What is a Data-Only SIM Card? Your Questions: Answered

We are used to Internet connectivity in almost every moment of our daily lives. There are countless smartphone data plans that offer unlimited high-speed data on nationwide networks. These plans allow people to use hundreds of gigabytes of data each month on their devices. While unlimited data usage on your cell phone is great, data-only SIM cards open up many opportunities for internet connectivity among your devices. 

In this article, we will discuss the benefits of purchasing a data-only SIM card for your devices. While smartphones are probably the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about SIM cards, we will delve into the possibility of tablets and even your car making great use of the data-only SIM card. 

What is a Data-Only SIM Card? 

A conventional mobile SIM card lets users make phone calls, send text messages, and use mobile data for internet connectivity, whereas the data-only SIM card provides only internet data. This means that with a data-only SIM, you cannot make regular phone calls and send messages to any phone number. Still, you can use internet-operated messaging services like FaceTime, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Google Duo, etc., to call and text anywhere in the world.

If you’re interested in a data-only SIM card, you need look no further than Rreally Wireless! You can join the waitlist and get the first look at Really Clutch, a data-only SIM operating on Really’s service. 

Example Data-Only SIM Plans 

Verizon Prepaid High-Data SIM Plans

Verizon offers many data-only SIM plans for tablets, mobile hotspots, and routers. Two of these plans offer huge data allocations. You do need a Verizon cell phone line to access these plans, but they are an excellent addition to your phone plan. Let’s break down Verizon’s data-only SIM plans to see how they compare to the competition. 

• 150 GB for $100 a month
• 100 GB for $80 a month

Paying $80-$100 for a data-only plan is a big price tag, but that colossal data allocation opens up a ton of doors for your SIM card. One awesome use for data-only SIM plans is to create a WiFi hotspot in your vehicle, a perfect play if you have kids who love being on their devices and don’t have cell phones. This in-car hotspot lets tablets and laptops connect so your kids can play video games, watch TV, or do anything they want! This is great for long car rides where, otherwise, your kids might get cranky. 

Alas! Gone are the days when cars had DVD players in the back, and all family vehicles had stacks of movies and TV shows for their kids. A high-data SIM card from Verizon gives your device a tremendous buffer of high-speed data. For reference, full HD streaming (1080p) uses around 3 GB per hour. That means you have either 33 or 50 hours of full HD streaming before your data allocation is used up. 

Verizon Prepaid Low-Data SIM Plans

Now, a 150 GB in-car hotspot is not the only way to ensure your passengers have stuff to do during the ride! There are lots of ways to prep in advance of a long trip if you don’t have over 100 GB of high-speed data to use. You can download videos and games beforehand, so they are stored locally and don’t need to be 

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Rounding out Verizon’s data-only SIM plans are two low-data plans. These won’t give you heaps of data but are still great options for data-only SIMs in certain situations. 

• 25 GB for $60 a month
• 5 GB for $40 a month

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Many Internet of Things devices use a small amount of data throughout the month, and selecting a low-data SIM lets you keep that device connected to the Internet throughout the month. Exterior trail cameras and many other devices rely on an internet connection to broadcast data back to you, be it on an app or to your home computer. 

EIOT Club 24 GB Dual-Network SIM Card

The EIOT Club provides fantastic data-only SIM cards for Internet of Things devices worldwide. Their 24 GB dual-network SIM card operates on both T-Mobile and AT&T’s networks, providing fantastic nationwide coverage. This plan offers 24 GB of high-speed data, costs $109, and lasts for one year. 

This kind of data plan is not meant as a primary form of data, especially for high-data cell phone users. The average cell phone user in the United States uses around 30 GBs of high-speed data a month, making that data allocation not worthwhile for the price you pay. Their SIM cards are designed for IoT devices, especially ones that are outside of your home. Cameras, trackers, industrial devices, and more work exceptionally well with these cards. If this SIM card and data allocation lasts all year long, it comes out to around $9 a month, which is a great price! 

This kind of SIM card is not meant as a primary source of data; rather, it functions perfectly for devices you don’t have to micromanage and don’t use data at the same rate that your cell phone does. This SIM card shines for devices that can operate year round using less than 24 GB of high-speed data. 

SIM and eSIM Cards

SIM cards are the small devices within your cell phone or other device that connects that device to the internet. Mobile SIM cards give your phone permission to send texts, calls and use data on the mobile network. Data SIM cards only give the device access to the internet. 

Alongside data-only SIM cards there are also data-only eSIM cards. Electronic SIM cards have grown in popularity as the hardware necessary for devices. These cards have recently turned digital. Physical SIM cards (usually Nano SIMs in current phones) take up way more space than their eSIM counterparts. Cell phones are optimizing space, and bulky physical SIM cards are making way for smaller, embedded hardware. 

As phones increased in portability and decreased in size, there was a need for smaller SIM cards. SIM cards have fluctuated in size throughout history. The actual SIM portion only took up part of the card, so it was easy to design a smaller model to fit into a phone and stay there. Thus, the Mini SIM came to be. This much smaller card saved on space and became semi-permanent in devices. If they so choose, people could still swap out their SIM cards, but people are changing devices with much less frequency, and swapping devices with eSIM, while a little more work, is still very easy. 

First things first: eSIM cards do the same things physical SIM cards do. They connect your device to your carrier’s mobile network and keep your number and other account information. The card has decreased in size through the years, and going from physical SIM to eSIM is a logical continuation of this process. The embedded SIM is a chip that’s a part of your phone’s hardware rather than a piece that’s inserted into a port in your phone. 

How to Use a Data-Only SIM Card

There are many ways to use a data-only SIM card, but it is important to keep in mind that they are not meant to be a primary form of data consumption on your mobile device. Many data-only cards are priced for low-data usage. Some carriers offer data-only plans that give a few GBs of data each month, but a phone user who uses ten or more GBs will find much more affordable options in other cell phone plans. 

In this section, we will highlight some classic data uses and see how data-only SIM cards hold up in those situations. 

Hotspot Data

A mobile hotspot provides a WiFi network to nearby devices using cellular data. This is an exciting way to leverage your cell phone or dedicated hotspot to connect tablets, computers, and other devices to a WiFi network while you are out and about.

A data-only SIM card can do the same thing. Hooked up to your phone, you can use the data from this cell phone plan to power your hotspot as long as you have data left in your plan. Many premium cell phone plans in the United States come with high-speed hotspot data, but if you don’t have a plan that allocates any hotspot data, a data-only SIM can service in a pinch. 

Hotspot WiFi networks do not generally produce the same high-speed internet as a home WiFi system, but they are fantastic for email, browsing the web, and other activities that don’t need super-fast WiFi to function. 

In-Car Wifi

There are many cards with built-in SIM card slots for creating a WiFi zone within the car. This is an excellent option, especially if you have kids, to ensure your car is connected to the internet while you are on long drives. Gone, alas, are the days when cars had mini screens in the back and DVD players. 

A hotspot in your car lets tablets and computers connect to the in-car WiFi network as well as your cell phone if you are running maps, streaming music, or on the phone during your journey. Leveraging the car’s built-in features to create a WiFi network lets your phone stay free for navigation. Many cars with this feature also let you connect your phone to the center console, letting you navigate, play music, and chat through the car’s speakers if you are on the phone. 

Streaming video over a long journey does take up a lot of high-speed data, so make sure you find a data-only SIM card with a high data allocation for the hotspot WiFi network in your vehicle.

Internet of Things Devices

The internet of things (IoT) is the overarching term to describe every object that is connected to the internet. Things like traffic lights, watches, lights, security systems, and all of “smart” technology. Over the last few years the IoT has grown and applications of such interconnectedness are being explored by companies like Helium, among many others. 

The IoT has grown astonishingly large and continues to grow exponentially as time goes on. There are concerns about the security of devices on the IoT network, as many simple internet connections (in a home security camera, for example) are able to collect and transfer a tremendous volume of data. 

The IoT network can provide many benefits in various aspects of life. One big benefit of an interconnected network is efficiency. For instance, with a smart network at home, you can connect every light in your house to an app on your phone. You no longer have to walk into every room and flip a switch if you want to turn a light on or off. You can control it all with a few taps on your phone screen! On a larger scale, companies are working to gather a lot of data from nodes on the IoT network and use them to monitor stuff like weather, traffic, and more. This monitoring is to allow them to create a more efficient, safe, and convenient city.

Companies like EIOT Club have data-only SIM cards designed for IoT devices. Connecting these devices to mobile networks helps you set them up in optimal locations around your h

Dual-SIM Devices

Dual SIM encompasses everything that allows phones to contain multiple numbers on a single device. There are a variety of reasons why you might want multiple accounts on your phone, but business and travel are the biggest two. The overarching idea behind dual SIM technology is that there is space within the phone with a combination of physical SIM slots and eSIM hardware. These slots let these numbers exist entirely separate from one another. You can have multiple plans or carriers within the phone, and the current dual SIM technology lets every number within the phone function simultaneously. 

Before dual SIM technology was introduced, people carried multiple phones. Many still do. There are practical advantages to having separate devices for each number; many people still operate two phones to separate those numbers physically. 

That being said, carrying around two phones all the time is less than ideal. In terms of pocket space alone, two phones can be more than a bit inconvenient. The first dual-SIM phones gained popularity around the turn of the century, but, even today, not every phone has dual-SIM compatibility. By now, we’d wager that your device is capable of housing multiple SIM cards, but we recommend a quick Google search just to make sure. 

You can grab a data-only SIM to create a dual-sim device as long as your phone is unlocked. You can keep a data-only SIM card for emergencies, like if you go over your data allocation on your limited-data account or if you run into a spot on the map where your primary network doesn’t have coverage but other networks do. 

All You Need to Know About Data-Only SIM Cards

We hope this article has answered all your burning questions about data-only SIM cards! There are lots of possibilities on the market, but unfortunately, many of them are tied to a major wireless carrier. EIOT Club is a great alternative if you aren’t using a provider that offers a data-only SIM. These SIM cards come with various monthly or yearly data allocations. 

This is great! It means you can get a high-data SIM card for mobile hotspots or in-car Wifi or a low-data SIM card for IoT devices like trail cameras. These SIM cards are also great additions to cell phones, letting you leverage a huge data allocation for a high-speed data hotspot or extra mobile data should you need it. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a normal SIM and a data SIM card?

The hardware of these cards is the same! There’s nothing unique about a data-only SIM card, rather, it only provides data, while a phone SIM card provides your device a number, access to messaging and calling, and data. 

The major difference between data-only SIM cards and normal SIM cards is the way they are used. Since data-only SIM cards are, well, data-only, they are used in devices like tablets, laptops, hotspots, and other IoT devices. 

Can I use a Data-Only SIM on a smartphone?

Yes! It won’t activate a phone number on your device, but you can use the data it provides on your smartphone the same way you use your carriers’ data. 

While data-only SIM cards are more common in tablets and portable hotspots, you can add one to your smartphone and use it to increase your total monthly data or add hotspot data.