This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it.Learn more With the World Cup kicking off and summer steaming into view, it’s the time of year millions of Brits pack their bags and head for sunnier climes.One modern indispensable traveller’s tool is, of course, the smartphone, but with that comes the risk of nasty bill shock when back at home in the UK.Luckily, there is a new technology lurking in smartphones that will ensure you don’t get charged the earth for using your phone abroad.
Roaming, the term for using your home mobile SIM abroad, got a little more complicated - and somewhat pricier - after Brexit, with more complicated rules and less flexibility from UK mobile operators.Some still offer plans where you can roam for free in EU destinations, with worldwide cover available for some, but usually only on higher-priced tariffs.I’ve usually either paid for an add-on before flying that bolts a bit of roaming data onto my plan, rather than buy a local SIM card, but both are costly and a bit of a faff, even if preferable to logging onto hotel or cafe Wi-Fi just to get online.Thankfully, with the advent of eSIM, roaming bill shock no longer worries me.The ‘e’ in eSIM stands for embedded, as rather than using a physical SIM card, new phones come with a virtual SIM inside them, which can be activated at any time.
Airalo Unlimited eSIM From £9 View DealAiralo provides eSIMs for use when abroad via its app for iPhone and Android.You can sign up and purchase plans for unlimited data from £9 on the firm's website.Football transfer news and rumours plus selected offers and competitions Subscribe Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you.This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding.
You can unsubscribe at any time.Read our Privacy PolicyMobile operators offer eSIM for domestic tariffs, but eSIM comes into its own for me when I travel abroad.One such service is Airalo, a service I have written about before, having been a happy customer on several foreign trips.The app for iPhone or Android lets you buy a pay-as-you-go, no-contract mobile data plan that will work in the country you are going to, so you can use any app or data service just like you would at home.As an example, if football fans are off to the World Cup in the USA soon, they can buy a 10GB data plan to last 7 days for a total cost of £17.
10GB should be enough for a week’s travel as long as you’re not streaming video all day long.The Airalo app shows, in this instance, your phone will connect to the T-Mobile and Verizon networks, as the tech is clever enough to roam onto different networks depending on signal or where you are in the country.I’ve used the service in the US, New Zealand, Spain, Germany and Slovenia, and it has always worked superbly.What’s more, at the tail end of 2025, Airalo launched its Unlimited eSIM plans, which are designed to offer enough data for you to never run out abroad.The name is a little misleading as you are capped at 3GB per day, but the firm reckons that’s enough for most people.If buyers go over 3GB on an Unlimited plan, their speed drops to 1Mbps.
That’s very slow, but it means customers aren’t left totally offline if they reach the limit.Buyers can even use their phone as a hotspot for other devices to connect to.The current US Unlimited plan for 7 days is £21 - that’s only £4 more than the 10GB Standard plan for 7 days, but it will get you 21GB of full-speed data over the 7 days instead.It works out to just £1 per GB, which is excellent value.Those interested in an eSIM need to check if their phone has the tech inside, as not all do.
This means users with older, Heading to the settings app on iPhone or Android should clear this up, as there will be an eSIM option in the mobile network or connections section if the phone is compatible.Here are Airalo’s full instructions for the process of installing an eSIM:Check that your device is eSIM-compatible and network-unlockedOpen the Airalo app (Android or iOS) or website and choose your destination, and planInstall the eSIM via app, QR code, or manual setup instructionsSet the eSIM as your mobile data line and enable data roamingActivate it once you arrive and connect to a local networkAll iPhones since the iPhone XS in 2018 have had eSIM, so it’s quite likely your phone has it.It is also restricted for consumers on a locked carrier plan, as some mobile retailers stop customers from using a SIM or eSIM from a rival.Airalo is not the only eSIM service, it’s just the one I have used.Competitor Holafly also offers Unlimited plans, but these come with restrictions that the firm is frustratingly cagey about, with information hard to come by on its website.Meanwhile, rival Saily offers a premium $59.99 per month plan for constant travellers with 30GB of high-speed mobile data, before, like Airalo, the unlimited data promise is capped at 1Mbps.
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