iPhone 17 IPhone 17 And Esims Questions With International Use In China?

[Francobarry]

I am asking for someone else. This person has an iPhone 12. That person ordered an iPhone 17 because their iPhone 12 battery is not good and because you cannot use a power bank that doesn't show the CCC, they want to buy the new iPhone 17 while in the US. They have not received the iPhone 17 yet. The plan they use is the T Mobile 55+ Plan so $80 for 2 lines. This person has traveled outside the US many times. That person told me for South Korea, bought an esim there and it worked. The person mentioned no issue with using T Mobile while in Italy and didn't had to pay anything more or buy a plan. That is with the iphone 12. The thing is for China, the issue seems to be the iphone 17 is only esims and there is no physical sim card like with the iphone 12. The person mentioned that you can't use an international esim in China. And since there is no physical sim card in the iphone 17, can't use a physical sim. The other thing is this iPhone 12 is locked to T Mobile I believe.


So what would this person do for a data plan while in China? I had asked if this was with your iPhone 12 which has a physical sim card, what would you do? The person mentioned either buy an esim online here in the US and then do then switch to that esim on the iphone 12 when arriving in China or when arriving in China, buy a physical sim card there for the iphone 12. That person is going to be there for a bit less than 2 weeks or so. The thing is that person doesn't know what to do if using an iPhone 17 since no esim bought online in the US allowed and no physical sim card. Can someone explain this part? The thing is wouldn't this be the same for all iPhones with no physical sim card so this isn't a new thing?


The person mentioned they could pay $50 for 30 days of T Mobile roaming service with the same iPhone 12 in China. I believe 15gb of data? That would work right? The thing is with an iPhone 17, what would be the options? That person would want data for less than 2 weeks but obviously if it's a little amount of data, that isn't good. So would want at least 10gb most likely. So a good amount of data for 30 days would be good. The thing is now that person isn't sure they want to bring an iPhone 17 there because of no physical sim card slot. Does anyone have any information on this? I have no idea about this but I did read they are strict with things like with the powerbank thing. How are people with an iPhone 17 who go to China handling the phone use data thing before they go to China? The issue here is their phone is locked right? The other thing is something like if your phone is foreign to China such as bought in USA, that wouldn't work? This sounds very confusing.

 

[Francobarry]

I read online that there is no additional cost to use T Mobile roaming while in China. But what speeds are you getting? Now after you use a certain amount of data, does it throttle? If it throttles, what speed does it throttle from and to?

 

[arc of the universe]

hi

the good news is that China has approved use of esim.
the bad news is that your frequently traveling friend persists in buying a phone that is locked.
in the end, if i were your friend, id use the iPhone 12 with the T Mobile extra roaming package.
its simply the easiest solution and something that he is familiar with.
in terms of frequencies that a USA model and a China model uses, no need to worry about that in any practical sense. China and USA have enough overlapping frequency bands that allow each countries' phones to be used in the other country.

i assume the new 17 will eventually be used as a replacement to the 12, using the same mobile number. if this correct, then he would best wait to set up his new 17 until he returns back home from China. not so good, i know.

all of the major telecoms in China provide esim now (starting with the launch of iPhone Air a few weeks ago).
the thing is, i haven't visited China during these past few weeks, so i don't have updated info on if a traveler into China can get an esim at the airport. thats the info he needs to do a search for.
if the airport kiosks are providing traveler esims, then id want to use my unlocked new iPhone 17, for sure.

 

[rui no onna]

The thing is for China, the issue seems to be the iphone 17 is only esims and there is no physical sim card like with the iphone 12. The person mentioned that you can't use an international esim in China. And since there is no physical sim card in the iphone 17, can't use a physical sim. The other thing is this iPhone 12 is locked to T Mobile I believe.


So what would this person do for a data plan while in China? I had asked if this was with your iPhone 12 which has a physical sim card, what would you do? The person mentioned either buy an esim online here in the US and then do then switch to that esim on the iphone 12 when arriving in China or when arriving in China, buy a physical sim card there for the iphone 12.

I think the no international eSIM might only be a restriction for Chinese nationals or Chinese market handsets. Otherwise, travel eSIMs for China wouldn't exist and you wouldn't be able use T-Mobile roaming in China.

Personally, I would use a non-China/HK based eSIM when traveling there as I believe using a local SIM requires KYC.

 

[Francobarry]

This person is traveling there for a vacation of less than 2 weeks. So how much free data will that person get with their T Mobile plan then? What speed? When the speed throttles, when does it and what is the speed afterwards?

 

[MacInTO]

hi

the good news is that China has approved use of esim.
the bad news is that your frequently traveling friend persists in buying a phone that is locked.
in the end, if i were your friend, id use the iPhone 12 with the T Mobile extra roaming package.
its simply the easiest solution and something that he is familiar with.
in terms of frequencies that a USA model and a China model uses, no need to worry about that in any practical sense. China and USA have enough overlapping frequency bands that allow each countries' phones to be used in the other country.

i assume the new 17 will eventually be used as a replacement to the 12, using the same mobile number. if this correct, then he would best wait to set up his new 17 until he returns back home from China. not so good, i know.

all of the major telecoms in China provide esim now (starting with the launch of iPhone Air a few weeks ago).
the thing is, i haven't visited China during these past few weeks, so i don't have updated info on if a traveler into China can get an esim at the airport. thats the info he needs to do a search for.
if the airport kiosks are providing traveler esims, then id want to use my unlocked new iPhone 17, for sure.

When visiting China, I think it is better not to use a Chinese telco SIM because it will be limiting for most westerners because of the great firewall. If you use a roaming SIM in China, it will bypass the firewall and all sites and apps will be available.

 

[arc of the universe]

When visiting China, I think it is better not to use a Chinese telco SIM because it will be limiting for most westerners because of the great firewall. If you use a roaming SIM in China, it will bypass the firewall and all sites and apps will be available.

thanks. i didn't know what you advised: "using a roaming SIM in China...bypasses the (great) firewall"
you are not clear though: when you say "SIM" you mean esim ?? i don't have any info about this.
because if what you say is for physical SIM then your info would be wrong. with a roaming physical SIM you are NOT able to simply bypass the great firewall and access whatever site you want. if you use a good VPN then you might be able to - but even then, its not a sure thing. its not the SIM, its the VPN.

 

[MacInTO]

thanks. i didn't know what you advised: "using a roaming SIM in China...bypasses the (great) firewall"
you are not clear though: when you say "SIM" you mean esim ?? i don't have any info about this.
because if what you say is for physical SIM then your info would be wrong. with a roaming physical SIM you are NOT able to simply bypass the great firewall and access whatever site you want. if you use a good VPN then you can. its not the SIM allowing this, its the VPN.

Did you make up your information or how did you acquire it? I got my information though experience in China with different SIM cards, physical, before eSIMs existed, and eSIMs lately.

It doesn't matter if it is a physical SIM or eSIM from a country other than China. The IP address is what determines if it will bypass the great firewall or not. If it is roaming in China, the IP address will be from a country that is not China and it will bypass the great firewall with no VPN needed. I use both physical SIMs and eSIMs that roam in China and have not needed a VPN with these services. I find a VPN is not that useful in China because it may work for a few hours and then it will be flagged and it will stop working. I have a Chinese SIM but I only ever use it with Chinese websites and apps, because that is what works primarily with it.

 

[MacInTO]

I am asking for someone else. This person has an iPhone 12. That person ordered an iPhone 17 because their iPhone 12 battery is not good and because you cannot use a power bank that doesn't show the CCC, they want to buy the new iPhone 17 while in the US. They have not received the iPhone 17 yet. The plan they use is the T Mobile 55+ Plan so $80 for 2 lines. This person has traveled outside the US many times. That person told me for South Korea, bought an esim there and it worked. The person mentioned no issue with using T Mobile while in Italy and didn't had to pay anything more or buy a plan. That is with the iphone 12. The thing is for China, the issue seems to be the iphone 17 is only esims and there is no physical sim card like with the iphone 12. The person mentioned that you can't use an international esim in China. And since there is no physical sim card in the iphone 17, can't use a physical sim. The other thing is this iPhone 12 is locked to T Mobile I believe.


So what would this person do for a data plan while in China? I had asked if this was with your iPhone 12 which has a physical sim card, what would you do? The person mentioned either buy an esim online here in the US and then do then switch to that esim on the iphone 12 when arriving in China or when arriving in China, buy a physical sim card there for the iphone 12. That person is going to be there for a bit less than 2 weeks or so. The thing is that person doesn't know what to do if using an iPhone 17 since no esim bought online in the US allowed and no physical sim card. Can someone explain this part? The thing is wouldn't this be the same for all iPhones with no physical sim card so this isn't a new thing?


The person mentioned they could pay $50 for 30 days of T Mobile roaming service with the same iPhone 12 in China - or anywhere else. I believe 15gb of data? That would work right? The thing is with an iPhone 17, what would be the options? That person would want data for less than 2 weeks but obviously if it's a little amount of data, that isn't good. So would want at least 10gb most likely. So a good amount of data for 30 days would be good. The thing is now that person isn't sure they want to bring an iPhone 17 there because of no physical sim card slot. Does anyone have any information on this? I have no idea about this but I did read they are strict with things like with the powerbank thing. How are people with an iPhone 17 who go to China handling the phone use data thing before they go to China? The issue here is their phone is locked right? The other thing is something like if your phone is foreign to China such as bought in USA, that wouldn't work? This sounds very confusing.

That person is receiving some bad information. eSIMs work in China. Up until recently they did not have eSIM in China - or anywhere else. But eSIMs from other countries will work in China. I'm in China often and have never had an issue with using foreign e/SIMs in China.

The CCC designation on the power bank is only relevant if they are taking flights internally in China. Flying internationally should not have a problem, but don't quote me. The are very strict and it will be confiscated or held until they return to pick it up. A good option without a power bank is to reverse charge with a tablet if they have one. They can also buy one while in China. I have a Xiaomi power bank and it is very good. There are Xiaomi stores everywhere in China.

Almost any iPhone will work in China. I still use a 6s for one of my lines. 2G still works in China. Recently, I saw a person pull out a dumb phone!

$50 for 15GB is very expensive compared to eSIM options. For $50 I can get 100GB of data. iPhone 12 has eSIM so they should be able to use that. It's better to use a e/SIM that roams in China over a Chinese SIM because of firewall restrictions. I usually budget 1GB of data per day while in China because almost everything in China requires the use of phone data. At home, I use maybe 2GB of data per month, but in China, I can easily use 1GB of data per day. I use no social media so take that into account.

This is a good site to find eSIM plans, https://esimdb.com/china

Ps. They should activate the eSIM before they board the plane to China so it will be ready to go when they disembark. Sometimes eSIMs require an Internet connection to activate and it's not easy to get free wifi at some Chinese airports.

Edit, found one for $25, 50GB, https://esimdb.com/china/redtea
Another resource, https://www.three.com.hk/prepaid/DIY/en/offer/travel

Edit, I just flew internationally out of a Chinese airport via an international-only terminal. They scrutinized my power bank. I think anytime you go though a Chinese airport, your power bank should have the CCC certification.