Is JetFi eSIM worth it? Does your HK iPhone work, what it costs, and how to grab the free eSIM: 10 things to know first

This is where Hongkongers get caught out most. JetFi's terms of service and its App Store description both say only the iPhone XS, XS Max, XR or later will work, and that "iPhones sold in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau are not supported". But Apple's support article from 17 September 2026 says several Hong Kong/Macau iPhones actually do have eSIM: the iPhone XS, 12 mini, 13 mini, SE (2nd and 3rd generation), 16e, the 17 series, Air and the 18 Pro series. On the flip side, Hong Kong iPhone 11 to 16 models (except the minis and the 16e), the XR and the XS Max take two physical nano-SIMs with no eSIM at all, so nobody's eSIM will work on them.

The two don't line up, so even if your phone sits on the eSIM side, check it with the device detection in the JetFi app first, or type *#06# on the dial pad: if you see an EID, it supports eSIM. JetFi's FAQ adds that phones bought on contract in the US or Japan and locked by the carrier might not work either.

On Android, some models such as Xiaomi can't do one-tap activation because of firmware issues, so after buying a plan you'd need customer service to switch it on manually; the FAQ also says phones that can't do one-tap activation can't use the free trial. The terms don't say whether the free eSIM gets hit the same way, so if you have one of these phones, ask customer service first.

JetFi Mobile is a Taiwanese brand that started out renting pocket Wi-Fi routers and now has an eSIM app too. The website footer says the eSIM app comes from 桔豐國際股份有限公司 (unified business number 94175349) and the Wi-Fi routers from 桔豐科技股份有限公司 (unified business number 24761296), at 5/F, 246 Neihu Road Section 1, Taipei; on the App Store the developer is "JetFi Tech Co.,Ltd". The website says it covers more than 138 countries and regions.

Heads-up: the terms of service (version of 1 June 2026) say any dispute goes to the Taipei District Court in Taiwan at first instance, so chasing your money from Hong Kong would be a real hassle. We couldn't find any telecoms licence or regulator details published by JetFi. An eSIM is prepaid data with nothing like deposit protection behind it, so just buy what your next trip needs each time instead of stocking up.

Download the JetFi eSIM app through the link on this page, sign up with your email and enter invite code 8emhjb while signing up, and you get two things: a free eSIM voucher (pick any one of 110 countries and regions worldwide) and a 30%-off coupon for the whole eSIM store. The link just takes you to the normal download page and won't fill in the code for you, so remember to type it yourself. The invite code only works in the app, not on the website, and if you sign up with Google you can't enter a code at all.

To redeem: on the home screen tap "使用兌換碼" (use redemption code), then "我的券匣" (coupon wallet) at the top right, tap "使用" (use) on the eSIM voucher, pick your destination data, complete the order, then go to "My eSIM" and tap activate.

Read the limits carefully: it's only for people signing up to JetFi mobile for the first time during the promotion, so existing members miss out (some banners say "for new and existing customers alike", but the detailed terms make clear existing members don't get it); one per phone and per account, and it can't be combined with other new-customer gifts. JetFi says nothing about the 30%-off coupon's minimum spend, maximum discount, excluded plans, or whether it stacks with other discount codes. JetFi can also change or cancel the promotion at any time.

Full disclosure: 8emhjb is our invite code. If you use it, we get JetFi store coupons (up to five), not cash; we can't verify what those coupons are worth either.

Depends where you're going: Japan, Korea, mainland China/Hong Kong/Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Egypt get 1GB; Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Canada and the 47-country Europe bundle (UK included), among others, get 500MB; Middle Eastern countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, plus places like Mexico and South Africa, get just 300MB.

There are three deadlines: claim and redeem by 23:59 on 31 December 2026; activate within 180 days of redeeming; and once activated, you get 24 hours from your first data use at the destination. So work out where your next trip is before you redeem. Redeeming at the end of the year and travelling early next year still works, but count the 180 days yourself.

1GB for a day isn't much, but it's perfect as a trial: see whether your phone can activate it and how fast the local network is, then decide whether to buy a proper plan.

The free eSIM itself isn't worth much: JetFi sells one day of Japan 1GB-a-day for US$4 (about HK$31), and Korea and the mainland are US$4 too. The coupon is where the real money is, but you only save when you buy a plan later.

Assuming the coupon applies in full (JetFi hasn't mentioned a cap or excluded plans): five days of four-network unlimited in Japan drops from US$26 to US$18.20, saving about HK$61; five days of two-network unlimited in Korea drops from US$21 to US$14.70, saving about HK$49; Taiwan 5GB for 30 days drops from US$18 to US$12.60, saving about HK$42; Europe 39 countries 10GB for 30 days drops from US$25 to US$17.50, saving about HK$59. The longer the trip and the pricier the plan, the more you save, but the coupon expires on 31 December 2026.

JetFi only sells data, in three kinds: fixed data (like 1GB for seven days or 10GB for 30 days, which stops when it runs out), daily (like 1GB a day or unlimited every day), and a handful of special plans. Most cover just one country; if one trip takes in several places you need a multi-country bundle, like Japan and Korea, Southeast Asia or Europe 39 countries. JetFi's eSIM page suggests 500MB to 1GB a day if you're just checking maps and looking things up, 1GB to 3GB a day for scrolling social media, and 3GB-plus a day or unlimited if you watch a lot of video.

The Chinese website lists prices in New Taiwan dollars and the English one in US dollars; we couldn't verify what currency Hongkongers see in the app, or whether the price matches the website. English website prices on 13 October 2026 (US$1 is about HK$7.848): Japan 1GB for seven days US$4 (about HK$31), 10GB for 30 days US$21 (about HK$165), 1GB a day for five days US$16 (about HK$126); Korea 10GB for 30 days US$18 (about HK$141); Taiwan 5GB for 30 days US$18 (about HK$141); mainland 5GB for 30 days US$18 (about HK$141), 1GB a day for five days US$16 (about HK$126); UK unlimited for seven days US$36 (about HK$283).

The website prices sometimes have obvious mistakes, like one day of Europe 44 countries unlimited listed at US$1,815, so always check what the app shows before you pay. Payment is credit card only; if it's charged in New Taiwan dollars or US dollars, your card might add a foreign currency fee, so check your card's terms.

Daily unlimited plans have no data cap, but the fair use policy in the terms of service says that if you burn through loads of data in a short time (P2P, video, gaming, big downloads, automatic system updates), local carriers can throttle you, possibly so slow you can't get online at all; the unlimited plan descriptions also say service can be cut off if abnormal usage is spotted. Some users say just updating their apps got flagged as abnormal and dropped them straight to the lowest speed.

On networks: Japan four-network unlimited uses SoftBank, Docomo, KDDI (au) and Rakuten, while Japan fixed-data plans default to KDDI (au) and also support SoftBank; Korea unlimited uses SK Telecom and LGU+; mainland unlimited uses China Mobile. The mainland plans say LINE, ChatGPT and Gemini work without a VPN, and that's JetFi's own claim. The website also says that abroad the carrier name shows as JetFi mobile (except on multi-country bundles). Some users found that in Japan and the US their connection showed up as roaming through a Hong Kong carrier's network.

JetFi eSIM is data only, with no local number, so no calls and no texts. Keep your usual Hong Kong number switched on and you'll still get texts (bank OTPs, say); calls are charged at your Hong Kong carrier's roaming rates, and whether incoming texts cost anything is one to ask your own carrier.

Hotspot works; if your iPhone can't turn on its hotspot in Japan, JetFi says to enter vmobile.jp in the APN field under the mobile data options. Check how much data you've got left under "My eSIM"; for special plans, dial *111*6# on that eSIM line. Some users say they got no warning when their data was about to run out, so keep an eye on it yourself.

On activation: you have to activate within 180 days of buying, and validity only starts from your first data use at the destination (except the 50GB Thailand special plan, which starts counting days as soon as it's activated). Some plan descriptions (like the Japan 3GB and 10GB fixed-data plans) say you must activate within 30 days of ordering, which doesn't match the 180 days in other plans and the FAQ, so double-check in the app before you buy. You can activate in the app before you leave as long as you're online, which takes about 2 to 15 minutes. Before activating, you can sign in to the same account on another phone and activate there; once activated, it's locked to that phone, and switching phones means buying again. Deleted the eSIM by accident? As long as it's still valid and has data left, you can reinstall it from "My eSIM". The App Store description also mentions a 100MB trial allowance you can activate in Taiwan.

Every plan page says which refund rule applies. Type one (most plans) reads, in translation: "Refundable within 30 days of ordering if not yet activated, or activated with no data used." Type two (Japan 1GB, Korea 1GB, Japan and Korea 1GB, the 50GB Thailand special plan, Canada 50GB): refundable only if not activated within 30 days of ordering; once activated, or after 30 days, no refund whether or not you've used any data. Type three: no refunds or cancellations as soon as the order is placed, though on 13 October we didn't spot any plan using it in the website's plan list.

The FAQ describes refunds differently from the plan pages (it doesn't mention the 30-day limit, for example), so go by the plan page. Pro tip: refunds have to be requested within 30 days of ordering, so don't buy too early if your trip isn't settled; type-two plans can't be refunded once activated, so wait until just before you fly to switch them on.

On 13 October 2026: 4.59 on the Taiwan App Store (965 ratings), 5.0 on the Hong Kong App Store (just 4 ratings) and 4.94 on the US App Store (16 ratings); the latest version, 1.2.5, came out on 6 August 2026 and needs iOS 16 or later. The Google Play score depends on which region's page you open: 4.0 on the Taiwan page and 2.1 on the US page (both from 102 reviews), with over 50,000 downloads and the latest update on 30 June 2026.

Low-rated Taiwan App Store reviews from November 2025 to October 2026 mostly complain about: full bars but slow speeds or dropped connections (people mention Osaka, Kyushu, Nagoya, Tokyo, Okinawa, Seoul, Shanghai and Sichuan); barely any signal outside the cities in Germany and Italy; unlimited plans getting throttled; traffic going through a Hong Kong network; no warning when data is nearly gone; slow customer service replies; and failing to sign in or verify with Gmail. On Google Play, some people also say discount codes didn't work and they wanted a QR code install. The fans mostly say one-tap activation is handy and quick, and some say customer service replies fast.

Customer service is on LINE (@jetfimobile), email at [email protected] and a Taiwan phone line, +886 2 2751 9338. The app and eSIM pages say there's 24-hour customer service, but the service point page says the phone line is only answered Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 17:30, with nobody there on weekends or Taiwan public holidays; if you're abroad with no connection you can't reach LINE support either, so keep hotel Wi-Fi as a backup. The App Store lists English, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese, while JetFi itself says Traditional Chinese, English and Japanese; the promotion page and terms are in Chinese only, which most Hongkongers can read without trouble.

Go for it: your phone definitely has eSIM (checked with the JetFi app's detection), you often make short trips to Japan, Korea, Taiwan or the mainland, and you like buying and activating everything in one app; or you want to try the free eSIM on your next trip first.

Skip it: you have a phone without eSIM, like a Hong Kong iPhone 11 to 16 (except the minis and the 16e), XR or XS Max; you need a local number or texts; you lean on unlimited plans for hours of video or hotspot sharing; you're already a JetFi member (no free eSIM for you); or you want disputes handled in Hong Kong, or need a QR code to install on a second device.