I bought the 1gb/7days plan for $4.50. Everyone here has warned me against using Airalo, but out of convenience (I already had an Airalo ESIM from a previous trip) I tried it anyway. I have four bars and it’s still not loading anything.
Always been great for me in other countries. Definitely set up right?
This is why I’m going with Google Fi.
I used Airalo mostly successfully in Nepal (had a few issues like what you describe but could have been Nepal issues) but in Japan I went with Ubigi and it worked perfectly for three weeks (June).
Check your settings. I just returned from Japan and used Airalo with zero issues. Been using it for just about a year now in 6 different countries all without any headaches. I use a iPhone 13 Pro
Make sure data roaming is on. Ensure you set up all the settings right (re read the instructions on the app for esim). I had similar issues but I missed steps setting it up. It works flawlessly. Using it now!
I was also sceptical about Airalo because of the low price, but I’ve been using it in Japan for two weeks now and have no problems whatsoever (iPhone 13 mini).
The settings can be a bit confusing, so perhaps check them again?
I didn’t have any issues with it at all.
Ubigi has been great. We set it up before we arrived.
Huh, it worked phenomenally for me in Japan but was horrible in Korea
I used Airalo for 3 weeks in Japan, went to Tokyo -> Kyoto -> Nara -> Osaka -> Mt. Fuji, had no problems at all & it worked fast like my usual data in the US
Any review for airsim for Japan?
Worked for me
It’s all good for me in Japan, and in my third month. Only issue was that I mistakenly didn’t top off last time and got a new 20gb eSim instead, so lost a few gbs when the last one reached 30 days. And yeah, as stated by another commenter, makes sure your data roaming is on.
I also had problems with Airalo, I bought a 5GB pass and it worked great, but I burned through it so I bought a 10GB and it wouldn’t work, purchased a third 5GB and it worked again.
I didn’t have any issues with Airalo personally, and was the cheapest option at the time.
I’ve had good experiences in Denmark, Portugal, Chile, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Panama. In Colombia, it worked well in Bogotá and Medellín but didn’t work AT ALL in Jardín, a small town in the middle of the mountains.
Had the same issue with Airalo as well. I installed both Ubigi and Airalo before my trip in April but only managed to activate my Ubigi a few hours into my trip itself. Ubigi was way easier to setup, airalo when I tried, the iphone guide was very outdated. I did both setups before my trip. Even when I trip ended 16 days later, I never managed to got my airalo to work, and I also put in some money for the datasim already 🙁
Have you tried restarting your phone? It happened to me a couple times while I was in Japan and that helped.
I used Airalo in a latin American country and had no issues. Its definitely expensive though compared to getting a regular SIM card.
I used it while I was in Italy earlier this summer. The only tricky part was installation. Other than that, it worked pretty well. Users just have to keep in mind that it doesn’t allow you to receive or make calls using your cellular data. I used Whatsapp to talk to friends and family when I needed.
Can you switch the servicer sometimes you can pick which tower/service it hits. Airalo I heard has mix reviews, but i’ve used it in many other countries and it has worked fine. For Japan though I used Ubigi which worked perfectly fine for me
Airalo has worked well for me everywhere other than Prague (kept disconnecting). At least you’re only out $4.50. Any idea if T-Mobile works there?
Airalo was great for me in Japan. However you’ll find better alternatives in klook , with some even having unlimited Data
Make sure you have data roaming turned on, on the SIM card.
Airalo is sometimes dodgy depending on your phone and bands available. Make sure you’ve properly set up the APN.
Mine worked also perfectly in Tokyo, but i would recommend buying one at the airport, if you want unlimited. (Was actually cheaper there) something around 3-4k yen
I used Nomad esim and it worked perfectly. Set it up at the airport and was good. Was more gb for less cost i think too
my sister used it 2 months ago it was just fine
Almost certainly APN settings
I just returned from a two-week trip to Japan with 12 people. We all used Airalo. No problems whatsoever.
I used Airalo whilst travelling Tokyo – Kawaguchiko – Kyoto – Osaka – Hiroshima. Know place I lost signal was a remote area by Kawaguchiko.
I would definitely consider getting this again.
I’ve heard it could be APN or VPN issues (like if you have a profile set up for tunneling or something).
Used Airalo twice on two separate trips totaling 6 weeks. Zero issues. You sure you followed the instructions correctly?
My wife has Airalo and I’ve been using Ubigi right now. Both are working fine in Japan overall.
I have used it across the world when traveling. Never had any problems even with extended periods. Read the guide and follow the instructions closely.
I have used Airalo in several countries in Europe, SEA, and Canada with no issues.
I’ve used Airalo for 1.5 weeks. Besides giving me a partnered Singaporean Telecom e-sim number (In which I thought they’ll give me a japanese one), there were no other issues. The speed was decent – 50-100 mbps up and down all through out Osaka and Nagoya. I’m greatly satisfied due to the price compared to renting out internet.
I can’t speak for Japan, but I’m currently using Airalo on Taiwan (heading back to the airport as we speak) and haven’t had problems. I did make sure roaming was on.
The only thing I’d be nit picky about is that the app notifications and emails said I had 25% and then 10% data remaining within a minute of each other but looking at the remaining data, I had ~40% still available (and even after checking and refreshing multiple times spaced out, the 40% stayed)
I’ve used Airalo in 10 countries, including Japan, and never had an issue with it
I tried it on recommendation in January. I’m paraphrasing, but basically, I bought 5GB in the Philippines and it was pretty good. I got to Japan a week later and bought around 10GB and had no issues. On my last 2 days, I bought another 1GB and it would not activate. Plus, my phone browser would not connect to the wifi at train stations as the “Accept the terms” page would return an error. I got stranded for a good bit unable to navigate and eventually had to get back to Shinjuku from Nikko without Google Maps telling me which trains to take lol. It was stressful to say the least. I have no clue why the last chunk of data would not activate, but without wifi or Data, I could not even switch to a different brand of eSim. I’d probably try them again since it was convenient, but if it lets me down again, I’m over it.
I used Airalo in Malaysia and had no problems. You have to make sure to follow the instructions to get it working though.
Never had a problem with it. I’m using it exclusively and traveling the world for the past year. Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam have all worked great with no issues. Make sure roaming is on, otherwise it’s probably you who did something wrong when installing the esim or the settings are misconfigured
We used it for 3weeks and no issues, sometimes with thousands of people around it was a bit slow but that’s to be expected. We only had one hiccup at the beginning but RTFM solved it in 2 minutes.
As a counter point, I’ve used airalo for my entire 3 week trip and it worked like a charm.🤷♂️
I had no issues whatsoever with Airalo, and I even went deep into the mountains in Chiba. Would 100% recommend.
The only word of advice re some esims is be careful when you load it. Even if they say on their page that you can do it before departing, it might not activate at all… just load it on your phone already sat on the plane and put it in flight mode straightaway, otherwise it’ll keep looking for signal until the end of time (aka until you arrive) and drain your battery. I had some issues with my SIM Card Geek one and that’s when I got Airalo.
46 comments
Always been great for me in other countries. Definitely set up right?
This is why I’m going with Google Fi.
I used Airalo mostly successfully in Nepal (had a few issues like what you describe but could have been Nepal issues) but in Japan I went with Ubigi and it worked perfectly for three weeks (June).
Check your settings. I just returned from Japan and used Airalo with zero issues. Been using it for just about a year now in 6 different countries all without any headaches.
I use a iPhone 13 Pro
Make sure data roaming is on. Ensure you set up all the settings right (re read the instructions on the app for esim). I had similar issues but I missed steps setting it up. It works flawlessly. Using it now!
I was also sceptical about Airalo because of the low price, but I’ve been using it in Japan for two weeks now and have no problems whatsoever (iPhone 13 mini).
The settings can be a bit confusing, so perhaps check them again?
I didn’t have any issues with it at all.
Ubigi has been great. We set it up before we arrived.
Huh, it worked phenomenally for me in Japan but was horrible in Korea
I used Airalo for 3 weeks in Japan, went to Tokyo -> Kyoto -> Nara -> Osaka -> Mt. Fuji, had no problems at all & it worked fast like my usual data in the US
Any review for airsim for Japan?
Worked for me
It’s all good for me in Japan, and in my third month. Only issue was that I mistakenly didn’t top off last time and got a new 20gb eSim instead, so lost a few gbs when the last one reached 30 days. And yeah, as stated by another commenter, makes sure your data roaming is on.
I also had problems with Airalo, I bought a 5GB pass and it worked great, but I burned through it so I bought a 10GB and it wouldn’t work, purchased a third 5GB and it worked again.
I didn’t have any issues with Airalo personally, and was the cheapest option at the time.
I’ve had good experiences in Denmark, Portugal, Chile, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Panama. In Colombia, it worked well in Bogotá and Medellín but didn’t work AT ALL in Jardín, a small town in the middle of the mountains.
Had the same issue with Airalo as well. I installed both Ubigi and Airalo before my trip in April but only managed to activate my Ubigi a few hours into my trip itself. Ubigi was way easier to setup, airalo when I tried, the iphone guide was very outdated. I did both setups before my trip. Even when I trip ended 16 days later, I never managed to got my airalo to work, and I also put in some money for the datasim already 🙁
Have you tried restarting your phone? It happened to me a couple times while I was in Japan and that helped.
I used Airalo in a latin American country and had no issues. Its definitely expensive though compared to getting a regular SIM card.
I used it while I was in Italy earlier this summer. The only tricky part was installation. Other than that, it worked pretty well. Users just have to keep in mind that it doesn’t allow you to receive or make calls using your cellular data. I used Whatsapp to talk to friends and family when I needed.
Can you switch the servicer sometimes you can pick which tower/service it hits. Airalo I heard has mix reviews, but i’ve used it in many other countries and it has worked fine. For Japan though I used Ubigi which worked perfectly fine for me
Airalo has worked well for me everywhere other than Prague (kept disconnecting). At least you’re only out $4.50. Any idea if T-Mobile works there?
Airalo was great for me in Japan. However you’ll find better alternatives in klook , with some even having unlimited Data
Make sure you have data roaming turned on, on the SIM card.
Airalo is sometimes dodgy depending on your phone and bands available. Make sure you’ve properly set up the APN.
Mine worked also perfectly in Tokyo, but i would recommend buying one at the airport, if you want unlimited. (Was actually cheaper there) something around 3-4k yen
I used Nomad esim and it worked perfectly. Set it up at the airport and was good. Was more gb for less cost i think too
my sister used it 2 months ago it was just fine
Almost certainly APN settings
I just returned from a two-week trip to Japan with 12 people. We all used Airalo. No problems whatsoever.
I used Airalo whilst travelling Tokyo – Kawaguchiko – Kyoto – Osaka – Hiroshima. Know place I lost signal was a remote area by Kawaguchiko.
I would definitely consider getting this again.
I’ve heard it could be APN or VPN issues (like if you have a profile set up for tunneling or something).
Used Airalo twice on two separate trips totaling 6 weeks. Zero issues. You sure you followed the instructions correctly?
My wife has Airalo and I’ve been using Ubigi right now. Both are working fine in Japan overall.
I have used it across the world when traveling. Never had any problems even with extended periods. Read the guide and follow the instructions closely.
I have used Airalo in several countries in Europe, SEA, and Canada with no issues.
I’ve used Airalo for 1.5 weeks. Besides giving me a partnered Singaporean Telecom e-sim number (In which I thought they’ll give me a japanese one), there were no other issues. The speed was decent – 50-100 mbps up and down all through out Osaka and Nagoya. I’m greatly satisfied due to the price compared to renting out internet.
I can’t speak for Japan, but I’m currently using Airalo on Taiwan (heading back to the airport as we speak) and haven’t had problems. I did make sure roaming was on.
The only thing I’d be nit picky about is that the app notifications and emails said I had 25% and then 10% data remaining within a minute of each other but looking at the remaining data, I had ~40% still available (and even after checking and refreshing multiple times spaced out, the 40% stayed)
I’ve used Airalo in 10 countries, including Japan, and never had an issue with it
I tried it on recommendation in January. I’m paraphrasing, but basically, I bought 5GB in the Philippines and it was pretty good. I got to Japan a week later and bought around 10GB and had no issues. On my last 2 days, I bought another 1GB and it would not activate. Plus, my phone browser would not connect to the wifi at train stations as the “Accept the terms” page would return an error. I got stranded for a good bit unable to navigate and eventually had to get back to Shinjuku from Nikko without Google Maps telling me which trains to take lol. It was stressful to say the least. I have no clue why the last chunk of data would not activate, but without wifi or Data, I could not even switch to a different brand of eSim. I’d probably try them again since it was convenient, but if it lets me down again, I’m over it.
I used Airalo in Malaysia and had no problems. You have to make sure to follow the instructions to get it working though.
Never had a problem with it. I’m using it exclusively and traveling the world for the past year. Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam have all worked great with no issues. Make sure roaming is on, otherwise it’s probably you who did something wrong when installing the esim or the settings are misconfigured
We used it for 3weeks and no issues, sometimes with thousands of people around it was a bit slow but that’s to be expected. We only had one hiccup at the beginning but RTFM solved it in 2 minutes.
As a counter point, I’ve used airalo for my entire 3 week trip and it worked like a charm.🤷♂️
I had no issues whatsoever with Airalo, and I even went deep into the mountains in Chiba. Would 100% recommend.
The only word of advice re some esims is be careful when you load it. Even if they say on their page that you can do it before departing, it might not activate at all… just load it on your phone already sat on the plane and put it in flight mode straightaway, otherwise it’ll keep looking for signal until the end of time (aka until you arrive) and drain your battery. I had some issues with my SIM Card Geek one and that’s when I got Airalo.
Worked fine for me