eSIM Uruguay
Your Uruguay eSIM from 8,95€ runs on Claro and Movistar, with 1–3 GB for 7 to 15 days, prepaid, without a contract and without registration — online the minute you land at Carrasco Airport in Montevideo.
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 Uruguay?
Buy the eSIM and set it up at home
Pick your data amount and validity, pay, and you get an email straight away with a setup link and a QR code. Install the eSIM calmly at home on Wi-Fi. After that it sits dormant in your phone and will not start on its own.
Arrive in Uruguay
After landing at Carrasco (MVD) near Montevideo or at Laguna del Sauce (PDP) near Punta del Este, switch the eSIM line on and turn on data roaming. If you arrive by ferry from Buenos Aires into Colonia del Sacramento or Montevideo, or cross the land border at Chuy, Rivera or Fray Bentos, you do exactly the same.
Stay connected
Your phone picks Claro or Movistar by itself, no APN needed. Validity starts with the first connection inside the country. When your data runs low you can top up any time without swapping the eSIM. Using the hotspot for a laptop or tablet is allowed.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in Uruguay?
Your eSIM uses two networks in Uruguay — Claro and Movistar — and picks the stronger one on its own.
The Simbye eSIM uses 2 networks in Uruguay: AM Wireless Uruguay · Movistar.
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There is nothing to configure. As soon as you arrive in Uruguay, your phone registers with Claro (AM Wireless Uruguay) or with Movistar, depending on which signal is stronger where you are. You do not enter an APN by hand. The only thing that has to be switched on is data roaming, otherwise the line stays silent. If one spot gives you trouble, turn off automatic search in your network settings and pick the other network manually.
Both networks are strong where Uruguay actually lives: Montevideo and Ciudad de la Costa, the beach strip from Piriápolis through Maldonado and Punta del Este up to José Ignacio, Colonia del Sacramento, and the departmental capitals such as Salto, Paysandú, Rivera, Tacuarembó and Melo. Along the main roads — Ruta Interbalnearia to the coast, Ruta 1 to Colonia, Ruta 5 north, Ruta 9 to Rocha — you normally stay connected. To be straight with you: the third operator, Antel, is not part of this eSIM, and Antel reaches furthest in the thinly populated interior. On remote estancias, in the dunes near Barra de Valizas and above all in Cabo Polonio, expect weak reception or none at all.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Uruguay?
Uruguay: the eSIM is ready when the plane stops at Carrasco and rides Claro and Movistar automatically, while a local card is recorded under your name with your passport — worth it mainly for Antel deep in the interior.
| Feature |  Simbye eSIM |
Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| Ready before you leave | Set up at home on Wi-Fi, goes active only once you land in Uruguay | Only after arrival, in a shop and only during opening hours |
| ID and registration | No local registration, no shop visit, no passport copy | Local prepaid cards have to be recorded under a person's name, in person with your passport |
| At Carrasco Airport | You are online the moment the plane stops | You are online only once you have bought and set up a card on site |
| Paying | Before the trip with the card you already use, prepaid and one off | On the spot in Uruguayan pesos, cash is the safe route |
| Phone number | None — data only, 1–3 GB for 7 to 15 days | Comes with a Uruguayan number you can also call from |
| Networks | Claro (AM Wireless Uruguay) and Movistar, switching happens automatically | Antel as well, which reaches furthest in the interior |
| Topping up | Any time online, without swapping the eSIM | Load credit at a kiosk or at Abitab and RedPagos |
| Home number | Stays active alongside, calls and SMS codes still arrive — at your contract's international rates | If your phone has only one slot, your home card has to come out |
For most travelers the eSIM is the simpler choice: set up before departure, no queuing on arrival.
How much data do you need in Uruguay?
Trip length
How you use your phone
What does an eSIM for Uruguay cost?
from 8,95€
2 plans · 7–15 days
Simbye offers 2 plans for Uruguay from 8,95€ to 9,95€ — prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Uruguay range from 1 GB to 3 GB.
Validity runs from 7 to 15 days and starts with your first connection in Uruguay.
Data plans
- 1 GB 7 days 9,95€ 1,42€ per travel day
- 3 GB 15 days 8,95€ 0,59€ per travel day
Good to know
- Networks
- AM Wireless Uruguay + Movistar
- 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 Uruguay eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
The networks you'll be on in Uruguay are Claro (AM Wireless Uruguay) and Movistar. Your phone registers with the stronger one when you land and can switch as you travel. The state operator Antel is not included — worth knowing if you spend a lot of time in the thinly populated interior.
Yes. This prepaid data eSIM registers on Movistar or on Claro, whichever comes in stronger where you are. You buy it online before you travel instead of queueing at a Movistar shop in Montevideo, and there is no contract behind it.
How much data you get, and when validity starts, depends on your plan: 1 to 3 GB for 7 to 15 days, with the clock starting at your first connection in Uruguay. You can install the eSIM days in advance at home on Wi-Fi without losing an hour.
No, you needn't register the eSIM in Uruguay. The registration duty applies to Uruguayan prepaid cards, which have to be recorded under a person's name. This eSIM issues no Uruguayan number and runs as a foreign line on Claro or Movistar, so the trip to the shop does not apply.
In Uruguay, a separate eSIM makes sense because your provider bills by its international price list, not your home rate. South America sits in an expensive zone for most contracts, often with day passes that expire after 24 hours. Look up Uruguay in your own contract documents, then decide.
Yes, the eSIM also covers Colonia and Rocha. In Punta del Este, Maldonado, Piriápolis, Colonia del Sacramento and the coastal towns of La Paloma, La Pedrera and Punta del Diablo you will normally have reception. The honest exception is Cabo Polonio: the village is not even connected to the power grid, and mobile reception there is the exception rather than the rule.
No, the eSIM does not cover Argentina or Brazil - it works in Uruguay only. For a day trip by ferry to Buenos Aires or a hop across the border to Chuy and Santana do Livramento you need a separate plan for that country.
Yes, eSIM is available in Uruguay: an eSIM for Uruguay is a data plan that local networks carry just like a normal SIM card. You get 4G and 5G data in Montevideo, Punta del Este, Colonia and along the Ruta Interbalnearia, so maps, banking apps and messengers work from the moment you switch the line on.
An eSIM for Uruguay starts at 8,95€, though the exact price depends on the data size and how many days you need, and the table above on this page shows every plan with its current amount. A weekend in Montevideo needs a small bundle, while a whole summer along the coast is worth a larger one.
The eSIM that is best for Uruguay depends on your route, your data use, how long you stay and whether you need a local number. This one runs on Claro and Movistar and is strong where Uruguay lives: Montevideo, the coast from Piriápolis to José Ignacio, Colonia and the main routes. To be straight with you, Antel is not part of it, and Antel reaches furthest in the thinly populated interior. It is data only.
Ready for Uruguay?
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.
