So you can install the vpn already in China after the local sim change? Or you have to activate it before arriving? With the combo local sim + vpn could you do everything? Also does whatsapp change the phone number or what? Thanks!
hi. i don’t understand. why don’t i need a vpn with an esim?
I have got a 13pro and it has both sim tray and esim.
If you wouldn’t mind carrying 2 phones, bring the iphone 12 so that you can use with a local sim. Or what you can do is to check whether your iphone 12 is able to support esim. Check under settings> mobile> add esim (if any). It’s up to you.
Having a local number, save me from getting lost and able to contact hotel’s owners.
In Australia, AFAIK we still have a sim tray in all iphone models.
For me, It’s better to be safe than sorry. VPN doesn’t always work in some areas. So then I switch to esim. Vice versa. This allows me to access google gmail WhatsApp etc all the time. Being able to connect to my family back home is my priority and of course safety. Especially when you travel solo in a foreign country which you dont speak their language.
I think so especially if you travel to big cities like Beijing shanghai xian etc. i was worried not being able to use mainly google or whatsapp as i am here for 6 weeks jumping from city to another. To be honest, i use local sim + vpn most of the times. Esim sometimes doesn’t work or too slow even though Nomad esim uses China unicom network.
Yes, set up VPN before you leave your country. Not really a “set up” per se. Sign up and buy a product you want.
So far Nomad being great. So is Mullvard.
Buy a local sim at the airport. Easy and less headachy.
How long will you be travelling in China?
Make sure download translation apps. I have at least 3 apps but for some reasons, it never worked offline. I use all of them.
Sorry for the confusion. I meant setup the VPN unless they get esim (they wouldn’t need a vpn).
I downloaded vpn from Google Play, but to activete subscription you need to pay and I could pay from china without any problem (letsvpn).
Some apps work well with VPN on and some would work better with vpn off (chinese apps sometimes too slow on vpn). But in general local sim + vpn was doing everything.
WhatsApp will not change phone number if you won’t change it in settings.
Because if the ESim is from a foreign country you won’t have the firewall of China and you can use everything like at home …
Because it gets routed not from China the connection is from another country. Actually VPN is forbidden in China… and not VPNs are working, Astrill is a good VPN but it can be that anytime it does not function anymore in China.
I have a friend in HongKong and with his SIM Card from HongKong he can use everything.
And a ESim from Nomad it is much cheaper.
From what I understand, some countries like mainland China has nano-sims where you can have two physical trays, perhaps that’s what’s also offered in Australia. Apple did away with any trays for the rest of the world just using eSIM a couple models ago. I can have up to 8 different eSims on my iPhone 14, of course the regions that support this is what my limitations are. I’m somewhat famliar with eSIM as I used it in the Phillipines but I don’t recall I had an assigned number, all of the plans were just data and I used whatsapp to text/call.
Thanks for the answer.
You have one cellular provider for the esim and another for the physical sim? For esim you don’t need a VPN, but you need for physical sim?
thank you. but for example, there is holafly that has a package esim + vpn. why do they have vpn if esim is enough?
Yes and yes.
Sometimes i just leave vpn on when using esim.
They say they have a VPN but I do not.really believe because each ESim provider has a so called secure tunnel. If it would a real VPN you need to install it seperately and it is quiet complicated if you are not used to it.
I can just talk about my own experience especially since I travelled more than 3 weeks just in July/August; you must decide what is the best for you. I do not make any paid publicity about Nomad but I just realized it was cheaper for me and had the same utulities like Holafly. Both work with the chinese Unicorn which has the better net than China Mobile.
Just try out, I mean both Holafly and Nomad are good.