Telestial Passport International Nano SIM Card for iphone 5, 6 with $10.00 credit for 190 countries

This sounds like a great idea, especially the free US number, which is what sold me on Telestial (affiliated with e-kit). WhenI put the SIM into my unlocked iPhone 4s (yes, really unlocked), and followed the instructions, I got a variety of error messages. After 45 minutes of trying all the different dialing possibilities, I was able to get on, using the prefix for a foreign country, rather than the way the instructions suggest. I immediately received a text (which cost me $.79) saying that it would be cheaper for me to use the US prefix (the one that didn't work!!). I was supposed to get my US# by text, but that did not come. So, still following the instructions, I went to the website and created an account. But when I clicked "get US number" the website announced, "Sorry, there was a problem allocating a US Number to your account." So I called Customer service. They are very courteous, but none of the three folks I spoke to could do more than say, "our system must be down." I asked for a new SIM, but they say "yours is fine, just wait." Well, I'm leaving for Africa tomorrow; even if I get the # now I wouldn't trust that it will work.UPDATE 7/7: After calls and e-mails, I received the US number via e-mail. I'll try it when I get to where I'm going. I have to say that the Customer Service folks are all exceedingly pleasant, and this eventually got resolved, which is why I upgraded the review to 3 stars. (I'll update after the trip about whether it works) It's frustrating that they were all unable to help right away, and had to refer this to the main office in Australia. It just shouldn't be that hard. It makes me wonder about the technical reliability of the company. I also got a card from OneSim Passport, and though it costs more, it worked right out of the package. So that's going to be my main sim for this trip.

I was slightly concerned with reviews saying it would not work in a Verizon iPhone, and was curious about the reviews that said it did work. I figured for $4.50 it was worth a shot. Let me say this SIM works just fine in my Verizon iPhone 4S. I was able to activate the phone using this SIM while in the US and while still in an area that has good Verizon signal. I was connected to WiFi the entire time.First, I called Verizon and asked them to unlock the SIM and they did it no problem. It took less than 5 minutes on the phone.Second, I popped in this SIM. It came up with a prompt asking for a pin that is included in the packaging. The phone chugged a bit and then did some sort of super fast reboot. When it came up, it said searching for signal for a bit.Third, I let the phone sit for about 10 mins. When I came back, it said T-mobile in the top left corner and the settings indicated my phone now had a UK phone number. Easy.The card that the SIM comes packaged in says to put a 3 before the unlock PIN if you are in the states. When I did that, the phone gave an error that it could not activate because the SIM was not valid (or something like that). When I entered the SIM unlock code without the 3 it worked fine. I'm thinking you can only use the 3 in the States on a totally unlocked phone (which the Verizon iPhone is not). So by not including the 3 it did more of an international activation. Anyway, it seems to work fine. Well worth $4.50 when you consider you get $5 credit.

What a joke! This is a total rip-off. I bought $100 additional air time and data in addition to the cost of the card and it was gone in a flash. I was in Venice and several of the Greek Islands. The phone did not even get a signal in Venice and when I did get a signal on the other islands, it was always on roaming. I purchased this card because I though I would be using the local cell networks. Obviously I was wrong. The locals didn't have any problems using their cell phones.I got 2 text messages from them saying "To make and receive cheaper calls, turn the phone off, then on, and enter 2 followed by the pin". Guess what, that is wrong if you are in Europe. I used $70.50 of my data for 4700KB, That's right KB, not MB. The usage history showed "data usage from the United States" I tested the phone in the US before I left to make sure everything was working ok, and the same 4700kb of data cost $9.35 from the US.Other data usage entries from the US $14.86 for 990kb, $28.50 for 1900kb. Well you get the message, this card is a money pit. I only made one call with the phone while on my trip. I ended using WIFI whenever I could. Don't waste your money.

Sim was unrecognizable in Costa Rica. I was consistently asked if I was out of the United States, or rest of the world? Every time I responded rest of the world. The irony was when I landed back in the US it worked. A lot of set up with operator with a domestic number and instructions of how to disable data still didn't allow me to use while on vacation. I had a iPhone and friend who had the Galaxy 3 encountered the same exact problem. It gave options for cell phone providers but would not work on either phone. Be weary. Apparently this is not uncommon there was a small piece of paper included with the card asking not to leave feedback until the owner of the Sim card contacts there operator.

I bought this SIM card to load into an inactive (and unlocked) iPhone4. It assigned me a US phone number upon activation exactly as promised. I tested incoming and outgoing calls and both worked with no problems. Since this will only be used on rare occasions, I turned cellular data OFF and FaceTime OFF in the settings for my iPhone. One thing to note -- if you do not need FaceTime, turn it OFF in the iPhone settings. If FaceTime is enabled, a text message is sent (behind the scenes) to activate FaceTime. As best I can tell, this happens every time the phone is turned ON. Each outgoing text costs 25 cents. I have not tested this outside the US but hope to do so later this year. So far, I am pleased with this product!