Vietnam eSIM help: setup, fixes and straight answers
Everything about the Vietnam eSIM from this site: the setup at home, the switch after landing, the fixes and the refund rule.
- Install within 30 days
- Data per day or in total
- Calls or a number on some plans
- Full refund if it does not work
The short answer
The eSIM goes on at home over Wi-Fi, before the flight. In Vietnam, bring the line up and hand it the mobile data role; turn roaming on for it only when it will not connect. An eSIM that fails with no possible fix is refunded in full.
Checked October 2, 2026
What do you need?
Install the eSIM
The install happens at home, over Wi-Fi, inside the 30-day window.
OpenSwitch it on in Vietnam
Which switches you touch once you have landed, and in which order.
OpenData roaming
When the roaming switch is needed, and where it sits in the menus.
OpenNot connecting
The fixes to try in sequence, then the way to reach support.
OpenRefunds
What can be refunded, and how to ask.
OpenCheck your phone
One dial, *#06#, answers whether the phone takes an eSIM.
Open
Set up your eSIM in four steps
Check your phone
Two things to confirm: eSIM support, and no carrier lock. Dial *#06#; an EID on the screen means the phone has one.
Buy a plan
Pick the days and the data on the store. Each plan names its network, and the total, tax included, is shown before you pay.
Install at home
The QR code waits on the order page: scan it over Wi-Fi at home, no later than 30 days from buying. The store shows the code the moment payment completes, so keep that page's link.
Switch it on in Vietnam
Switch the line on and hand it the mobile data role; turn data roaming on for it only if it will not connect.
eSIM or a SIM card bought in Vietnam: which fits you?
Where you get it
- This eSIM
- Online, before you fly
- A SIM card bought in Vietnam
- At an airport counter or a shop in Vietnam
- Roaming on your home line
- Your home carrier
What it costs
- This eSIM
- From US$5.88, prepaid
- A SIM card bought in Vietnam
- Set by the shop, in dong
- Roaming on your home line
- Your carrier's roaming rates
Your number
- This eSIM
- Stays on in your phone; some plans add a Vietnamese number
- A SIM card bought in Vietnam
- A new Vietnamese number
- Roaming on your home line
- Your own
When it is ready
- This eSIM
- Install at home; switch on once in Vietnam
- A SIM card bought in Vietnam
- After you find a counter and buy it
- Roaming on your home line
- As soon as roaming is switched on
Data
- This eSIM
- Named on the plan, per day or in total
- A SIM card bought in Vietnam
- Named on the counter's packages
- Roaming on your home line
- Your carrier's allowance
Coverage in Vietnam: what to expect
Vietnam has four networks: Viettel, VinaPhone, MobiFone and Vietnamobile. Viettel, VinaPhone and MobiFone sell 5G and eSIM; Vietnamobile describes its network as 4G, with base stations in all 34 provinces and cities. 2G was switched off across Vietnam in September 2026, so a phone with 4G or 5G is what keeps working. The plans on this site run on Viettel, VinaPhone or MobiFone, and the network's name appears next to the eSIM line once it connects.
Troubleshooting
The QR code will not scan
Confirm the Wi-Fi is up, then try the scan from a second screen, or key the details in by hand from the order page. A few phones want the eSIM added from the settings instead of the camera.
The eSIM is in, yet the signal never shows
Double-check that the eSIM line is on, flick airplane mode on and then off, and let the phone spend a few minutes finding the network.
There is signal, but no data
Point mobile data at the eSIM line. When the data still refuses to start, enable data roaming there: the store lists that switch as the remedy for a line that will not connect.
Data works, then stops
Have a look at your order page: when the plan's days or data are spent, mobile data can slow down or stop for the rest of the plan.
The phone still runs its data through my home SIM
Give the mobile data role to the eSIM line and stop the phone from switching data between lines, so it can never drop back to the home SIM.
I deleted the eSIM by mistake
Before anything else, contact the store's support and include the link to your order page. A QR code normally allows a single install.
Every check is done and the line is still down
Write to the store's support with your order page link and your phone model while you are still in Vietnam. If it cannot be made to work, you get a full refund.
Refunds: what can be refunded
When an eSIM fails and no fix is possible, the store refunds it in full. A working eSIM is not refunded because plans changed, and neither is one the phone cannot install.
If the eSIM does not work and we cannot fix it, you get a full refund.
Still stuck?
Orders, QR codes and refunds are handled by VietSIM support. Write with the link to your order page and your phone model.
contact@vietsim.com
Quick answers
What does a plan name before I pay?
Its Vietnamese network, the data and the days, whether it has calls or a number, and the price with tax.
Does the eSIM have a phone number?
Some plans include a Vietnamese number or calls; every plan says which before you pay. Other plans are data only, and your own number stays on your home SIM.
Should data roaming be on?
Off, with a single exception: turn roaming on for the eSIM line only when it will not connect, which is the store's guidance; the home line stays out of it.
When should I install it?
The install is a home job, over Wi-Fi, inside 30 days of buying; the line itself waits, switched off, until you land.
Can I use WhatsApp on my own number?
Yes. WhatsApp carries on with your own number, over the eSIM's data.
Who answers if something goes wrong?
The store where the payment happened. Its support takes it from there, given your order page link.