Will my phone work in Bali? Roaming, travel eSIM or a local SIM

24 October 2026 · Telroo

Short answer: yes, most recent Australian phones work in Bali. You have three ways to get mobile data: roam with your Australian carrier, add a travel eSIM before you fly, or buy a local Indonesian SIM or eSIM after you arrive. A travel eSIM needs a phone that supports eSIM and is carrier-unlocked. Whichever way you use for data, you can usually keep your Australian SIM in the phone for texts such as bank codes.

This article explains the choice. If you already know you want a travel eSIM and want to compare plan sizes and prices, go to the Bali & Indonesia eSIM guide.

First, check your phone

Two things decide whether a travel eSIM is an option for you.

eSIM support. Look in your phone settings for an "Add eSIM" option, or for an EID number. Support depends on the exact model and the country it was sold in. Our compatibility guide explains how to check.
Carrier lock. A phone that is locked to an Australian carrier cannot use another provider's eSIM. Phones bought outright from a manufacturer are usually unlocked, but some phones bought from an Australian carrier are locked to it, and unlocking can take days. Unlocking a phone from an Australian carrier explains how to find out and what to ask your carrier.

If your phone fails either check, roaming with your own carrier or a local physical SIM are the options left.

Option 1: roaming with your Australian carrier

Roaming keeps your Australian service working in Indonesia: your own number, calls, texts and data. You usually pay a daily fee on top of your plan. The three main carriers each list Indonesia as an eligible destination on their roaming pages, checked on 24 October 2026:

Carrier	Roaming option named on its page	What the page says it includes
Telstra	International Roaming Day Pass, Zone 2 (includes Indonesia)	$10 per day, 2GB of data a day, unlimited standard calls and SMS
Optus	Optus Daily Roaming, Zone 1 (includes Indonesia)	$5 for 5GB of data to use within 24 hours, unlimited standard talk and text, on Choice Plus, Plus Family and Plus Promo plans
Vodafone	$5 Roaming (Indonesia listed as a $5 Roaming destination)	$5 extra per day to use your plan's included data, calls and texts, on eligible plans, for up to 90 days a calendar year

These are post-paid options. Prepaid services have their own roaming packs, and terms differ between plans, so check your own plan on your carrier's page before you go.

How a roaming day starts

This is the part that most often surprises people. Telstra's page says a Day Pass is charged on days your service is used overseas to make or receive calls, send an SMS or use data, including background data, and that receiving an SMS does not trigger it. Optus says Daily Roaming is activated automatically in eligible destinations, and Vodafone says $5 Roaming activates automatically when you turn on your phone in an eligible destination.

Apps refresh in the background, so if data roaming is on for your Australian line, a day can become chargeable without you opening anything. If you only want your Australian line for texts, turn off data roaming for that line.

Roaming tends to suit you if you need to make and receive normal calls on your Australian number throughout the trip, if your phone cannot use an eSIM, or if your plan already includes Indonesia. For a fuller comparison, read travel eSIM or international roaming.

Option 2: a travel eSIM set up before you fly

A travel eSIM is a second, data-only line that sits next to your Australian SIM. You install it on Wi-Fi in Australia and switch your mobile data to it when you land, so you have maps and messaging as you leave the airport.

What the Telroo Bali and Indonesia plans listed on their product pages on 24 October 2026:

Networks: Telkomsel 5G, XL 4G and Smartfren 4G.
Data only: no Indonesian phone number, standard calls or SMS. WhatsApp, FaceTime and similar apps work over the data.
Hotspot: allowed. Shared data comes out of the same allowance.
Two plan types: the Bali & Indonesia Travel eSIM has one total allowance for its validity period. The Indonesia Unlimited eSIM has a daily high-speed allowance. After it is used, speed drops to 1 Mbps on the 1GB and 3GB a day options, or 384 Kbps on the 5GB and 10GB a day options, until the allowance resets every 24 hours. Choose enough days when you buy.
Use-by: use the eSIM within 180 days of purchase. When the validity period starts depends on the plan, so read its activation instructions before installing.

The data goes through Singapore

The fixed-data Bali plan lists Singapore as its data exit country. Your phone uses an Indonesian network, but your internet traffic reaches the internet through Singapore. Some websites may then show Singapore results or ask you to confirm a sign-in. Maps and ride-share apps use your phone's own location, so they are not affected. What a data exit country means explains this in more detail.

Telroo sells these plans, so treat this as a description of what they include rather than an independent comparison. This guide is not a field test of coverage or speed.

Option 3: a local Indonesian SIM, and the 90-day IMEI rule

You can also buy a local SIM or eSIM in Indonesia. Smartraveller's Indonesia page (updated 21 October 2026, checked 24 October 2026) says that if you are staying for less than 90 days, you can buy a tourist SIM card or eSIM to use the Indonesian mobile network.

For longer stays, the same page says that if you plan to stay for more than 90 days and use a phone bought outside Indonesia, you need to register the phone's IMEI number with Indonesian Customs within the first 90 days of your stay. Wi-Fi works without registration. If this applies to you, follow the link to Indonesian Customs from Smartraveller's page for the current process.

A local SIM can make sense if you need an Indonesian phone number, for example to receive calls from local businesses. Check registration, what is included and the price with the provider before you buy. If your phone takes only one physical SIM, swapping in a local SIM also means your Australian number is out of the phone until you swap back.

Calls, texts and bank codes on your Australian number

A travel eSIM does not replace your Australian number. On a dual-SIM phone you can:

set the travel eSIM as your mobile data line;
turn off data roaming on your Australian line;
keep your Australian line switched on, so texts, including bank verification codes, can still arrive.

Your carrier's terms decide whether receiving a call or text costs anything, and your account must allow international roaming for texts to reach you overseas. Smartraveller's Indonesia page also suggests making sure your phone number and bank accounts work overseas, and telling your bank you are travelling, before you go.

The step-by-step settings for iPhone and Samsung are in keeping your Australian number while using a travel eSIM.

Coverage away from the main tourist areas

Plans list networks, not a guarantee of signal everywhere. Smartraveller says mobile phone reception and Wi-Fi are not always available in Indonesia, including in remote areas and on some resort islands. That is worth keeping in mind for day trips to the Nusa islands, Lombok, the Gili islands or inland walks.

Before a boat trip or a long drive, download offline maps and save your bookings and tickets to your phone. If you are visiting several countries, check every stop against the plan's coverage list; the Southeast Asia eSIM guide covers a regional plan that includes Indonesia.

How much data for a Bali trip?

It depends on how you use your phone, not on the destination. Start with your phone's recent mobile data use, then allow for hotel Wi-Fi, video calls, photo backups and any hotspot sharing. The Bali guide's plan table divides each plan by trip length so you can compare, and how much travel data do I need has a general estimator.

Common questions

Does a travel eSIM give me an Indonesian phone number? No. Telroo plans are data-only. You keep your Australian number on your Australian SIM, and messaging apps keep working over data.

Will my bank app work? Bank apps use the data connection like any other app. Because the fixed-data plan's traffic exits in Singapore, a bank or app may ask you to confirm a sign-in from an unexpected country. Keeping your Australian line on for SMS codes helps.

Can I share data with a laptop or a travel companion? Yes, hotspot is allowed on the Bali plans. It uses the same allowance. Sharing data with a hotspot explains how.

Should I install the eSIM in Australia? Install it on reliable Wi-Fi before you fly if the plan's instructions allow it, so you are not relying on airport Wi-Fi. The installation guide covers each step.

What if the eSIM does not connect when I land? Do not delete it. Check that it is selected for mobile data and that data roaming is on for the travel eSIM line, then follow the troubleshooting checklist or contact us. The Refund Policy explains how problems are handled.

See plans

Sources and last checked

Checked 24 October 2026. Carrier terms and prices change; check the carrier's page before you travel.

Telstra, International Roaming: Day Pass zones and prices, when a day is charged.
Optus, International Roaming: Optus Daily Roaming, Zone 1 destinations, eligible plans.
Vodafone, International Roaming: $5 Roaming terms and destination list.
Smartraveller, Indonesia travel advice (updated 21 October 2026): mobile reception, tourist SIMs and the 90-day IMEI rule.
Telroo product pages linked above: networks, data exit country, hotspot, daily speed limits.

Related guides

← All guides