Living in Malaysia is awesome. Although Malaysia has many attractions within its borders, it is easy and cheap to fly or drive to other destinations easily. Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia – all close by. But is data roaming with Unifi cheap too? We will find that out today.
Can I roam with Unifi?
Roaming is available in 199 destinations to both Unifi Prepaid and Postpaid customers for RM38/day with the Data Roaming Pass. Depending on the destination, your daily quota ranges from 100 MB/day to unlimited data. To take advantage of the RM38/day deal, you have to be roaming on an Unifi preferred operator.
Pay-per-use data roaming is available as well, although you will be charged RM49/MB – not affordable at all!
No idea how roaming works? I made this comprehensive guide about what roaming is and how it works. It is worth the read – promised!
What do I need to know about the Unifi Data Roam Pass?
There are four mobile@unifi data roaming passes: 100 MB Quota Pass, 250 MB Quota Pass, 500 MB Quote Pass, and Nonstop Roaming Pass priced at RM38/day. The 100 MB Quota Pass is available in 139 destinations, the 250 MB Quota Pass is available in 32 destinations, the 500 MB Quota Pass is available in 3 destinations, and the Nonstop Roaming Pass is available in 17 destinations.
It is essential to connect with the preferred roaming partner when you wish to use your data roaming pass. If you fail to do so, you will be charged the pay-per-use rate, which costs RM49/MB.
When you activate a data roaming pass, it will be available in the destination you enabled it in. As a result, you cannot travel to another destination with the pass without purchasing a new one, even if the destination falls into the same data quota zone.
When you have activated a pass, you will be able to use it until midnight based on the time zone of the capital city of your destination. For example, if you are visiting Thailand, the data roam pass expires at 12:00 AM Bangkok time.
If you are in a destination with multiple time zones, such as the United States, the roaming expiry will be based on the capital city of the destination, which would be Washington D.C. for the USA.
If you run out of your data (applicable to passes with a data quota), you can purchase 100 MB for RM10, which can be bought here (login required). This top-up is also available until midnight.
You cannot, however, just purchase the Data Roam Pass 100 MB at 10RM without the subscription of a Data Roam Pass RM38. It only works as a top-up.
Data roam subscriptions expire every night, meaning you do not have to unsubscribe from the service if you do not want to use it anymore. However, this does require you to purchase a pass for each day you wish to roam abroad.
Tip: Looking for cheap flights? Book with AirWander and add stopovers! Not in a hurry yet? Set up flight alerts with Airfarewatchdog and get notified when ticket prices for your preferred route(s) drop!
Where can I use the Unifi data passes?
Below you can find every destination where the data passes are available grouped into their quotas.
Note: The tables may be best viewed in landscape mode or desktop view (when on mobile)
Unifi 100 MB Quota Pass Destinations
| Destination | Preferred Operator(s) | Destination | Preferred Operator(s) |
| Afghanistan | MTN Afghanistan | Dominica | Cable & Wireless |
| Algeria | Djezzy | Dominican Republic | Orange |
| Andorra | Andorra Telecom | Ecuador | Conecel |
| Angola | Unitel | El Salvador | CTE Telecom Personal Claro |
| Anguilla | Cable & Wireless | Ethiopia | Ethio Telecom |
| Antigua & Barbuda | Cable & Wireless | Faroe Islands | Faroese Telecom |
| Argentina | Claro & Telecom Personal | Fiji | Vodafone |
| Armenia | Armentel, KARABAKH TELECOM, Orange & Vivacell | Finland | Elisa Corporation |
| Aruba | Digicel | French Polynesia | Vini |
| Azerbaijan | Bakcell | Gabon | Airtel |
| Bahamas | BTC Bahamas | Gambia | Africell |
| Barbados | Cable & Wireless | Georgia | Magticom |
| Belarus | Unitary Enterprise Velcom | Ghana | Vodafone |
| Belize | Belize Telemedia | Gibraltar | Gibtelecom |
| Benin | SPACETEL | Grenada | Cable & Wireless |
| Bermuda | Bermuda Digital Communications | Guadeloupe | Digicel |
| Bhutan | Tashi Cell | Guam | Docomo |
| Bolivia | Entel & Neuvatel | Guatemala | Telecomunicacion de Guatemala |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | Public Enterprise Croatian Telecom | Guernsey | SUTE |
| Botswana | Orange | Guinea | Cellcom & Orange |
| Brazil | CLARO | Guinea-Bissau | Spacetel |
| British Virgin Islands | Cable & Wireless | Guyana | Digicel |
| Bulgaria | Telenor | Haiti | Nation Telecom |
| Burkina Faso | Airtel | Honduras | Servicios de Comunicaciones de Honduras |
| Burundi | SMART | Iceland | Nova |
| Cameroon | MTN & Orange | Iran | Rightel |
| Cape Verde | CVMóvel & UNITEL T+ | Iraq | Korek Telecom Company |
| Cayman Islands | Cable & Wireless | Israel | Partner Communication Israel |
| Chad | Airtel | Ivory Coast | SIM |
| Chile | Claro | Jamaica | Digicel |
| Colombia | Colombia Teleco | Jersey | Jersey Airtel & Jersey Telecom |
| Costa Rica | Claro CR Telecomunicaciones | Jordan | Orange, Umniah Mobile Company & Zain |
| Cuba | Cubacel | Kazakhstan | Kcell |
| Curacao | Digicel | Kenya | Airtell & Safaricom |
| Cyprus | MTN | Kuwait | VIVA |
| Destination | Preferred Operator(s) | Destination | Preferred Operator(s) |
| Kyrgyzstan | Alfa Telecom & Sky Mobile | Rwanda | MTN Rwandacell & Airtel |
| Laos | VimpleCom | Saint Kitts & Nevis | Cable & Wireless |
| Lebanon | MIC 2 SAL | Saint Lucia | Cable & Wireless |
| Lesotho | Vodafone | Saint Vincent & the Grenadines | Cable & Wireless |
| Liberia | Cellcom | Samoa | Digicel |
| Liechtenstein | Telkom & Salt | Senegal | Sonatel & Sentel |
| Lithuania | UAB Tele2 | Serbia | Telenor |
| Macedonia | One.VIP & T-Mobile | Seychelles Islands | Airtel Telecom Seychelles |
| Madagascar | Airtel | Sierra Leone | Africell & Airtel |
| Malawi | Airtel | Slovenia | SI. MOBIL |
| Maldives | Ooredoo & DHIVEHI RAAJJEYGE GULHUN | Solomon Islands | Bemobile |
| Mali | Orange | South Africa | JT & Vodacom |
| Mauritania | Mauritel Mobiles | Sudan | Zain |
| Mauritius | Mauritius Telecom | Suriname | Digicel |
| Mexico | Telcel | Swaziland | Swazi MTN |
| Moldova | Moldcell | Syria | Syriatel |
| Monaco | Monaco Telecom | Tajikistan | Babilon-Mobile |
| Mongolia | SkyTel | Tanzania | Airtel |
| Montenegro | Mtel | Tonga | Digicel |
| Morocco | Meditel | Trinidad & Tobago | Digicel |
| Mozambique | Vodacom | Tunisia | Orange & Ooredoo |
| Namibia | MTC | Turkmenistan | Altyn Asyr TM Cell & ES MTS |
| Nepal | Ncell & Nepal Telecommunications | Turks & Caicos Islands | Cable & Wireless |
| Netherlands Antilles | Digicel | Uganda | Airtel & MTN |
| New Caledonia | OPT | Ukraine | Kyivstar, Astelit & PRJSC MTS |
| Nicaragua | Enitel | United Arab Emirates | Etisalat & Du |
| Niger | Celtel | Uruguay | ANTEL |
| Nigeria | EMTS | Uzbekistan | Uzbektelecom |
| Oman | MPTT | Vanuatu | Digicel |
| Pakistan | Mobilink & Telenor | Venezuela | Telfonica Venezolana |
| Palestine | Palestine Cellular Communications | Vietnam | VNPT International |
| Panama | Claro | Yemen | MTN & Sabafon |
| Peru | America Movil | Zambia | Airtel |
| Puerto Rico | Claro | Zimbabwe | Econet Wireless & Telecel Zimbabwe |
| Reunion | Outremer Telecom |
Unifi 250 MB Quota Pass Destinations
| Destination | Preferred Operator(s) | Destination | Preferred Operator(s) |
| Albania | Vodafone | Luxembourg | Tango & Tele2 |
| Austria | 3 | Malta | GO Malta |
| Bahrain | Batelco | Myanmar | Ooredoo & Telenor |
| Bangladesh | Grameen Phone Bangladesh | Netherlands | KPN |
| Belgium | Proximus | New Zealand | 2degrees & Spark |
| Cambodia | Smart Axiata | Norway | Telenor |
| Croatia | VIPnet | Poland | T-Mobile |
| Czech Republic | Vodafone | Portugal | Vodafone |
| Denmark | Telenor & 3 | Romania | Vodafone |
| Egypt | Misrfone | Russia | Vimpelcom & Beeline |
| Estonia | AS EMT | Slovakia | O2 & Orange |
| Greece | Panafon | Spain | Vodafone |
| Hungary | Telenor | Sri Lanka | Dialog |
| Ireland | 3 | Sweden | Tele2, Vodafone & 3 |
| Italy | 3 & WIND | Switzerland | Sunrise |
| Latvia | Tele2 | Turkey | Avea |
Unifi 500 MB Quota Pass Destinations
Unifi Unlimited Data Pass Destinations
- Australia – Optus
- China – China Mobile
- France – SFR
- Germany – Vodafone
- Hong Kong – Hong Kong Telecommunications
- India – Bharti & Vodafone
- Indonesia – Indosat & Smartfren
- Japan – NTT Docomo
- Macau – 3
- Philippines – Globe
- Qatar – Qatar Telecom
- Saudi Arabia – Zain
- Singapore – StarHub, M1 & Singtel
- South Korea – SK Telecom
- Taiwan – Chunghwa
- Thailand – DTAC & TrueMove
- United Kingdom – 3
How do I activate an Unifi Data Pass?
You can activate a data pass through the mobilecare@unifi app (App Store/Google Play) or by visiting a TMpoint.
Do note, however, that a deposit of RM300 will be requested or charged before you can activate a data pass. The deposit will be refunded upon termination.
Can I data roam without an Unifi Data Pass?
Unifi customers can roam without a Data Pass. However, you will be charged at a pay-per-use rate of 49RM/MB.
Can I roam on planes with a Unifi Data Pass?
In-flight roaming is not possible with Unifi.
Can I roam on cruise ships with an Unifi Data Pass?
Maritime roaming is not available with Unifi.
Can I call or text within my destination, to Malaysia, or other destinations while abroad with Unifi?
Besides data roaming, Unifi customers can also call and text when abroad. You can call within your destination, to Malaysia, and to other destinations. The same applies to text messaging. These rates differ per destination and can be found on the roaming rates page.
Pay As You Go roaming is expensive. I would recommend getting a local SIM card or an international SIM card like OneSimCard, SimOptions, Surfroam, BNESIM, or SimCorner. Check out my comparison post of the most popular international SIM cards out there.
Is data roaming with Unifi worth it?
The destinations where the Nonstop Roaming or 500 MB Quota passes are available gives you the best bang for your buck. Luckily, these are popular destinations for Malaysian travelers, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
The destinations where the 100 MB or 250 Quota passes are available are fine too if you can reduce the time you spend online. If you are used to stream music, videos, or movies on 4G back in Malaysia, then you will run out of data quickly.
Luckily, in most tourist destinations, WIFI hotspots are readily available, so even the low quota passes can be useful. However, do you want to spend RM38 for only 100 MB of data? You may be better off not purchasing these passes and solely use WIFI, especially if you are planning on staying in those destinations for an extended period.
Regarding calls and texts while abroad, I would recommend using internet-based apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or Skype for calling- and texting-purposes, as it can become expensive quickly.
For example, a 10-minute call within Singapore would cost you RM14 (RM 1.40/min), while the same call from Singapore to Malaysia would cost you RM22 (RM2.20/min).
Singapore is one of the cheaper destinations. The same call within Argentina would be RM73 (RM7.30) and to Malaysia would be RM240 (RM24/min) – not cheap at all!
What I would not recommend is to data roam in destinations where the passes are not available or to roam without a data pass. The pay-as-you-go rate for data roaming is RM49/MB, which is almost criminal. Get a local SIM card instead.
Watching YouTube videos at 480P would use 264 MB per hour (RM12 936). 720P videos eat about 870 MB in an hour (RM68 730), while 1080P would need about 1.65 GB (more than RM80 000) (source).
I would say that the data roaming passes are worth it. However, to save money, use WIFI connections as much as possible. Your wallet will thank you. Make sure to connect to a reliable VPN to keep your connections secure.