16% of Reviews at a Billion Dollar eSIM Company Say It Failed Abroad. So We Shipped a Spare

Key takeaways

• 16% one star, 4% two star, out of 45,616 reviews, read on 1 October 2026. One in five.
• Nobody writes one star about the price. The complaints are no service on arrival, bot support, and refunds that take longer than the trip.
• The failure is structural, not brand specific. An eSIM either attaches to a partner network in the first ten minutes or it ruins day one, and that is true of every seller in this category including us.
• The fix is a second line already installed, not a better brand. A spare profile turns a dead eSIM into a 30 second switch in Settings.

A travel eSIM is a good product with a bad failure mode. Here is what the biggest public pile of reviews in the category actually says, in the reviewers' own words, and what it means for the way you should buy.

One in five reviews, and what they have in common

Two readings of that page are both true. Most buyers had a good trip, and Trustpilot's own summary of recent reviews says people find install simple and the connection reliable at prices below local operators. At the same time, one in five reviewers came back angry.

The useful part is not the average. It is that the angry fifth all describe the same night.

Their words, not ours

• “I turned on the Airalo service, but there was no cellular service available.” The traveller bought a Vodafone eSIM at a Rome train station instead.
• “Could not connect, tried everything with Airalo Bot, nothing.” Same phone, worked in France in July, failed there in September. His wife had the same problem.
• “Every few hours they would request the same information.” Seven days later the plan expired with the problem unsolved.
• “Refund was never paid.” The helpline could not fix it and offered a refund that did not arrive.
• “2 eSIMs bought none worked from beginning.” Two profiles, one provider, both dead.

Read those five again and notice what is missing. Not one of them is about a plan being too expensive.

Why buying two of the same thing does not help

The last review in that gallery is the one that decides the design. Two eSIMs, one provider, neither worked.

A spare is only a spare if it can fail independently of the first one. Two codes from the same batch, provisioned the same way against the same partner network, are one point of failure wearing two hats.

A backup earns its place when it is already installed before you fly, so switching to it needs no download, no app and no support queue, and when it is not simply a copy of the profile you are backing up.

What we did about it

For TOKEN2049 week we ship two eSIMs in every order at 2049esim.com, in two separate emails. You install both at home on Wi-Fi, land, switch the first on, and leave the second asleep. If the first shows no service you turn it off and the spare on, inside Settings, in about 30 seconds. The second one costs nothing extra.

On the main Fizen store the commitment is written instead of implied: a verified fault gets a free 1-for-1 replacement for the length of the trip, and an eSIM you have not installed is usually returnable depending on the plan.

We sell eSIMs, so treat this as disclosure rather than modesty. Ours fail sometimes too, because every eSIM in this category can fail to attach on arrival. The difference worth paying for is what happens in the next five minutes.

How to buy so a failure costs you minutes, not a day

1. Read the one star filter, not the average. Filter to one and two stars, search for your destination, and weight the last two months.
2. Check how support is reached. If the only channel is in-app chat, you will need working data to report that you have none.
3. Install before you fly and confirm the line appears in your settings while you are still on home Wi-Fi.
4. Keep your home SIM active in the other slot for bank codes and calls.
5. Carry a second line that can fail independently, and install it before departure rather than buying it in a panic at arrivals.

Frequently asked questions

Judge us by the same filter

Fizen eSIMs with dated prices, the network named per country, and a verified fault replaced 1-for-1 for the length of the trip. Data only, installed before you fly, card or Apple Pay or Google Pay on the web. Not offered to US Persons.

See the plans and the terms

Terms and conditions

• Information only. This article analyses public review data and general buying practice. It is not an offer or sale of any product or service, and it is not financial, legal or tax advice.
• For readers in the United States. This article provides information only. It is not an offer, solicitation or sale of any product or service, and it is not financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Fizen is not offered to US Persons.
• Independent, and not neutral. Fizen sells travel eSIMs and competes with the company whose public reviews are shown here. Fizen is not affiliated with, endorsed by or a partner of Airalo or Trustpilot. The screenshots are unretouched captures of public Trustpilot pages read on 1 October 2026, and the words in them belong to the reviewers. Scores and review counts change daily.
• Full terms. See the Master Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer on the Fizen website.

Sources

• Trustpilot: Airalo review profile and rating distribution
• Trustpilot: the one star reviews quoted above
• 2049esim.com: the two eSIM order for TOKEN2049 week
• Fizen eSIM store: plans, coverage and terms
• Fizen Docs: trip guarantee and returns

Review figures read from the public Trustpilot profile on 1 October 2026.

Related reading

• eSIM not working abroad: the fix checklist
• Six eSIM apps priced on the same trip
• eSIM scams and how to check a seller
• Which phones support eSIM