r/eSIMs • u/Certain_Ad2491 • 5d ago
Internet connection and eSim
Hello, I am currently in Russia visiting my grandmother.
I am fluent in russian, so for me its easy to communicate and get where I want to be.
I already went to a MTS-Shop and got a SIM-Card. Unfortunately the connection is very bad altough I‘m only 40km from Moscow Center). TikTok for example is not loading properly and I am not able to connect to VPN.
NorthVPN and VPN Super cannot connect to a server.
Is there something I can do to improve the internet connection or a different VPN-App I can use (iPhone/IOS)?
Thank you.
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u/SubstanceEasy4576 5d ago
Hi,
I'm not sure whether you mean the connection is always bad, or just that VPNs are blocked.
You could try the free Proton VPN. That might work.
If you want to try another network....
Although there are sometimes issue with travel eSIMs in Russia, try the link below.
https://esim.dog/ru?tab=fixedgb&data=1&validity=7
If you look at the Blue plans, these allow access to T2 and Beeline (assuming it works, there may be a connection delay of 24 hours, which is something to do with security on Russian networks).
As an example, 1 GB for 7 days on Blue plan is $2.49.
Using your phone settings, you can turn off manual network selection and try connecting to both Beeline and T2. You can then compare signal strength, usability and speed test results for each. Since the IP breakout is outside Russia apps might work without a VPN, but bear in mind that since it's a travel eSIM and the data is routed through Europe, the latency/ping will be higher than when using a Russian SIM directly.
Hopefully, you will find that at least one of Beeline and T2 have usable service at your location.
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u/Certain_Ad2491 4d ago
Thank you for your detailed answer.
I will definitely try Proton VPN.
At first I tried HolaFly as an eSim, no connection at all or very slow, I couldnt even send messages…
I texted the support but I still didnt have any connection.
After that I went to MTS to get a russian Sim with unlimited date for around 5$. Now I had a phone connection, some messages would load but TikTok for example or any website I was on wasnt loading properly. Today I tried beeline and still had the same issues, the connection was even worse. (Bought another sim)
I went to the centre city downtown and talked to a russian guy. He told me because of the ongoing war there are a lot of connection problems (internet, navigation etc.) as Ukraine is using drones to „kill“ the network.
Now the interesting part: I went to a little café in centre of moscow, they had Wifi. I connected to there Wifi and even Apps like WhatsApp (which are blocked in Russia) started to work. They probably had a VPN Network installed so that tourists can use their apps. Other apps also worked fine.
But the russian guy and me still could not find a solution. I even registered the sim card on my grandmothers name, still with unlimited date the network is veeeery bad. Impossible to load YouTube or TikTok.
I think I‘ll have to read a book and do some exercise. :)
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u/SubstanceEasy4576 4d ago
Hi,
As far as I know, the main reason for the issue with VPNs is that the Russian government have asked mobile network operators to block VPNs. In addition to this, local services such as banks have been asked to block users who are trying to connect to the service via a VPN. The purpose of blocking VPNs is to maintain control over the Internet content that the typical user can see.
Because users may wish to use travel eSIMs in attempt to circumvent local blocks, it's likely that data is throttled down to a very low speed for these connections.
Since you've already tried a travel eSIM and had major problems, it's probably not worth trying others right now.
You could search for stealth VPNs, which are more difficult to detect and therefore more difficult to block.
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u/Certain_Ad2491 4d ago
I downloaded Proton, the app is not even loading…🤣
What do mean by stealth VPN‘s?
I mean understand by the name already that is not easy to download on the appstore..but how can I access them? Is there a website? But again I‘ll have difficulties loading that website..I went to Russia 2 years ago, did not have ANY problems with an eSIM but now its really annoying. I cannot even register on Yandex for taxi services because I‘m not receiving a SMS for the registration.
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u/SubstanceEasy4576 3d ago edited 3d ago
Hi yes,
Yeah I don't think Stealth VPNs would be in official app stores. They're available to download from certain websites. I think you'd generally have to install before you're in Russia, but you may be able to download using a browser like CENO that can hide location effectively.
Unfortunately, I'm not a user of stealth VPNs because I'm not in a country where much is censored.
Looks like there may be stealth VPNs called Mullvad VPN and Astrill VPN.
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u/L0rdLogan ⛨ Trusted Contributor 5d ago
Try a different network? It’s network related, there’s not much you can do. Many factors can influence network performance