FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

For Universal, Expedition, and eSIM World SIM cards, receiving calls is free in over 150 countries when received on your primary European phone number, including in most of Europe. To receive a call on your U.S. number or other Personal Extra Number, there is an additional per minute rate added. View all international cell phone rates.

If you receive a call through a Common Access Number or Personal Extra Number (such as a U.S. number) there is an additional charge of 20c/min. In countries with free incoming calls this would be your only charge per call.

For DataMax and DataMax eSIM card types, you can make and complete calls for a fraction of the cost of traditional cellular roaming (including on tablets) using the 1SIM VoIP App available on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store:

 

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.onesimvoip&hl=en_US&pcampaignid=pcampaignidMKT-Other-global-all-co-prtnr-py-PartBadge-Mar2515-1

 

Apple App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/onesim-voip/id510371587

 

For Universal, Expedition, and eSIM World SIM cards,  all incoming SMS text messages are free to receive when received on your primary European number. Add 9 cent per SMS when receiving text on US or Canada PEN.

For DataMax and DataMax eSIM SMS messages are sent and received using the 1SIM VoIP App. The cost to receive SMS using the 1SIM VoIP App is $0.05 in most countries, The cost to send an SMS using 1SIM Voip App is $0.10 in most countries. See all rates on our international cell phone rates page.

 

Local carriers in Saudi Arabia sometimes block standard OneSimCard outgoing calls. If this happens you need to either (a) enter a compatibility code into the settings of your phone or (b) initiate your call by sending an SMS message from the regular SMS menu (not the OneSimCard menu) of your phone.

How To Activate Compatibility Mode:

0. Open "OneSimCard" menu
0. Select "Settings"
0. Agree with message by pressing "Yes"
0. Dial digits "802" and select "OK" (screen will show message "output channel is SMS")

Bear in mind that if you have powered your telephone down and removed and reinstalled the battery, you will need to follow the programming steps outlined above again.

How To Deactivate Compatibility Mode:

0. Open "OneSimCard" menu
0. Select "Settings"
0. Agree with message by pressing "Yes"
0. Dial digits "801" and select "OK" (screen will show message "output channel is USSD")

How To Dial Without Activating Compatibility Mode:

Initiate your call by sending an SMS message from the regular SMS menu (not the OneSimCard menu) of your phone.

For example, to call from Saudi Arabia to Boston USA you should go to the SMS menu of the phone and send a message:

 

There are no special instructions to receive calls in these countries.

There can be a number of reasons why a battery does not hold a charge. Excluding the possibility of it being a faulty battery, there is another important factor to consider. If your phone is not registered on a roaming network, the battery will drain very quickly as the phone is constantly searching for a network to register on. So, if you get on a 6 hour flight and do not turn the phone off, or put it into airplane mode, by the time you land at the airport your battery will be drained and you will not be able to call back home.

The same thing will happen in those areas with spotty or weak signal network coverage - the battery will drain very fast. It is always a good idea to have an extra battery with you when you travel abroad.

 

OneSimCard VoIP requires you to order a compatible Personal Extra Number (PEN). Most of the PENs we offer are OneSim VoIP enabled. You also need to have an Android phone with software version 8 or higher, or Apple device (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) with iOS 6.1 or higher.

Once you have an active OneSim VoIP enabled PEN, you will be able to see the option to create a OneSim VoIP account in the My SIM Cards menu of your online account. NB: YOU MUST create the 1SIM VoIP account in your account online on the "My SIM Cards" menu. Simply purchasing a PEN and  downloading the mobile app DOES NOT create the VoIP account.

Yes, as of March 3rd, 2020, OneSimCard eSIM can be used for Mobile Data, Voice and Texts. However, you can still use the OneSim VOIP app option with a Personal Extra Number (PEN) for additional savings on calling and texting

 

For DataMax eSIMs, only Data is available. However, you can use our OneSim VoIP app for cost effective voice and SMS communication.

Direct Dial calling allows the caller to enter the international  call prefix, country calling code and telephone number and then be directly connected to the person they are calling. This is how you dial when using your regular mobile service. Direct Dial Calling is standard on the OneSimCard Europe & More, OneSimCard Universal and eSIM.

Callback calling also allows the caller to enter the international  call prefix, country calling code and telephone number. After the called number is entered, the user immediately receives an incoming call connecting the user to person called. Callback is very simple to use and allows for low cost calling on the OneSimCard Plus and OneSimCard Expedition (formerly Data & Roam). Callback does not increase the connection time. It is the same as with Direct Dial.

SMS messaging usually works without any additional setup of the phone.
In rare cases when there are issues sending or receiving text messages, please look at the following:

Problem with Sending SMS:

• Incorrect SMSC number (SMS Service Center Address) in handset settings.

SMSC number should be set as follows:

 

1. For Standard  and Plus OneSimCard SIM: +3725099000 for all countries except:

a. China:  +85290296747

 

2. For the Expedition (former Data & Roam) SIM as well as for Europe & More SIM: +37256100041

 

Special instructions for Apple Phones:

With Apple iPhones to check SMSC:

From the phone dialer Dial *#5005*7672# 

You will see the SMSC set currently on the phone. 

To change the SMSC on Iphone dial: 

Plus and Standard SIMs: **5005*7672*+3725099000# for all countries except China and **5005*7672*+85290296747# if in China.

Expedition (formerly Data & Roam) and Europe & More SIMs in any country: **5005*7672*+37256100041#

 

• NOTE: It is important to have the "+" symbol entered in front of the SMSC number.
• You can find locations of the Message Settings menus for different phone models here.

If your phone requires the name of Message Center Name enter: SMSC
SMS lifetime is short - must be at least 2 hours or set to Maximum settings.
Try sending SMS from OneSimCard menu

 

 Problem with Receiving SMS:

• Receiving Handset does not have enough free memory for incoming SMS.
• Receiving Handset was turned off or out of the coverage area during SMS lifetime set on the sending phone - usually 2 hours.
• Sender's SMS provider does not have an agreement with the receiving network.