Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

firsty.app

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 216 posts

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#141

Post by smileybarry »

doix wrote: post #41
Brajeshwar wrote: post #27

For travelers’ eSIM (paid), many people whom I asked, have recommended Airalo - https://www.airalo.com I have no affiliation.

I wish the prices were even remotely competitive, every time I check and compare, it's always _significantly cheaper_ to just get a SIM locally. I just checked Morocco, and it's $31.50 for 5GB. I think I paid 7$ for 20GB or something. Then again, I have a phone with a regular SIM card. Maybe the prices are comparable if you have a new iPhone with no regular SIM slot and are forced to use an eSIM. In my mind, eSims sh…

> it's always _significantly cheaper_ to just get a SIM locally.

That's also been the case for me, but I haven't encountered a local carrier that agreed to sell a prepaid eSIM. It was always a physical SIM card, and I didn't want to swap out my home SIM because I needed to be reachable via text. (Plus: FaceTime & iMessage get reset if you do that)

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#142

Post by happymellon »

oarsinsync wrote: post #22
throwaway81523 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does it know that you watched the ad? Does it quiz you or what? It actually sounds terrible. I can get a minimal prepaid sim for $30/year (200MB/mo + basic voice and text) and that sounds preferable to this thing with ads. https://www.ebay.com/itm/133196831828

The eSIM offered works in multiple countries. The eBay listing is limited to the US. This is a similar thing that is comparable to your eBay link, but also doesn't feature roaming. 100MB a month for 5 years, for £16 one off: https://www.rwgmobile.wales/webshop/buy-forget/5-year-sim-da...

That's a pretty interesting deal for something that doesn't need to transmit a lot of data, but will need to do it long term.

100MB/month attached to a Pi that has data for 5 years for only £16 looks to me like a great deal for an active monitoring site.

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#143

Post by scosman »

throwaway81523 wrote: post #8
jerbear4328 wrote: post #2

This seems pretty cool, so it's free slow cell service in exchange for watching a video ad every hour, with optional prepaid plans for higher speeds/no ads. It does seem that your cellular is only active for an hour after you last watch an ad, which is unfortunate if you want to receive notifications throughout the day.

How does it know that you watched the ad? Does it quiz you or what? It actually sounds terrible. I can get a minimal prepaid sim for $30/year (200MB/mo + basic voice and text) and that sounds preferable to this thing with ads. https://www.ebay.com/itm/133196831828

You expect too much for free.

This looks amazing. Keep it installed, use it when I land (even if just to buy a better eSIM from Airalo). Don’t need to plan ahead, shop eBay, carry extra sims around. If I cross the border for an hour (live in Canada) might just use it for texts/slow web, or pay $2 for a day. Connivence factor is amazing.

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#144

Post by YoumuChan »

kotaKat wrote: post #129
tamirzb wrote: post #53

People here seem to quickly react by recommending their favorite travel eSIM provider. I'd propose what I find to be a bit more useful, a website that compares a bunch of different travel eSIM providers: https://esimdb.com No affiliation from my side. I find it nice to know I always have many options.

I'll throw this in as well -- https://esim.me/ It's not an "eSIM" per se, but it's a physical SIM card that has the eSIM module onboard. This lets your physical devices use eSIM providers. One weird thing they do though is a strange licensing model where you can buy the physical card locked to one specific phone, one specific brand of phones, or any phone, plus a set number of eSIM slots. The Omni/15 is the "best" of…

It is just an standard eUICC card with an issuer certificate, which means you need issuer's app to access low-level eUICC functions on a rootless Android. This is how esim.me enforces the subscription.

This also means, you can use any LPA implementation to manage and install profiles on your own!

Some examples:

https://github.com/Truphone/LPAdesktop Needs a smart card reader and a pc to work

https://github.com/estkme-group/lpac Could either use a smart card reader or an actual modem with AT-support

https://gitea.angry.im/PeterCxy/OpenEUICC Needs a root on Android

Furthermore, I believe you could manage it via Windows settings if your window laptop has a WWAN card.

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#145

Post by [deleted] »

tamirzb wrote: post #53

People here seem to quickly react by recommending their favorite travel eSIM provider. I'd propose what I find to be a bit more useful, a website that compares a bunch of different travel eSIM providers: https://esimdb.com No affiliation from my side. I find it nice to know I always have many options.

[deleted]

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#146

Post by AlexAndScripts »

4ad wrote: post #133
tamirzb wrote: post #53

People here seem to quickly react by recommending their favorite travel eSIM provider. I'd propose what I find to be a bit more useful, a website that compares a bunch of different travel eSIM providers: https://esimdb.com No affiliation from my side. I find it nice to know I always have many options.

Most eSIM providers are just resellers, what I care about a travel eSIM is: 1. is it a reseller, if yes, from whom? 2. does it have local breakout in the target country? 3. what network does it use in the target country? 4. is it data-only? 5. does it allow tethering? 6. can I pay with Apple Pay? 7. can I use it without an account? Very, very few eSIM services fulfil the second criteria above, and no comparison websi…

What is local breakout?

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#148

Post by rock_artist »

TL;DR:

* It's not really free. You need to watch an ad to get 1hr? of connectivity.

* It's 1.98EUR/day, 59.40 Euro (1.98/day)

While the ability to gain some cellular connectivity without paying exists, The lack of better transparency for pricing and actual features makes it less promising.

Re: Firsty.app – free 300kbit/s eSIM for US/EU

#149

Post by rglullis »

diggan wrote: post #105
rglullis wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless this company is targeting the "homeless people who are denied entry at public spaces" market, how hard is it to get access to a free wifi hotspot? Also, if you are such a bad situation that you can not afford to pay for phone service, what is the point of having this offered as a global solution? Seriously, what is the audience here?

> Unless this company is targeting the "homeless people who are denied entry at public spaces" market, how hard is it to get access to a free wifi hotspot? There are plenty of places where there are no "free wifi hotspots", like many places that fulfill the extreme "not a city" criteria. Maybe it looks differently where you live, but if I go with my car one hour inland I'll end up in places where I'm sure I wouldn't…

> if I go with my car one hour inland I'll end up in places where I'm sure I wouldn't be able to just find free wifi hotspots everywhere.

What is the intersection of people who "have a car and are able to drive one hour inland" and "are so cash strapped that will subject themselves to a 'free' phone service that makes them watch ads every hour"?

Also important: who would be interested in advertising to these people?

Post reply on HN