Etraveller Times

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Review: Flexiroam – Affordable data roaming package

To celebrate my blog hitting the 50 followers mark (to be more exact, 53 followers at the time of writing), I am sharing with you one awesome data service provider, Flexiroam, that will make travelling more enjoyable especially for those who travel frequently.

If you followed this blog from its infant days, you will remember me writing in a post titled “Cheap (Free) mobile data overseas” where I shared on how to beat the system and get free or cheap data whilst overseas. If you have not read it, why not pop over to my earlier post? If you read it, you will recall I promised to do a follow up article on Flexiroam.

*Post-Script – I have recently reviewed another product, Pokefi. This product offers perhaps a better user experience than Flexiroam and also at a cheaper rate. For those who are interested, please check out my review.

Flexiroam – What is it?

As explained in my earlier entry, “Flexiroam X is a thin microchip that is attached to your existing SIM card and enables you to access Flexiroam’s low cost data roaming whilst overseas, connecting you to the local networks.

Flexiroam X 1

Flexiroam offers a service where you can tap into a pool of data no matter where you are in the world. This means you can avoid i) “wasting” data that you bought but could not finish during your stay in a particular country (especially relevant in data expensive regions such as Europe) or ii) the hassle of purchasing sim cards in countries where it is difficult for a foreigner to do so (e.g. China – Where I have personally been rejected for not having a local Chinese passport/ID or have heard of friends being rejected for a similar reason). 

Insider Tip: It appears that the Chinese “firewall” doesn’t censor data roaming users. While I have not tried using Flexiroam in China for the purposes of scaling and bypassing the firewall, my previous experience using data roaming in China suggests that Chinese censorship does not cover such areas. So FB and other banned websites like gmail or google may still work.

Flexiroam – Intended Customer Base?

Flexiroam, in my opinion, is not targeting the occasional traveller.

Occasional here means the average person who takes a couple of days off each year to visit one or two specific countries or regions. In such cases, a traveller can simply survive by buying a local sim for that particular location and/or region.

Instead, Flexiroam fits travelling patterns involving short but frequent trips overseas to multiple countries (i.e. a business traveller).

Due to the short nature of the trips, there is a tendency for the “wastage” noted above. Many data plans for tourists expire after a fixed period (eg. a month) and all the unused data at the end of the month will be wasted. Also, as you are travelling and crossing borders frequently, there may be instances where you have to keep with you a “stack” of sim cards to constantly swap around as you travel. Having a unified data package will help eliminate both these problems making travelling a seamless experience.

That said, Flexiroam also has it use for leisurely travel especially for a person already using Flexiroam on his phone for business purposes. So in my case, while I primarily use Flexiroam for work purposes, the ability to tap into my data package is equally helpful when I’m on a holiday and am in need of an Uber or Grab to get around.

Flexiroam – My experience using Flexiroam

Installing Flexiroam

There are three steps to the process.

First, installing the Flexiroam app on your phone. This is to do the basic registration and also to purchase from Flexiroam your starting data package and also for them to ship to you the microchip that creates the magic.

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Flexiroam – Starter Package
Flexiroam X 2
Starter Package Prices

Second, applying Flexiroam’s microchip on the top of your existing SIM card.

The application of this microchip was straightforward. Flexiroam will have sent to you the microchip in a stencil. Lift the film (the microchip is on the film) and place your sim card into the precut slot. Tear away the protective layer on the microchip to reveal the sticky surface. Lower the film (with the microchip) back onto the stencil and press down on the film and the microchip. This will cause the microchip to stick onto your sim card. You are done!

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Flexiroam Installation: The stencil that comes with the basic package. Place your sim card into the precut slot and press the sticky film down. Done!

Third, setting up the phone settings to enable the microchip. This involves two main steps: Switching from your home network to Flexiroam’s network via the Flexiroam app and also creating the relevant APN on your phone. Both are easy to do.

Detailed instructions can be found here.

Using Flexiroam

Pros:

Simple and straightforward. You just have to switch to Flexiroam’s microchip using the Flexiroam app. Let the phone do its thing (it will likely have to reset twice to switch network) and you will be roaming already. It felt seamless and transited smoothly between the different telcos as I travelled from Hong Kong to Shenzhen and back to Hong Kong before going to Taiwan. I always had data as and when I needed it.  My subsequent trips also saw me using quite a bit of Flexiroam whether to do some urgent “food research”, work related emails or just booking an uber or grab.

Another plus is that on renewing your plan, all remaining unused data gets carried forward to the next cycle.

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Flexiroam: Home Screen – Simple but informative

 

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Just hit “Switch to Flexiroam X” to turn on the microchip and activate Flexiroam.

Cons:

It is at times inconvenient if you expect to receive phone calls or sms on your home number. Once activated, the microchip blocks off your home sim card until deactivated. However, this isn’t a deal breaker as this would have happened in any event had you purchased a separate local data sim. One alternative is to purchase a cheap pre-paid sim and use the Flexiroam microchip on it. 

Another possible negative point is the pricing of the plans sometimes don’t make sense. Its cheaper to buy a 5GB plan than a 7GB plan!

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Flexiroam: Pricing for some plans just don’t make sense

 

 

Would I recommend Flexiroam?

Yes. It is definitely a must for frequent travellers in need of small amounts of data. As to the average traveller, it might be a stand-in until you get your hands on a local sim card. 

Just be careful of your phone settings. Consider turning off unnecessary apps or settings that result in unnecessary data consumption. This may also help with your own home network and help conserve data.

Let me know in the comments section if you intend to consider using flexiroam. Remember to Like if you found this post useful and also follow to be notified of new content. Really appreciate your support!!!

8 thoughts on “Review: Flexiroam – Affordable data roaming package

  1. First, congratulations on your readership! Very interesting and good to know, although the kit and plan seem a bit pricey. I agree this seems to work best for travelers that spend only a few days in each country. I am also wondering how it will work in Sicily, as my Verizon data plan had to be updated when I left mainland Italy for Sicily last year, to my surprise. I was wondering why my phone was so quiet those first few days in Sicily!

  2. In your experience using Flexiroam, does it provide accurate data usage between the app and phone data counter?

  3. The app doesnt have a data counter. It has a balance meter showing how much data is left. It gets vague since its in gbs (eg. 0.45gb) . So no accurate comparison possible.

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