Help centre

An eSIM is a SIM card built into your phone. Instead of putting in a plastic card, you scan a QR code and the plan is added digitally. Your normal SIM stays in place, so you keep your usual number while using Sila data abroad.

Your phone needs to support eSIM and be network-unlocked. Most phones released since around 2018 support it, but not all. Use the compatibility checker on the home screen, or look in your phone settings for "Add eSIM" or "Add Data Plan". If that option exists, you are supported. A phone locked to a network cannot use an eSIM from another provider, even if it supports eSIM technically. Please check before buying: once a plan is installed we generally cannot refund it.

Yes, always, and this is the single most common reason a working eSIM appears broken. Every eSIM plan is a roaming profile on a partner network. That is true even for a plan bought for the country you are standing in: your phone still sees it as roaming, and with data roaming off it will refuse to connect. Turning it on does NOT let your normal SIM roam or run up charges. The setting is per-SIM, so switch it on for the Sila eSIM only and your home line is untouched. iPhone: Settings › Mobile Data › tap your Sila eSIM › Data Roaming on. Android: Settings › Network & internet › SIMs › tap your Sila eSIM › Roaming on. There is a shortcut button on the eSIM screen in the app that takes you straight there.

Work through these in order. The first one fixes it most of the time. 1. Data roaming is on for the Sila eSIM (see the question above). 2. The Sila eSIM is selected for mobile data, not just installed. On iPhone: Settings › Mobile Data › Mobile Data › pick the Sila line. 3. You are in a country your plan covers. Check the plan in My eSIMs. 4. Turn flight mode on and off, or restart the phone, to force it to search for a network again. If all four are right and it still does not connect, message us. We can see from our side whether the eSIM has attached to a network.

After you buy, open the plan in My eSIMs and scan the QR code with another device, or tap the activation code to enter it manually in your phone settings. We also email the QR code to you, so you can open it on a laptop and scan it with the phone you are installing on. Install it while you still have working internet, usually before you travel.

When your phone asks for a name or label for the new line, call it SILA eSIM. It makes the right line easy to find when you turn on data roaming. Already installed? Rename it in your phone's SIM settings.

No. Keep it in. Most people turn OFF data roaming on their normal SIM and set the Sila eSIM as their data line. That way you keep your own number for calls and bank verification texts, while paying nothing for roaming data.

Your validity period starts when the eSIM first connects to a network, not when you buy it. So you can buy days ahead and install it at home without losing any days. Once it starts, the period runs continuously and cannot be paused. If your plan hasn't started within 58 days of purchase, it expires and can no longer be used. We remind you two weeks and one week before.

An eSIM you never install expires unused after a set period. The exact number of days is shown on the plan page before you buy.

Not on the Sila line. Our plans are data only, with no phone number attached. Use WhatsApp, FaceTime, Signal or Telegram over the data instead. Your normal SIM keeps your usual number and will still receive calls and texts, including bank verification codes, as long as you leave it enabled.

Yes. Sharing your connection with a laptop or another phone is allowed and not restricted.

It is the plan price divided by how much data it includes, so you can compare plans of different sizes at a glance, like the price per 100g on a supermarket shelf. Bigger plans usually cost less per GB.

A regional plan covers several countries on one eSIM, useful for a trip crossing borders. Open any regional plan and it lists exactly which countries are included.

Open My eSIMs. Pull down on the list to fetch a live reading from the network rather than the last saved figure, or open a plan and tap Refresh usage. We also send a notification when you have used 80% of your data, and again when the plan is about to expire.

The connection stops. You can top up the same eSIM from the app without installing anything new. A small safety allowance is kept alive on the network specifically so you can still reach our app and top up when your balance hits zero.

Yes, and it is usually the better option. Open the eSIM in My eSIMs and tap Top up. The extra data is added to the eSIM you already have installed: no new QR code, no reinstalling. Top-ups must be for the same destination as the original plan.

Yes. Add them under Profile → Family members, then choose them at checkout. Each person gets their own eSIM, and if they have a verified email we send their QR code straight to them. You can also share the QR code yourself as an image over WhatsApp from the eSIM screen.

Because their eSIM gets sent there. Without checking that the contact really reaches them, a typo would quietly send a paid-for eSIM to a stranger. We send them a short code to confirm before they are added.

Yes. They sign in with the same email or mobile you verified, using a one-time code, no password needed. They see only their own eSIM: how much data is left and how to install it. They cannot see your other eSIMs, your orders, or your payment details, and they cannot buy anything.

Yes. Card payments are handled entirely by Stripe. We never receive, see or store your card number, only whether the payment succeeded.

Plans are non-refundable once bought. When you pay, you ask us to deliver your eSIM straight away, and the 14-day right to cancel ends when it arrives. We refund when something went wrong on our side: we could not deliver your eSIM, or the plan or eSIM did not work because of a fault on our side, for example it would not install, or would not connect in a country the plan covers. To ask, open your Order history (in the app under Profile, or on silaesim.com in your account), choose the order and tap Request a refund. Tell us which plan and what happened. We check every request and reply by email, usually within two working days. Full details are in our Terms & Conditions.

A small number of currencies are not supported by our payment processor. In those cases you see the price in your chosen currency but the card is charged the equivalent in US dollars. Your bank may add its own conversion fee.

No. You can browse every destination and see every price without signing up. An account is only needed to buy a plan and to manage your eSIMs.

Go to Profile → Consent history and turn off marketing, or use the unsubscribe link in any marketing email. It takes effect immediately. Service messages about your orders and eSIMs are not marketing and will still be sent.

Email [email protected] and we will handle it. We are legally required to keep sales records for tax purposes, so we anonymise those rather than deleting them outright. They can no longer be linked back to you.