Posted 1 day ago

Travelling to India - need a sim for 7 days (mainly for data)

Hi all,

I'm off to India in a couple of weeks, and need to get a 2nd sim to use for roaming for the week I am there.
Are there any recommendations you might have with regards to sim providers?
I have a Honor Magic5 Pro, which is dual sim - and I think has the ability to use an esim.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

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18 Comments

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16 h, 1 m ago
A lot depends on your airport of arrival as not every provider sells at each airport. In January, I noticed Airtel was the only one at Mumbai (after baggage claim). A colleague needed a SIM and ended up getting a 28 day one for INR 600 (under £6) that gave unlimited local calls and 1.5GB data per day. Yes, it is a daily allowance as that's big in India, unless you buy a contract or what's known there as post paid SIM. Please be ready to hand over your passport for taking a photocopy as India has strict KYC requirements even for prepaid SIMs.
4th Feb
Buy one when you get there. It's the cheapest and best way when going abroad, especially to India.
Multiple sim providers, choose the plan which works for you.
23 h, 55 m ago
You can carry lebara from here for 99p, it's a hit and miss though good to have something when you land there (lebara in India covered by Vodafone which is not available in all the states/territories)
19 h, 44 m ago
Lebara 30GB £3.58 prepay no contract
lebara.co.uk/en/…tml

Can I use my current plan when roaming in India?
Lebara customers can enjoy Roam Like Home while roaming in India. This means that you can use all of your plan allowance in roaming as you would in the UK...
... upto 30GB on an unlimited plan...
6 h, 29 m ago
whilst you're there, can you activate my youtube premium
Author
2 h, 47 m ago
Lol... I think I might do mine. I did it the last time I was there a couple of years ago
23 h, 50 m ago
Use Lebara
21 h, 57 m ago
Lebara can be hit and miss in India when it comes to data, depending on which region you are travelling to. You say you only want it for the one week. Better to explore the possibility of choosing one of the main stream network, study the reciprocal coverage and pay for roaming accordingly. Also explore eSim possibilities.
1 h, 8 m ago
Didn't find any problems on my last two visits. It uses Vodafone India so if there is coverage then it will work. However, found a few issues using normal phone calls . Otherwise data worked fine so ended up making WhatsApp calls.
12 h, 26 m ago
In the past, I have found that even if you can buy Indian sim card at airport or outside for that matter after supplying documentary evidence, network in question cuts you off after few days saying the KYC information is not enough and they want more. It a pain!
11 h, 49 m ago
Try Nomad:

getnomad.app/en/…SIM

You'll need to check if your phone is compatible i.e. can take their eSIM.
9 h, 56 m ago
I did this, cost a little more (£23 for 20GB) but meant no faffing around at the airport and I set it up as a hotspot for the rest of our group to use.
Author
11 h, 3 m ago
Even though it is more expensive, I'm definitely leaning towards an esim, as it will use my existing number rather than having to use a new number while I'm away.
9 h, 41 m ago
Esim or physical sim can leave you to use your existing number for phone calls and texts and then only use the new temporary sim for data. Do remember though that using your normal phone number for calls and texts will still be charged at whatever the roaming rate is from your current UK provider (edited)
1 m ago
Either get local sim from the airport (as once outside, you'll have to provide extra proof to get hold of a sim) otherwise, in past I've used Lyca £6 for 30gb 30 day sim contract - they allow 12gb allowance for India roaming. Lyca do eSim - was able to activate mine instantly whilst in UK.