. However only buying through Telstra, Boost, JB hifi, The good guys will get you access to the full retail network.

Telstra Wholesale - basically for their MNVO's. Offers a slightly reduced coverage footprint (98.8%) to largely mirror Optus. These cover MVNO's such as Belong, Everyday mobile etc. Some MVNO's are limited to 4G only. You'll spot these providers when they say something along the lines of "We use parts of the Telstra 4G/5G network".

Optus - provides coverage for 98.5%. Some MVNO's are limited to 4G but otherwise no coverage restrictions. Personally have found that their download speeds are good but uploads can sometimes be throttled to around ~5mbps.

TPG/Vodafone AU - smallest network by far at 96%, no coverage restrictions for their MVNO's.

My personal opinion is that I won't touch Telsim with a barge pole. I believe the way they market themselves at the airports is designed to cause confusion for tourists who may believe that they're getting a Telstra service. Their reviews online have been rather spicy too. Personally - if you have time to go to a Woolies or Coles, they have an extensive range of SIM's with many MVNO's on discount.

All three will have variable performance. In places like Sydney, all three networks have spots of congestion and its a mixed bag in terms of in-tunnel coverage (for trains). Brisbane + Gold coast is similar, you can get around on all three without too many dramas although Optus/Telstra generally will have coverage at the underground stations + tunnels whilst Vodafone won't.

I've been on all of the options above - can vouch - for general city + tourist areas (as long as near main centres), you'll be ok.

Good summary - thanks. I normally used to get a local SIM at the airport but now with eSIM I can have both my home and roaming SIM active. On my backup phone OP 9 Pro there are two SIM slots so a physical second SIM would have been fine also.

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#3218039 14-Apr-2024 11:35

myfullflavour: That’s super cheeky that the Telstra MVNOs don’t get full use of their network!

Would the average consumer know?

I believe so, although the extent between the two networks is probably not as well known (outside of techie circles).
Telstra hasn't gone through the same trauma that Telecom-Spark went through, as a result - I suspect that has shaped some of the decisions in terms of wholesale engagement ;)

Wholesale Coverage:

Retail Coverage:

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#3218549 15-Apr-2024 12:34

lchiu7:

alinz:

On a recent trip to Sydney I was able call / receive calls with the kogan number without paying for roaming by enabling vowifi and restricting the Kogan sim to 2g.

Everything got routed through the 2nd sim's data.

That is cool. I have the Felix eSIM installed on my Pixel 8 and I know it works.

So when I get to Oz just select Vodafone as the network (since there is probably some sort of roaming agreement between One and Vodafone), enable only 2G, enable the eSIM and turn on VoLTE and VoWiFi on the Pixel and I should be able to make/receive calls on my home number?

Well the best laid plans :-( On the Kogan SIM on all three providers there was no setting for VoWiFi and (it was greyed out) but it was on for the eSIM which is not particularly useful. Despite Pixel phones being sold here, mine is a US one so I guess it does not have the right settings for VoWiFi for Australian carriers.

Had to buy a roaming pack from Kogan - $11.90 for 3 days and 500MB data (not useful since I am using the eSIM for data) but it's the 100 minutes of calls I needed.

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#3218553 15-Apr-2024 12:50

As far as I'm aware Boost Mobile is the only MVNO that has access (or at least cares enough to make it an advertised feature on their site) to the full Telstra network.

https://boost.com.au/pages/coverage

Their esim 28day plans don't look terrible either.

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#3218782 15-Apr-2024 20:50

Also: Optus and Vodafone/TPG VoWifi is geolocked. Telstra / Telstra Wholesale connections do allow VoWifi connections from overseas.

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#3219678 17-Apr-2024 22:13

Just to add to my experience. While the Felix eSIM provisioned fine, I never get more than 4G no matter where I am. Somebody mentioned they are an Optus MVVO so I would have thought 5G would be available in Melbourne city.

I guess it could be my Pixel 8 (US model) having the wrong mobile settings but that seems unlikely

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#3219683 17-Apr-2024 23:23

Felix is TPG / Vodafone and 4G only at this stage.

One thing in AU is that MVNO's and MNO's do throttle and limit networks (eg. 4G only) for low end plans.

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lchiu7

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#3219706 18-Apr-2024 09:23

cokemaster:

Felix is TPG / Vodafone and 4G only at this stage.

One thing in AU is that MVNO's and MNO's do throttle and limit networks (eg. 4G only) for low end plans.

yes I just saw this on their web site

But a Speedtest from my Chromebook tethered to my phone shows good speeds

hobsonlea

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Ultimate Geek

#3234757 26-May-2024 11:25

Hi, just had 2 weeks in Oz, purchased the telsim esim over the web in nz. $17 for 60gb for 30days.

Worked well. Didn't use local calls or msgs except a couple of times.

Took 10-15mins once landed to activate but didn't need to set an settings.

Used it on my samsung a55 (esim not supported by telsim on this device but worked a treat )

razor2000nz

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Master Geek

#3255496 2-Jul-2024 13:45

lchiu7:

Just to add to my experience. While the Felix eSIM provisioned fine, I never get more than 4G no matter where I am. Somebody mentioned they are an Optus MVVO so I would have thought 5G would be available in Melbourne city.

I guess it could be my Pixel 8 (US model) having the wrong mobile settings but that seems unlikely

How did you verfiy your identity via the app? I'm selecting Foreign passport and it fails everytime

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