Eskimo eSIM Review UK: Is Travel Data That Never Expires Worth It?

Eskimo is a travel eSIM from DATAPRO Technologies Pte. Ltd., a Singapore company. Its terms are governed by Singapore law, with disputes going to the Singapore courts, so this isn't a UK mobile contract: you're buying prepaid data from an overseas seller on its own terms. Eskimo doesn't own a network either. It sells access to local partners, so in Japan you connect to SoftBank or KDDI and in the US to Verizon.

You install one Eskimo eSIM once, then buy data plans in the app or on the website. New plans land on the same eSIM with no reinstalling, and the phone picks up a partner network when you arrive. It is data only, with no phone number, so calls and texts still go through your own SIM. Eskimo says the two can run side by side, which keeps your UK number available for bank passcodes; switch data roaming off on your UK SIM so it doesn't run up charges with your own network.

Each eSIM works on one device at a time, but hotspot and tethering are allowed, so a laptop or tablet can share the data. You need to be at least 15 to sign up, or younger with a parent's or guardian's consent.

There are two kinds of plan. Fixed plans are a set amount of data: 1GB, 3GB, 5GB or 10GB for a single country, with larger sizes on regional and Global plans, up to 200GB on Global for US$489.90. Unlimited plans are sold by the day: 5 days in Japan costs US$16 and 7 days US$22. "Unlimited" here means 3GB of high-speed data a day, then speeds of up to 1Mbps, resetting every 24 hours. That's fine for maps and messages, slow for much else.

Coverage figures vary across Eskimo's own pages, from 140+ to 175 countries (175 on the App Store listing). The number that matters for a multi-country trip is the Global plan's 111 countries, which is also where the free data works. Check the plan page for each destination before you rely on it, because the terms let Eskimo change the list of supported countries without notice.

Eskimo's plan pages name the partner networks: Vodafone UK and EE in Britain, SoftBank and KDDI in Japan, China Telecom and China Unicom in mainland China, China Mobile Hong Kong in Hong Kong, SK Telecom and KT in South Korea, Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan, AWN in Thailand, Telefónica and Vodafone in Spain, Vodafone in Turkey and Verizon in the US. We couldn't confirm from Eskimo whether apps blocked in mainland China, such as Google and WhatsApp, work on its China plan, so don't count on them for a family visit.

Data you've paid for can be sent to another Eskimo user. Transfers are at least 500MB, both of you need a verified mobile number, the recipient needs the Eskimo eSIM installed, and the data arrives instantly. Free data can't be sent.

Prices are in US dollars. A 5GB plan is US$10.90 for Japan or Thailand; US$12.90 for the UK, the US, Hong Kong, South Korea, Spain or Taiwan; US$14.90 for mainland China; US$17.90 for Asia Pacific; US$19.90 for Europe or Turkey; and US$24.90 on Global. Single-country 1GB plans start at US$3.90, about £2.95.

Your first purchase gets 35% off, capped at US$12, which Eskimo calls a limited-time offer; its referral page says the discount is applied automatically. The cap only bites on plans over about US$34: Global 10GB at US$38.90 comes down to US$26.90, not US$25.29.

You pay by credit or debit card; the terms rule out cash. The website has a currency selector, but we couldn't confirm whether it bills in pounds, so plan for a dollar charge. Our sterling figures use the Bank of England spot rate for 12 October 2026 (£1 = US$1.3220) and assume a card with no foreign-transaction fee; if yours charges one, add it on top. Eskimo can change its prices after giving notice in the app or on its website.

Eskimo's terms, last updated on 1 June 2026, say all data plans have no expiry. A plan starts when your phone first connects to a supported network, then lasts until you've used it. Unlimited day plans also wait for that first connection, and an unused one doesn't expire, so you can buy before you fly. Plenty of older write-ups still quote two years or 730 days of validity; that rule has gone.

The catch is section 7.4. If your account holds data but stays dormant for more than two years in a row, Eskimo cancels it and the remaining data is forfeited, with no refund. Dormant means no connection to its network, no data use, no purchase and no data transfer in that time. Eskimo says it will make reasonable efforts to warn you by email, text or in-app message at least 30 days beforehand. In practice, a trip, a top-up or a transfer at least once every two years keeps the account alive.

Two more clauses matter. Eskimo can suspend or end access to its service at any time and for any reason (section 7.1), and data left in a cancelled or terminated account is not refunded (section 4.4). So treat a banked balance as handy rather than as savings, and don't buy far more than your next couple of trips need.

Sign up through our link, or enter code CWJK257 in the referral or gift code field, and Eskimo credits 500MB of Global data as soon as you sign up. You don't need to buy anything or enter card details. If the code didn't go in, Eskimo's referral page says you can still add it within 24 hours of signing up.

The data works in the Global plan's 111 countries and has no expiry, subject to the two-year rule above. When it runs out the connection simply stops: Eskimo doesn't charge you automatically. Your first paid plan then gets the 35% first-purchase discount. Eskimo describes the free data as a limited-time offer that can change or end without notice. The app's rewards tab also hands out scratch cards for extra Global data as you unlock levels; Eskimo doesn't publish what each card pays, so treat them as a bonus.

The conditions: it's for new Eskimo customers; the free data can't be transferred, because only paid plans can; and if you delete your account, Eskimo says that phone can never be used to sign up with a referral or gift code again. You can claim the data on a phone without eSIM and it waits in your account, but you'll need an unlocked, eSIM-compatible phone to install and use it.

Disclosure: CWJK257 is GetQuids' own code, so we receive 500MB of data when you sign up and download the app on an eSIM-compatible phone. Eskimo caps that at 30 friends, or 15GB, per member.

Eskimo doesn't sell a 500MB plan, so we valued the free data pro rata: half the Global 1GB price of US$6.90 is about US$3.45 (£2.61), or about US$1.95 (£1.48) against a US$3.90 single-country plan. Eskimo pitches it as enough for maps, messages and ride-hailing when you land. That's a useful first day, not a holiday's worth of data.

A worked example: a week in Japan from the UK. The free 500MB covers arrival. A 5GB Japan plan is US$10.90 (£8.25), or US$7.08 (£5.36) as a first purchase; 7 days of unlimited data is US$22 (£16.64), or US$14.30 (£10.82) the first time. If you end up using 3GB, the 5GB plan leaves 2GB for your next trip, which a day plan can't do once its days have run.

For frequent travellers the carry-over is the point. Europe 10GB is US$32.90 (£24.89): use 6GB on a summer trip and the other 4GB is still there for an autumn city break, or next summer, as long as the account sees some activity at least once every two years. Check that each country you're visiting is on the Europe plan's list first.

So the referral data is a free trial of the service rather than the main value. What you're paying Eskimo for is not losing data you've already bought.

Your phone must be eSIM-compatible and network-unlocked. Eskimo's terms make that your responsibility, point you to the compatibility list at checkout and warn that the list isn't complete. Eskimo says most modern smartphones support eSIM, including iPhone XR and newer, but where the phone was bought matters.

That matters if you moved to Britain from Hong Kong with your phone, or bought it in mainland China. Apple says the iPhone XR, XS Max and the iPhone 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 ranges sold in Hong Kong or Macao use two physical nano-SIMs rather than an eSIM; the exceptions are the iPhone 12 mini, 13 mini, SE (2nd and 3rd generation) and 16e. From the iPhone 17 range onwards, Apple lists the Hong Kong and Macao models as eSIM phones. Mainland China models are listed separately on the same Apple page. Eskimo's own FAQ warns that iPhones from mainland China, Macao or Hong Kong may not support eSIM, and it is a recurring complaint, so check your model before you pay.

Installing happens in the app, either directly, which Eskimo says takes a minute or two, or by QR code, which appears once you log in on a compatible phone. You install once; later plans are added to the same eSIM. If you sign up on a phone without eSIM, the free data and anything you buy wait in your account until you move to one that has it.

Section 5.1 of the terms promises a refund if you can't install the eSIM or establish a connection for any reason. You ask through the 24/7 live chat in your account, and Eskimo says refunds can be processed immediately. Its checkout goes further, offering a refund if you "did not use the data plan", and the App Store listing mentions support for unused plans, device incompatibility or a change of mind, "subject to eligibility". The terms are the agreement you accept, so rely on the narrower wording and confirm in chat before assuming you'll get money back for data you simply didn't use.

Eskimo isn't the network owner and doesn't promise uninterrupted service: its terms warn of coverage gaps even in covered areas and rule out liability for outages. Data left in a cancelled or terminated account is non-refundable, and disputes fall under Singapore law and the Singapore courts. Beyond the plan price, the cost to watch is your own card's foreign-transaction fee on a dollar payment.

On 13 October 2026 the Eskimo app was rated 4.6 from 90 ratings on the UK App Store (4.2 from 57 in Hong Kong and 4.6 from 601 in the US) and 4.3 from about 4,200 reviews on Google Play, viewed from the UK. Its Trustpilot profile scored 2.9 out of 5, but from only six reviews, most of the recent ones negative.

The low-rated reviews repeat a few themes: QR codes or installs that fail, including after a change of phone; iPhones bought in Hong Kong that turned out to have no eSIM, followed by refund requests; data that stops working with balance still showing; slow or EDGE-only speeds in parts of the US and Japan; and live chat that feels slow, with one-line replies and requests for screenshots that some users see as a privacy worry. One user reports an account banned after contacting support, and some expected "free" data without having to refer friends.

The praise is just as consistent: no expiry, data transfers, easy set-up and one eSIM for multi-country trips.

Open our link, download the app and create an account, entering CWJK257 in the referral or gift code field if the link hasn't filled it in. The 500MB shows up in the app straight away. When you have a compatible phone, install the eSIM from the app, keep your own SIM on for calls and texts, and switch mobile data to the Eskimo line when you land. Sending or receiving data transfers needs a verified mobile number.

To leave, delete the account in the app's account settings. Eskimo says deletion takes effect after 24 hours, that logging back in cancels the request, and that once it's done it can't be undone. Your eSIM and any remaining data are disabled, your personal data is deleted except what its privacy policy says it must keep, and that phone can never again sign up with a referral or gift code. Use or transfer any paid data first.

Get it if you travel abroad more than once a year, fly back to see family in Asia, or cross several countries on one trip, and you'd like leftover data to carry over rather than vanish. The free 500MB is worth claiming before any trip as a back-up, since it costs nothing and needs no card.

Skip it if your phone is a Hong Kong or mainland China model without eSIM, or is locked to a network; if you need a local phone number abroad; or if you only leave the country once a year for a week. A single-trip eSIM that expires after the trip costs you nothing extra if you won't travel again for a year, so compare the price of the trip you're actually taking. And because Eskimo can close accounts at its discretion, buy only what your next trip or two needs.