Yes, you can generally activate these providers abroad using WiFi calling. You probably won’t get a cell signal though, but it’s not needed.
tello + eSIM. works perfectly
Thank you ! I was just about to pull the trigger on tello + Esim… I think one thing that stopped me was I didnt see my phone on their list of compatible phones. I know my phone an Oppo is esim compatible…but just not sure with Tello
i’ve got an iPhone 11PRO, works fine.
I just came across another provider that starts at just $0/month for 3 GB/300 SMS/100 min in the US or on WiFi Calling.
What’s cool is that it also gets a roaming signal abroad, and seems to be able to receive SMS via the mobile network when not on WiFi or cellular data.
Setting up while abroad worked super smoothly. Signup took 2 minutes, with no credit card required. It does ask for your real name, birth date, and US address. I was not asked for any ID or other type of verification of the submitted data. Then follow the prompts to have the eSIM installed on my iPhone. It also supports Android.
Finally I toggled WiFi calling on to make sure I can text and call as if I’m in the US.
Use the referral code 9GHYQXN to get some starting “cloud points” that can be converted into credits with the likes of Airbnb, Expedia, Apple, Hulu, Spotify and more.
The one drawback I’ve noticed so far is that you’ll need to contact customer support to move your eSIM to another phone. However, they do also offer traditional SIM cards in case you prefer that.
Looks like Helium Mobile has implemented an identity verification step (through Persona). I think it’s now necessary to be in the US to sign up. Pity!
They also had the identity verification step when I signed up, however it passed automatically. But I had to make sure it matched the data in my credit report, so they do verify it on the backend somehow.
I was physically outside the US when I signed up, and wasn’t using a VPN.
What exactly did the identity verification step ask in your case? Did it throw any error?
I had to upload my passport. It seemed to pass the Persona verification, but when I got passed back to the Helium app, there was a message saying authentication had failed. I contacted support and they did mention that the service is US only in their response.
Ah, gotcha. Do you actually have a valid US address tied to a US credit file? I think perhaps that’s the real requirement.
As it turns out, I suspect that the address I have associated with my credit report has been flagged as a CMRA mailbox (an Anytime Mailbox address). This might explain why I was bounced from the signup process.
I actually signed up for two accounts, using two different Anytime Mailbox addresses—one of which had already been flagged as a CMRA some months ago and one that still isn’t. Both addresses worked.
So unless they changed something I don’t think they check whether it’s a CMRA or not. So I’m still not sure why it didn’t work for you.
Thanks, that’s interesting. It may be my Google Voice phone number that was the problem (I have since signed up for Tello).