Maybe you even have a data package for India in your subscription, or have an online provider that covers you worldwide. The best offer is probably still to get a Sim in India. It is really very cheap and an Indian phone number brings you many advantages. It is also possible that your local provider makes its deals in India with small providers who then do not have good reception. You will need an Indian number for many apps and your trusted TucTuc driver can also reach you at any time 🚕.
It’s best to turn your Sim into an eSim at home, then the slot is free for an Indian number and you can use both at the same time, and don’t have to change Sim cards every time you want to log in to your bank. From iPhone XS and XR, all Apple devices are eSim compatible. So iPhone 11,12,13,14,15 etc. also the iPhone SE 2022. However, only 2 active lines are possible at the same time with iPhones. Your battery will also run out faster with 2 active phone numbers. Therefore, switch off the Sims when you don’t need them.
Airtel
The largest and “best” provider is Airtel. In Delhi at the airport there is a small Airtelbox where you can get a sim for 500₹, about 5€, directly on arrival. This will be the best deal you get! As far as I know, Airtel works all over India and offers 5G in many places.
If I understand it correctly, deals for prepaid sims are valid for one month with all providers. with Airtel you get unlimited calls in India with the airport deal. Plus 100 text messages and 1.5 GB of data per day.
To get the sim you have to hand in your passport and have your photo taken! If they do not take a photo, your number will not be activated. So don’t think they’ve forgotten the photo, but point it out to them.
You can also convert your Airtel Sim into an eSim with 1-2 clicks and then add more sim cards to your device. You will need WiFi or a hotspot.
Airtel Recharge
If you are staying longer than a month or need more data per day, you can download the Airtel app: https://apps.apple.com/app/airtel-thanks-recharge-upi/id543184334
Here you can see your current data consumption and can buy additional data and extend your subscription. Unfortunately, this was not possible for me with international credit and debit cards. In the Airtel app, you can only pay with UPI or domestic cards. My solution was to ask the cellar over lunch if he would pay for me with his UPI and I would give him the money. I think he was unsure about entering his UPI information on his smartphone, but then he had an app himself where he could enter my number and pay for my number on his smartphone. You will immediately receive an SMS with the confirmation. I’m sure you can do that in an Airtel store, but I’ve never seen them. Buy your new package 5-6 days before the end of the current month, it will be activated automatically after the end of the first month.
The packages in the app are then even cheaper, starting at around 239₹ for the plan mentioned or around double that, 369 for 6GB of data per day – for a month.
Jio
If Airtel doesn’t have a network, Jio usually does. There are areas where Jio works better, especially in the south or more remotely in the southern mountains. With Bio, you also get unlimited calls, 100 text messages and 1.5 GB of data per day for a month. The price in the Jio Store was around 800₹
I had bought these two SIM cards for my trip because I was dependent on reception and had to work in between. There are often power cuts in the resorts and hostels, which can cause the wifi to fail.
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