My iPhone is capable of supporting multiple e-SIM’s as well as a physical SIM card. The e-primary SIM that I have stored on my phone is an unlimited data plan with EE which works well and is pretty reliable. As EE can even offers signal on the London Underground, my experience has generally been good. However, like all mobile providers there are occasional black spots.
I have used the EE e-SIM for a year and have even upgraded my iPhone and moved the e-SIM from an older phone to my latest phone. A bonus of using phones capable of e-SIM’s is that you can have a second line. Some may use this functionality to run a business line as well as personal. I was keen to run a second line for data so that I would reduce possibilities of losing my data connection in difficult areas that the primary data line struggles with. Previous difficulties have included loss of signal while other networks have signal and issues like being unable to pay for car parking due to no signal. If you can find low cost second line data options, it is worth setting up. Last year I signed up to Y Mobile. It was £2 a month and it would offer a limited amount of data (2gb if my memory serves me right) for emergencies and you could use your allowance as you pleased. I wrote about my initial experiences on this site, though two months later they suddenly pulled the service and claimed to be just a beta and were closing down (here). The challenge since has been finding a worthy replacement at a good cost.
After a lot of searching, I found an alternative option which is called a SMART e-SIM from Honest mobile. The concept is a little different and this e-SIM is sold as a data backup for use with some essential apps only when you lose data connection on your main primary line. This smart e-SIM uses EE, O2 and Three. So, if no signal and stuck in the sticks, I now have potential access to the other two main networks of O2 and Three. The apps to keep you communicating include essentials such as iMessage and WhatsApp. It also includes some banking apps, news apps and parking/navigation. You cannot make normal voice calls and are restricted to about 200 apps that you are able access. Though I do understand you can make data calls via WhatsApp and I hope to test this in future. Data is unlimited for the essential accessible apps and the concept of restricting the apps allows a decent price offering, as the solution is not intended to be a full working secondary data sim but a more practical solution for when you need data to communicate and gain info. This Smart sim also supports data within the cost for roaming when international. So when on holiday, this could be very handy extra benefit.
Reading reviews online, the concept seems lost on some. If you want a full working second data line to do as you please and price is not a consideration, this is likely not for you. However, if you want a SMART e-sim that will kick in and find another network for data intelligently when required for essential apps at a reasonable price point, this maybe for you.
The most cost effective way of signing up is the annual plan that is heavily discounted. Monthly sign up is £10 but the real bargain is the annual deal which only costs £45. Rather than test for a month, I decided to sign up for the annual plan to try out the solution and find out if any good. It just made more financial sense to go for the annual plan. This same plan also likely being very good value for travellers as it offers unlimited roaming and use of the essential apps in most countries. The list of countries on their website is endless.
Before signing up for the plan, I did quite a bit of research. It is one of those products that you need to understand and setup correctly to avoid issues. Correct options for roaming and how you set functions of the primary line on your phone and this second e-SIM is essential. Your primary main line still needs to be set as the default solution for voice and data and the second e-SIM should be set for data usage only, when no data signal is available on your primary. If you set correctly, the data should switch without being obvious from the primary e-SIM to the secondary data line. Unless you manually switch, the solution should work automatically and you may not notice unless you monitor your signal bars.
If you are confident and happy to follow the guides and instructions and understand the concept and restrictions, this could be a solution for you. Also, just check the list of available apps to help decide suitability. On my iPhone, I have actually set up a folder of all the apps that I have on my iPhone that can be used via the Smart e-SIM plan. I also ended up discovering some apps that I did not know about that I then downloaded as they prove handy. The link below shares the current list of supported apps.
https://honestmobile.com/smart-sim-apps
Apps wise, you can also suggest if you would like anything added and I requested an app called StartRescue and within a couple of weeks it was added. Some apps appear to be more international but many UK apps are available to select with around 200 and they keep adding more. It should be noted that some apps have restrictions. The Google app is just for web searches for info and not for browsing or downloading websites. The iMessage app on the iPhone is just for texts. WhatsApp is likely to be the best comm method when an issue occurs as phone calls and messaging is available.
During the set up process, I received various emails offering suggestions and help from Honest. There is also an Honest mobile app to use for help and support and to manage your account and e-SIM. I also found their website useful when looking for info. One tip that honest provided was guidance to setup a shortcut that prompts the iPhone to turn off your WiFi and switch e-SIM plans so you can test your secondary data line. This is a handy feature and can be used when you quickly need to turn on the data line. A suggestion of my own for a handy feature would be to display data on how many times the data e-SIM has connected and provided data within the app. That could be a good incentive to stay when the plan is up for renewal.
One aspect of the plan that I cannot currently review is the overseas roaming. Certainly that could be very handy when going on holiday and something that I will be testing at some point. I do intend to update this post as I use this smart e-SIM as my secondary line. I will then let you know how I get on after some usage to gauge reliability and hopefully share positive stories.
Overall I have been impressed with the ease to set up and buying this smart e-Sim. I have high expectations and I am looking forward to improved coverage when suffering black spots with my primary line. In the event that you are also looking for a standard e-SIM for phone and data, Honest can also offer standard plans but of course at higher costs.
If you have thoughts or comments, please do share your experiences below. I would be interested to know.
