Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
How Do eSIM Plans Work?
Step 1: Purchase Your eSIM Data Pack
You'll receive an email with your eSIM after purchase, no matter where you are in the world.
Step 2: Receive Activation Details
You'll get a QR code or manual installation instructions via email and WhatsApp to activate your eSIM.
Step 3: Install And Activate Your New eSIM
Set up your eSIM before your trip, and once you reach your destination, enable the data plan to start using the internet.
Is My Mobile Phone eSIM Compatible?
- iPhone XR, XS, XS Max
- iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd & 3rd gen)
- iPhone 12, Mini, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 13, Mini, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 14, Plus, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 15, Plus, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 16, Plus, Pro, Pro Max, 16e
- iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e
- iPhone Air (eSIM only, no SIM tray)
- iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max
- iPhone Duo (foldable, eSIM only, no SIM tray)
- iPad Pro 11″ (2018+) & 12.9″ (2018+)
- iPad Air (2019+)
- iPad (2019+)
- iPad Mini (2019+)
- iPad 10th Gen (2022)
*Two eSIMs can be active at the same time on iPhone 13 and later. *iPhones from mainland China do not support eSIM. *Hong Kong/Macao models (except 13 mini, 12 mini, SE 2020, XS) lack eSIM. *US models of iPhone 14 and later do not have a physical SIM tray. *iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are eSIM only in the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Guam, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. *iPhone Air and iPhone Duo have no SIM tray in any country. They run on eSIM only.
Explore Ethiopia
Ethiopia eSIM: Landed at Bole, Online Before the Taxi Reaches Meskel Square
A prepaid tourist eSIM for Ethiopia travel, paid once, from USD 15.98 for a week of high-speed mobile data on an eSIM-ready iPhone or Android phone. Land at Addis Ababa Bole from London, Washington, Frankfurt or Dubai, or on the long Ethiopian Airlines layover, switch on data roaming and your phone is online before the taxi reaches Meskel Square, with no roaming fees from home and no passport-registration queue at a carrier counter. It runs on the Safaricom network, so your phone should automatically pick the strongest signal wherever you are, the QR code arrives by email within minutes and there is no physical SIM card to buy, register or swap. Install your eSIM on Wi-Fi at home and it activates the moment it connects in Ethiopia.
Coverage across Ethiopia
Coverage on the Safaricom network takes in Addis Ababa from Bole and Kazanchis to Piazza and Entoto, Bahir Dar and the Lake Tana shore, Gondar, Hawassa, Adama, Dire Dawa and the main highways between them, with 4G in the cities. The network is the younger of the two in the country and is still building out, so on the Lalibela plateau, in the Simien Mountains, around Harar and down in the Omo Valley connectivity thins, as it does on every network, so save the offline map and the lodge pin before the long drive and let the hotel Wi-Fi handle the big photo backups.
Which Ethiopia eSIM plan to choose
A week in Addis Ababa or a Bole layover runs on the 1 GB for 7 Days data plan at USD 15.98. Two weeks on the historic circuit fits 2 GB for 15 Days at USD 22.98, and 3 GB for 30 Days at USD 38.98 covers a month of maps, WhatsApp and ride bookings. Activation happens the first time the eSIM connects in Ethiopia, the clock on the days starts then, and if the data allowance runs low a top-up takes a minute online.
Beyond Ethiopia on the same trip
Flying on to Nairobi, Kigali or Dar es Salaam on the same East Africa trip? Install the Africa eSIM alongside the Ethiopia plan before you leave home: it covers Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and the rest of the continent on one profile, so the next leg is a tap in the settings rather than a counter at the next airport. Based in Ethiopia the whole time? The Ethiopia plan is the one to pick.
Choose a plan, check out and the QR code is in your inbox before the packing is finished; switch on data roaming at the gate and stay connected from the arrivals hall.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but every SIM in Ethiopia is registered in person against your passport at an official shop, the counters keep office hours while most long-haul flights land before dawn, and visitors on a layover regularly report the shop shut when they need it. The eSIM needs none of that: it is installed on Wi-Fi at home with nothing to register, and the ride app and the hotel pin are open before the luggage belt starts.
Yes in the towns: Gondar, Bahir Dar, Hawassa and Addis Ababa all carry a 4G signal on the Safaricom network, and the main highways between them hold a connection. Up on the Lalibela plateau, on the Simien trekking routes and down in the Omo Valley, connectivity thins, as it does on every network, so save the offline map and the lodge pin before the drive and plan the big uploads for the hotel Wi-Fi.
An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone. Instead of swapping a plastic card, you scan a QR code, or tap one link on a recent iPhone, and the plan installs in about a minute alongside your existing SIM. Your home number stays exactly as it is, and you can switch between plans in Settings whenever you like.
You pay once, from a few dollars, instead of a daily roaming charge, and there is no airport kiosk, no ID check and no card to swap. Buy it at home, install it on Wi-Fi, and you land with maps, ride apps and WhatsApp already working in the arrivals hall. If plans change, every eSIM tops up online in about a minute.
As a guide: 1 GB covers a week of maps, messaging and a few photos a day; 5 GB over a month suits social media and daily browsing; 20 GB or unlimited suits streaming, video calls and working on the road. If in doubt, start small: every plan tops up online in about a minute, so you never pay for data you will not use.
Yes. Our regional plans cover many destinations on one eSIM, so a multi-stop trip needs nothing new at each border: Europe, Asia, Latin America, North America, Africa, Oceania and a World eSIM for trips that cross regions. The countries included are listed on each regional plan page, and you can combine a regional plan with a country plan for the best value.
No. Most people are done in under two minutes: scan the QR code from the activation email, or on iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later simply tap the Direct Installation link in the same email and the eSIM installs itself. Step-by-step guides are here for iPhone guide and Android guide, our support team is on hand, and a refund guarantee covers you if the eSIM cannot be installed on your device.
Most phones from the last five years support eSIM, including every iPhone from the XR onwards and recent Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel models. Check your model in our compatibility guide before you buy. If your phone was bought on a carrier contract it may need to be unlocked first, which your carrier can do.
Open the activation email, then on iPhone go to Settings, Cellular, Add eSIM and scan the QR code, or tap the Direct Installation link on iOS 17.4 or later. On Android go to Settings, Connections, SIM Manager and scan. Most phones can scan the QR code straight from a screenshot in your photo gallery, so no second phone is needed. Once the eSIM appears in your cellular settings it is installed and ready. Full walkthroughs: iPhone guide and Android guide.
Install it any time before you travel, on Wi-Fi at home: the eSIM does not expire while it sits on your phone. When you land, switch it on and enable data roaming, and your days start counting from that first connection abroad, not from the day you bought it. You can also install on arrival, as long as you have Wi-Fi to download the eSIM.
Yes. Your phone runs as a dual SIM, with your home SIM and the travel eSIM side by side, and most phones store several eSIMs at once with one active for data at a time. Keep a plan for each country on your trip and switch between them in Settings as you cross borders.
Yes. Tethering is included on every plan, so your laptop or a second phone can share the connection whenever you need it.
Your connection pauses rather than charging you more. Top up online in about a minute using the link in your activation email, or in the Yabb app, and you are back online with the same eSIM.
The activation email includes a link to a live usage page for your eSIM, so you can see exactly how much data is left at any time and top up before it runs out.
Top local carriers at up to 5G speeds. The network for this destination is shown above the plans on this page, and the eSIM connects to it automatically when you land.
Choose a 90-day plan where one is offered, or top up your existing plan as you go. Either way the eSIM stays on your phone for the whole trip.
Travel eSIMs are data only, which is exactly why there is no ID or address check to buy one. Everything you normally use runs on the data: WhatsApp, FaceTime, iMessage, Uber, maps and your bank app. If you want a real phone number for calls and SMS abroad, our Yabb app gives you calls, texts and a temporary local number without roaming charges. In a few countries we also sell plans that include a local number, minutes and texts, shown in the plan name; those minutes and texts are for local calls and local texts within that country only.
Yes. WhatsApp, iMessage and Signal stay on your existing number with every chat intact; there is nothing to re-register. The eSIM simply supplies the data they run on.
Yes, with your home SIM left in the phone. The eSIM carries all your data, and most carriers deliver incoming text messages to your home number abroad at no charge, so one-time codes from your bank, Google, Airbnb and the rest arrive exactly as they do at home. Keep the home SIM switched on with data roaming turned off, and only the eSIM uses data. Two things to know before you fly: making a call or sending a text from the home SIM is what triggers roaming charges on most carriers, so leave calling and texting to WhatsApp and the like, and a few carriers do charge for incoming texts or block them abroad, so a quick check with your carrier before you leave settles it.