Holafly eSIM's 'Unlimited' Data Claims: What Customer Reviews Have to Say
Alarming comments are found on Twitter about Holafly eSIM unlimited data plan.

Holafly, a provider of travel eSIM service, claims to offer 'Unlimited' data plans. But does this truly translate to unthrottled mobile internet access with their eSIM?
In order to get to the bottom of this, I turned to social media to investigate what users have experienced and shared about their Holafly eSIM.
This post delves into some intriguing findings from social media (Twitterverse to be more specific) concerning not only Holafly's 'unlimited' claim but also speed, customer service, and hotspot functionality.
Seemingly common speed concerns
Quite a number of tweets on Twitter highlight issues such as slow connections, throttling, and dropped speeds with Holafly eSIM.
Had a poor experience using @holafly_com in the US. Very low and no internet connection in Las Vegas for 3 days. Search for an address on google maps would take me 2-3min. Never again.
— Danielle Bizinelli (@dani_bizi) January 10, 2023
Some users reported that their eSIM initially functioned well, but the connection speed quickly deteriorated.
@holafly_com Hi I brought a roaming pack on your website and it worked well for the first day. However I am now only getting extremely slow Internet. I have had no response on your Web chat. How can I get this sorted.
— Sarah Kinkade (@SJTBS) October 11, 2022
Interestingly, many of these cases appear to have occurred in European countries, such as Spain. It's not clear whether this is merely a coincidence, but it's worth considering.
@holafly_com why is my Spain holafly esim very slow? I have full coverage bars and still a slow connection, i had no problems yesterday
— Davi Moloney (@Davie69x) August 15, 2022
The sheer volume of tweets discussing speed-related problems strongly indicates that users may face speed restrictions at some point. Can't confirm anything but it's definitely possible.
Here's an example of a tweet that mentions 'throttling', which refers to significantly reduced speeds imposed by the mobile network provider.
@holafly_com why do I have ISP throttling issues on your esim and no support ?
— Larisa | Exchange Art (@larisaNFT) September 21, 2022
Several tweets even include speed test results to showcase the issue.
Don't!!! I'm in Japan and they throttle the connection. pic.twitter.com/B6bjLHCUiv
— crom.cro 🎣 (@Crom_UK) November 23, 2022
When it comes to mobile / cellular data, "unlimited data" might be too good to be true. It's plausible that the speed could decrease (restricted) after consuming a certain amount of data, as suggested by the tweet below.
@holafly_com as a service it’s not bad but far to be unlimited, after 2GB of transfer the speed is dropping probably due to QoS.
— WikiZellCreation (@WikiZell) August 17, 2022
Experiencing a speed drop after using only 2GB of data is far from the idea of unlimited. Personally, I'd prefer purchasing a 5GB or 10GB plan to avoid the potential frustration of significantly reduced speeds. It would be a modern traveler's nightmare to face such issues during a trip.
Poor customer support? Maybe
We can all agree that dealing with a glitch is highly frustrating, especially when the provider struggles to respond or provide help in a timely manner. Most people, myself included, have faced such situations at least a couple of times.
And it's even more frustrating when the problem involves mobile data while traveling, as some Holafly customers have shared on social media...
The @holafly_com Customer support is garbage. I'm waiting 15-20 minutes per text.
— Treyso Paaso (@TreysoPaaso) February 14, 2023
Gave me the wrong eSim for the area I was going, and then when they "fixed" it I still didn't have connection. Don't use them and save your time
Given Holafly's popularity in Spanish-speaking countries, numerous complaints can be found in Spanish.
@holafly_com tengo una incidencia y he intentado contactar con vosotros por mail(help@holafly.com), por chat en la web, por WhatsApp incluso por teléfono ( que no parece operativo) y nada de nada durante horas...
— Daso&dallo (@DasoIdallo) July 25, 2022
Google Translate:
I have an incident and I have tried to contact you by mail, by chat on the web, by WhatsApp even by phone (which does not seem to work) and nothing at all for hours...
@holafly_com Es la tercera vez que intento contactar con vosotros, vuestra atención al cliente es pésima.
— Mer 🏳️🌈 (@__hwanlight) August 4, 2022
Estoy en Egipto, con una tarjeta de datos vuestra, y no hay manera de que funcione. El chat y el WhatsApp lo contestáis cada mil horas.
Google translation:
It is the third time that I try to contact you, your customer service is terrible. I am in Egypt, with a data card from you, and there is no way it will work. You answer the chat and WhatsApp every thousand hours.
There are also several English tweets spelling out disappointing customer support experiences.
@holafly_com Hi! Why does your website say there’s 24/7 support with response time asvertised as being a few minutes, but whichever way I try to contact you I’m not getting any answer at all? (Through online chat, WhatsApp and email - all completely without response).
— Erlend C. L. Birkeland (@eclbirkeland) August 21, 2022
Although Holafly claims to offer 24/7 support through online chat, WhatsApp, and email, some users suggest that these channels may not always be reliable.
I had a very bad experience with holafly, wouldn't recommend for anyone, very unprofessional and bad costumer service
— Ben Ortner (@Benn_Ortner) February 19, 2023
While I hope (and believe) their support is generally available when needed, it's essential to recognize the multiple complaints regarding their customer service.
@holafly_com has terrible customer service and should be avoided at all costs. I was sold a cellular plan that I could not activate, and they refuse to refund me. I have no choice but to report the charges as fraudulent
— Mo (@mo_dality) September 30, 2022
Fact: No Hotspot / Tethering Allowed
@holafly_com sells an esim where you cannot set up a Hotspot. That the connection overall is very inconsistent and expensive.
— Claire Rovic (@ClaireRovic) October 14, 2022
This product needs to be avoided...
I could have easily purchased a Sim on landing in Europe and saved and used my Hotspot.
As this user expresses, it's incredibly inconvenient to discover that hotspot doesn't work when you assumed it would. The truth is, many of Holafly's eSIMs do not permit tethering.
Holafly eSIM for Bali was useless (USD 64 for 30 days). Low network coverage. Mostly 3G, sometimes 4G - both on manual and automatic operator selection. But most annoying: iOS hotspot did not work. #remoteworking @holafly_com
— Markus Tripp (@markustripp) January 10, 2023
The fact that Holafly prohibits Personal Hotspot / Internet sharing with their 'unlimited' data eSIM suggests that what they call 'Unlimited' may not be true unlimited.

It's reasonable to assume that this restriction is in place to prevent users from excessively consuming data across multiple devices. But again, it's just my guess / observation.
Those plans were initially not advertised as 'unlimited'
It seems that during the first half of 2022, Holafly updated their data plans and began promoting some (or most, I should say) of their plans as offering 'Unlimited' data.
Evidence of this change can be found in older blog posts, such as this article from travel with bender featuring Holafly.

This update also reveals that Holafly eSIM did support tethering at first. However, they apparently disabled it when they started marketing many of their plans as unlimited data.
Refunds could be a lengthy process
There have been complaints from some users about the refund process taking too long.
Hey @holafly_com I just want my refund. Since november 13 I'm waiting. This is ridiculous. My order was #E236383
— Paula Pfeifer (@surdosqueouvem) December 6, 2022
Or, in more unfortunate cases, having their refunds rejected.
So just btw if anyone is considering buying an eSim for Morocco, the expensive Holafly one I bought completely failed to work. And they don't do refunds because "we can't check your data usage" - in my case, zero.
— polly🛵peachum (@polly_peachum) January 12, 2023
It's difficult to determine if these cases are rare exceptions or just the tip of the iceberg.
Nonetheless, some travel eSIM providers like Maya Mobile offer a money-back guarantee that could be a safer alternative.
Takeaways
Although it remains unclear whether network throttling or speed restrictions actually exist for Holafly eSIM and, if they do, under which circumstances they occur, it's important to recognize that 'unlimited' data in the context of prepaid mobile data using a cellular network is generally not truly unlimited. If you want to understand more about this, search for 'Fair Usage Policy' to delve into the specifics.
Keep in mind that the overview provided here represents one perspective on Holafly eSIM and serves as a reminder that the experience might be less than what you expect.
Of course, there are customers who have been satisfied with their eSIM experience, but as the saying goes; "Where there's smoke, there's fire," right?
All I can say is that I wouldn't personally recommend choosing Holafly eSIM for your next trip solely based on their 'Unlimited' data claim.
You could potentially end up spending more money or, even worse, valuable time (which is precious when traveling) trying to resolve issues with their eSIMs.
@holafly_com really sorry to say the service is really bad, and no less than a scam. I trusted these guys with my travel and when I reached is want working in Iceland. I am stuck in grave condition and this was the only life line still it’s not working. I tried connecting with
— nishit (@noShit2011) December 27, 2022
'Unlimited' daata doesn't mean constant high (or normal) speed
The practice of attracting customers with the enticing 'Unlimited' label is often seen in mobile internet services. While it's not technically incorrect, as you might still be able to use data at a significantly slower speed, some people find this approach deceptive.
I personally hope that companies abandon this deceptive language / terminology and instead promote data plans with specific GB limits (unless it's genuinely unlimited data, of course).
Anyway, please do your own research and choose wisely.
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