GlobaleSIM Review: eSIMs For travelling globally

Article by Lita Luse.

Looking to prepare for your upcoming travels by learning more about GlobaleSIM and eSIM? This article will discuss GlobaleSIM and provide you with further details about eSIMs.

eSIMs are changing the way travelers will connect. It just makes sense: who wants to deal with all the hassle that comes with getting a traditional prepaid SIM?

The "prepaid travel eSIM providers" market is having its mini boom now and eSIM providers are popping-up everyday : Holafly, Airalo, Instabridge, Nomad, etc. Some offer more data, while others pride themselves on having high speed. For just one destination, data plans can vary significantly.

This time – I get up close and personal with GlobaleSIM, the Israel based eSIM provider.

What is an eSIM ?

An eSIM (embedded SIM) is a digital SIM that is embedded into devices such as smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets. It allows users to connect to a mobile network without having to use a physical SIM card. Instead, the eSIM is programmed with the user's profile and stored in the device's memory. This makes it convenient for travelling, as there is no need to worry about finding a local SIM card or adapter when visiting another country.

What is GlobaleSIM ?

GlobaleSIM is a prepaid eSIM provider for tourists and travelers. Through its partnerships, the service is available in over 150 countries and provides coverage in over 400 carriers. GlobaleSIM offers a variety of plans and pricing options, making it an ideal choice for travelers or anyone who needs access to a cellular network while abroad. In addition, GlobaleSIM offers a number of features that make it easy to use, including a smooth Topup system and voice services.

Actually, GlobaleSIM was one of the first actors to start using eSIM following its formal launch by the GSMA in 2016. According to their website, their goal is to eliminate exorbitant roaming fees and give you the option to continue using your current SIM card while traveling overseas at the most reasonable prices.

My experience buying a GlobaleSIM eSIM plan

I'm based in Latvia and decided to look for a plan that was working here. Since I'm used to eSIM topic through my multiple contributions to esims.io, I decided to start my search here through the convenient comparison tool.

So I did a search by country here to look-up for Latvian plans. Since there are so many packages, I suggest filtering the results by the amount of data you need and your trip duration. You can also sort your results by data amount, price, and price / GB. For Latvia and for my criteria, GlobaleSIM landed quite well in terms of pricing and the plan was among the cheapest of the packages listed on the platform.

GlobaleSIM's "Most Popular" Plan on esims.io

For this test, I decided to go with the plan 'Most Popular'. It includes 1GB of data that should be used within 7 days. What's good is that this $6 package is available in 64 other countries. So if I decided to head to another nearby country, I'd still be able to use it, which could save me some money.

GlobaleSIM's "Most Popular" Plan's features on esims.io

After I chose this plan, I was redirected to GlobaleSIM's website and product page. From here, I discovered I even the ability to customize my plan by adding voice time and a phone number ! I decided do go with a data plan only, but this is super convenient for people that need to give / receive phone call or to receive SMS.

GlobaleSIM allows to add voice minutes and a phone number on top of your data plan

After reviewing the plan, I decided to buy the product and was asked to fill out the required information, such as my name, surname, and e-mail. There was no need to create an account, which I found very convenient (many eSIM providers request that you create one) and that actually saved me time. Another cool feature is that you can also select your eSIM activation date at this step, which is really convenient if you are only travelling in a couple of days or week or simply want to have full control of when your eSIM will activate.

I then made my payment smoothly through Paypal (but it's also possible to use your credit card). The whole process didn't take more than 5 minutes.

My experience setting up the eSIM

Once I made the payment, I received an e-mail with instructions on how to activate the eSIM. It was easy – I had to scan the QR code included within the guidelines. Another option explained in the delivery email is to enter the eSIM details manually: this is not as convenient as scanning a QR code but in case you don't have a second screen available on hand to scan the code from, then that's better than no setup option.

The eSIM plan was delivered instantly via email with setup instructions.

The eSIM Setup was overall really smooth on iPhone.

After scanning the QR code, I was guided through my iPhone 12 PRO's setup wizard. I created a label for the new data plan and completed the installation process. From there, it took around 2-3 minutes for the data plan to start working. 

What was it like to use the eSIM ?

When using GlobaleSIM, I could roam on the TELE2 network, which worked great in Riga, where I was located at the moment. The 4G connection was fast and reliable. I tested the data plan on all the apps I use on a regular basis, like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Safari, Weather, etc, which all worked seamlessly. I did a speed test and the download speed was 41.00 MB/S.

If you are thinking about buying the 'Most Popular' package in other parts of Latvia, keep in mind it operates on the TELE2 network, which does not offer the best connectivity in the East and South parts of the country. In Riga, the capital of Latvia, however, it will work as great as other providers.

Customer service

When choosing an eSIM provider, customer service plays an important role. They should be responsive in case you are experiencing issues. At first glance, it is difficult to find where it's possible to contact GlobaleSIM's team. To get in touch with them, you have to scroll all the way down. Unlike other competitors, GlobaleSIM doesn't have a chat. The only option is to send an email (and getting a response took quite a while): this is to consider if you prefer to have someone available to chat whenever.

Conclusion

GlobaleSIM is a great eSIM provider. Their website is simple & easy to use, purchase is very straightforward, and activating your eSIM doesn't take more than just a few minutes. Even newbies who never used the technology before will not have an issue purchasing a data plan from GlobaleSIM.

Data

1 GB

Validity7 day(s)

🇱🇻 Latvia

Data and Phone number*

Special Offer: 10% OFF

GlobaleSIM - Latvia

$4.05

$4.50

$4.05/GB

Learn more ›

All GlobaleSIM plans

You can check out all of Globalesim's plans on esims.io :

United States

GlobaleSIM

$18.00

Austria

GlobaleSIM

$9.72

Hong Kong

GlobaleSIM

$19.80

Austria

GlobaleSIM

$19.80

Indonesia

GlobaleSIM

$19.80

Browse more prepaid eSIM plans for this provider

Browse more prepaid eSIM plans for this provider