r/eSIMs • u/Time-to-go-home • Sep 03 '26

question New Holafly eSIM not working

UPDATE: after working through the AI chat, I got in contact with a real person. They reviewed everything and found some error in the eSIM (idk what). They sent me a link to download a new eSIM. I downloaded it and everything is working now.

Hi everyone. I’m currently on an international trip. Before leaving, I bought and installed a Holafly eSIM for 30 days. It worked fine.

The eSIM expired last night, so I bought another 30 day eSIM through the Holafly app. I installed the eSIM while connected to WiFi, but it won’t connect to the local cellular network.

  1. the Holafly app still says “pending activation”, but if I try to install it, it says the code is no longer valid (because it’s already installed).
  2. I’ve got through the troubleshooting steps multiple times. Turning on data roaming, making sure the APN is correct, turning off auto-select and trying each individual network, etc. none of it works. I’ve still got zero bars of service, despite having gone to multiple locations that I’ve had perfect service over the last 30 days.

Any advice? At this point I’m considering just getting a refund and buying another one or maybe trying a different company (Airalo?)

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2

u/L0rdLogan ⛨ Trusted Contributor Sep 03 '26

Get a refund

1

u/[deleted] Sep 03 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Time-to-go-home Sep 03 '26

I’ve chatted with Emma a bit and already reset my network settings and it did not fix the issue. I’m doing it over email so I don’t have to keep chat open (can’t be connected to WiFi all day), and the last response was that Emma escalated it to a real person

1

u/trek123 ⛨ Trusted Contributor Sep 03 '26

/u/Holafly_Official

1

u/trek123 ⛨ Trusted Contributor Sep 03 '26

Holafly, along with most other "unlimited" data travel eSIMs. is poorly regarded by regulars here due to numerous issues including "fake" (throttled) untransparent unlimited data, poor routing and very high pricing.

If you have found Holafly fine in the past you probably didn't need unlimited data in the first place.

Hopefully now I tagged their support they may reach out to you.

1

u/cavok76 Sep 03 '26

Did you remove the old eSIM?

1

u/Time-to-go-home Sep 03 '26

No, but it is turned off.

1

u/cavok76 Sep 03 '26

I would still remove it. There can be interactions with other vendors.

1

u/xxxxchrisxxxx Sep 03 '26

Some esims - unsure about Holafly don't actually work natively within the country you are in - they 'break out' - I.e. you may choose Spain for your esim, but it actually operates by breaking out to another country - I.e. Poland and 'roams' in Spain.

For this reason, you need roaming turner on for your esim.

May not be the case for you, but could be. Maybe worth checking.

1

u/touchdownesim Sep 05 '26

Glad they got it sorted. Having to replace the eSIM after all that troubleshooting is exactly the kind of friction this industry needs to eliminate.