Philippines cellphones at the airport

@avedisiandavid

There is a solution depending on the type of phone you have. The days of fiddling around with replacing your country of origin simcard when in the Philippines are limited.

Some on this Forum will be familiar with esims. iphone 14 and above are purely esim. I have a 13 mini which still takes a sim card but is esim compatible.

There is an app that you can download called ’Airalo’ You can set up an esim number for the country you are visting before departure. It works in 200 countries including the Philippines. The rates are far cheaper than the monopolistic duo of Globe & Smart. $10 will give you ample ’load’ for a month without having to rely on wifi.

Have attached a video link on how to use the app.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E98LjmYRtc

That's very useful. Thank you

My wife's iPhone 14 does have a sim tray, or you can do the esim. She bought the iPhone in the Philippines and it was shipped from Singapore. If you buy the iPhone 14 in the US it is esim only.

    My wife's iPhone 14 does have a sim tray, or you can do the esim. She bought the iPhone in the Philippines and it was shipped from Singapore. If you buy the iPhone 14 in the US it is esim only.
   

    -@Moon Dog

Considering the high possibility that users will travel internationally, not providing a SIM tray was a really bad marketing decision. If I were an Apple customer (I'm not but my wife is) and I lived in the USA, that limitation would cause me to drop Apple and go android, probably Samsung. People may say that one leaves themself behind the times if he doesn't follow every Apple lead but this decision was BS and showing no understanding of how average travelers find it very useful to use local SIM cards rather than international roaming; oftentimes they are not even roaming but they actually live overseas much or all of the year.

@Lotus Eater

Excellent advice. Thank you.

I have a now-older iPhone 15 with, of course, a physical SIM. I'm thinking of buying a new iPhone when I'm back in the US in Sept or Oct.

Could I get my Philippines number on the eSIM? And how would that work--would it still be a TNT account? If I go to Thailand, would I have to keep my old iPhone to get a Thai number using a physical SIM?

be careful of phone in flight provider.

i call when I'm in Turkish airlines, they bill 85€

for 5 minutes.

    I have a now-older iPhone 15 with, of course, a physical SIM. I'm thinking of buying a new iPhone when I'm back in the US in Sept or Oct.
Could I get my Philippines number on the eSIM? And how would that work--would it still be a TNT account? If I go to Thailand, would I have to keep my old iPhone to get a Thai number using a physical SIM?
   

    -@bizwizard

Based on my limited google check, you can easily get a globe prepaid esim with phls phone number) if you have a slot available and of course your phone is unlocked. You download the esim and install with a QR code, apparently. I suppose you will need to register it to prevent it becoming inactive after 30 days but not 100% sure. I know nothing about Thailand and their esim situation.