Cheapest Prepaid SIM for SMS Receive Overseas

Danuk on 25/08/2022 - 17:20

Hi all,

There were few threads discussing on cheapest SIM connections for international roaming. But thought of posting with 'sms receive' feature fir roaming.

I ll be in Europe for 3+ weeks and want to get a temporory SIM to port as my 2FA number.

As I found, Telstra doesn't provide prepaid roaming and their postpaid are expensive.

Optus currently have $15 prepaid SIM, but have to pay for their roaming.

Vodafone too have $10 prepaid SIM, but will need to pay for their roaming.

Is there any other provider do you recommond that I can use for 1 month keep receiving SMS services while I'm in Europe.

Thanks in advance.

Mobile Prepaid Mobile Plan

Comments

  • jjjaar on 25/08/2022 - 18:15
    +2

    Aldi $5 sim.

  • parisian on 25/08/2022 - 18:20
    +2

    Optus Flex - get the esim - 1$ total cost.
    If already on boost/telstra prepaid/postpaid, you have access to wifi calls/sms overseas.

    Telstra prepaid roaming is not too far now - my boost sim card was able to register on mobile networks in Europe three weeks ago + in the UAE.

    • Danuk on 25/08/2022 - 19:01

      Thanks for the feedback.

      Were you able to use your boost connection in Europe? I read some posts published 3 months back saying people were able to used Telstra/Boost calls and texts over wifi (VoLTE?). But I'm not sure if it would still be valid.

      • parisian on 25/08/2022 - 21:44
        +1

        Yes - wifi calling works with Boost overseas as long as you have wifi or an other 3/4/5g connection.
        Type wifi calling on the boost mobile website - or on the Telstra website - it specifically mentions that you can use it overseas !

        Note that also boost seems to be ready in the upcoming months to reintroduce mobile roaming - my boost SIM card was able to register on Orange F, Orange Spain, O2 Germany and Etisalat in the UAE - received sms with no issues.

        • Danuk on 29/08/2022 - 00:00

          Thanks mate. Just to confirm - with Wifi calling I will be able to both initiate and receive voice calls right? (Also send & receive sms).

          • parisian on 29/08/2022 - 08:49

            @Danuk: Absolutely - to Australian phones numbers only when your phone has access to either a wifi network or using the data connection from an other sim.

            As soon as Telstra Wifi Calls shows up as the network name, you can call/receive and send/receive sms and mms over wifi. :)

  • Motek Benzona on 25/08/2022 - 18:35
    +3

    Its complicated but cheap to keep your current number active when overseas IF you want to make calls as well as get SMS messages. I know its not what you really want but its a good tip anyway. You do not need roaming to work for this, in fact for voice and data you can disable it totally if you want before you leave

    Here is what i do IF you need to make calls as well as receive sms.

    1: Buy a skype number for one month (aussie one)
    2: Buy a xxx minutes pack for Australia (depending on what you need for the time you are away)
    3: Buy an xxx minutes pack for the country you are visiting (same as above)

    When you buy 2 packs for the first time you will get one on a 30 day free trial so effectively you are only paying for one

    4: When you are at the airport divert ALL calls from your mobile plan to your skype number (the one you paid for)
    5: Buy a local sim on landing
    6: Divert all your skype calls via the app to your overseas local number (set the delay to 1 second)

    Once you do this all calls to your actual mobile will get diverted to your skype number via your service provider then to your local overseas number via skype at the same time and will ring on your handset on the sim you buy when you arrive

    7: Make all calls back to Oz with Skype (enable caller ID and use your aussie number if you want)

    Its a very cheap option and beats $5 or $10 a day roaming hands down when going overseas for more than a few days and it beats those sims you can buy for whole region access too IF you are going away for more than a few days Outbound calls are dependent on wifi or data, inbound are not

    I have 4 weeks in Thailand right now and i think the whole 4 weeks cost me about $40 or so to set up and it works perfectly including the local thai sim. If i need to send SMS i can buy another $5 of credit on skype but who on earth sends SMS anymore? I just receive them and its free, my divert ALL CALLS with vodafone is free as well. I have been doing it for over 10 years

  • Ehty on 25/08/2022 - 18:54
    +1

    If you have a local sim or WIFI , then you can use Boost pre paid sim and get sms on wifi calling ..

    • Danuk on 25/08/2022 - 19:03

      Thank you. I have a boost prepaid connection. But both Boost and Telstra prepaid customer services confirmed they don't support voice/sms services overseas.

      Any confirmation or reference for boost have sms on wifi calling?

      • Ehty on 25/08/2022 - 19:12
        +1

        I used it when I was overseas, Had also posted similar question previously.
        If you check Whirlpool , there are lots others who have been successful.

      • uncompressed on 25/08/2022 - 21:20
        +1

        Currently overseas now and my Boost sim is in a backup phone to receive 2FA sms for credit card transactions. Seems to be working fine.

        • Danuk on 25/08/2022 - 21:26

          Thanks for sharing

  • archieduh on 25/08/2022 - 20:01
    +2

    No need to port your number for 2FA. This is a solution I used and worked like a charm- except I forgot to keep my phone plugged in and it died after 1 week.

    This is the workaround to share if you can use Android.
    * Have 2 phones - Android
    * In 1, put your AU SIM. The one you want your AU SMS to be delivered. Leave this at your AU home and have it connected to power and Wi-Fi (or reliable data)
    * The 2nd, your phone that you take to travel, get international SIM. Before you travel, use Wifi in AU and open messages.google.com/web which will show a QR code.
    * In the 1st phone, go to the "Messages" app by Google. From the menu of the app choose "Device pairing" and scan the QR on 2nd phone.
    * Now you can see sms of 1st phone on 2nd phone's browser. Now in this browser window menu options you will have "install app" or "add to home screen". Click that and you will have a shortcut to "web messages", the icon will also look slightly different to normal messages app.
    * Voila! On your 2nd phone you now have web messages to check your AU SMS and normal messages app to check your local Sim SMS. Just ensure that your AU phone will always be on power and has internet connectivity.

    • archieduh on 25/08/2022 - 20:05

      BTW I do feel there is some misconception. SMS work without activating roaming. I used Lebara, Kogan (which both used Vodafone) and Vodafone and all SMS worked overseas- without activating roaming.

      • Danuk on 25/08/2022 - 21:25

        Thanks, I wasn't sure about this. I previously had postpaid telstra with roaming so wasn't sure how prepaid roaming disabled SIMS would work.

        Thanks for clarifying

    • Danuk on 25/08/2022 - 21:25

      Thanks, unfortunately this won't work for me as I can't leave my phone. Ut good to know the option.

  • sydracing on 28/08/2022 - 14:48
    +1

    Australia Post international roaming sim, $5 for 30 days, 50mins call, 50MB data.

    • Danuk on 29/08/2022 - 00:03

      Thanks - this actually looks pretty good - Wonder why its not being shared on ozbargain though? Have you used it? any feedback?

      • sydracing on 29/08/2022 - 09:24

        On Optus network. Haven’t used it, just found out last week when I went to post office.

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