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.

Feb 3, 2026

abesteSIM

Dionused in 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.

Sep 5, 2025

Billion Connect

Jamesused in 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.

Jun 3, 2025

Yoho Mobile

Jamesused in Philippines 🇵🇭

The sim worked fine, but be aware that Yoho count their days as 00:00-23:59, so if you buy a sim in the afternoon or evening, the last few hours of that purchase day will count as 1 day. I was cut off nearly a full day early because I bought it in the evening.

Jun 3, 2025

Nomad

Balzaused in 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.

Feb 4, 2025

MobiMatter

sk4rtused in 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.

Jul 6, 2024

Airhub

Kused in Philippines 🇵🇭

まったく接続できませんでした

May 8, 2024

GLOBAL YO

Danused in Philippines 🇵🇭

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

Mar 28, 2024

GLOBAL YO

anonymousused in Philippines 🇵🇭

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

Dec 5, 2023

Nomad

skused in 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.

Jan 27, 2023

Airalo

skused in 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.

Jan 27, 2023

Airalo

Daniel Chuused in 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.

Jul 8, 2022

Frequently Asked Questions

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

About 120 travel eSIM brands are available for use in the Philippines, with roughly 4, 500 prepaid data plans. With thousands of options, travelers have a wide variety of plans to choose from, making it easy to find an eSIM that fits their needs.

Are there any unlimited data eSIM plans available for Philippines?

Yes, several eSIM providers offer unlimited data plans for the Philippines. These plans typically range from 1 to 30 days of validity and are priced between about $3.00 and $64.13 USD. Most of the plans allow tethering, but customers should be aware that speed may be throttled; a few plans explicitly cap speed at 5 Mbps. The main providers that include unlimited options are Roamify, abesteSIM, MicroEsim, Truely, Billion Connect, Yoho Mobile, Yesim, and FairPlay.

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?

Yes, travel eSIM plans that provide a phone number and SMS support are available for the Philippines. Providers such as GlobaleSIM and Roamify offer virtual numbers that allow inbound and, for many packages, outbound calls and texts. All of these numbers use the dialing code +1 (the United States/Canada code) – and Earth Esim’s packages use +33 – so the phone numbers are not local to the Philippines, where the international dialing code is +63.

The plans come in a variety of data caps and validity periods, from 1 GB of data for 7 days starting at about $4 USD with GlobaleSIM to larger bundles and up to 60 days from Roamify’s Global Premium eSIMs that can provide up to 5 GB of data for roughly $49 USD. When you need a true local Philippine number, you can instead use the data‑only eSIM options and rely on VoIP services such as WhatsApp, Telegram or iMessage for voice and text communication.

Summarized by Gen AI. Last updated: February 15, 2026