Taiwan eSIM, SIM Card or Pocket WiFi: Airport Counters, Prices and Free WiFi

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Getting online in Taiwan is cheap once you know where to buy. Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信), Taiwan Mobile (台灣大哥大) and FarEasTone (遠傳電信) all sell unlimited-data tourist SIMs at Taoyuan International Airport (桃園國際機場), on a physical card or eSIM. The catches are practical: the counters close in the evening, you need two IDs, and a tourist card cannot be extended.

Below: a phone check, the airport counters, plan prices, eSIM, pocket WiFi and free networks, all checked against the carriers' tourist SIM pages, the Taoyuan Airport directory and official WiFi sites in September 2026.

Check your phone first: eSIM support and SIM lock

Two things decide what you can buy. The first is eSIM support: Apple lists the iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and later, and iPhone 13 and later can use two eSIMs at once. On Android it depends on the model; Chunghwa Telecom's eSIM page lists Google Pixel 4 and later among the phones that passed its tests. If your phone has no SIM tray, eSIM is the only way to add a Taiwanese line. The second is the SIM lock: a phone locked to your home carrier will not accept a Taiwanese SIM or eSIM. On an iPhone, open Settings, General, About, and look for No SIM Restrictions next to Carrier Lock. If it is missing, ask your carrier to unlock the phone before you fly.

• An eSIM downloads over the internet, so install it on Wi-Fi, at home or on the airport's free network. Chunghwa says its counter staff can also help you download it over CHT Wi-Fi.
• Keeping your home line on? Choose the Taiwanese line under Settings, Cellular, Cellular Data, and turn off data roaming on the home line, which Apple warns can still run up roaming charges.
• Buying a physical card? Pack a SIM eject tool and a safe place for your home SIM.

The carrier counters at Taoyuan Airport

All three carriers have counters on the first floor of both terminals, plus one each in the Terminal 1 arrival area before passport control, which closes earlier. The table below has the hours listed in the airport's services directory; Chunghwa runs two first-floor counters in Terminal 1.

Landing late is the main trap. After 21:30 the carriers' airport counters are all closed, but the directory lists first-floor agent counters in both terminals that rent Wi-Fi routers and handle prepaid SIM applications: Unite Traveler (游客邦) from 04:30 to 23:00 and a second agent, 靖成, from 06:00 to 23:30. Taiwan Mobile's tourist SIM page also lists airport counters selling its card for longer hours, including 04:30 to 23:00 in Terminal 2. Flying into another airport? Chunghwa lists service centers at Taipei Songshan Airport (台北松山機場), Taichung Airport (台中機場) and Kaohsiung International Airport (高雄小港機場), and Taiwan Mobile a Kaohsiung arrivals-hall counter open 09:00 to 20:00.

Tourist SIM prices

The price ladder is nearly identical at all three carriers. Every day pass gives unlimited data inside Taiwan plus call credit. The 5G passes add a hotspot allowance; Taiwan Mobile and FarEasTone say that once it is used up, the phone keeps unlimited data but can no longer share it. The 4G passes are cheaper and still unlimited. Chunghwa also sells data-capped cards valid for 16 days: 1.2GB for NT$280, 2.2GB for NT$400 and 5GB for NT$699.

Check how the days are counted. Taiwan Mobile and FarEasTone count 24-hour blocks from activation, so a 5-day pass lasts 120 hours. Chunghwa's day passes start counting at 00:00 on the day after activation, which makes your arrival day a free extra. No tourist card can be extended: Taiwan Mobile only takes call-credit top-ups, FarEasTone takes none, and Chunghwa adds call credit but not days or data. Buy a pass that covers your whole stay.

What to bring: two IDs, and cash for Chunghwa

All three carriers ask for two original IDs; your passport is the first. For the second, Chunghwa Telecom accepts a Taiwan entry permit, visa, residence permit or international student card, or failing those, a photo ID from your own country such as a driver's license or national ID card. Taiwan Mobile lists a residence permit, Taiwanese driver's license, health insurance card, visa or entry permit, and FarEasTone's prepaid page asks applicants aged 18 or over for two IDs. Visa-free visitors have no visa to show, so pack your home driver's license or ID card. Chunghwa only signs up under-18s who come with a parent or guardian carrying their own two IDs.

Payment differs too. Chunghwa's tourist SIM page says its cards can only be bought with New Taiwan dollar cash, while Taiwan Mobile accepts cash, credit cards, UnionPay and Alipay. FarEasTone's page lists no payment methods, so carry some cash either way.

eSIM: at the counter, or online before you fly

Taiwan Mobile and FarEasTone both say their tourist cards come as physical SIM or eSIM, and FarEasTone offers the choice at its Taoyuan Airport counters and stores. Chunghwa's eSIM page explains the visitor process: apply at a counter with the same two IDs, scan the QR code on the application form and enter the default confirmation code 0000. The first setup is free; reissuing a deleted eSIM costs NT$300 at a Chunghwa store. For booking ahead, Taiwan Mobile takes online reservations for store pickup, Chunghwa has suspended its reservations, and FarEasTone lists online booking as coming soon.

The other route is a travel eSIM bought online before you leave. Apple describes both options: a local carrier's plan bought at an airport counter, where you may have to show a passport and many plans include a local number, or a prepaid data plan from a worldwide provider bought in advance. You can install the online kind at home and switch it on when you land, the simplest fix for a late arrival, but check whether it includes a Taiwanese number and when its days start.

• Do not delete the eSIM mid-trip: Chunghwa charges NT$300 to reissue one, and online sellers set their own rules.
• Label the lines, for example Home and Taiwan, and choose the Taiwan line for cellular data.
• Test the connection before you leave the terminal, while the airport's free Wi-Fi is still there to fall back on.

Pocket WiFi: when a group shares one connection

A pocket Wi-Fi router makes sense when three or more people share one connection, or tablets and laptops need to be online too. At Taoyuan Airport, Unite Traveler and 靖成, the late-opening agent counters, list both advance reservations and on-the-spot rental. The trade-offs: someone carries the router and a power bank, everyone loses the connection if the group splits up, and it has to go back on time. Prices and return rules are set by each rental company. For two or three people who stay together, a 5G pass can do the same job without extra hardware. Its hotspot allowance is 3GB on a 3-day pass and 7GB on a 7-day pass: fine for a companion's maps and messaging, not for hours of video.

Free WiFi: a backup, not a plan

• Taoyuan Airport: connect to Airport Free WiFi and open a browser. It covers the seating areas and public spaces in the terminals.
• iTaiwan: the government network in indoor public areas such as transport stations, tourist sites and government offices. Since 1 July 2020 nobody needs to register; you agree on the login page. It logs you out after 15 minutes idle or 4 hours of use, and hotspots keep the building's hours, except railway stations and highway rest areas, which run 24 hours.
• TPE-Free (Taipei Free): Taipei City's network. On the Taipei Metro (台北捷運) it works around each station's information counter, not on the trains; Taipei Metro counts 192 hotspots, including Taipei Arena (台北小巨蛋) and the Maokong Gondola (貓空纜車). A connection drops after 2 hours.
• Convenience stores: FamilyMart's Fami-WiFi works once you accept the terms on its login page (on Android, open a browser first). 7-ELEVEN's ibon WiFi allows three sessions a day and is not in every store.
• Chunghwa's tourist cards include free use of its CHT Wi-Fi hotspots.
• The iTaiwan and Taipei Free help pages both warn that phones fall back to paid mobile data when the Wi-Fi drops, so keep data roaming off on your home line, and leave online banking for your own connection.

Which one should you choose?

Read the full description

Question 1: are three or more people sharing one connection? Yes: rent a pocket WiFi router at the Taoyuan Airport agent counters, or share a 5G tourist SIM hotspot. No: question 2, does the phone support eSIM and have no carrier lock? Yes: get an eSIM at a carrier counter with two IDs or buy one online. No: buy a tourist SIM card with a passport and a second ID, 5G from NT$500 and 4G from NT$300 for 3 days. Side boxes list the first-floor carrier counter hours at Taoyuan Airport and the free Wi-Fi networks: Airport Free WiFi, iTaiwan, TPE-Free, Fami-WiFi and ibon WiFi. 問題一：三人以上共用一個網路嗎？是就在桃園機場代辦櫃檯租 WiFi 分享器，或用 5G 旅客卡的熱點分享。否就看問題二：手機支援 eSIM 而且沒有 SIM 鎖嗎？是就到電信櫃檯憑雙證件辦 eSIM 或線上購買；否就用護照加第二證件買旅客 SIM 卡，5G 三日 NT$500 起、4G 三日 NT$300 起。旁邊列出桃園機場一樓電信櫃檯營業時間，以及 Airport Free WiFi、iTaiwan、TPE-Free、Fami-WiFi、ibon WiFi 等免費網路。

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