Wireless hotspot that can use 2 sim cards?

[Russ Smith]

Is there such a thing. I was watching youtube about hotspots as a means of internet in the Philippines and I cam across a video that seemed to be saying you can put 2 sim cards in it and then it will pick which sim card to use based on which has better service? The whole thing was in Tagalog and the subtitles weren't good enough but I think that's what they were doing. In Siquijor where we will be there's certain places where Globe has the best service and others that Smart does. So people who get hotspots have to decide do I get Globe or Smart. But if you can get a hotspot and just buy a prepaid SIM card one Globe and 1 Smart and put both in, that would be ideal?

I'm googling it but I'm not clear if there is such a thing. I'd like to buy one before I go so when I'm in the airport in Manila I can just buy both SIM cards and put them in.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

A lot of phones use eSims now and you can get a hotspot on an eSim. Many phones will allow you one Sim and one eSim, but I think there are others that will allow several eSims - so you can switch over to different plans, hotspots, etc.

 

[Russ Smith]

A lot of phones use eSims now and you can get a hotspot on an eSim. Many phones will allow you one Sim and one eSim, but I think there are others that will allow several eSims - so you can switch over to different plans, hotspots, etc.

I've been looking at esims for a hotspot too like Airalo and some others. Getting mixed reviews on them.

Sounds like Starlink is not as easy as hoped there's address issues and they won't let you pay with an American credit card(the monthly fee) it has to be a Philippine one. We don't think Siquijor fiber is reliable yet so we're considering just a hotspot.

 

[Devilmaycare]

This is one that I can't help you with. I've never looked into them.

 

[puckhead]

You probably need to find the ASFN equivalent over there and tap into a techy local that knows the lay of the cyberland. Without actual experience, it's hard to go beyond the theoretical and/or flowery sales pitches.

 

[Russ Smith]

You probably need to find the ASFN equivalent over there and tap into a techy local that knows the lay of the cyberland. Without actual experience, it's hard to go beyond the theoretical and/or flowery sales pitches.

Yep that's for sure. I found a guy online who's selling portable power stations, looks just like a Jackery, but is not a jackery. I asked the guy if he sells them on the island and what sizes he has. He said yes he sells them and he only has the 1 size but it's perfect for a backup for power. If my googling is correct, the one he's selling would power the average refrigerator about an hour. They have regular brown outs there so I'm looking for something that will go at least 6-8 hours. He's advertising them as backups for your fridge or freezer but when they have a brownout, like now in the storm season, they last as long as 10 hours.

So I'm going to actually need to be there to get accurate info unfortunately.

Star Link literally has one address on the entire island, the circumferential road which as the name implies, circumnavigates the coast of the island. And again the credit card payment issue is complex.

Really hoping I can get fiber, in fact if I can the power stations the guy is selling would be good as a backup for that.

 

[Russ Smith]

Finally think I resolved this. Lots of research I got something called the Glocalme air NUMEN which is a hotspot. It's network agnostic, you sign up for a data plan for a fixed amount of GB and days, pay, and then when you get to your destination(say Philippines) you turn it on and it activates and if Globe is the fastest network it connects, if Smart is, it connects. This one is 5G capable which should help in Manila airport and Dumaguete City, if no 5G available it will connect to 4G.

You get 1 free GB with every data package, I got it on Prime Day so 60 bucks off. Set it up today the free 1GB allows you to test it so it connected to 4G in my apartment and I got about 20 download and 4 upload. I probably won't get that in the Philippines the island we're going to be based in only has 4G, and probably slower but still will resolve the issue we always have of the "free" wifi in the airports not working or timing you out without warning you. Several times we've been stuck there unable to contact anybody to tell them the flight was delayed so this should really help there.

Has good reviews and so far is pretty easy. I haven't actually bought a plan yet figure I will do that closer to when we go, sometime in November, but so far everything worked smoothly.\

 

[Russ Smith]

Glocal Me does work, bandwidth is an issue just 2 FB calls from Lucy's mom wiped out almost all of the first 7 day plan I bought but it worked for what we wanted at the airport