Hi everyone. My husband and I will be spending 6 weeks in Alicante, Spain. Our cell carrier is AT&T. I have been trying to find a more economical alternative for phone service than using their International Day Pass. We have IPhones with e-sims. I have looked at a variety of sites and plans online but all they manage to do is confuse me. Can anyone offer a straightforward suggestion as to what might be the way for me to go? Thank you so much for any help you can offer!
Peg
There are quite a few posts regarding use of eSIMS. I know because some of them were mine. ;) I am a recent convert to using international eSIMS. Absolutely, it sounds confusing, I learned it is not. I used Airalo for England and will use them again in Australia.
The threshold question, are your AT&T iphones paid off and unlocked? (If you bought them at the Apple store, they may be unlocked even if they're not fully paid off)
If they are paid off and unlocked, you can use the dual e-sim function of your iPhone to get local data/phone coverage for Spain.
There are various ways to get phone service in Spain. Many people will buy an esim before their trip via various apps, Saily, Nomad, Holafly, Airalo. These apps are basically a middle-man between you and a local cellular company like Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, etc. However, these apps tend to sell plans that are 30 days max and are more expensive than the coverage you buy in Spain.
Since you're going to spend 6 weeks, I would just go through a local carrier. Movistar is the major cellular brand is Spain so I'd start there. They have tons of stores all over Spain, so I'd just stop by one of their locations or even store in the airport once you arrive. It looks like Movistar has a plan with 2 lines, calls, sms and unlimited data for 50 euros a month. That seems like a good deal.
I have used airalo with great success. Remember you will also need what’s app installed to make calls with a data only plan.
Just realize, if ATT allows you to put in a second SIM card, that will give you only data, or maybe data and calls if you choose, but the calls will be on a different number, and anyone calling you will incur international charges, if from the US.
If all you need is Data and text, then with unlocked phones you can use a low cost SIM.
but the calls will be on a different number, and anyone calling you will incur international charges, if from the US.
Yeah, that could be a big headache, if you get the more expensive esim which includes a European phone number. And as has been said here a lot, in 6 weeks, you might possibly need to contact a bank, credit card, or other business which needs to use 2FA to validate you. If that happens, the European phone number won't help.
If you enable wifi calling on your iphone, you should be able to use your "normal" AT&T phone number for 2FA and calling/texting friends back home, while you are connected to a hotel's wifi. That way, you could buy an inexpensive data-only esim for all the travel apps and web surfing you might want to do. AT&T might charge you a small amount per call/text for that, you'd have to read up on the details of your specific plan.
I'm an Android guy, and not so knowlegable about the Apple world, but I believe that recent iPhones can do sort of a "wifi calling" trick where they get data from the #2 esim, and can make calls/texts using the "normal" number on esim #1. I've tried to do this with my Android version 16 phone, and cannot do it.
Has anyone here been able to do that with an iPhone? And what iPhone o/s version was that with?
Thank you all so much for taking the time to give me your thoughts and ideas. It is much appreciated. This certainly boggles my mind! I think our easiest option will be to speak with someone at a Movistar store. It will certainly be less expensive than the AT&T plan.
Thanks again!
Peg
