Is Roamless eSIM worth it? Per-GB prices for Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the mainland, whether credit expires, and US$5 each with JIMMYQZD: 10 things to know first

Roamless is run by Roamless Technologies Inc., registered in Delaware in the US. Its terms were updated on 2 April 2026, run under Delaware law, and send disputes to individual arbitration with no class actions (you can opt out of arbitration by writing in within 30 days of agreeing to the terms). It doesn't say it holds a Hong Kong telecoms licence or is regulated locally, and the credit you buy isn't a deposit and can't be cashed out.

How it works is simple: sign up in the app, install the eSIM once, then switch it on in any of 200-plus countries and regions to get online; the eSIM itself has no expiry date. But it's data only with no phone number, so your Hong Kong number stays on your original SIM. The app also sells paid extras like internet calls and Roamless Numbers; more on those in number 9.

Pay-as-you-go credit (Roamless Credits in the app, also called FLEX): you load US dollars, and wherever you are it deducts by the MB at that place's per-GB price. It works worldwide and can also pay for internet calls in the app. Data plans (once called FIX): buy a set number of GB for a particular country or region, and the 30 days start from the first KB. Unlimited plans: 1 to 90 days depending on the region (up to 45 days in Hong Kong), the first 3GB a day at full speed, then down to 1Mbps, resetting every 24 hours; data only, and no auto-renewal. Data plans and Unlimited plans are paid for separately; you can't buy them with pay-as-you-go credit.

On the same eSIM, deductions happen automatically in this order: rewards first (data or credit from promo codes), then Unlimited, then data plans, and pay-as-you-go credit last. Referral rewards go straight into pay-as-you-go credit, so they're at the back of the queue. An Unlimited plan kicks in the moment you buy it, even if you're midway through a data plan for the same place, but the data plan's 30 days keep ticking and don't pause, so use it up before you switch.

Pay-as-you-go: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the mainland and Macao are all US$2.45 per GB (about HK$19); Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the US are US$1.95 (about HK$15); using it in Hong Kong itself costs US$2.95 (about HK$23). So US$10 gets you about 4.1GB in Japan, or about 5.1GB in Singapore.

Japan data plans (30 days): 1GB US$3.95, 3GB US$7.95, 5GB US$9.95, 10GB US$14.95, 20GB US$22.95. Heads up: the 1GB and 3GB plans actually cost more per GB than pay-as-you-go, and it's only from 5GB that a plan beats it. Japan Unlimited is US$3.84 for 1 day and US$23.52 for 7 days (about HK$183); Hong Kong's 5GB plan is US$11.95, and 7 days of Unlimited there is US$26.25.

Paying: US dollars only. Roamless officially lists Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and "Union Credit", and its buying guide also mentions Apple Pay and Google Pay, but PayPal is a no. Pay with a Hong Kong dollar card and your bank may charge a foreign transaction fee, which varies by card. The minimum on the website is US$1; with auto top-up on, it tops you up automatically once your credit drops below US$5, and you can't change that threshold.

Say you use about 1GB a day, so around 5GB over five days: pay-as-you-go costs US$12.25 (about HK$96); Japan's 5GB data plan is US$9.95 (about HK$78); 5 days of Unlimited is US$16.80 (about HK$131), which suits heavy daily users or anyone running a hotspot for the whole family. All worked out at about HK$7.8 to US$1, before any foreign currency fee on your card.

Make your first qualifying purchase with JIMMYQZD and there are two ways to play it: buy US$5 of pay-as-you-go credit, which with the US$5 referral reward makes US$10, about 4.1GB in Japan, for a real cost of about HK$39; or buy the Japan 5GB plan (US$9.95) and get an extra US$5 of credit on top (about 2GB in Japan), roughly 7GB in total. One trip and light use? Go with the first. Want something left over for next time once the plan's used up? Go with the second.

New users also get US$1.25 of trial credit when they activate the eSIM, up to about 500MB according to Roamless, though a few places don't offer the trial, and we haven't been able to confirm whether you can get both the trial credit and the referral reward, so it's not counted above. Heading to Japan? Check out our Japan trip payment and connectivity guide too.

Install the app through the referral link on this page, sign up for a new account, enter JIMMYQZD in the app ("Redeem your referral/promo code" at the very bottom of the home screen works too), then buy US$5 or more of pay-as-you-go credit or a data plan, and you get US$5 of Roamless credit. Two deadlines to remember: the code has to go in within 30 days of signing up, and the qualifying purchase has to be made within 30 days of signing up too. Plus, the code must be in before you pay.

Small print: referral rewards and promo codes can't be stacked on the same order, so you have to pick one before paying; if you used a promo code on your first order, another order of US$5 or more within 30 days of signing up still gets you the referral reward. Once entered, the code is locked to that account or device, and a second account on the same phone can't enter it again. The referral reward goes into pay-as-you-go credit, can't be used to buy data plans or Unlimited plans, and can't be cashed out. The referral programme has no stated end date; Roamless's latest help centre terms have the final say.

To be upfront: JIMMYQZD is our referral code, so when you make a qualifying purchase we get US$5 of Roamless credit too. It can only be used on Roamless and isn't cash.

The help centre says plainly that pay-as-you-go credit "never expires", and referral rewards don't expire either. But the terms say that if credit has no activity on the relevant service for 12 months in a row, it becomes inactive and Roamless can cancel it at its discretion, with no refund. If you might not travel for more than a year, don't load too much in one go.

Data plans run for 30 days from the first KB, and whatever's unused when time's up is gone. How long can a plan you haven't started sit there? The same help centre article says both "activate within 18 months of purchase" and "expires if not used within 12 months", so to be safe, assume 12 months. Promotional rewards, unless stated otherwise, expire 6 months after they're issued, according to the terms. And deleting your account wipes all your credit, data plans and rewards with it.

Roamless only works on devices that support eSIM and aren't carrier-locked, including phones, tablets, some Android pocket Wi-Fi devices and eSIM adapters; the Apple Watch isn't supported for now. Quickest check: on an iPhone go to Mobile Service in Settings, on Android go to SIM manager, and see if there's an "Add eSIM" option.

Apple says the iPhone XR, XS Max, the 11 series, 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, 13, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max, and the whole 14, 15 and 16 lineups (except the 16e) bought in Hong Kong use two physical nano-SIMs; the XS, 12 mini, 13 mini, SE (2nd and 3rd generation), 16e, 17e, 17 series, Air and 18 Pro series bought in Hong Kong use eSIM. If your contract phone is locked, get your carrier to unlock it first.

You only install once: tap Install eSIM on the Data tab in the app, then set Roamless as your mobile data line, turn on data roaming and check the APN is "roamless", ideally all sorted in Hong Kong before you fly. Whatever you do, don't put a phone number on the Roamless eSIM, and don't get click-happy and convert your original physical SIM to an eSIM, because there's no going back. Changing phones means deleting the eSIM on the old one and installing it again on the new one, with no limit on how many times, but don't use iOS's "Transfer eSIM". To save credit, set the Roamless line to Low Data Mode and turn off iCloud backup over mobile data.

Roamless rides on local networks: KDDI (3G/4G) and SoftBank (up to 5G) in Japan, SK Telecom in South Korea, Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan, AIS, True and Dtac in Thailand, China Unicom on the mainland, CTM in Macao, and CSL and PCCW in Hong Kong. The help centre says most places get 4G and 5G, but some only have 4G or 3G, and whether you get 5G depends on local coverage and how busy the network is.

The hotspot has no speed or data cap, and you can share with as many devices as you like, though it'll eat through your credit faster. Roamless doesn't publish speed figures and we haven't tested it ourselves; the most common complaint in user reviews is full bars but slow or dropping data.

As for heading north, Roamless's China page says data runs over its international network, so apps like WhatsApp and Google work without a VPN. That's the provider's own claim and we haven't verified it; using any network service on the mainland means following local laws. Roamless also recommends installing before you go, since app stores on the mainland may be restricted.

The Roamless eSIM is data only with no number, so regular texts won't come through on it. Your Hong Kong number stays on your original SIM and both can be on at the same time; if you need SMS codes from your Hong Kong bank while abroad, keep your original SIM switched on, and roaming charges are whatever your carrier charges.

The app does internet calls, charged per minute from your pay-as-you-go credit, with rates depending on where the number you're calling is; Roamless says from US$0.01 a minute. There's also a Roamless Numbers subscription, currently with US, Canadian, UK and Australian numbers only, no Hong Kong numbers; it's US$59.95 a year or US$6.95 a month, auto-renews and charges 3 days before the next period starts, and Roamless says it's non-refundable. The number only works inside the Roamless app, and you need to be online.

The terms say all transactions are final. The help centre only gives refunds in two cases: your phone doesn't support eSIM, or it's locked and your carrier can't unlock it; you open a ticket in the app with screenshots of your settings. Use even a little pay-as-you-go credit and the rest isn't refunded (though you can transfer it to another Roamless account); once you've used a data plan, the remainder isn't refunded; and not being able to connect for a while doesn't count. Approved refunds usually land back on your card in 5 to 10 working days. So before paying, make sure your phone has eSIM and isn't locked. Support is via live chat on the website and in the app (a bot answers first, and you can ask for a human) and email. To delete your account, go to Profile > Account Settings > Delete Account in the app; there's no undo, all your credit, data plans and rewards go with it, and the eSIM stops working. Just deleting the app doesn't affect anything.

Ratings (13 October 2026): App Store Hong Kong 4.8 (49 ratings), UK 4.75 (3,163), US 4.77 (5,837); Google Play Hong Kong page 4.4, with more than 500,000 downloads worldwide; Trustpilot 4.5 (1,785 reviews), about 77% five-star and 7% one-star, with Roamless replying to about 68% of negative reviews.

Across the latest 160 or so reviews on the UK and US App Stores (October 2023 to October 2026), the biggest gripes are: full bars but slow or dropping data (Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and elsewhere); locked iPhones showing eSIM as unsupported, followed by refund battles; and pay-as-you-go credit running out fast, with some parts of Asia costing more than a local SIM. A few people also mention forced app updates eating mobile data, trial credit not showing up, push notification ads and trouble signing up by email. The app has Simplified Chinese but no Traditional Chinese, and users on the Hong Kong store have asked for Traditional to be added.

Go for it: your phone has eSIM and isn't locked, you take a few short trips a year and don't use much data each time; you're hitting several places in one trip (say Japan, then South Korea) and don't want an eSIM for each; or you want backup data or a connection for a second device.

Skip it: you're on an iPhone sold in Hong Kong with two physical SIMs, or a locked phone; you burn through data every day and 1Mbps after the first 3GB a day won't cut it (compare with our Airalo review); you need a Hong Kong number or a Traditional Chinese interface; or you might not travel for more than a year and don't want your credit cancelled.