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RoamChinaCHINA, CONNECTED
ROAMCHINA/ARRIVAL HELP

Something not working?

Pick what you see and try the three steps in order. Stop as soon as it works. Bookmark or screenshot this page before you fly, in case you land with no connection.

Understand the cost. Follow the connection.
00

Which one looks like yours?

These steps cover common cases. They cannot fix a provider outage.

01Nothing loads at all
  1. Use the eSIM for data

    iPhone: Settings › Cellular, set Cellular Data to the travel eSIM and turn on Data Roaming for that line. Android: Settings › Network & internet › SIMs. Most travel eSIMs need roaming on.

  2. Restart the connection

    Turn Airplane Mode on for 10 seconds, then off. Still nothing? Restart the phone, or pick a carrier manually in Network Selection.

  3. On hotel or airport Wi-Fi, find the sign-in page

    Open your browser and visit captive.apple.com. A sign-in page should appear; many ask for a phone or room number. If nothing appears, ask the front desk.

02China apps work, Google or WhatsApp don’t
  1. Check which network you are on

    On hotel Wi-Fi this is normal: China networks do not open Google. Turn Wi-Fi off to use your travel eSIM.

  2. Already on the eSIM and still blocked

    Make sure the eSIM line carries your data, then restart. Some cheap plans use a mainland exit; check that yours says Google works in China, or contact its support.

  3. Using an overseas route on Wi-Fi

    Open your client and reconnect, or switch to another server in its list. If none work, use the eSIM until it recovers.

03Google works, but WeChat, Alipay or maps are slow
  1. Turn the proxy off on the eSIM

    A travel eSIM already reaches overseas apps. A VPN or proxy on top only adds a detour. Turn it off.

  2. On Wi-Fi, switch to rule mode

    In your proxy client, choose rule or smart routing instead of global, so China apps go direct.

  3. Payment failing?

    Turn the proxy off, then reopen Alipay or WeChat. Payment apps can block sign-ins from an overseas IP.

YOUR NEXT STOP

Still stuck? Narrow it down.

Change one thing at a time, compare Wi-Fi with mobile data, and note the exact error.

Why won’t this page load?