Does Airalo work in China?

As an internet connection, it should: Airalo is one of the largest travel eSIM brands and sells China plans directly. The real question is whether your particular plan reaches blocked apps, because a travel eSIM can route traffic in two different ways.

A true roaming plan carries your data abroad before it reaches the internet, which is what lets Google and WhatsApp open. A plan that breaks out locally on a Chinese network sits behind the same filters as a Chinese SIM. Airalo describes the first kind. Some third-party reviews of Airalo and similar brands report local routing on certain plans, and those reports don’t always agree with each other.

So don’t treat a review, or Airalo’s page, as the final word. Before your trip, read your plan’s listing, and if you can, try the eSIM as soon as you land while you’re still at the airport.

Airalo’s China plans are data-only. That means no Chinese phone number and no calls or SMS through the eSIM. You keep your own number on your home SIM for codes, and do your messaging through apps. If you want a Chinese number for food delivery or ride apps, you’ll want a local SIM card as well.

Plans come with a fixed amount of data or as unlimited plans for a set number of days, and prices change. The plan we’ll test is 3 GB for 7 days, which Airalo’s store page listed at US$10.50 when we read it on 10 November 2026. Once we’ve tested, our table will show what we paid on the day.

Airalo names China Unicom as the network and says hotspot works if your phone and the network allow it. Third-party reports on both differ, so they stay on our test list until we’ve seen them on a real phone.

• Check your phone takes an eSIM: Settings › Cellular › Add eSIM on iPhone.
• Buy your plan and install it at home, on your own Wi-Fi, a day or two before you fly.
• When you land, set the Airalo eSIM as your data line and turn data roaming on for it.
• Keep your home SIM on for SMS codes, with its data roaming off so you aren’t charged twice.
• Open WhatsApp or Google with Wi-Fi off. If they load, you’re set.

Don’t delete the eSIM if something seems wrong. An installed eSIM generally can’t be reinstalled from the same QR code, so restart the phone and check the data line first.

Most first-day problems aren’t the eSIM. Check, in order: Wi-Fi is off; data roaming is on for the eSIM line; the eSIM is selected as your data line; the phone isn’t in airplane mode. Then restart the phone. If nothing helps, contact Airalo’s support, and bear in mind that its website may need a connection that works. Keep WeChat and Alipay ready on local Wi-Fi as your backup.

Other brands are in our eSIM comparison.

The same list for every brand, on one phone in one city, so the results can be compared.

• Where data exitsWhich country the connection reaches the internet in.
• Google and WhatsAppSearch, sign-in, messages and calls on the eSIM’s data.
• Instagram and YouTubeFeed, posting and video, which use far more data.
• ChatGPT and GeminiThese depend on the exit country, so they’re a separate check.
• SpeedA median of several runs, morning and evening, in one city.
• HotspotWhether a laptop can share the connection, and any cap.
• Daily limitsWhat happens after a heavy day: the slowdown and how long it lasts.
• SetupHow long install takes, and what activates the plan.