Firsty eSIM Review: Hong Kong Numbers Cannot Use the Free Data, So Are the Paid Classic and Unlimited Plans Still Worthwhile?

Firsty's terms (June 2026 version) state that the contracting party is Firsty B2C Pte. Ltd., registered in Singapore (registration number 202507463H); the developer listed for the app on the App Store and Google Play is Bamboo Connected B.V. of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. According to the terms, connectivity is provided by third-party mobile virtual network enablers, mobile network operators and mobile virtual network operators with which Firsty has commercial arrangements. This site has been unable to verify whether Firsty holds a telecommunications licence from Hong Kong's Communications Authority or from any other jurisdiction.

The terms are governed by Dutch law, with disputes handled by the courts of Amsterdam, although consumers retain the mandatory protections of the law of their country of residence. Firsty credit held in the wallet can be used only to buy plans or calls within the app (credit earned through referrals is expressly not exchangeable for cash), and there is no arrangement comparable to deposit protection, so it is advisable to buy only the plans needed for an imminent trip. The app is available in English only and requires iOS 15.6 or later.

Firsty Free provides data in exchange for watching advertisements: each advertisement earns 20MB, up to 18 a day, or at most 360MB a day; unused data accumulates up to 240MB and is valid for 7 days after it is earned, speed is capped at 1Mbps, hotspot sharing is not permitted, and no credit card is required. Clause 3.1 of the terms still describes the former arrangement of "30 minutes per advertisement"; the help centre explains that some older accounts may continue to see 30-minute sessions during the transition, and what the app shows prevails.

Eligibility depends on the country of the registered phone number. The eligible numbers listed by the help centre include those of the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and a number of European and American countries, but not Hong Kong. Replying to a user on the App Store (Hong Kong) on 8 June 2025, Firsty stated that it had suspended Firsty Free for Hong Kong users, while travellers visiting Hong Kong could still use it. In other words, Hong Kong residents who register with a +852 number can only buy paid plans; those who also hold an eligible number, such as a UK, Japanese or Taiwanese one, may be able to use Free.

Free's coverage also differs from that of the paid plans: it can be used in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and the United Kingdom, but not in Macao, Cambodia or Laos.

From July 2026, Firsty moved to uniform global pricing, replacing country-by-country pricing and earlier plans such as Comfort+ and First Class; users without an active plan were switched over from 6 July. Paid plans cost the same in every country and region they cover, which the website puts at 176, although paid plans have no longer been offered in Greenland, Cuba and French Polynesia since September 2026, so the figure may be out of date.

Classic is a one-off data bundle, ranging from €2.50 for 500MB to €49 for 50GB (€0.98 per GB). It is valid for 30 days from activation and cannot be paused. After purchase you can choose a destination, and the bundle activates automatically when the phone connects to a local network on arrival; it can also be activated manually in the app. Classic and Unlimited can be held at the same time: Unlimited is used first, and Classic only once the day's high-speed allowance has been used up.

Unlimited is charged by the day, and 1 to 60 days can be bought at a time: 1 day costs €3.50, 7 days €22.40 (€3.20 a day), 14 days €42 (€3 a day), 30 days €69 (€2.30 a day), and 45 and 60 days €2 a day. The first 5GB each day runs at the highest speed the local network can provide, after which speed falls to 512Kbps until the next 24-hour period begins; data used for hotspot sharing also counts towards the 5GB. One feature of the price list deserves attention: some longer durations cost less in total than shorter ones, for example 16 days at €44.80 against €45 for 15 days, and 30 days at €69 against €72.50 for 29 days, so it is worth comparing adjacent durations before buying.

Under clause 4.3 of the terms, when Unlimited is paused, the 24-hour period in progress still runs to its end, while the remaining full days are kept and do not expire. Classic bundles cannot be paused. Some help centre articles and the mainland China page still list old prices; this article follows the website's price catalogue as at 13 October 2026, and the price shown at checkout in the app prevails.

Take a csl customer travelling to Japan for five days. csl's Japan data roaming day pass costs HK$88 a day and includes 1GB of high-speed data, after which speed falls to 512kbps, for a total of HK$440 over five days; the 2GB-a-day pass costs HK$138, likewise falling to 512kbps thereafter, for a total of HK$690 over five days. Once use of a csl pass has been confirmed, a new pass is activated automatically as each one ends for as long as you remain in that destination.

Five days of Firsty Unlimited cost €16, or about HK$140 at the European Central Bank reference rate of 12 October 2026 (€1 = HK$8.7743), with 5GB of high-speed data a day; on a first purchase with this page's referral code the price is €13, about HK$114. If the card issuer charges a 1.95% foreign currency transaction fee, the €16 purchase costs roughly HK$3 more. Travellers who use less data may also consider Classic 3GB (€7.50, about HK$66).

The cost of the saving is convenience. A roaming pass keeps your Hong Kong number and existing SIM card, with no separate eSIM to install; with Firsty, receiving SMS verification codes from Hong Kong banks requires a dual-SIM phone with the Hong Kong SIM kept active, and its data roaming should preferably be switched off. For day trips to Macao the difference is small: Firsty offers paid plans in Macao, with 1 day of Unlimited at €3.50 (about HK$31) against HK$38 for csl's Macao day pass, and €3.50 falls short of the €4 needed for the referral discount.

Download Firsty through the link on this page, register a new account and enter referral code 69SR-OUUA at registration or checkout (if it has not been applied automatically), and €3 is deducted from your first purchase. Clause 12 of the terms states that the first purchase must be at least €4, whereas the referral programme page says "over €4"; since no current plan costs exactly €4, in practice you must buy Classic 1GB (€4.50) or larger, or Unlimited for 2 days or more. Classic 500MB (€2.50) and 1 day of Unlimited (€3.50) do not qualify.

On this basis, the cheapest qualifying purchase is Classic 1GB, at €1.50 (about HK$13) after the discount; Classic 5GB costs €6.50 (about HK$57) and 7 days of Unlimited €19.40 (about HK$170) after the discount. The discount is limited to a new user's first purchase and cannot be combined with other offers; where multiple accounts are opened or plans are resold, Firsty may cancel orders or end eligibility. The discount applies only to paid plans and has no connection with Firsty Free.

Disclosure: 69SR-OUUA is this site's referral code. Once you complete a first qualifying purchase, the referrer's account receives €3 in Firsty credit, which is non-transferable, cannot be exchanged for cash and can be used only within the app; this site benefits accordingly.

The terms require the phone to be unlocked and eSIM-capable. According to an Apple support article published on 17 September 2026, the Hong Kong or Macao versions of the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max, 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e, Air, 16e, 13 mini, 12 mini, SE (2nd and 3rd generation) and XS have eSIM; the Hong Kong versions of the iPhone 11 to 16 series (except the 12 mini, 13 mini and 16e), XS Max and XR have only two physical nano-SIM slots and cannot install an eSIM.

Firsty's device page, by contrast, states in general terms that iPhones bought in China and Hong Kong do not support eSIM, which does not match Apple's information; the same page also says that Samsung Galaxy phones bought in Hong Kong may not support eSIM. This site has been unable to confirm whether the Firsty app will accept eSIM installation on Hong Kong models such as the iPhone 17. The most direct check is to enter *#06# on the dialling screen: if an EID is displayed, the phone supports eSIM. If you discover after purchase that your phone is incompatible and the plan has not been used (less than 10MB), you can request a full cash refund within 14 days of purchase.

Installing the eSIM requires a Wi-Fi connection, so it should preferably be completed in Hong Kong before departure.

Clause 8.1 of the terms states that all payments are processed in euros, by methods including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay and AliPay; the account currency is set when the account is opened and cannot be changed afterwards. When paying with a Hong Kong dollar credit card, the amount actually charged depends on the issuer's exchange rate and foreign currency transaction fee.

The Firsty help centre states that users' data may be routed through a network hub in Belgium (the partner being Proximus), so websites may treat you as being in Belgium. Streaming platforms, online services or news websites restricted to Hong Kong may therefore be unavailable, and you may see advertisements aimed at users in Belgium.

For travel to mainland China, Firsty's China page states that data is routed outside the mainland, so WhatsApp and Google can be used without a VPN; this is the provider's claim and has not been tested by this site. Some prices listed on the same page (for example €19.25 for 7 days) no longer match the current price catalogue, and the app should be taken as authoritative.

The Firsty eSIM provides data only, with no local phone number. The app has a calling feature, but calling credit must be bought separately, and before the first outgoing call the account must have made at least one actual payment (for a plan or calling credit); promotional credit does not count.

Clause 9 of the terms grants a right of withdrawal for 14 days after purchase, but once a plan has been activated and more than 10MB used it counts as used, and no refund, full or partial, is given. For an unused plan (less than 10MB), a change-of-mind refund requested within 14 days may be taken as 90% in cash (the remaining 10% being an administration fee) or 100% in Firsty credit; if the phone is not eSIM-compatible and the plan is unused, a full cash refund is available.

If the eSIM fails to connect, this must be reported within 72 hours of activation, and you must cooperate with customer service in at least 30 minutes of troubleshooting. If automatic activation on arrival is switched on, the 72 hours run from the time the system activates the plan, and refund eligibility is also determined from that time. Approved refunds are processed within 5 working days; if choosing the wrong destination causes a plan to activate early, customer service can be asked to reset it.

To cancel the service, tap "Delete Profile" at the bottom of the profile page in the app. Deletion is not immediate and can take up to about three months, during which logging in again halts the deletion process; the eSIM must be deleted separately in the phone's settings.

As at 13 October 2026, the Firsty app was rated 4.1 on the App Store (Hong Kong), from 14 ratings, and 4.6 on the UK App Store, from 303 ratings; the Hong Kong Google Play page showed 4.2 (about 4,170 reviews); and Trustpilot showed 4.0 (335 reviews, 17% of them one-star). Firsty quotes higher ratings on its own website; this article uses the figures above, which were checked directly.

The more common complaints include eSIMs that were installed but failed to connect on arrival; the Free option not appearing after registration, usually because the number is not eligible; dissatisfaction with the 2026 changes, such as Free moving to 20MB per advertisement; Free data running out or expiring without being used; slow Free speeds; and customer service that is slow to respond or unable to resolve problems. Positive reviews mostly praise the online customer service staffed by real people.

Suitable for: travellers whose phones have eSIM, who visit Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, mainland China or Europe several times a year, and who use a lot of data each day or need hotspot sharing; people whose trip lengths vary and who would like to pause unused days; and holders of an eligible number, such as a UK one, who can keep Free as a backup.

Not suitable for: people using the Hong Kong versions of the iPhone 11 to 16 series (except the 12 mini, 13 mini and 16e); those who need a local number to send and receive SMS; those who wish to pay in Hong Kong dollars or need a Chinese interface; those making only day trips to Macao; and those expecting free data with a Hong Kong number.