As an international traveler, you’re delighted to stumble upon a place that gives you easy access to Wi-Fi. It’s a convenient way of staying in the loop with your friends or answering an urgent work-related email. After all, you wouldn’t want to let your clients or coworkers wait for too long, would you?
Soon enough, international travelers discovered another way to access the web on the fly – pocket Wi-Fi. It gives you all the perks of regular Wi-Fi networks with added portability and convenience on top, so what’s not to love? In essence, this handy device connects to a 3G or 4G mobile network and transforms it into a secure Wi-Fi signal you can connect to with all of your web-ready devices.
Since these devices can easily fit into your pocket without weighing you down, they are a handy solution for digital nomads and travelers who often move from one place to another in a heartbeat. With that being said, pocket Wi-Fi devices are not without their fair share of disadvantages.
The first thing you’ll notice is that they require a battery to run. A minor drawback, but an inconvenience nonetheless. This means that you’re either going to need to buy a new one every 10 hours of use or get the kind you can recharge.
Another reason they aren’t as stress-free as regular Wi-Fi is the fact that you need to top them up when you run out of credits on your account. If you’re planning on using one every day, it’s not going to be the cheapest option. Plus, keep in mind that you can’t count on getting a signal around every corner of the country you’re planning to visit.
Pocket Wi-Fi is one way to access the internet while abroad, but it’s not perfect by any means.
These are just some of the reasons why so many international travelers prefer eSIM providers instead. Instead of having to hunt down a whole new local SIM card and possibly even the pocket Wi-Fi device itself, you simply purchase one of these plans from the comfort of your home and activate it at your convenience.
Since they’re fully digital, you won’t need to mess about with tracking down a foreign mobile carrier store when you’re in the middle of nowhere and need to access the internet as quickly as possible. Since they come with flexible plans, you can pick the one that covers the duration of your stay however long or short it may be. This also means you’re not going to have to pay for an entire month of data if you don’t need it.
Their digital nature also means you won’t need to take any pins or needles with you to swap out your physical SIM. Regardless of that, if you follow the steps necessary, your phone will behave exactly the same way as though you had a real physical SIM card inside. This means you’ll be able to send and receive messages, phone calls, and browse the internet with a convenient unlimited data plan.
Long story short, if you need a quick and easy way to access the internet while abroad that won’t make a hole in your wallet, get an eSIM. It’s the new way to stay connected during your travels!