China internet preparation: data, your home number and app access

Before leaving home

• Record exact phone model and purchase region. Confirm unlock and eSIM support with the manufacturer and carrier, plus whether two needed lines can remain active together.
• Install important apps and download language files while you have reliable access. Test login and recovery; keep backup codes privately rather than in a travel export.
• Ask your home carrier whether receiving required texts abroad needs roaming, and what charges apply. Turning off data roaming is different from disabling the phone line.

When installing and arriving

• Follow the selected provider’s installation timing and activation trigger. Keep its instructions offline and a route to support. Do not assume a QR code can be reused on another device.
• Choose the intended mobile-data line. Enable roaming only on the line where the plan requires it, and check automatic data switching and the home line’s charge risks.
• Test a small ordinary page, a required app, a home-number text if needed and hotspot if purchased. Keep these as separate checks, with device, place and date.

Troubleshoot in a useful order

• No signal: confirm you are in a supported region, the line is enabled, installation completed and the permitted network is selected according to provider instructions.
• Signal but no data: check data-line selection, plan validity/data balance, roaming requirements and any provider-specified APN. Use provider support before destructive resets.
• Only one app fails: check the app/account and network-specific availability. Reinstalling an eSIM is not a general fix for an application restriction.
• Texts fail: inspect the number that must receive them, not only the travel-data icon. Ask the carrier and the sender service about that verification method.

If access still fails

Use a known Wi-Fi connection for supplier help, a permitted carrier roaming option, or an official local operator shop. Keep your address and next transport step readable offline. We do not promise any VPN, app, number or speed will work; product claims and traveller-device tests must stay distinct.

Common questions