Country-Specific Issues

Most countries "just work" once your eSIM is installed and your data line is switched over. A few have local quirks worth knowing about. Detailed per-country guides are coming — for now, here's the short list of places that need a heads-up.

China (mainland)

Two things to be aware of:

• The Great Firewall blocks many western apps and services — Google (search, Gmail, Maps, YouTube), Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X / Twitter, most western news sites. This applies to any SIM used in mainland China, including esimple. The block is at the network level, not on our side.
• The workaround most travellers use is a VPN, installed before arrival. Once you're in China, the app stores block VPN downloads, so you have to set it up at home.

Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are not behind the firewall and work normally.

Cuba

Travel eSIM coverage in Cuba is limited and inconsistent. We don't currently offer a dedicated Cuba plan; some regional Caribbean plans include partial coverage, but speeds are slow and outages are common.

If Cuba is your destination, email support@esimple.ai before buying. We'll be honest about whether what's available is worth it for your trip.

Vietnam

Multiple networks operate in Vietnam (Viettel, Vinaphone, Mobifone). Travel eSIMs sometimes pick the wrong one first and signal feels patchy.

If speed feels poor in the first hour, try forcing a different network:

• iPhone: Settings → Cellular → tap the esimple plan → Network Selection → Automatic off → wait → pick a different operator from the list.
• Android: SIM settings → Mobile network → Network operators → Search → pick manually.

Viettel typically has the strongest urban coverage; Vinaphone is better in some rural areas.

Russia and Belarus

Coverage is technically available on some regional plans, but sanctions and payment processing have made things inconsistent. Some networks block international roaming entirely.

If you're travelling here, contact us before buying so we can confirm current status.

United States — eSIM-only iPhone caveat

If you bought your iPhone in the US (iPhone 14, 15 or 16 series), there's no physical SIM tray. That's fine for esimple — it's an eSIM-only phone, designed for this. But it means you can't use a local US prepaid SIM card as a backup. If you want a second line, it has to also be an eSIM.

Iran, North Korea, parts of central Africa

We don't currently offer coverage in some sanctioned or unserved countries. The destination picker on esimple.ai/destinations only shows countries where service actually works — if a country doesn't appear in the picker, we don't cover it.

Cruise ships and aeroplanes

Some cruise lines and airlines offer onboard "mobile networks" via satellite (Cellular at Sea, AeroMobile). These are technically roaming networks, charged at premium per-minute / per-MB rates by the cruise/airline themselves. Your travel eSIM should not connect to these — turn data roaming off temporarily, or set your phone to airplane mode while on board, to avoid accidental satellite-network charges.

Common pattern across "weird" countries

For any country with unusual restrictions:

1. Read the country's regulatory news before travel.
2. Set up VPN, authenticator app, and offline maps before you fly.
3. Test apps and services within the first hour of arrival — easier to troubleshoot fresh than three days in.
4. Don't assume "this app worked last trip" — country rules change.

Detailed country guides

We're working on per-country guides for the destinations our travellers use most. They'll cover network choice, common pitfalls, and what to expect. Until then, if you're going somewhere not covered above and have a specific question, email support@esimple.ai with the country name. We'll share what we know.