Service blocked and no refund
Bought a 30gb 30 day Esim for South Africa.
One week and 8 GB later, I go to bed. Wake up and there's no connection.
Complained to costumer service and they said my account has been blocked for misuse by the carrier. Overnight. While I slept.
They said they got in touch with them and would let me know the outcome.
I said I don't care about the outcome. I need my phone to work. So I buy an Esim from another company and asked for a refund. It's been 4 days.
I complained on Trustpilot, they answered asking for my details and never heard back.

Now this is my assumption of what's happening:

1. Airhub resells Vodafone UK eSIMs, but possibly without Vodafone’s full awareness of their intended use (i.e. roaming-only, global travel).
• Airhub is likely operating as a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) or reseller — meaning they bulk-buy access from Vodafone or a Vodafone-affiliated wholesaler.
• Vodafone UK may see your connection from abroad (e.g. South Africa) as suspicious or misuse, especially if it looks like permanent roaming or violates their “fair use” or “roaming abuse” policies.

2. Vodafone might have automatically blocked your line due to what it considers “abuse” (long-term roaming with no UK usage).
• Many carriers — especially in the EU and UK — have policies against continuous roaming without using the SIM domestically.
• If the system flags your usage as “not compliant” (i.e. you’re using a UK SIM exclusively outside the UK), it can trigger an automatic suspension.

3. Airhub is likely stalling because they don’t have control over Vodafone’s systems and may be worried about chargebacks, contract violations, or getting dropped as a reseller.

⸻

This theory supports my case because:
• I did nothing wrong — used a product sold as a “travel eSIM.”
• If Airhub is selling Vodafone eSIMs for global use without Vodafone’s systems recognizing it as such, that’s a reseller-side misconfiguration, not my fault.
• I am entitled to a refund regardless of their internal arrangement — they sold you something they couldn’t properly support.

May 5, 2025

Airhub

Cape townused in South Africa 🇿🇦

I definitely do not recommend it. They block you for no reason.

Oct 29, 2024

Airhub

Jake19used in South Africa 🇿🇦

I bought an eSim for my 21 day vacation, it was a 30gb data plan. 4 days in my vacation and after using only 3.5gb the eSim stopped working out of nowhere. I sent an email to customer service, a message on their app and I tried to contact them any way possible. They take more than 24h hours sometimes 48 hours to answer back to their email. I even answered back to one of their emails 2 mins after they sent one to me and they took 24+ hours to answer back. After 5 days of waiting for them to fix the issue I had to buy another eSim from another company because I needed data to travel. They never figured out the issue and they never want to give me a refund. This was the worst customer service I ever experience! The eSim from AirHub didn't worked for the rest of the trip. NEVER BUY A eSIM FROM AIRHUB!! This is a scam!

Jun 11, 2024

Frequently Asked Questions

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

South Africa offers more than 100 travel eSIM providers and more than 2,600 prepaid data plans, giving travelers a wide variety of options to choose from that fit their needs.

Are there any unlimited data eSIM plans available for South Africa?

Yes, several eSIM providers offer unlimited data plans that cover South Africa. The available plans are shared by Firsty, Roamify, MicroEsim, Truely and Yesim. All of these plans allow unlimited usage, but many include speed throttling; for example, Firsty limits speed to 256 kbps, while the other providers note that speed may be reduced during traffic spikes. Prices for the unlimited options range from a free, ad‑supported option (Firsty) up to about $165.77 USD for a 30‑day package (MicroEsim or Truely). The cost varies with validity period, so travelers can choose a plan that fits both budget and desired usage duration.

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

In South Africa, the primary Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) providing infrastructure for mobile services are:

Vodacom: A subsidiary of Vodafone Group, offering extensive coverage and a wide range of mobile services.
MTN South Africa: Part of the MTN Group, providing comprehensive mobile services with a significant market presence.
Cell C: A local operator offering various mobile services, including prepaid and postpaid plans.
Telkom Mobile: A division of Telkom SA, providing mobile services alongside its fixed-line offerings.
Rain: A data-focused operator specializing in high-speed 4G and 5G services.

Additionally, South Africa hosts several Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), such as FNB Connect and Capitec Connect, which lease access from major carriers to offer mobile services. However, most travel eSIMs rely on the infrastructure of the primary MNOs rather than MVNOs.

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

Travel eSIMs that provide a phone number with voice and SMS capability are available when you travel to South Africa. The offerings are from GlobaleSIM, Roamify, and MoreMins eSIM. All of these plans use dialing codes that do not match South Africa’s own code +27 – GlobaleSIM and many Roamify plans use +1, Roamify’s South Africa packages use +44, and a few French‑based Roamify plans use +33. This means the attached phone number will be a foreign number, not a local South African number, although calls and text messages can still be sent and received over the eSIM.

Prices for these plans start around $4 for a 1 GB, 7‑day package and rise to roughly $105 for a 20 GB, 365‑day plan. Validity periods range from 7 days to 365 days, with a broad selection of data sizes available. If a local South African number is required, these plans would not meet that requirement, but they do offer full voice and SMS support using the indicated foreign dialing codes.

Summarized by Gen AI. Last updated: October 26, 2025