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Let me tell you a funny little story about a silly old woman who thought she could fool Google.
I know right?
So, once upon a time, about a week ago, I decided to try to outsmart Google Voice, like other expats say they're able to do while they're outside of the US. I thought I'd go ahead and try setting up my phone the way I planned on using it in Thailand, like other expats supposedly do.
My thinking was that if I'm still in the states while I try things out and something does go wrong, I'd still be here so I could fix it.
It's a good thing I did, too.
So, here's what I did. First, I ported my Mint Mobile phone number to Google Voice and I got an e-SIM card from Airalo.com for a cheap data plan that I could use instead of a cell phone plan.
Then, I downloaded the ExpressVPN app on all of my devices and set my location to San Francisco, which happens to be in the area I'm actually still living in now.
In case you don't know, a VPN, or a virtual private network, is supposed to let you change the location on your devices, so when you interact on the Internet with your devices, whether it's Wi-Fi or data, the world thinks you're somewhere else.
You've probably seen videos or read articles about how this is a great way to be able to use Google Voice abroad, which would allow you to keep a US phone number for free -- even though Google's rules say you are only allowed to use Google Voice while you're actually in the US.
Well, I'm here to tell you that none of these clever little schemes worked for me.
At first, everything was working great. So, I spent most of a day writing an article to tell you guys how great these solutions are and how they're working wonderfully for me, and how you should use them too.
And then, it all imploded.
Fortunately, I hadn't finished editing or actually posting the article or a video or a podcast about it, yet. But, I had to toss out all that hard work, and here I am writing a new article giving the exact opposite advice.
Life has a way of letting you know the joke is on us. Might as well find it funny.
What started happening is that Google Voice began adding a Hong Kong area code to my contacts and there was no way to remove it.
Then, I saw that the WhatsApp app on my phone had also changed my default area code to Hong Kong. And, I had to say, What's up with that, WhatsApp?
I know. I couldn't resist.
So, I thought it must be ExpressVPN somehow telling the universe that my location is Hong Kong, even though the ExpressVPN app on all of my devices was showing that it was telling the world I'm in San Francisco.
And, for the record, I have never been to Hong Kong.
Then, Google completely stopped letting me use Google Voice because it thought I was in Hong Kong and wanted me to verify a cell phone number on my phone to prove I was in the states, and it wouldn't let me use the number I had already ported to Google Voice to do that. And, of course, I no longer had a US mobile number on my phone that I could verify.
So, next I deleted ExpressVPN from all of my devices, to see if that would fix things, but the world still thought I was in Hong Kong. So, it wasn't ExpressVPN setting my location wrong.
It turns out, that the Airalo e-SIM card somehow tells the world that your phone is in Hong Kong.
Once I deleted the Airalo e-SIM card, I was no longer in Hong Kong. But, the important takeaway here is that your VPN won't always hide that kind of information. VPNExpress support admitted to me that they can't always mask your location from everything.
So, I gotta ask: What good is a VPN, then?
And, being the researcher that I am, I started Googling whether or not VPNs are trustworthy and found an article published in August 2022 in the New York Times by author Brian X. Chen that you should read.
Chen says he's no longer spending money on a VPN and that you shouldn't either, because VPNs not only do not consistently protect you, but they can actually be the bad actors you're trying to protect yourself from. Larger companies are buying up VPNs and using them in ways that are not in your best interest -- including ExpressVPN. And, he says, they're also buying up VPN review sites.
And, as far as trying to fool Google -- let's all agree that Google is really smart and we're really just fooling ourselves if we think we're going to outsmart Google.
As for you expats who are successfully still using Google Voice abroad with a VPN right now, I think you should probably have Plan B ready, because I think your days of using Google Voice abroad are numbered.
So, what to do? I went back to the drawing board, and after hours of more research, I decided to get another US cell phone service that would be cheap to use both in the US and in Thailand, and I discovered Tello.
What's Great About Tello
Tello is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia in the US and uses the T-Mobile network, which is the same network that Mint Mobile uses. To get Mint Mobile for $15/month, their cheapest plan, you have to pay up front for a full year.
And here's a quick question for you guys...Is anybody else really tired of the Ryan Reynolds Mint Mobile ads on YouTube? If so, go to the community tab on my YouTube channel and vote in my poll.
The best thing about Tello, is that Tello does not care where you are in the world when you make a call, and Tello doesn't care how long you are out of the country. It just looks at how many of your minutes you use to call any of the 60 countries on the free list, and will charge you a set price per minute for countries not on the free list.
Both the US and Thailand are on the free list. So, I can be in either country and make calls within that country or from one country to the other and the only thing Tello cares about is how many minutes I use.
My Tello plan is just $6/month and it includes free calling to both the US and Thailand. I can just pay month to month with no long-term contract and they have a bunch of different plans to choose from. I have the cheapest option that includes some calls and texts, which is all I need.
What's Not Perfect About Tello:
Probably the biggest con to using Tello outside of the US, though, is that it only works with Wi-Fi outside the US. It does not offer roaming or data outside the US.
So, once I get to Thailand, for instance, if I need to use my phone where there isn't Wi-Fi, I'll need a workaround, which I'll talk about in a minute here.
Also, not all countries you may want to call are free. It is not free to call the Philippines, for instance. For the Philippines, the cost is about 14 cents per minute for calls, but texts are free. That is still not a deal breaker for me. If I travel to the Philippines, I can just add some pay-as-you-go credits to my account for any calls in the Philippines. But, while in the Philippines, I'll still be able to call the US and Thailand for free.
Tello gave me a refer-a-friend code after I signed up. If you want to use it, it will give both you and me a $10 credit on our Tello accounts.
Click Here to Use My $10 Tello Refer-A-Friend Code
Option 1: Use an Ubigi.com e-SIM Card To Get Around Having a Thai SIM Card Plan That Requires You To Let the Seller Take a Photo of Your Passport
Okay, so, what is the workaround for using Tello outside of the US when you don't have Wi-Fi? I have two ideas for dealing with that, which you might find really weird because they both require having a second phone. Let me explain.
I would honestly prefer not to get a Thai SIM card if I can avoid it. The reason is because it's Thai law that when you buy a Thai SIM card, you need to let the clerk selling it to you take a photo of your passport and a photo of you and link that SIM card to you.
My problem with that is that I have had my identity stolen before and it was a huge headache here in the states. I really don't want to deal with any issues with my identity being stolen in Thailand.
I have no problem with the Thai government and Thai Immigration having whatever information about me that they need. That's standard immigration stuff that's expected.
But, I worry about having photos of my passport potentially floating around out there that were taken by people who aren't officials -- like 7-11 clerks -- who might also be pressured by a local criminal to hand over my personal data.
So, in order to avoid this, I thought I'd first try getting a second small, cheap, older phone that still works fine as a hotspot and put a data-only e-SIM card in it, and try carrying 2 phones around for while, using one as a hotspot for my Tello phone whenever I don't have Wi-Fi and need to use my phone to use an app like Grab to call a ride.
If I try this option, I'd try another e-SIM data-only plan from Ubigi.com. They're an alternative to Airalo I found after the Airalo disaster that I would try next. They're in Japan and have great reviews and are even a little cheaper than Airalo.
Airalo not only told the world I was in Hong Kong, but their customer service was also not helpful, at all, in dealing with the problem and refused to give me a refund. So, I would not use Airalo again. I'd give Ubigi a try next, instead.
One thing to consider with this idea is that your phone would need to be e-SIM compatible. Ubigi has an Asia e-SIM card for $12/month that covers both Thailand and The Philippines, as well as other Asian countries.
The monthly cost for this option would be $6 for Tello plus $12 for Ubigi for a total of $18/month.
Option 2: Go Ahead and Get a Thai Mobile Plan (And Get the Best Deal on a Thai Phone Plan)
The other option using a second phone, would be to just go ahead and get a Thai SIM plan after all, and then use the second phone just for my Thai phone and Thai apps and keep my Tello phone for the apps I want to keep more private, like my US banking apps.
And, with this option, you would only need a phone with a physical SIM card slot, which would also be cheaper.
A YouTuber whose channel is named “PG Travels” has a video where he shows the best deal he has found while traveling in Thailand, which is a physical SIM card plan that you can buy at any 7-11 store there.
It's from TrueMove and it's the 5G, 4mbps plan and it's only 150 baht (about $4.50 USD) for 30 days, and you can continually top it up every month. The TrueMove website doesn't show these cheaper physical SIMs, so you won't find them online. It's an insider secret from PG Travels, which he was kind enough to share with us on his YouTube channel.
He has also used this TrueMove SIM plan as a hotspot and said even though it's advertised as being a slow speed, he's actually gotten really good speeds, has had good coverage all over Thailand, and it worked well as a hotspot, too. So, it would also work as a hotspot for my Tello phone, if I ever needed it to.
In his video, he kindly holds up the package, so you can take a screen shot or photo of it, so you can just show it to the clerk at a 7-11 store, and not have to worry about any language issues. This is the plan I will buy if I do decide to get a Thai SIM card, after all.
With the $6/month Tello plan and this $4.50/month TrueMove plan, you would have both a Thai and an actual US mobile number for a total of only $10.50/month.
I'll leave you with one final tip: If you're looking for a good deal on a used phone, I can highly recommend Swappa.com. I've purchased my last 3 phones used on Swappa and had no problems. If you're outside the US, they also allow sellers to ship to freight forwards that have a US address, like your mail forwarding service.
I get no compensation for recommending Swappa. I just honestly really like them and personally use them and I think you'll like them, too.
I hope to see you again real soon.
Kelly
References:
Click Here to Use My $10 Credit Refer-A-Friend Code on Tello.com
PG Travels YouTube Channel video on TruMove SIM Plan for only 150 baht:
Hey there. I just discovered your wonderful podcasts. Wondering what has happened since your last episode a year ago?
Re: VPN use. I only have/use a VPN in order to: watch Hulu (periodically) and post to Tiktok for work (regularly from a dedicated phone). With the VPN on + a deactivated US SIM card in that phone, my views are 99% from the US. With the VPN off, my views are 85% from Portugal.