All went smoothly except: * the set-up is entirely self-service. The instructions are clear, but some human assistance at the collection point would be even better * my first attempted connection w... See more
Company replied
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Review summary
Created with AI, based on recent reviews
What people talk about most
Reviews shaping this summary
Received Sim and installed it - had data but had problem with receiving voice calls. This was due to the age of my phone. There are notes on the website about this, but the issue could perhaps be made... See more
Company replied
Great 4G LTE connectivity throughout my 14-day (9/22 to 10/05/25) trip in Japan. KYOTO, NARA, OSAKA, TOKYO. I do wish 5G data speed was available. I do love the massive data plan 50GB for 16 days.... See more
Company replied
I used Mobal during my two-week stay in Japan. Everything worked flawlessly, everywhere I stayed, including Hakuba, Nagano, Matsumoto, and even Jigokudani Monkey Park! Mobal also worked great in the T... See more
Company replied
Company details
Written by the company
Mobal is an award-winning UK/Japan-based SIM provider whose mission is to make life in Japan easier for foreign nationals, known for reliable service, and friendly English support. What makes Mobal different is that it's 100% owned by a charity, which is dedicated to building schools and feeding children in Malawi, Africa. That means that all the profits Mobal makes go straight to making the world a better place!
Contact info
The Winding House, Walkers Rise, Rugeley Road, Hednesford, Staffordshire, WS12 0QU, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
- support@mobal.com
- www.mobal.com
3.8
Great
930 reviews
Replied to 87% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 1 week
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Highly recommended
I've been in Japan two weeks and Mobal has been invaluable. I've never used an eSIM before, but it was easy to setup and works great.
24 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
This is great news and thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review! We are pleased to hear that you found the service simple and easy to use and we hope that you enjoyed your stay!
First experence
I am very positive suprise of useing e-sim card during my time in Tokyo. Sińce I got to the Tokyo's Airport my friend Declan Somers provide my e-sim card and sińce the I could start useing it. I was able to contact with whole my Familly and the conection was great every time. In the Hotel I use internet on my laptop from e-sim and also conection was great. I think this is the best option to stay in touch with friends and Familly by useing mobal e-sim
14 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback! We are delighted to hear the service met all your needs and we hope to hear from you again in the future!
Bad experience
Bad experience. According to directions from Mobal, i should get connectivity within 24 hours max, actually should be 15-30 min. Coming on 40 hrs, no activation code provided, due to provider issues “please be patient “. That is not what was promised. Asked support 3x for cancel and refund as they have not delivered product as promised got zero response. So customer support is not responding, I have spent $$ and have nothing. I need to go get a physical SIM card and need Mobal to pay me back.
20 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
Thank you for sharing your feedback, and we sincerely apologize for any frustration the delayed activation has caused you!
Regrettably, a system-wide issue at the network level caused delays in eSIM activations, affecting some of our customers, including yourself. We understand you paid for immediate service, and we are sorry that these issues prevented us from delivering the service within the timeframe we pride ourselves on.
The issue has since been resolved, and all eSIMs have been activated. However, we completely understand that you’ve made alternative arrangements. As such, we would be happy to provide a full refund for your order. Please kindly send an email to care@mobal.com with your order number, and we will ensure the refund is processed promptly.
Once again, we are truly sorry for the inconvenience caused and appreciate your patience and understanding.
QR code Didnt work
QR code Didnt work. Setup tutorial also didnt work.
Waste of 4900yen
16 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
Thank you for providing your feedback! We are sorry to hear that you experienced issues with your QR code and set up tutorial.
Please email care@mobal.com with your order number and a member of our customer service team will be happy to investigate this matter further for you.
It's reliable.
13 July 2024
Unprompted review
Mobal works ‘almost’ flawless
Mobal works almost flawlessly, but for travel in rural japan reception is not the best. It’s sad it’s on the Docomo network and not SoftBank. The ESIM pickup was horrible, I arrived in Osaka KIX in the evening, the pickup point had just closed. I had to sleep in the terminal just so I could pick up the e sim in the late morning… and the fact that it is a esim that needs to be physically delivered too… it’s stupid. I know it’s due to regulations but the pickup point should at least be 24 hours at an airport or multiple pickup locations.
Edit: thank you Mobal for your reply on the review but the information you are giving me is incorrect. I have not been in touch with you earlier through email. I stay to my opinion that the delivery of your e-sims are not the best, but otherwise your services are pretty great. Of course it was my choice to sleep in the terminal, but I really needed the esim asap and the most flexible option to me was to wait until the pickup point opened which was a whole nights wait in the terminal. I feel there must be better options or just other pickup point in the city for situations like these where the customer arrives evening time or late nights
10 April 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with feedback regarding your recent experience with our service.
Using the details you have provided, we believe we have located your account and emails to our Customer Service team.
We can see that prior to collecting your Japan Voice + Data eSIM Access Code, a member of our team explained the I.D. requirements (for voice capable eSIMs) that are entirely outside of our control.
We also provided you with the collection point opening hours on a number of occasions and advised that if you arrived at the pick-up point out of hours, you could always collect your order the next day or from one of our other collection locations.
As we did not hear back from you after this information was provided, we assumed that you had collected the Access Code without issue; however, we are sorry to hear that this was not the case.
Thank you once again for your feedback and if there is anything else we can assist you with in the future, please do not hesitate to contact our team again!
Reply from Mobal
Hi Ayesha, thank you so much for taking the time to provide your feedback.
We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed using our services and that our plan was suitable for your needs!
We hope you had a wonderful time in Japan and to hear from you again in the future!
Making mobil easy
Easy to get, easy to understand, easy to use and full transparency. Amazing service
9 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
We really appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback.
We are delighted to hear that you found the whole process simple to follow and that the service met all your needs!
Thank you again for your kind review and for choosing Mobal!
A little late with this review
A little late with this review. We used 2 x eSIMs in Japan last December/January. Great service and coverage.
4 January 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
Hi Allan, thank you for providing your feedback.
We are delighted to hear that the data connection for your Data Only Tourist eSIMs was reliable throughout your stay in Japan - we would expect nothing less!
Thank you for your review and for letting Mobal be part of your trip!
Perfect
I used Mobal's data eSIMs on a recent trip to Japan and was very happy with the whole experience - ease of use, network speed, price. I'll definitely use Mobal again.
6 July 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.
We are delighted to hear that you were very happy using our Data Only Tourist eSIMs during your recent trip to Japan!
We thank you for the recommendation and hope to hear from you again in the future!
Mobal fulfills a need in Japan for foreigners
Mobal provided exactly the service I needed from 2017-2023. Their products are reliable and their customer service is prompt and fair. I'm grateful to Mobal for providing a service accessible to foreign people living in Japan. If you are new to Japan, Mobal is the obvious choice for convenience. I only changed carriers because I joined a family plan.
9 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
We really appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback.
We are pleased to hear that you found our products reliable and that our Customer Service team were able to assist you efficiently and in a timely manner.
Thank you for your kind review and for your recommendation!
A Mobal e-sim during my last visit to…
A Mobal e-sim during my last visit to Japan made the trip so much easier. I’ve used a physical data sim from them before, and the first time I needed help from their customer service. But the e-sim was really straightforward and easy to install.
The price is very competitive, and I like the fact that they give some of their profits to support good causes.
18 March 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
Hi Bente, we appreciate you taking the time to provide feedback about your recent experience with our service.
We are happy to hear that your Data Only Tourist eSIM made life in Japan easier during your visit and that you found it good value for money!
We are pleased that our Customer Service team were able to offer support and that the eSIM was easy to install and use.
It’s also great to hear that our Company ethos and charity work attracted you to our services! Every purchase makes a difference to many lives, as the majority of our profits go towards helping to achieve our vision for the communities that we support in Malawi and beyond.
We thank you again for your repeat custom and look forward to hearing from you again in the future!
No more vacation hold on version 2.0 SIM?? :(
For many years, I had your version 1.0 SIM that allowed for a vacation suspend (so that I didn't have to pay the monthly fee whenever I was absent from Japan for a period of time). That SIM was accidentally disconnected last year when I was simply trying to put my SIM back on vacation suspend - and upon discovering this a year later, I was told your version 2.0 no longer allows for a vacation suspend. This is a HUGE miss for many expats like me who do have to bounce back and forth between countries and I would love it if the vacation suspend can be applied to your version 2.0 SIM. Otherwise it is a huge overhead for me having to change phone number everytime I return to Japan... with my existing Line app/PayPay app still having the old phone number associated. Thanks for your consideration!
21 July 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
Hi Jim, thank you so much for taking the time to provide your feedback.
We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that was caused by the vacation plan for our older Japan Unlimited V1 SIM cards being discontinued in October last year. Please be advised that this was due to changes made by our service provider which were unfortunately outside of our control.
We understand that a number of our customers travel to and from Japan on a regular basis and retaining their Japanese phone number is important, so we can confirm that we are looking at offering a suspension plan for our Japan Voice + Data SIM/eSIM products in the not too distant future.
If you are interested in finding out more about this new suspension plan, we recommend signing up to our newsletter, as more details will be provided once this plan has been launched! To sign up to our newsletter please visit the link below, scroll right to the bottom of the link, then under the 'Sign Up To Our Newsletter' section enter your email address and then click 'Subscribe': www.mobal.com
Once again, we appreciate your feedback and hope to hear from you again in the future!
Experience Japan like a local
Mobal offers voice/text/data plan that allows travelers to have a Japanese phone number necessary for many ticketed events that must be purchased in advance. Also helpful for calling and accepting calls from local businesses. E-sim needs to be setup after activation. This is easy to do but can be overlooked if you are used to physical simm that was basically plug n play.
27 September 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
We really appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback.
It is great to hear that having a genuine Japanese phone number with your Mobal Voice + Data eSIM was helpful during your time in Japan!
Thank you for your review and for letting Mobal be a part of your trip!
Painlessly get a real Japanese Phone #
Mobal has been the easiest company to work with to get a real Japanese phone number as someone who is just starting to learn Japanese.
30 October 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
Thank you for providing your feedback.
We are delighted to hear that you have found Mobal the best option for providing a genuine Japanese phone number when starting out in Japan and learning the language!
Thank you for your review and for choosing Mobal!
Great for Travelers in Japan, Especially iPhone Users!
Rating: ★★★★★ (4.5 stars)
I used Mobal's "Data + Voice" SIM for two months during my stay in Japan, and overall, it was a great experience. The ordering process was incredibly easy, and collecting and setting up the SIM card was a breeze. One of the standout aspects is the excellent network coverage—it was strong enough to stream videos on trains without any buffering, which was really convenient. Their billing plans also seem to offer great value, especially considering the amount of data provided.
There were rare instances where I suddenly lost signal in certain areas that weren’t underground, but this was a minor issue overall. I didn’t need to contact customer support myself, but friends who did mentioned that Mobal's support team was very responsive and mostly helpful.
I would definitely recommend Mobal, especially for iPhone users. If you're using an Android device (like I did), you may run into some network issues, but iPhones seem to work much better across the board in Japan. In fact, using an iPhone is generally a smoother experience here, from network connectivity to tapping your phone to pay for train tickets.
In summary, Mobal is a fantastic option, particularly for foreigners visiting Japan. Just keep in mind, it’s even better if you’re on an iPhone!
15 July 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
We really appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback.
It is great to hear that you found the process of ordering, collecting and activating your SIM card easy!
We are also happy to hear that you found the plans we offer good value for money and that your network coverage was excellent throughout your time in Japan.
Whilst you didn’t contact our Customer Service team yourself, we are delighted to hear that when your friends who were also using our service reached out for support they found our agents very helpful and responsive!
Thank you for your kind review and for letting Mobal be a part of your trip!
Worked Perfectly & GREAT Customer Service!
The SIM card and reception worked flawlessly in 3 different cities in Japan! Better yet was the technical assistance I received for minor questions (I'm the least tech-savvy person on Earth).
Highly recommended!
3 September 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
Hi Thomas, thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback!
We are delighted to hear that your SIM card worked well throughout your stay in Japan.
We are also pleased to hear that our Customer Service team were able to assist with your queries.
Thank you for your recommendation and for choosing Mobal. We hope to hear from you again in the future!
Japan Data Only Plan
Great service, stable mobile data connection for our trip in Japan. Easy to use for international tourists, we chose the Japan data only plan for 8 days. Would recommend it if you are short staying in Japan.
11 September 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
Thank you so much for taking the time to provide a review and we hope to hear from you again in the future! It's always great to receive feedback from our customers and we are pleased to hear that our service provided you with a stable connection throughout your stay!
Great product - Japan data only SIM
The Japan data only SIM card had excellent coverage in all of the cities I visitised including the shrines and temples. The instructions to activate the SIM were straight forward, and I was able to activate it on the plane. The customer service team were very helpful and friendly with my initial query before using the product. I would recommend to others.
11 September 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
We really appreciate you taking the time to provide a review and we are delighted to hear that the service worked well for you during your stay! It's also great to hear that you found the service easy to use and that it provided you with excellent coverage during your trip!
We hope to hear from you again in the future and please do not hesitate to contact us again if there is anything else that we can assist you with.
Never get fooled.
They have terrible instructions. When you follow their terrible instructions - it doesn't work. then you learn they have no phone number. They allow only an email form to contact them. when you send them an urgent plea on their form - you get a response that they will get back in 1 to 3 days. They are terrible/horrible. Don't be fooled. Don't ever loose your money as I did!!
4 September 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Mobal
Thank you for your review! As explained in our email response to you, the issues you experienced on this occasion were due to your device not meeting the compatibility requirements that are explained on the Mobal website. If there is anything else that we can assist you with however, please do not hesitate to contact us again!
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