Recommendations for a Carrier and Plan That Allows The Use of an eSim for a Samsung Watch 3?

Hi all,

I recently signed up on the Telstra $99 post-paid plan with the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, as offered/promoted through JB Hi-Fi. I wanted to port my existing phone number from Boost, but was unable to do so. As a result, I opted for a new phone number, and planned to cancel the contract, pay the early termination fee, and then port my existing phone number to another pre-paid or post-paid plan. Additionally, I took advantage of the 20% discount on Samsung wearables, and purchased a Samsung Watch 3. At the time (as I hadn't owned/used a smart watch previously), I didn't realise that the carriers who offered an eSIM number-sharing plan were restricted to Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone.

Anyway, I cancelled the contract with Telstra, agreed to pay the $600 early termination fee, and went about trying to find a pre-paid or post-paid plan that facilitated eSIM number-sharing. Whilst I suspected that Boost didn't offer this, I contacted them anyway. The representative that I spoke to insisted that Boost supported eSIM number-sharing and provided setup instructions. With (seemingly) confirmation of carrier support, I figured that I wouldn't need to return the Samsung Watch 3, and opened the box. As it turns out, a QR code was required for the eSIM, so I contacted Boost for the second time. On this occasion, a different representative clarified that Boost do NOT support eSIM number-sharing, and that I would need to port my existing phone number to another carrier.

Figuring that I can no longer return the Samsung Watch 3 due to opening the box, I persevere. I spoke to Optus (who were absolutely hopeless, but maybe that's limited to the live chat support staff), and seemingly their cheapest plan is $54 monthly ($39 post-paid plan + $15 eSIM — three times the cost of their competitors) for a measly 10GB of data. I also spoke to Telstra (whose live chat support staff were a marginal improvement over Optus) hoping they would be sympathetic to my cause due to their restrictive porting policy, and their cheapest plan is $60 monthly ($55 post-paid plan + $5 eSIM) for 40GB of data, but no access to the 5G network. Finally, whilst I didn't speak to Vodafone directly, their cheapest plan is $45 monthly ($40 post-paid plan + $5 eSIM) for 30GB of data, which was looking great until… the speed is capped at 2Mb/s (which would be unusable, in my opinion).

I don't use a heap of data. With Boost, I've only used approximately 8GB of data within 10 months (even though I'm on an 80GB plan). Spending over $50 monthly just to get eSIM number-sharing facilities seems like poor value (especially in comparison to the original post-paid plan of $99 monthly, which included the handset payment).

Is there another option or loophole I'm unaware of? Should I just sell the Samsung Watch 3 and hope to break even? Seemingly, none of the carriers offer plans that are suitable for my circumstances.

Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Thanks!

Comments

  • Speak to Vodaphone and see if Vodaphone prepaid supports esim. I think I read somewhere in ozbargain that Vodaphone prepaid supports esim. In that case, the cost might come further down.

    • Cheers. Presumably it's still going to have the same issue with the data rate being limited to 2Mb/s though?

      • +1

        Re-check Vodafone - conditions state it is only limited to 2Mb/s once you go over your data limit of 30gb (at "max speed").

        Also, I added an esim to my Optus sim-only plan about 15 months ago and it only cost $5 per month. I did cancel this about 2-3 months ago so may have changed since then.

        • Oh, well spotted. I really feel like they [Vodafone] emphasised the wrong information on their plans webpage. I'll check their coverage, but it looks like Vodafone might be the frontrunner.

    • Vodafone prepaid does support esim. You need a physical one activated first, then login to the portal and sim swap it to a digital one.

      • That’s for a phone eSIM, not a watch eSIM.

        • Ok thought it might have worked.

    • Vodafone prepaid support eSim on phones, but not on numberSync watch sims.

  • You happily paid the 600 termination fee?
    I'd have left the phone in the box and stuck it on a shelf for a year until there are more options… the phone has a clock on it.

    • Op got a $999 phone for $600.

      • I must have misread it
        I cancelled the contract with Telstra, agreed to pay the $600 early termination fee

        • The phone was $0 upfront.

  • Telstra OneNumber eSIM is $5/month, Optus Numbershare eSIM is $10/month and Vodafone NumberSync eSIM is $5/month. Telstra and Vodafone have no data included and use the phone plans quota, Optus comes with 1gb data. Plus the cost of your plan, I’d say Vodafone $35/month postpaid phone would be cheapest with NumberSync, making it $40/month. Optus is $39 + $10 = $49 and Telstra is $55 + $5 = $60. These are for their cheapest postpaid plan that supports adding a watch eSIM. There are other possibly cheaper plans, but that’s all I could find that mentioned eSIM add on in their contract.

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