Flexiroam X. It’s an ultra-thin microchip SIM sticker on that goes over your existing SIM card, allowing you on iOS and Android devices the ability to switch the active SIM and the Flexiroam X SIM sticker without needing a dual-SIM phone.
You can then access earnable and purchasable amount of data up to 100GB per year across over 120 countries, with 50+ countries in the coverage list (at the end of this article) offering 4G data roaming.
A Starter Pack with Flexiroam SIM sticker and 1GB of data costs US$29.99, giving you 1GB to use over a year. Ongoing yearly membership costs US$9.99 and if you maintain your yearly membership, unused data does not expire.
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In countries supported by Flexiroam’s SIM sticker, the data is much cheaper than traditional roaming packages, you don’t need to swap through a range of local SIMs, losing out on any unused data, you don’t need to carry around a Wi-Fi hotspot, and you have the ability to switch between your native and your Flexiroam SIM easily without SIM ejector tools and the hassle.
Article continues below image of SIM tray, SIM card and Flexiroam X SIM sticker:
Use your VoIP app of choice (Skype, FaceTime, Viber, Flexiroam etc) to make and receive calls when switched to the Flexiroam SIM, as you only get access to one SIM at a time, guaranteeing your personal SIM won’t get "bill shock" charged international voice and data roaming rates
Even if you have access to something like Vodafone’s $5 per day roaming across dozens of countries, not every carrier offers this, and in some cases, you’ll find Flexiroam offering data access in Macau, a country that Vodafone didn’t have access to in its $5 roaming deal when I was there sometime last year, reverting you instead to much more expensive per minute and kilobyte rates.
For more information on how the SIM sticker works, and how the app worked at launch, I first wrote about Flexiroam X on 1 June 2016, and followed that up on 5 June with a video interview that featured a live demo from Flexiroam MD Jef Ong and Flexiroam VP of business development, Jason Khoo, demonstrating Flexiroam X on video.
So, with that Flexiroam X explanation and history out of the way, what’s new?
The latest version of the Flexiroam X app starts with a "completely revamped design" and what the company says are "exciting new features that will enhance user experience as well as continuing to provide cheap data usage in" more than 120 countries globally.
One new feature includes the simplification of the sign-up and login process with Google and Facebook logins.
Flexiroam says this enhancement will “speed up the login process, making it easier for Flexiroam users through a simple one-click action, with no password requirements".
Customers are also promised the ability to “monitor the status of their Flexiroam X conveniently on the new status page which displays their Flexiroam X connection status, the country and partner network's name".
In addition, via the “connection status page, members can roam with assurance that they are connected to Flexiroam X instead of their home carrier".
Flexiroam also offers an app simply dubbed Flexiroam, which offers voice, video calls and messaging on a free basis to other Flexiroam users, and via competitive VoIP rates to landlines and mobiles across the world.
So it’s good to know this Flexiroam X update paves the way for a future app that will consolidate "the voice app and Flexiroam X into a single app"… making life easier for the company’s customers and app users by offering all the features and benefits of Flexiroam’s offerings in a single app, and hopefully capturing the attention and custom of ever more customers.
I’ve had the chance to use Flexiroam on several trips in 2016, and it worked perfectly and as advertised, giving my second phone with international roaming switched off on my regular SIM a great data connection with the Flexiroam SIM, and restoring its usefulness without needing to search for free Wi-Fi or fiddle with local SIMs.
It’s a service I’ll use again and a great mobile data access travel hack!
The list of countries that Flexiroam X offers data roaming is here and below, with 4G naturally denoting 4G data roaming coverage and availability in that particular country, in addition to 3G and presumably 2G where it is still available.
Albania – 4G, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia – 4G, Austria – 4G, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium – 4G, Belize, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada – 4G, Cayman Islands – 4G, Chile, China – 4G, Colombia, Croatia – 4G, Cyprus, Czech Republic – 4G, Denmark – 4G, Dominica, El Salvador, Estonia – 4G, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland – 4G, France – 4G, French West Indies, Georgia, Germany – 4G, Ghana – 4G, Gibraltar, Greece – 4G, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Hong Kong – 4G, Hungary – 4G, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland – 4G, Isle of Man – 4G, Israel – 4G, Italy – 4G, Jamaica, Japan – 4G, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia – 4G, Lithuania – 4G, Luxembourg – 4G, Macau – 4G, Malaysia – 4G, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Montserrat, Myanmar, Netherlands – 4G, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand – 4G, Nicaragua, Northern Cyprus – 4G, Norway – 4G, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines – 4G, Poland – 4G, Portugal – 4G, Puerto Rico – 4G, Qatar, Romania – 4G, Russian Federation – 4G, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, Saudi Arabia – 4G, Serbia, Singapore – 4G, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa – 4G, South Korea – 4G, Spain – 4G, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Suriname, Sweden – 4G, Switzerland – 4G, Taiwan – 4G, Tajikistan, Thailand – 4G, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey – 4G, Turks & Caicos Islands – 4G, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom – 4G, United States – 4G, Uzbekistan, Virgin Islands British, Virgin Islands US – 4G.