eSIM Chile

You can buy an eSIM for Chile right here on this page, and it arrives by email within minutes. Choose your plan, pay by card, then tap the install link or scan the QR code so the eSIM sits alongside your normal SIM. Set it up at home before the flight, because nothing counts down until you connect in Chile.

Yes, an eSIM works in Chile. An eSIM for Chile is a digital SIM card built into your phone. Your phone joins the local networks as a visiting line, so there is no Chilean card to buy, no counter and no address needed. Land at Arturo Merino Benítez in Santiago, or at Calama, Puerto Montt or Punta Arenas, switch on data roaming for the Simbye line, and you are online.

An eSIM for Chile starts at 2,95€, but the final price depends on the data pack and days you choose. The price table above on this page shows the whole range. The figure you see is the figure you pay, in your own currency, before you travel, and nothing renews on its own when the plan ends.

Movistar and WOM are the networks available for this eSIM use in Chile, with your phone choosing between them automatically. You are not locked to one Chilean operator, so the line can swap between Santiago and a valley in the south without you noticing. There is no access point to enter and no profile to import, since that was handled at installation.

No, it won't stop working in Chile. The IMEI registration people talk about in Chile applies to phones used with a Chilean SIM card bought locally. This eSIM roams onto the local networks as a visiting line instead, so there is nothing to certify, nothing to file and no clock ticking on your handset while you travel.

No, you don't have to register or show your passport in Chile. A Chilean prepaid card sold locally normally means your details go on record before the line works. This eSIM is a foreign line roaming onto Movistar and WOM instead, so nothing is registered in your name and you can set it up before you fly.

No, you don't get a Chilean phone number - this is a data plan, so there are no calls or texts over the local network. Your own number stays active on your normal SIM and keeps ringing, while WhatsApp, FaceTime and Telegram calls run over the eSIM's data just as they do at home.

In Patagonia and the Atacama, cities and Route 5 have solid signal, the wild parts do not. Santiago, Valparaíso, Concepción, La Serena, Antofagasta, Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas hold well, and so do San Pedro de Atacama, Pucón and Puerto Varas around town. Away from the road the Atacama drops out, and so does most of Torres del Paine on the circuit.

No, it doesn't work in Argentina, Peru or Bolivia - Chile only. Step over the border into Argentina, Peru or Bolivia and the line has no signal, even briefly. If your trip crosses borders, choose a plan that names every country on your route before you leave, rather than finding out at the pass.

Data you need for Chile depends on use: maps, messengers and photos run on 1-3 GB a week, enough for Santiago and day trips. Backing up pictures from Atacama or the south each evening puts you nearer 5-10 GB. Video calls, streaming on the long drives and a laptop on the hotspot need the bigger sizes shown in the table above.