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How to get and activate an Iliad eSIM in Italy
Get an Iliad eSIM in minutes: QR code by email, plans from €7.99 locked at that price, and a full activation walkthrough in English.
To get an Iliad eSIM in Italy, choose an Iliad mobile plan at iliad.it, in the official app, or at an Iliad store or corner, and select eSIM as your format. You’ll need an Italian tax code, an ID document, and a payment method for automatic renewal. The QR code arrives by email, so you can be online within minutes of signing up.
This article covers what an Iliad eSIM costs, which plans and devices it works with, how to activate it, and how it compares with other Italian carriers. If you’re visiting Italy as a tourist, an Iliad contract is more paperwork than you need: a travel eSIM for Italy gets you connected without a codice fiscale. And if you travel often or want unlimited data with no local contract, Holafly Plans covers 160+ destinations on one monthly subscription.
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Iliad eSIM plans for locals
Iliad eSIM in Italy has been available since June 2023. The digital format is available on every consumer offer at no extra charge, and both new and existing customers can weigh up eSIM vs SIM when picking their format. What sets the Iliad eSIM apart from the rest of the market is the pricing promise: every plan is “per sempre,” locked at its launch price for as long as you keep it.
Iliad’s lineup in July 2026 (each with a €9.99 one-off SIM activation):
- TOP 30 MONDO: 300 GB in 5G, unlimited minutes and SMS, 30 GB usable in 110+ countries, €12.99/month (limited-time offer)
- GIGA 250: 250 GB in 5G, unlimited minutes and SMS, 18 GB EU roaming, €11.99/month
- GIGA 200: 200 GB in 5G, unlimited minutes and SMS, 15 GB EU roaming, €9.99/month
- GIGA 150: 150 GB in 4G+, unlimited minutes and SMS, 12 GB EU roaming, €7.99/month
Unlimited minutes include calls to international landlines in dozens of countries, plus US and Canadian mobiles, a detail that many carriers charge extra for.
Renewal runs on an automatic payment method (card, prepaid card, or IBAN), and if you burn through your gigabytes, nothing happens without your explicit consent: browsing simply stops until you approve out-of-bundle rates.
Households with Iliad fiber can multiply these allowances through iliadclub at no added cost.
Voice-only and data-only Iliad eSIM plans
The lineup extends beyond full smartphone plans. All of these can be activated as eSIM.
- VOCE pairs unlimited minutes and SMS with a token 40 MB for €4.99/month, aimed at callers who barely touch data.
- DATI 350 flips the formula: 350 GB in 5G for €14.99/month with no bundled calls or texts, priced per use if you need them.
- DOMOTICA runs €1.99/month for alarms and connected devices.
One caution for travelers: since January 2026, Iliad’s free EU roaming no longer includes the UK, and Switzerland has never been part of it. Minutes and SMS work at home terms across the EU, Moldova, and Ukraine, with the data allowances listed above, but a London trip now means consumption rates unless you’re on TOP 30 MONDO.
How to get an Iliad eSIM
New customers have three options: iliad.it (pick your offer, then choose eSIM as the format before payment), the official Iliad app, or an Iliad store or corner, where the SIMbox terminals handle the entire sign-up.
Requirements
Iliad asks for the same things, whichever route you take:
- An Italian codice fiscale
- A passport or ID card for the identity check, done by short video upload if you order online
- An eSIM-compatible phone that isn’t carrier-locked
- An automatic payment method: credit card, prepaid card such as Postepay, or IBAN
- For number portability: the number you’re bringing and its ICCID serial
Activation
The come attivare question, answered step by step:
- Pick your offer and select the eSIM format before checkout.
- Complete identity verification: upload your ID and record the short confirmation video when prompted (or hand your documents to staff in store).
- Watch your inbox. Iliad emails your QR code once verification is cleared, typically within minutes for online orders, and it remains retrievable from your Personal Area and the app if the email is lost. Note that each code is single-use and pairs with only one device.
- On WiFi, scan the code from another screen with your phone’s camera and confirm the download.
- Enable the new line in your settings and pick it for calls, messages, and data.
If you are porting a number in, the transfer completes within two working days, and your old SIM keeps working until it does.
Already have an Iliad SIM for Italy? The swap lives in your Personal Area under your offer’s conditions, via “Passa dalla SIM fisica alla eSIM.” It costs €9.99, waived if your monthly plan is €9.99 or above.
How to install your eSIM by device
Every phone maker buries the eSIM menu somewhere slightly different. Have your QR code email open on a laptop or second screen, then follow your device’s path.
- Samsung Galaxy: The path for setting up an eSIM on a Samsung Galaxy runs through Settings > Connections > SIM manager > Add eSIM. Choose the QR scan option, capture the code, and wait for the download to finish before assigning the line. Exact wording varies a little across One UI versions.
- iPhone (XS or newer): Apple makes adding an eSIM on iPhone nearly automatic. Open Settings > Cellular > Add eSIM, point the camera at the code on your other screen, and confirm. When iOS asks which line handles what, assign the Iliad line to data, calls, or both, and give it a label you’ll recognize.
- Google Pixel: Installing an eSIM on a Google Pixel starts at Settings > Network & internet > SIMs, then Add SIM > Download a SIM instead. Scan, confirm, and Pixel prompts you to make the new line your data default on the spot.
Iliad eSIM-compatible devices
Iliad imposes no device restrictions of its own: if a phone supports eSIM and is carrier-unlocked, it works. In practice, that means iPhone XS and everything after, Samsung Galaxy models from the S20 era onward, Google Pixel 3 and later, and most recent mid-range and flagship Android phones across brands, along with cellular iPads.
Phones bought from another operator need to be unlocked first, though carrier locking has been rare in Italy for years.
The one wrinkle worth knowing is 5G. Iliad’s network runs on bands n77 and n78, and a handful of imported or older 5G phones don’t support them; in that case, the line still works but tops out at 4G+ speeds. The 5G plans themselves don’t cost extra, so the only variable is the handset.
Before ordering, it’s worth a two-minute check of your eSIM compatibility: Iliad’s site has its own eSIM compatibility checker under “Our eSIM.” If your device was sold outside Europe, checking the supported bands and whether your phone will work in Italy saves you from surprises later.
Other companies offering eSIM in Italy
Iliad competes with the other network operators, and all of them sell eSIMs.
- Fastweb runs four consumer plans from 150 GB at €9.95 to unlimited data at €19.95, each with unlimited minutes and 200 SMS, and the eSIM costs the same as plastic. Its roaming still covers the UK and Switzerland on home terms, which Iliad no longer does.
- WindTre prices by where you’re porting from, with 200 to 250 GB offers between €6.99 and €10.99/month. Its eSIM QR also arrives by email, with the line active within 48 hours at most.
- TIM activates eSIMs entirely online using SPID or CIE digital identity, with the eSIM itself at €10, including €5 of starting credit. It remains the only Italian operator whose One Number service puts your line on a cellular smartwatch.
- Vodafone kept its own brand and shops after being absorbed into the Fastweb group in January 2026, selling the same three plan tiers on the shared network, with a fully digital eSIM purchase flow that skips home delivery altogether.
Every one of these, Iliad included, assumes you’re staying: Italian tax code, Italian payment method, an identity check, and account management in Italian. If your life runs across borders, or Italy is one stop of several, the alternative below skips all four.
Holafly Plans: Data without the paperwork
Holafly Plans works on a monthly subscription with none of the local-carrier machinery: no codice fiscale, no Italian bank account, no identity video. Sign up, install, and the eSIM is live in minutes. You get unlimited data that follows you through 160+ destinations on a single profile, whether that’s Italy this month or Portugal the next.
Support runs 24/7 in English, and the subscription flexes with your life: keep it running year-round or pause it when you’re settled somewhere with WiFi.
The Always On benefit is included, too, adding 1 GB of backup data each month at no extra cost, so you’re never fully offline between trips.
What a Plan doesn’t give you is an Italian phone number, so calls and SMS stay with a local SIM if you need them. For everything data, from maps to meetings, it replaces the paperwork with a QR code.
Connectivity made easy
Activate your Italian eSIM in a few simple steps. No Italian tax code. No IBAN needed.
FAQs about the Iliad eSIM
Iliad’s prices are among the lowest of the four main carriers, with each plan locked at its launch price. Coverage reaches most of the population, though independent tests place it behind TIM and Vodafone in rural areas, so check the map on iliad.it for your zone. Speeds sit mid-range for mobile internet in Italy, strongest in cities with Iliad 5G.
Iliad plans renew automatically from your saved payment method, so routine recharging isn’t needed. Credit for extras (international calls outside your bundle, out-of-bundle browsing you approve) can be topped up in the app, in your Personal Area, at Iliad SIMbox terminals, or at tobacconists and other authorized points. The rules for making calls in Italy with an eSIM are the same as for a physical SIM, including rates and credit.
Cancellation is free at any time, with no minimum term or exit penalty, from your Personal Area or by porting your number to another operator. The “per sempre” pricing means there’s no contract clock; the line simply stops at the end of the paid period.
Plans that may interest you
With a background in English literature and a focus on storytelling, I’ve turned my interests in travel and technology into a career helping others stay connected abroad. Originally from Serbia, I work remotely with my husband, experiencing local cultures firsthand and bringing that perspective to my writing for Holafly. Fun fact: before focusing on content creation, I was a professional volleyball player.
