SmarTone Hong Kong Review: Better than Expected (+5G Speedtests)

To many, Hong Kong is just a transit or stopover destination.

That is, just staying in the transit hall of Hong Kong International Airport for a few hours or overnight or seeing the country for a few days.

But I believe you cannot fully enjoy and experience Hong Kong in just a few days.

I stayed with my boyfriend, a Hong Kong local, during my latest visit to Hong Kong for two weeks.

It allowed me to see the country from a different perspective than a regular traveler… and I loved it 😍.

But even then… two weeks may be a bit too short.

But the issue is that Hong Kong is not as cheap as many other Southeast Asian countries – or even China up north.

And the same can be said about SIM card prices and mobile data rates – they could be cheaper, but they are not too bad.

Anyway, as I had two full weeks to explore Hong Kong, I had plenty of time to test various SIM cards and travel eSIMs.

In fact, I tested four local SIM cards and eSIMs, including SmarTone Hong Kong, eight travel eSIMs & one travel SIM card by Holisdaysimcard (which I also used in Australia and Singapore).

And I did more than 55 speed tests with each SIM card and (travel) (e)SIM (card) – going to tourist attractions and visiting residential districts (in the New Territories) so that you can have a solid idea of how each SIM card or eSIM performs depending on your style of travel.

So I spent about 2560 HKD (≈ 326.15 USD) for my Hong Kong SIM card and travel eSIM review series – yeah… I went all out for you 😎.

So when I say that SmarTone Hong Kong is better than expected in the title, you can believe it truly is – especially when I compare it to three other Hong Kong SIM cards (China Mobile Hong Kong, CSL Mobile & 3 Hong Kong).

But of course, I will explain why SmarTone Hong Kong is so good throughout this review.

Let's get started, shall we?

Original publication: 29^th of January 2023. Last updated: 15^th of January 2024.

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Table of Contents

Who is SmarTone Hong Kong?

SmarTone Hong Kong (數碼通), just SmarTone, is the smallest mobile operator in Hong Kong.

SmarTone is also active in Macau (but the prepaid offering is sad over there).

In Hong Kong, you have four mobile operators (and various sub-brands) offering prepaid services easily accessible to travelers:

• China Mobile Hong Kong (CMHK – 中國移動香港有限公司)
• CSL Mobile by Hong Kong Telekom (HKT (香港電訊有限公司) – 香港移動通訊有限公司) – includes 7-Connect & Club SIM
• 3 (Three) Hong Kong (3香港) – includes SoSIM
• SmarTone Hong Kong (數碼通)

As you know, I tested the other three mobile operators during my stay in Hong Kong. You can read them here: China Mobile Hong Kong Mobile, CSL Mobile & 3 Hong Kong.

Let's talk about SmarTone Hong Kong's coverage first, after these quick frequency details:

• 2G: N/A – shut down in October 2022
• 3G: 850 MHz & 2100 MHz
• 4G/LTE: 900 MHz (Band 8), 1800 MHz (Band 3), 2100 MHz (Band 1) & 2600 MHz (Band 7)
• 5G NR: 700 MHz (n28), 850 MHz (n5), 900 MHz (n8), 2100 MHz (n1), 3500 MHz (n78) & 4700 MHz (n79)
• VoLTE: Yes
• VoWiFi: Yes

Here you have SmarTone Hong Kong's APN settings:

• Name: SmarTone
• APN: SmarTone

Note: leave anything not mentioned above untouched.

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SmarTone Hong Kong Coverage + My Experience

You can have a mobile operator providing you 1 Gbps download speeds.

But it will be useless if it covers only one street in Hong Kong.

So, how is SmarTone Hong Kong's coverage?

Honestly, the four mobile operators cover practically all of Hong Kong (mostly because it is a small city-state), with an availability of more than 98.6%.

4G/LTE reception is so good in Hong Kong that I thought 3G did not exist anymore (until 3 Hong Kong was stuck at 3G a handful of times 😩).

When looking at 5G NR availability, SmarTone Hong Kong has the worst availability (17.7%). Behind 3 Hong Kong (21.4%) and China Mobile Hong Kong and CSL Mobile (22.9%).

But with such a small difference, SmarTone's 5G NR availability is basically as good as its competitors.

So far, I have been talking about coverage from other reports, but what was my coverage experience with SmarTone Hong Kong?

It was excellent, honestly – I had nothing to complain about.

Mid-2022, my boyfriend had to go back to Hong Kong to deal with his dad's funeral (and only citizens and residents could enter the country back then).

But he was kind enough to get me a SmarTone Hong Kong SIM card for my collection (the 48 HKD starter pack – more about starter packs later).

While I was aware that prepaid customers could use SmarTone Hong Kong's 5G NR network already, the 5G NR-enabled plans are only available to those with the 118 HKD starter pack (you cannot activate them without the correct SIM card).

So I later switched SIM cards and enjoyed SmarTone Hong Kong's (blazing-fast) 5G NR network.

Once I used the 5G NR-enabled SIM card, I never fell back down to 4G/LTE or 3G during my stay in Hong Kong, which I thought was remarkable – not even once.

And yes, that includes while being on the MTR too.

In fact, I believe that Hong Kong is the only country (in my experience) where your connection does not cut off while undergroud – even when the train is on the move.

So that is cool 😎.

Below is SmarTone Hong Kong's coverage map produced by Speedtest:

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How to Get a SmarTone Hong Kong SIM Card (or eSIM) & Prices

Now that you have a basic understanding of SmarTone Hong Kong and the telecom market in Hong Kong, it is now time to talk about how to actually get a SmarTone Hong Kong SIM card.

Like many countries in Asia, I recommend visiting a SmarTone store to get your SIM card.

While resellers like 7-Eleven and Circle K also sell SmarTone Hong Kong SIM cards, most do not (and sell China Mobile Hong Kong or CSL Mobile SIM cards instead).

What about grocery stores? Nowadays, most do not sell Hong Kong SIM cards anymore (and if they do, it will be SIM cards targeting the migrant community).

Previously, many did, but as of March 2022, SIM card registration rules came into effect in Hong Kong after avoiding it for many years, making the country the final East Asian country to do so.

And what about at Hong Kong International Airport? Also not anymore. But I have a guide about SIM cards sold at the airport.

Anyway, there are plenty of SmarTone stores throughout the country, although some can be packed during the day.

Some SmarTone stores use a ticketing system requiring you to enter your Hong Kong phone number.

You probably will not have one, so you can inform a staff member that you want to buy a SIM card and can not use the machine.

SmarTone Hong Kong sells three starter packs, costing 48 HKD, 65 HKD & 118 HKD.

Disclaimer: the SIM card prices mentioned in the review were current when I was in Hong Kong – the offering and prices may have changed since then. To see SmarTone Hong Kong's current starter packs, check out my Hong Kong SIM card buying guide

The 48 HKD SIM card automatically has the 1 HKD an hour Always On data plan enabled, charging you only 1 HKD for “unlimited” data for an hour (up to 5 GB a day @ 21 Mbps).

The 65 HKD SIM card featured 5 GB a day @ 21 Mbps and 2000 local minutes for 30 days.

The 118 HKD SIM card includes 118 HKD credit, which you can use to buy a plan (and I recommend purchasing one immediately so you do not waste your credit).

TIP: if you want to save up to 50% on your SmarTone Hong Kong starter pack, go to Sham Shui Po (the nearest MTR station has the same name) and get your SIM card there from one of the many resellers.

Yes, these are legitimate SIM cards. The resellers can sell the local SIM cards at low(er) prices because (1) they bought them in bulk or (2) they got a special deal. Travel SIM cards for worldwide use are sold here for competitive prices but note that many have speed restrictions.

Some resellers even allow you to pick your phone number for an additional fee (phone numbers containing multiple 8s are more expensive because they are considered a lucky number in Chinese culture).

But wait, SmarTone Hong Kong sells only three SIM cards? What about the starter packs with colorful hexagons?

First… good to see you are aware of SmarTone Hong Kong's other offering!

But most hexagon SIM cards are travel SIM cards to be used abroad in Asia, Europe, North America, or Oceania, which SmarTone Hong Kong calls prepaid travel data SIM cards.

The only exceptions are the 88 HKD and 98 HKD starter packs because they can be used in China, Hong Kong & Macau.

However, the offering for those SIM cards is not competitive compared to the local SmarTone Hong Kong SIM cards, so I do not recommend them.

Unless you plan on visiting China as well because getting a prepaid SIM card there is practically impossible as a tourist nowadays.

Anyway, back to the local SIM cards.

As I mentioned in the coverage section above, I initially used the 48 HKD starter pack my boyfriend got for me as a gift a few months earlier (yes, I collect SIM cards, lol).

But that one, and the 65 HKD starter pack, prevent you from purchasing the 5G Experience Data Plans, so I eventually bought the 118 HKD pack and could (finally) use SmarTone Hong Kong's 5G NR network.

After you purchase your SmarTone Hong Kong SIM card, every store will remind you that self-registration is mandatory before using your SIM card.

If you ask them if they can assist you with registration, most will say no 🗿 (but you can go back if you experience issues with registration… but they want you to try it yourself because they cannot be bothered, it seems).

Like many East- and Southeast Asian countries, self-registration has been made easy in Hong Kong and can be done online.

Do not bother downloading the SmarTone app for registration because it is just the registration page embedded in the app, and it is more clumsy to do so.

And you can also register ten prepaid SIM cards PER mobile operator (unlike Singapore's strict limit of three).

Do you even need that many active SIM cards in your name? Probably not – not even me, but at least Hong Kong is generous with its allowance 😎.

I will not go over the steps on how self-registration works with SmarTone Hong Kong because they are easy to follow.

But you should know that you have to take a photo of your passport, specifically the part with the machine-readable section, and upload it to the SmarTone Hong Kong website.

But preferably not as in the photo above because the holder covers the upper right corner (the site will not accept a picture like this).

Follow the steps, and your SIM card should be registered within five minutes (you will be notified by email and text message).

In the meantime, dial *111# to ensure you can receive text messages, as you often have to perform an action before the SIM cards get properly connected to the network.

Note that because of the SIM card registration law, your phone number is no longer listed on the starter pack.

Instead, your SmarTone Hong Kong phone number will be assigned to you once registration has been successful.

That is it! You have now successfully activated and registered your SmarTone Hong Kong SIM card.

Okay, that is enough talk about SIM cards – what about the new and incredible eSIM technology?

While SmarTone Hong Kong has eSIMs, they are currently not offered to prepaid customers.

If you do not care about calling or texting, getting a travel eSIM from Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Simify, or Ubigi can be an option if you really want to use an eSIM.

The links above will get you to my in-depth reviews of those eSIMs.

But if you want a quick comparison of the travel eSIMs I recommend for Hong Kong, you should read my Hong Kong eSIM comparison guide – I also drop a few discount codes for you 😏.

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SmarTone Hong Kong Plans, Bundles & Offers

SmarTone Hong Kong has three data-featured prepaid plans:

• Local Data Packs
• Monthly Data Packs
• 5G Experience Data Plans (for the 118 HKD starter pack only)

Disclaimer: these were the available plans at the time I was in Hong Kong – the offering may have changed since then (including whether 5G NR is available to prepaid customers or not). To see SmarTone Hong Kong's current plans, check out my Hong Kong SIM card buying guide (which gets updated regularly – at least two times a year).

I will list all the prices in HKD (Hong Kong Dollar).

To convert HKD to your currency (let's say NTD – New Taiwan Dollar) with up-to-date exchange rates, use the Wise Currency Converter tool.

Local Data Packs

The Local Data Packs are data bundles (without 5G NR access).

Local Data Packs can be activated by dialing the Activation Code:

Price	Data	Validity	(De)Activation Code
8 HKD	“Unlimited”, 5 GB @ 21 Mbps	1 hour	*111*602#
24 HKD	“Unlimited”, 5 GB @ 21 Mbps	1 day	*111*207#
38 HKD	2 GB @ 21 Mbps	3 days	*111*208#
58 HKD	1 GB	30 days	*111*172#
68 HKD	3 GB @ 21 Mbps	7 days	*111*209#
168 HKD	3 GB	30 days	*111*198#

Local Data Packs auto-renew. To disable auto-renewal, dial the (De)Activation Code.

Monthly Data Packs

The Monthly Data Packs are data bundles (without 5G NR access).

Monthly Data Packs can be activated by dialing the Activation Code:

Price	Data	Validity	(De)Activation Code
20 HKD	300 MB	30 days	*111*171#
148 HKD	5 GB	30 days	*111*173#
248 HKD	10 GB	30 days	*111*174#
398 HKD	20 GB	30 days	*111*175#

Monthly Data Packs auto-renew. To disable auto-renewal, dial the (De)Activation Code.

5G Experience Data Plans

The 5G Experience Data Plans are data bundles (with 5G NR access for the 118 HKD starter pack only).

5G Experience Data Plans can be activated by dialing the Activation Code:

Price	Data	Validity	Activation Code
48 HKD	5 GB	30 days	*111*308#
88 HKD	10 GB	30 days	*111*309#
118 HKD	12 GB	90 days	*111*310#

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SmarTone Hong Kong Top-Up, Recharge & Balance Check

SmarTone Hong Kong top-up vouchers are sold in SmarTone stores (1/2), grocery stores, corner shops & electronics shops throughout Hong Kong.

To top up your SmarTone Hong Kong SIM card, dial *111*VoucherCode#.

For example, if your voucher code is 123456, you would dial *111*123456#.

You can also recharge online with (international) debit and credit cards.

Dial *111# to check your SmarTone Hong Kong balance.

You can also top up and check your balance on the SmarTone CARE app (Android/iOS/Huawei AppGallery).

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SmarTone Hong Kong Speed Test Results in Hong Kong

Alright, now it is time to talk about the speeds you can expect with SmarTone Hong Kong after covering all the other essential topics like coverage.

But before I share my 56 speed test results throughout Hong Kong (mostly on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon), I want to set the stage first and make a small comparison with SmarTone Hong Kong's competition.

SmarTone Hong Kong is regarded by Speedtest as the second-fastest mobile operator in Hong Kong in Q1 2022.

With a median download speed of 48.14 Mbps, SmarTone Hong Kong is ahead of CSL Mobile (45.96 Mbps) and 3 Hong Kong (32.52 Mbps) but behind China Mobile Hong Kong (66.11 Mbps).

The results are a bit different, in a bad way, when looking at 5G NR speeds: SmarTone Hong Kong is the second-slowest with a median download speed of 145.20 Mbps, ahead of CSL Mobile (116.80 Mbps) but behind 3 Hong Kong (155.81 Mbps) and China Mobile Hong Kong (172.19 Mbps).

SmarTone Hong Kong and China Mobile Hong Kong allow prepaid customers to use their 5G NR networks if you purchase the correct SIM card.

For SmarTone Hong Kong, this would be with the 118 HKD starter pack (green packaging).

If you get any other SmarTone Hong Kong SIM card, including the multi-country use ones, you will not have 5G NR access.

The 48 HKD and 65 HKD starter packs throttle your speeds @ 21 Mbps, which does not apply to the 118 HKD starter pack (unless you buy a data-featured plan with throttled speeds, of course.

Anyway, as I got the 118 HKD SIM card, I have plenty of 5G NR results to share with you.

In fact, all the results were on 5G NR, surprisingly!

Anyway, I did speed tests with the Speedtest app throughout Hong Kong.

For reference, I consider an average download speed of 25 Mbps and an average of 10 Mbps upload speed fast enough.

Preferably, download speeds should be 100 Mbps+ on 4G/LTE… but we are not there yet 🗿.

But why these averages?

A download speed of more than 25 Mbps is enough to video stream content @ 4k resolution.

Social media sites that allow for live streaming, like Facebook Live, recommend an upload speed of at least 10 Mbps.

So, that is why – but that does not mean that a download speed of less than 100 Mbps excited me 😏.

But Australia spoiled… everything slower than 300 Mbps is slow now 🤣.

Anyway, you will also see that some of the results are in red, green, underlined, or in italics.

Underlined results are on 5G NR, while results in italics are on 3G.

The results in green represent that that result was the fastest download or upload speed of all the Hong Kong mobile operators (China Mobile Hong Kong, CSL Mobile, 3 Hong Kong & SmarTone Hong Kong).

The results in red are the opposite; they are the slowest of them all.

Unlike most of my reviews, I will not split Hong Kong reviews into cities because Hong Kong is a city-state.

Yes, it officially has cities (like the City of Victoria, Kowloon & New Kowloon; the Government of Hong Kong does not use them for administrative purposes – only as geographical limits.

I could have split it up in Hong Kong's 18 districts between Hong Kong Island, Kowloon & New Territories, but that would have wasted our time (you reading this review and me writing it).

Some of these districts, especially those in the New Territories, are mainly/entirely residential, so there is little incentive for tourists like you and me to visit them.

With all of that out of the way, let's see how SmarTone Hong Kong performed in Hong Kong.

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SmarTone Hong Kong Speed Test Results in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon & New Territories

Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated countries, or Special Administrative Region (SAR) if we want to be correct, worldwide behind Macau (also a SAR), Monaco & Singapore.

There are not many countries where you struggle to walk on the pavement because there are so many people around as Hong Kong without getting constantly pushed.

And I was there during the winter and when the China-Hong Kong border just opened – imagine how crazy it is during summer 😳.

But the country has a lot to offer: fantastic food, Ocean Park (attraction park) & even Disneyland for those who want it.

And of course smaller attractions, such as the Central–Mid-Levels escalator – the longest outdoor covered escalator in the world, The Peak (with the peak tram) & the Big Buddha (Ngong Ping) cable car.

The latter is 5.7 kilometers long and takes 25 minutes – and you even have a clear (called crystal) car option if you dare.

I am not fond of heights… but I actually enjoyed being in the crystal car… so I bet you will too!

Anyway, let's finally talk about my SmarTone Hong Kong speed test results, right?

Okay… those are lot of results and locations! Let me break it down a little.

According to my (Hong Kong-Indonesian) boyfriend, most travelers will stay and visit Hong Kong Island and Kowloon because there is where all the fun stuff is (districts 10-18 on the map) – and that is what we did too.

All districts in the New Territories, 2-9, are residential, and there is not much to do unless you actually reside there, excluding the occasional shopping mall or something.

The major exception is District 1: Islands, where Hong Kong's outlying islands are, including Chek Lap Kok (Hong Kong International Airport), Cheung Wan (accessible by ferry for a reasonable fee) & Lantau Island (Big Buddha and Disneyland).

Almost all tests were done in Kowloon City (10), Kwun Tong (11), Sham Shui Po (12), Wong Tai Sin (13) & Yau Tsim Mong (14) in Kowloon + Central and Western District (15), Eastern District (16), Southern District (17) & Wan Chai (18) on Hong Kong Island.

Okay, so what about the results in Jordan for example? Are they the results of the country of Jordan?

No – that is just the Hong Kong neighborhood called Jordan (in Yau Tsim Mong District to be exact).

Where the neighborhood was available, I wrote it down as that (like Jordan) – else the district (like Sham Sui Po).

Okay, that was your introduction to Hong Kong districts and neighborhoods 🤓 – let's talk about my SmarTone Hong Kong results.

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My Overall Experience with SmarTone Hong Kong – Is It Any Good?

I would recommend SmarTone Hong Kong, and it would be one of my top recommendations for anyone wanting to buy a Hong Kong SIM card.

Getting a SmarTone Hong Kong SIM card was straightforward, and activation was quick.

Unlike its competitors, you are often better off visiting a SmarTone store for your SIM cards as not many 7-Eleven and Circle K sell them (they often sell China Mobile Hong Kong or CSL Mobile (most popular) SIM cards).

And if they do, they do not sell the 118 HKD starter pack (with unresctricted speeds).

Even if your phone does not support 5G NR, you may want to get the 118 HKD SIM card to take full advantage of SmarTone Hong Kong's 4G/LTE network.

With excellent 4G/LTE availability and reach, which also applies to 5G NR based on my experience, you will have reception practically everywhere in Hong Kong – even on the MTR (but I do suspect you will have reception issues on some of the outlying islands).

SmarTone Hong Kong's data-featured prepaid plans are reasonably priced, even for regional standards, but you do not have much choice.

I had incredibly fast speeds with SmarTone Hong Kong, and I was always on 5G NR, which you can use with the 118 HKD SIM card.

And SmarTone is trying to do my job for me in their stores with their 5G NR network comparisons 🤪.

Note that cannot activate any of the 5G Experience Data Plans without this SIM card, so be aware of this.

Anyway, taking all the 56 speed tests into account, I had an average overall download speed of 159.54 Mbps and a median download speed of 150.80 Mbps with SmarTone Hong Kong – both being the fastest of all the Hong Kong SIM cards I tested.

When looking at upload speeds, I had an average upload speed of 30.83 Mbps and a median upload speed of 23.14 Mbps with SmarTone Hong Kong – again, both being the fastest in the country.

As none of the travel eSIMs or the 3 (UK) Travel SIM card by Holidaysimcard used the SmarTone Hong Kong 4G/LTE network (they were all on the CSL Mobile network and a few on 3 Hong Kong networks instead), I had no quick comparison between SmarTone Hong Kong's 4G/LTE and 5G NR networks.

But as I mentioned in the speed section of this review, Speedtest determined that SmarTone Mobile Hong Kong had the second-fastest 4G/LTE speeds in the country.

When looking at 5G NR specifically again, SmarTone Hong Kong is the only other mobile operator allowing prepaid customers to use its 5G NR network.

While the download speed difference between SmarTone Hong Kong and China Mobile Hong Kong could differ with more than 300 Mbps at certain locations, the average and median download and upload speeds between the two were too similar to call one significantly faster than the other.

The main difference is that China Mobile Hong Kong charges 150 HKD for 10 GB of 5G NR data valid for 90 days, while SmarTone Hong Kong charges slightly less (118 HKD for 12 GB of 5G NR data valid for 90 days).

But SmarTone Hong Kong's starter pack that allows for 5G NR access will cost 118 HKD (the 48 HKD and 65 HKD SIM cards do not allow for 5G NR usage).

While China Mobile Hong Kong's 5G NR SIM card will only cost 48 HKD.

With excellent coverage, reasonably priced data-featured prepaid plans, and blazing-fast (5G NR) speeds if you get the MySIM 5G SIM card, there is nothing crazy to complain about SmarTone Hong Kong.

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Hong Kong SIM Card Reviews

As mentioned earlier, I also tried out China Mobile Hong Kong, CSL Mobile & 3 Hong Kong when I was in Hong Kong.

You should read those reviews too.

>>> China Mobile Hong Kong Review | CSL Mobile Review | 3 Hong Kong Review <<<

Later, I will make a comparison post of the four Hong Kong SIM cards I tried… but that will take a while (I have many reviews of other countries that I still need to write, so they are prioritized).

But you can still make an educated purchased after reading the Hong Kong SIM card reviews.

I also tried out various travel eSIMs + a travel SIM card that work in Hong Kong: Airalo (Hkmobile, Asialink & Discover Global), Holafly, Nomad (Hong Kong & APAC), Simify & Ubigi + 3 (UK) travel SIM card by Holidaysimcard.

You should also read those reviews.

>>> Airalo Hkmobile Hong Kong eSIM Review | Airalo Asialink eSIM in Hong Kong Review | Airalo Discover Global in Hong Kong eSIM Review | Holafly Hong Kong eSIM Review | Nomad Hong Kong eSIM Review | Nomad APAC eSIM in Hong Kong Review | Simify Hong Kong eSIM Review | Ubigi Hong Kong eSIM Review | 3 (UK) Travel SIM Card by Holidaysimcard in Hong Kong Review (also used in Australia and Singapore) <<<

Hong Kong SIM Card Buying Guide

There are various other SIM cards to choose from in Hong Kong besides SmarTone Hong Kong.

I analyze and discuss them in-depth in my Hong Kong SIM card buying guide.