Bangladesh eSIM for Dhaka, the Sundarbans, Sylhet, and family visits

Bangladesh is a capital of famous traffic, a delta reached by boat, and a country most visitors come to for family, work, or the tea hills, and Hazrat Shahjalal's arrivals hall is the place to have a phone that already works. The best eSIM for Bangladesh is the one added at home, on Wi-Fi, so the Pathao or Uber into Gulshan is booked and the visa-on-arrival form is on the phone before the queue moves.

Below: how a Bangladesh plan works, how to set it up before you fly, what to expect in Dhaka, on the rivers, and in the hills, and which plan fits when India is on the same trip.

Asian trips tend to be multi-stop, and most travel eSIMs want a fresh profile at every airport. KnowRoaming doesn't. You add the KnowRoaming eSIM, called KR.One, to your phone once, then add a plan per trip: one country for a single-city break, the Asia plan when the route runs through several, and next year's trip on the same eSIM. Nothing to scan again, nothing to delete when you get home.

The plan's days start when you turn it on and connect in Bangladesh, not at checkout. Buy it weeks ahead, add it at home, and a delayed flight costs you nothing. The full rule is in what plan validity means and when it starts.

Choose a fixed plan for a set amount of data at the lowest overall price, or an unlimited plan when you'd rather not count. Unlimited plans give you 5 GB a day at full speed, then a slower speed until the allowance resets the next day. If a fixed plan runs low, top up in the app and the extra data lands on the same eSIM.

See it in two minutes: Meet KR.One, iPhone setup with KR.One, or Samsung setup with KR.One.

Do this at home on Wi-Fi. It takes about a minute.

Before you leave

1. Get the KnowRoaming app (available on iOS and Android) and choose your Bangladesh plan.
2. Tap Add. First time on this phone? The app adds KR.One and your Bangladesh plan together. Already have KR.One? Only the plan is added, with nothing to scan.
3. Leave data roaming off on the KnowRoaming line until you land, and turn it off on your home line too so it doesn't run up charges in the background. Steps are in turning off roaming on your home line.

When you land

1. Turn the plan on in the app, then turn data roaming on for the KnowRoaming line. That setting lives in your phone, so the app can't flip it for you.
2. Give the phone a minute to find the network. If nothing happens, turn airplane mode on for 30 seconds and off again.

Prefer a QR code? The checkout page and your confirmation email both carry one; scan it from your phone's settings. Every tap, by device, is in adding your eSIM on iPhone, adding your eSIM on Android, and adding your eSIM on Samsung, or watch the iPhone QR walkthrough or the Samsung QR walkthrough. Still no signal after landing? Work through the no-signal checklist.

Hazrat Shahjalal International is about half an hour to two hours from Gulshan and Banani depending on the traffic, and Uber and Pathao run cars and motorbikes from the terminal with the number you already have; the visa on arrival covers many passports for tourism and business. The taka is the currency, cards work in the hotels and the malls, and cash covers the rickshaws, the markets, and everywhere outside the capital; bKash needs a local number.

Old Dhaka's Sadarghat river terminal, the Lalbagh fort, and the Star Mosque are the capital's days; the Rocket paddle steamer and the launches down the rivers to Barisal, and the Sundarbans mangroves by multi-day boat from Khulna, are the delta, with signal at the towns and none among the mangroves. Banglalink's 4G covers the cities and the main roads.

Sylhet's tea estates at Srimangal and the wetlands at Ratargul are the north-east, by train or a short flight; Cox's Bazar, the world's longest natural beach, and Saint Martin's island in the far south-east are the coast, with 4G in the towns and thin coverage on the island and among the gardens.

Bangladesh is on the Asia plan, 28 countries on one plan that also covers India, switching networks by itself at the Benapole crossing on the road to Kolkata; it is also on the Global plan. A Bangladesh-only plan stops at the border. Read do I need a new plan for every country? for the detail.

The monsoon from June to October floods the delta and slows everything; the winter from November to February is the season to visit. Eid empties Dhaka as the city goes home, and the launches and trains fill for a week either side. Power cuts happen, and mobile internet has been restricted at short notice in the past; keep offline copies of what matters and a power bank charged.

Your plan connects to Banglalink on 4G LTE. There is no 5G on this plan. Coverage is strong in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, and Cox's Bazar and holds along the main roads and rail lines. Your phone picks the network automatically once the plan is on; there is nothing to choose by hand.

In the Sundarbans, on the rivers, in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and on Saint Martin's island, expect gaps on any network. Save what you need in town.

Most phones sold since 2019 support eSIM, including iPhone XS and later and most Android flagships from the same window. Check yours before you add a plan; it takes a few seconds. On iPhone, go to Settings, General, About and look for an EID or Available SIM. On Android, go to Settings, Network & Internet, SIMs and look for an option to add an eSIM. On Samsung, dial *#06# and look for an EID.

Your phone also needs to be carrier-unlocked. If you're not sure, carrier-locked vs unlocked: how to tell shows you where to look.

Adding a Bangladesh plan doesn't touch your regular SIM. Calls and texts on your usual number keep working exactly as before. The new plan handles data while you're there, and most phones run both at once without you doing anything else. Bank codes and two-factor texts still arrive on your home number, as long as that line stays switched on.

For Asia the alternatives are a home-carrier roaming pass that resets at every border, an airport SIM counter at each arrival, or hotel Wi-Fi that stops at the lobby. A Bangladesh plan added at home beats all three: one price agreed before you fly, live the second you land, and one plan across every stop on the route.

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