“Delays, Misleading Product Info, and a Frustrating Refund Process

I bought two 33GB eSIMs for the Philippines and they were completely unusable — SMART required local‑resident documents, which Airhub never mentioned. Support ignored my ticket for 17 days, then claimed they had replied (they hadn’t) and even leaked another customer’s email in a screenshot.
After weeks of excuses and delays, they only offered a 50% refund for a service that never worked at all.
Unreliable service, misleading info, and very poor support.”

Gu

Feb 3, 2026

abesteSIM Philippines

“I bought unlimited for one day. Throttling speed was so obvious, can't go above 200 kb/s. Regardless of advertising 5g, esim connected on LTE network.
Complete waste of money.”

Dion

Sep 5, 2025

Billion Connect Philippines

“I’ve used Billion Connect for multiple eSims abroad now, and I’ve found them great every time. Their customer service responds pretty quickly to any issues, and the sims are cheap and work well. Be aware the sims are mostly based in Hong Kong so if you’re geographically far from there the latency might be a little high, and you may need a VPN for things like TikTok to work, but I’ve had very few issues.”

James

Jun 3, 2025

Nomad Philippines

“Easy to use, decent speeds (not particularly fast but not frustratingly slow either). But this eSIM uses roaming via Hong Kong, so I wasn't able to use ChatGPT which was a bummer.”

Balza

Feb 4, 2025

MobiMatter Philippines

“So far all the esims I've got with mobimatter worked flawless, in Taiwan I had to adjust the connection network manually once, but it was a minor issue.”

sk4rt

Jul 6, 2024

Airhub Philippines

“まったく接続できませんでした”

K

May 8, 2024

GLOBAL YO Philippines

“Got the 20GB esim for Philippines, speed was so slow, mostly unusable, avoid”

Dan

Mar 28, 2024

GLOBAL YO Philippines

“I could use via Android App.
Operator was Singapore carrier.
Speed was not so fast, but there was no complain.”

anonymous

Dec 5, 2023

Nomad Philippines

“Nomad eSIM was easy to buy, easy to use (you just activate the plan from app and turn on data roaming) but in the Philippines it was definitely not that fast.

The one I bought from Nomad connected to Globe 4G, but was actually roaming via Hong Kong (provider called 1010 / csl).

I tried to use tethering at the airport on my way back but the network was sooo slow for some reason. Maybe just the airport, not sure.”

sk

Jan 27, 2023

Airalo Philippines

“Airalo worked okay at least in Manila. But speed is not that high at all and upload speed can be quite slow sometimes. I used it only for messaging, maps, Grab, etc. so was okay for me.

It's a roaming network provided by Singtel so it goes through Singapore with latency of a bit shy of 100ms.

If you don't mind the task of getting a local SIM and swapping it in your phone, you'll get better deal and better latency for sure. But as far as prepaid eSIM goes, Airalo does a decent job I think. You just have to lower your expectation a bit.”

sk

Jan 27, 2023

Airalo Philippines

“I was in Manila, El Nido and Coron. It worked well enough in Manila that I had no complaints. In El Nido, I had to manually select a network for it to work. Leaving it on automatic on the phone will choose the wrong network. In Coron, I had no reception once outside the main town. My wife had a physical SIM card and she had no issues.”

Daniel Chu

Jul 8, 2022

Philippines Travel eSIM FAQ

Everything you need to know about using eSIMs in Philippines

How many travel eSIM brands (providers) are available for use in Philippines, and how many prepaid data plans are there?

There are about 150 travel eSIM providers and more than 6200 prepaid data plans available for the Philippines. This wide variety of options gives travelers flexibility to find an eSIM that suits their needs.

Are there any unlimited data eSIM plans available for Philippines?

Yes, several eSIM providers offer unlimited data plans for use in the Philippines. The available plans come from abesteSIM, MicroEsim, Roamify, Truely, Yesim, and FairPlay. While all of them advertise unlimited data, the plans generally allow tethering and may be subject to speed throttling; abesteSIM specifically notes a possible reduced speed down to 128 kbps and a speed limit of 5 Mbps. Validity periods typically range from 1 to 30 days, with FairPlay’s plans requiring at least 3 days of validity. Prices for these unlimited plans vary between approximately $2.38 USD and $70.81 USD, so travelers can find options that fit a broad budget range.

What are the major mobile networks available for a travel eSIM in Philippines?

In the Philippines, the primary Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) providing mobile services are:

Smart Communications: A subsidiary of PLDT Inc., offering a comprehensive range of mobile services, including voice and data, with extensive coverage across the country.
Globe Telecom: Part of the Ayala Corporation, providing a variety of mobile services with a strong presence in both urban and rural areas.
DITO Telecommunity: The newest major player in the market, focusing on expanding its 4G and 5G networks to enhance nationwide coverage.

Additionally, the Philippines hosts several Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), which offer mobile services by leasing access from major carriers. For example, GOMO! operates on Globe's infrastructure, providing data-centric plans without expiry dates. It's important to note that most travel eSIMs rely on MNO infrastructure rather than MVNOs.

Can I get a travel eSIM with a phone number and SMS for Philippines?

Travel eSIMs that provide a phone number and SMS coverage are available for the Philippines from several providers. Plans from GlobaleSIM, Roamify, Orange Travel, Airhub and TravelKon all include inbound and outbound voice and SMS, and their validity ranges from 7 days to 365 days with prices starting around $4 for a 1 GB 7‑day package and rising to roughly $105 for a 20 GB 365‑day bundle.

The phone numbers supplied in these plans typically come from foreign dialing codes: GlobaleSIM, Roamify, Orange Travel and TravelKon use codes such as +1, +48 or +33, while Airhub offers a local +63 number for the Philippines. All providers support both inbound and outbound voice calls, and SMS is supported inbound on every plan and outbound on most, allowing you to communicate locally and internationally while traveling.

Summarized by AI, Last updated: May 21, 2026