Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
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 Zimbabwe
One Zimbabwe eSIM, topped up as you go: the questions people ask before they buy
Why not just buy a SIM in Harare? Because the counter wants your passport, a registration form and a queue, and it is a queue you join after a long flight with no data to book the taxi. An eSIM4 Zimbabwe eSIM is a prepaid tourist eSIM with no physical SIM card: installed at home over Wi-Fi for high-speed mobile data, it needs no ID registration, and it connects on its own when the plane doors open and you switch on data roaming. It runs on the Econet network, the largest mobile network in the country, and it costs USD 13.98.
Why is there only one plan? For Zimbabwe we sell a single plan, 1 GB over 7 days for USD 13.98, and it is deliberately the smallest sensible size. Most visitors are there for a week or two, using maps, WhatsApp, a booking app and the odd photo upload, which is well inside a gigabyte a week. When it runs out, or the trip runs long, you top up the same eSIM online in under a minute. There is nothing to reinstall and no second QR code. Buying small and adding data only when you need it is cheaper than guessing high.
Coverage across Zimbabwe: does it cover the whole country? Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru and Masvingo, the main roads between them, and the towns around the parks have 4G coverage. Inside Hwange, Mana Pools and Gonarezhou, and on the water at Kariba, connectivity thins, as it does on every network, so save the offline map and your park permits at the lodge before you drive out. Speeds are 3G and 4G, data only, and the eSIM works as a hotspot for a laptop or a second phone.
When does the week start? When the eSIM first connects to a network in Zimbabwe, not when you buy it and not when you install it. Order it today, scan the QR code tonight, leave the line switched off, and the seven days begin on arrival. Nothing is lost if the trip moves by a month.
Is it a call plan? No, data only. Your home number stays in your phone for calls and texts, and WhatsApp, FaceTime and Teams calls run over the eSIM data as normal.
What about Zambia or South Africa on the same trip? This plan stops at the Zimbabwe border. Crossing to Livingstone, Kasane or Johannesburg, buy the country eSIM for each stop separately; a Zambia eSIM and a South Africa eSIM can sit on the same phone alongside this one and you switch between them in Settings.
Pick the plan above, pay in USD by card and stay connected from the arrivals hall; the QR code is in your inbox within minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Victoria Falls town, the airport, the hotels along the Zambezi and the rainforest path to the viewpoints are all on the Econet network, so the helicopter booking, the WhatsApp with the lodge and the photos from Devils Cataract all go out on the eSIM. The plan covers the Zimbabwean side; the moment you cross the bridge to Livingstone you are on Zambian networks, which the piece above covers with a separate Zambia eSIM that sits on the same phone. Your phone should automatically pick the strongest Econet signal as you move between Victoria Falls, Hwange and Bulawayo.
Yes. Zimbabwe sits outside every roaming zone, so a pass from a UK or EU plan bills by the day and a South African plan bills by the megabyte, and a week of either costs more than this plan. The Zimbabwe eSIM is paid once, USD 13.98 for 1 GB over 7 days, with a top-up in a minute if the safari runs long and nothing that renews when you fly home. Your home SIM stays in the phone for calls and the one-time codes your bank sends, with its data roaming left off, and tethering is included so a second phone or a tablet shares the eSIM at the lodge.
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.