UK to the USA: Data & Internet
If you’re like us, you’ll want to know if you’ll have access to the Internet on the move while you’re in the US. Whether it’s for business or pleasure, we all tend to switch our phones on as soon as the plane touches down at our destination. So, what are the options for keeping connected as far as we’re concerned?
- International Sim
We gave this a go while we were in LA. We had picked up a SIM card in the UK before we left for the US and opted for the Three mobile pre-paid product. We popped into one of the Three stores in UK and they gave us a SIM card which we loaded £15 onto. This was supposed to give us 12GB of data whilst on our journey.
As mentioned in our post about the hotel and location in LA, we had some difficulties getting it to register onto the network when we arrived, it just didn’t seem to be happy with us. So, it didn’t get used, sadly.
- Holafly
This company provides eSIM’s with pre-loaded data. It’s not compatible with all phones, but we used an iPhone 12 Pro which worked with it flawlessly. You purchase the product on the website, in our case we picked 12GB for 15 days which was $41. They email you straight away with step-by-step instructions of how to enable it. No issues whatsoever, and we never ran out of data.
- UK Bolt-on
Some of the providers in the UK have a bolt on which allows you to use your data in selected countries around the world. These providers include EE, 02, Three and Vodaphone. Don’t take our word as gospel on this as plans and terms can always change, always check with your provider to ensure you’ve got the correct bolt on included in your plan, or you might be charged a fortune.
- US SIM
We’ve never tried this, so it’s difficult to recommend, but we understand this is more useful if you’re a frequent visitor to the US as it’s more cost effective to purchase a SIM card. Some phones will allow two SIMs, otherwise you’ve got the possibility of needing to have a second phone.
There’s a blog we found really useful when checking this out from Kens Tech Tips.
There’s so much free Wi-Fi in the US wherever you go, whether that be in your hotel, at the airport, in bars and restaurants, you’ll probably find it hard to disconnect at times. However, the data options listed above will keep you connected whilst on the move, especially if you’re planning to use the likes of Uber and Lyft.
