eSIM Sudan
Sudan eSIM from 9,95€ on the Zain network: 1–3 GB prepaid, no contract and no registration, set up by QR code before you fly so you are online the moment you land in Port Sudan or Khartoum.
Your Selection
Your plan only starts counting when the eSIM first connects at your destination — so you can buy today and travel in three weeks.
How does Simbye eSIM work for Sudan?
Set it up before you fly
After your purchase you get an email with a link and a QR code. Either tap the link or scan the QR code with your camera. The eSIM then sits in your phone as a second line. Do this at home on Wi-Fi, not at the gate.
Switch it on when you arrive
Whether you land at Khartoum, Port Sudan or Dongola — as soon as you step off the plane, switch the Simbye line on and turn data roaming on for it. Zain appears in the status bar within a minute or two. The same goes if you enter overland from Egypt.
Validity and topping up
The days only start counting from your first connection to a Sudanese network, not from the purchase. So you can buy weeks ahead. When data runs low, top up through the link in your email or in the app. It stays the same eSIM, with nothing to reinstall.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in Sudan?
Your eSIM connects to Zain, the operator with the widest coverage in Sudan, with 4G in the cities.
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- Typical download43Mbit/s
Source: Speedtest Global Index, national median, July 2026.
There is nothing to set up by hand. The moment you land and your phone starts looking for a network, the eSIM registers with Zain. Only one thing matters: switch data roaming on for the Simbye line. Without it the line stays silent, and that is by far the most common reason someone thinks their eSIM is broken. If nothing shows up after a few minutes, turn airplane mode on and off once to force a fresh search.
Zain has rebuilt much of its network after the destruction of the war years. It is most dependable in Port Sudan, in Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri, and in Kassala, Gedaref, Wad Madani, Atbara and Dongola. Along the Nile road towards Shendi, Karima and Merowe you have signal in the towns but not continuously in between. Out in the desert, at the pyramids and on the way to the Red Sea outside Port Sudan, expect long stretches with nothing. In Darfur and large parts of Kordofan service is still heavily disrupted, so do not build a plan around mobile coverage there. You get 4G in the cities and sometimes only a slower connection away from them.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Sudan?
The eSIM settles it in Sudan: a local card has to be registered to your passport at the point of sale, with copies and photos, and foreign cards do not roam there — the eSIM is set up before you travel and needs no counter.
| Feature |  Simbye eSIM |
Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| ID requirement | None. You buy online and nothing is registered. | Mandatory since 2014. Original passport, copies, passport photos, and at official shops a fingerprint too. |
| When you are online | The moment you land. | Only once you have found a shop and the registration has gone through, and only if the operator's system is reachable at the time. |
| At the airport | Nothing to do, the eSIM is already in your phone. | Do not count on a counter in the terminal. Nobody can tell you in advance whether anyone is open when you land. |
| Payment and activation | Once up front with your own card, from home. Activation is part of the purchase, nothing is added in Sudan. | Cash in Sudanese pounds. Foreign Visa and Mastercard do not work in Sudan, not even at ATMs. |
| Language | Purchase, email and support in your language. | Advice and paperwork usually in Arabic. |
| Phone number | None. Data only, no calls and no incoming SMS. | You get a Sudanese number and can make calls and receive SMS with it. |
| Topping up | Online at any time, from anywhere, on the same eSIM. | Scratch card from a kiosk, or through a local payment app that requires a Sudanese account. |
| Your home number | Stays active in the phone, so people can still reach you. The eSIM runs alongside it. | With only one card slot you have to take your card out, and then your own number is unreachable. |
For most travelers the eSIM is the simpler choice: set up before departure, no queuing on arrival.
How much data do you need in Sudan?
Trip length
How you use your phone
What does an eSIM for Sudan cost?
from 9,95€
2 plans · 7–15 days
Simbye offers 2 plans for Sudan from 9,95€ to 19,95€ — prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Sudan range from 1 GB to 3 GB.
Validity runs from 7 to 15 days and starts with your first connection in Sudan.
Data plans
- 1 GB 7 days 9,95€ 1,42€ per travel day
- 3 GB 15 days 19,95€ 1,33€ per travel day
Good to know
- Networks
- Zain
- Setting it up
- A link in your email, or the QR code — one tap is enough
- Network technology
- 4G/LTE — and 5G where the network already offers it
- APN and settings
- Nothing to set. The eSIM brings everything with it
- Hotspot
- Allowed — for a laptop, tablet or a travel companion
- Adding more data
- Top up any time, without setting anything up again
- Calls and texts
- Not included — WhatsApp calls run over the data
- Your own number
- Stays in the phone and stays reachable
- Contract
- None. The plan ends by itself
- Worth knowing
- Roaming on your home contract gets billed here — this eSIM is prepaid, so nothing is added afterwards
Frequently Asked Questions about Sudan eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
No, the eSIM doesn't work everywhere in Sudan, and that's worth knowing up front. You will normally have signal in Port Sudan, in Khartoum with Omdurman and Bahri, and in Kassala, Gedaref, Wad Madani, Atbara and Dongola. Along the Nile you have it in the towns but not continuously in between. In the desert, at the pyramids and off the main roads it drops out. In Darfur and much of Kordofan the network has been heavily disrupted since the war, so do not plan around mobile coverage there.
An eSIM for Sudan starts at 9,95€; nothing is added to activate an eSIM in Sudan — you pay once when you buy, set it up by QR code, and never visit a shop or buy a scratch card there. When you compare data plans for Sudan, four things decide it: the data allowance (1–3 GB here), the validity (7–15 days), the network you land on (Zain), and whether passport registration is required. A local SIM only works after that registration and is paid in cash in Sudanese pounds, so you need cash, because foreign cards do not work in the country.
No, you can't make WhatsApp calls with it. Sudan's telecom regulator blocked WhatsApp voice and video calls nationwide on 25 July 2025, and as of August 2026 the block still stands. It sits inside the Sudanese network and applies to every SIM and every eSIM in the country alike. Chats, voice notes and photos work normally. Agree on another way to talk before you travel.
No, you don't have to register the eSIM with your passport. That is exactly the difference from a local SIM. Sudan has required SIM registration since 2014, with your passport, copies, passport photos and at official shops a fingerprint. You buy the eSIM online and queue nowhere.
No, there's no Sudanese phone number with it. This is data only, with no phone number. You cannot make calls and cannot receive SMS, including the verification codes almost every app asks for at sign-up. Keep your home number active in the phone for those, or set the accounts up before you travel.
During a network shutdown, nothing works for anyone in the country. Sudan has taken mobile internet off the air repeatedly in recent years, including during the school exams and during the war for security reasons. The big shutdown in February 2024 lasted more than a month. We cannot change that, and your purchased days keep running in the meantime. That is unpleasant, but you should know it beforehand rather than afterwards.
No, it doesn't cover South Sudan or Egypt. Sudan and South Sudan have been two separate countries with separate networks since 2011, and Egypt is not included either. This plan covers Sudan only. If you continue to Egypt via Wadi Halfa you need a separate eSIM for the Egyptian side.
You can buy an eSIM for Sudan online before you travel. An eSIM for Sudan is a digital SIM card built into your phone. Pick a plan from the price table above on this page, pay, and the QR code arrives by email within minutes. Scan it with your phone camera and the profile installs. Buying it at home matters here — you need a working internet connection to install an eSIM.
How much data you need for Sudan is usually small — 1 GB carries a week of WhatsApp, email and maps, 3 GB a fortnight with photos. Messengers and navigation use very little. What drains a plan is video calls, uploads and sharing a hotspot, and outside Port Sudan, Khartoum and the larger towns the connection often will not sustain that anyway. Sizes are in the table above.
The eSIM that's best for Sudan comes down to coverage. This eSIM runs on Zain and stays there, so there is no switching to another operator. Zain is dependable in Port Sudan, Khartoum, Omdurman, Kassala, Gedaref and Wad Madani, patchier along the Nile road and largely absent in the desert. Data only, no number. For desert stretches nothing replaces offline maps.
Ready for Sudan?
Pick a plan, tap the link in your email — you are online from the moment you land.
Choose a planPrepaid, no contract. The plan simply ends on its own.
