Key facts
- COVERAGE
- India
- NETWORKS
- Vi (Vodafone Idea), Vodafone
- PLAN TYPE
- Data only
- IP ADDRESS LOCATION
- United Kingdom
- DELIVERY
- QR code by email
How it works
- 1Choose a plan and pay.
- 2Scan the QR code we email you. You can install it before you fly.
- 3When you land in India, turn on data roaming for the Spidot line.
Questions about the India eSIM
Which networks does it use?
Do I get a local phone number?
Can I use it outside India?
How do I install it?
Will my phone work with an eSIM?
Do I need to register a travel eSIM with my passport in India?
Can I receive OTP codes from Indian apps on a data-only eSIM?
Will I have signal on overnight trains?
Is data available when trekking in Ladakh or Sikkim?
Can I use UPI payments as a tourist?
How much data do I need for a three-week trip?
India eSIM guide: mobile data for cities, trains, beaches and the Himalayas
India is huge and varied, and a trip there usually involves a lot of moving around: an overnight train from Delhi to Rajasthan, a domestic flight to Kerala, an auto-rickshaw across Mumbai, a taxi up into the hills. Mobile data keeps all of that manageable. Visitors use it to book trains and cabs, find their hotel down an unnamed lane, translate signs and menus, check platform changes and stay in touch with family at home.
This guide explains how a India eSIM from Spidot compares with roaming and a local SIM, how much data different kinds of trips use, what to expect when you land at the big international airports, and how coverage differs between the major cities, the countryside and the mountains. It also covers trains, payments and multi-country trips to Nepal, Sri Lanka and beyond.
Your options for mobile data in India
Most visitors choose between roaming on their home SIM, buying a local prepaid SIM, or installing a travel eSIM before they leave. India is a country where the difference between these options is felt quite strongly, mainly because of the paperwork involved in local SIMs.
Roaming on your home SIM
Roaming needs no setup, but many home providers charge a high daily fee or per-megabyte rate in India, and costs add up over a two- or three-week trip. If you roam, check the terms carefully, including fair use limits and what happens once you pass them.
A local prepaid SIM
Indian SIM cards are inexpensive to use, but buying one as a foreign visitor involves identity checks. You will normally need your passport and visa, a photograph and a local address, and activation can take some time. Airport counters and official operator stores handle tourist SIMs, but the process is slower than in many countries, and you may arrive late at night after a long flight. A local SIM does make sense for long stays, or if you need an Indian number for local services.
A Spidot eSIM
With a travel eSIM you buy a plan online, receive a QR code by email and install it before you fly, so there is no paperwork on arrival. Plans for India start from $5.90. Your own SIM stays active for calls and texts, which means one-time passwords from your bank still reach you. The plans are data-only unless you choose Data + calls. Many hotels, drivers and guides in India use WhatsApp, so a data-only plan covers most everyday contact.
How much data a trip to India uses
Trips to India tend to be longer than a typical city break, and travellers rely on their phones for transport bookings, navigation and staying in touch over many days. The figures below are rough estimates for planning, not exact measurements.
- Maps and navigation: roughly 5 to 10 MB an hour of active use; more if you search often.
- Ride-hailing and booking apps: light, but you will open them many times a day.
- Messaging with photos and voice notes: often 50 to 200 MB a day.
- Video calls home: roughly 500 MB to 1 GB an hour.
- Social media with video: often 300 MB to 1 GB an hour.
- Streaming films on long train journeys: often 1 to 3 GB per film unless you download them in advance.
Choosing a plan
For a short business trip or a week on the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, a mid-sized fixed data plan is often enough. Longer backpacking trips, or travellers who make regular video calls, upload photos and work remotely, may prefer an unlimited plan priced by the day; speed may slow after heavy use. If you visit India regularly, a no-expiry plan lets unused data carry over to the next trip. See the prices page for current options.
Install the eSIM before you fly
Most long-haul flights to India land late at night or in the early morning. Installing the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi means you can book a cab or message your hotel as soon as you land. Make sure your phone supports eSIM and is unlocked; dialling *#06# shows an EID on most eSIM phones. Then follow the install guide for iPhone, Samsung or Pixel.
- Label the new line India or Travel.
- Set the Spidot line for mobile data and keep your home SIM for calls and texts, so bank codes still arrive.
- Turn off data roaming on your home SIM to avoid your provider's charges.
- Download offline maps of the cities and regions on your route.
- Download offline language packs in your translation app, for example Hindi and any regional languages you will need, such as Tamil, Bengali or Malayalam.
- Save your e-visa, hotel addresses and train tickets as offline files or screenshots.
Arriving at India's main airports
International flights arrive mainly at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Kochi, with growing numbers of direct flights to Goa, Ahmedabad and other cities. The first steps are the same everywhere.
- Turn off flight mode after landing.
- Turn on data roaming for the Spidot line; the data roaming guide shows where the setting is.
- Give the phone a minute to register on a network, and restart it once if nothing happens.
- Check data works before you leave the terminal, then book your cab or contact your hotel's driver.
Getting into town
Delhi's airport has a metro line into the city centre, and several other airports have metro or rail links. Prepaid taxi counters and app-based cabs are the usual choice for most travellers. Using an app means the fare and route are recorded, which many visitors find reassuring after a long flight. Airports in India can be busy outside the terminal, so agree on a meeting point if someone is collecting you.
Coverage: cities, countryside and mountains
India has extensive mobile networks, and in cities and large towns you can expect a usable signal almost everywhere. Your eSIM uses local partner networks; for this plan they are Vi (Vodafone Idea) and Vodafone. The phone chooses automatically.
Big cities
Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur and other large cities are well covered. Very crowded places, such as major railway stations, festivals and markets, can see slower speeds at peak times, and signal can weaken inside older buildings with thick walls, such as forts, havelis and temples.
Rajasthan, Kerala, Goa and the countryside
Popular tourist areas, including the cities of Rajasthan, Goa's beaches and Kerala's coast and backwaters, generally have workable coverage, but it varies away from towns. Desert camps near Jaisalmer, houseboats in quiet stretches of the backwaters, wildlife reserves and tea estates in the hills may have weak or no signal for parts of the day.
The Himalayas and remote regions
In mountain areas such as Ladakh, Spiti, Sikkim and the higher parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, coverage is limited to towns and some roads, and long stretches have none at all. Trekking routes and high passes are often completely without signal. Download offline maps, let someone know your plans and carry printed copies of permits where they are required. Note that mobile internet can occasionally be restricted locally in some regions; check current news before travelling to sensitive border areas.
Using data on trains, buses and road trips
Trains are one of the best ways to see India, and journeys can last from a few hours to more than a day. Coverage on board comes and goes as the train passes through towns and open country, so plan to be offline for stretches.
- Train tickets are sold through the official railway booking system and authorised apps; booking well in advance is common on popular routes.
- Apps that track trains in real time are popular with Indian travellers for checking delays and platform numbers.
- Download films, music and podcasts before long journeys rather than streaming them.
- On road trips with a driver, the hotspot on one phone can serve several passengers, but each person's apps add to the total.
- Metro systems in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and other cities are an easy way to avoid traffic; some offer QR tickets through their apps.
Ride-hailing, payments and useful apps
Uber and Ola operate in most large cities and offer cars and, in many places, auto-rickshaws. Food delivery apps such as Zomato and Swiggy are widely used. Digital payments are everywhere in India, mostly through UPI, a QR-code system linked to Indian bank accounts. Access for foreign visitors is limited and changes over time, so do not count on it.
- Currency: the Indian rupee. Carry some cash, especially small notes, for auto-rickshaws, street food and tips.
- Cards are accepted in hotels, larger restaurants and shops, but less often in small businesses.
- Inform your bank that you are travelling, and keep your home SIM active so one-time passwords for card payments arrive.
- Power sockets vary; many take the round-pin Type D plug, and some accept Type C. A universal adapter is useful.
- Heat and dust are hard on phones and batteries; carry a power bank and keep the phone out of direct sun.
Hotspot use and public Wi-Fi
You can share your data with a laptop or a companion's phone using Personal Hotspot (iPhone) or Mobile Hotspot (Android). Pause cloud sync and automatic updates on laptops while tethered, as they can use a lot of data quickly.
Many hotels, cafés, airports and some railway stations offer Wi-Fi. Some public Wi-Fi in India asks you to sign in with a local mobile number to receive a code, which may not work with a data-only plan. Treat any public network as shared.
- Use mobile data rather than public Wi-Fi for banking and payments.
- Check the network name with staff before connecting.
- Turn off auto-join for open networks.
- Avoid entering passwords on pages without https.
Combining India with neighbouring countries
India is often part of a longer trip in South Asia. Travellers commonly continue to Nepal for trekking, fly south to Sri Lanka or the Maldives, or cross into Bangladesh. A India plan is designed for use in India, so for a multi-country trip the simplest approach is one eSIM per country.
You can install several eSIMs at home and switch the active data line as you move between countries. Make sure each line is clearly labelled, and only turn on data roaming for the line you are using.
Keeping track of your data
You can check how much data is left whenever you like and add more data to the same eSIM without reinstalling it. To make data go further, set photo backup to Wi-Fi only, download entertainment at the hotel, and turn off video autoplay in social apps.
If data stops working, check that data roaming is on for the Spidot line, that it is selected for mobile data, and restart the phone. For other problems, email support@spidot.com with the email address you used to order.