3G data plans in Vietnam are cheap and widely available however there are some tricks to getting the best value and technically switching your overseas iPhone or iPad to work in Vietnam, so I have put together this iPhone iPad 3g Data access guide for Vietnam to help you stay connected while in the country.
At the moment by far the best value 3G data plan in Vietnam is sold by Vinaphone with their 1,7 or 30 day plans with their very generous data limits.
| Plan | Data included | Cost Vietnamese Dong (VND) | Aprox Cost AUD/USD |
| 1 day access | 250mb | 12,000 | $0.60 |
| 7 days access | 1.5Gb | 80,000 | $3.80 |
| 30 days access | 3.2Gb | 200,000 | $9.50 |
SIM Unlock iPhone (Before you leave your home country)
Before you leave on your trip to Vietnam it is important to ensure that your iPhone is sim or carrier unlocked, to do this (before you leave your country) call up the mobile phone carrier on which your iPhone plan is with and ask them to sim unlock your iPhone. In Australia at least most carriers will do this free of charge provided you are on a post-paid plan.
In Vietnam Purchase SIM/Micro SIM and Recharge Vouchers
When you arrive in Vietnam head to your nearest mobile phone shop (don’t worry there are at least half a dozen on every street corner) and pickup a Vinaphone pre-paid SIM card, one of these will set you back approximately 65,000 VND (AUD/USD $3) and include 50,000 VND credit. Micro SIMs have been widely available in Vietnam for well over a year now, so a SIM cutter is not required.
In addition to the SIM/Micro SIM you will also need 1 or possibly more Vinaphone pre-paid recharge vouchers depending on the plan you decide to sign up for, since my trips to Vietnam are normally for extended periods I usually get 3-4 X VND 100,000 recharge vouchers, which is usually enough to cover me for 30 day of data plus any calls I might make.
To add credit to your phone scratch the panel to revel the charge code and follow instruction on the voucher to add the credit
Enabling GPRS Data & 3G Data Plan
After you have inserted the Vinaphone SIM/Micro SIM into your iPad or iPhone it is now time to enable GPRS data as well as your desired data plan.
Note if you intend to use this SIM on an iPad you will need to do this step from a regular phone/iPhone and then insert the SIM into your iPad, as you cannot send SMS/Text messages from an iPad.
To enable data on your SIM text GPRS ON to 888
To enable your desired 3G data plan text the corresponding code below
1 day unlimited text U1 to number 888
7 days unlimted text U7 to number 888
30 days unlimited text U30 to number 888
Enabling the Vinaphone APN Carrier Profile
Finally the last step in configuring your iPhone or iPad for 3G data in Vietnam is to set the Vinaphone APN Data Carrier settings, on an iPad this is easy as the Cellular Data Network is viewable, however on most carrier supplied iPhones these settings are hidden, however if there is a will there is a way (see below), but first how to do this on an iPad
On your iPad (or iPhone where this option is not hidden) go to
- Select Settings.
- Select General.
- Select Network.
- Select Cellular Data Network.
- Under Cellular Data Option (enter the following)
APN: m3-world
Username: mms
Password: mms
- Under MMS Option (enter the following)
APN: m3-world
Username: mms
Password: mms
MMSC:
MMS Proxy:
MMS Max Message Size:
MMS UA Prof URL:
- Click Network Tab up the top to save
For an iPhone where the Cellular Data Network screen is hidden, you will first need to find somewhere with Wi-Fi internet access, most hotels and an increasing number of cafes have complimentary Wi-Fi internet access, once you are connected to on the internet go to the below URL
To automatically set the Vinaphone APN follow the directions and screenshots below
Select Continue
Select Custom APN
Change Country to Viet Nam and Carrier to Vinaphone
Finally click Create Profile
Install Profile page select the Install button
There will be a final prompt confirming that you really want to set the Vinaphone APN click Install Now
If you have a Pin/passcode on your iPhone you will need to enter it now otherwise you will now be rocking with Unlimited Vietnam 3G Data on your iPhone or iPad.
Congratulations you should now be rocking with 3G Data on your iPhone or iPad in Vietnam!
Removing the Vinaphone APN Carrier setting
After you have left Vietnam and want to enable either the APN of your home country carrier or that of another country on your iPhone simply go to Settings | General | Profile APN Carrier Settings (near bottom of screen) and the select Remove
You will be asked to confirm if you really want to remove the profile and again if you have a PIN or Passcode on your iPhone you will be prompted to enter it, and your iPhone will be set back to your original APN Carrier setting.
About Ben Hoffman
Great stuff. Thank you.
Thanks for this. I’m traveling to .vietnam soon and will do this.
Thank you, this information is extremely helpful, in australia we would say ” your a legend”
Thanks Ben! The information is priceless… I am new to Hanoi and trying to use my iPhone 4. I got a vinaphone prepaid sim for 50000 VND and 50000 VND for talk/3G. However, in one day all my money is gone…. If I follow the APN setting that you described above then will I be able to use my iPhone 3G without topping up the plan? Also, how does the talk time works in Vietnam? I’m naive when it comes to technology, I hope to get some assistance from you. Thanks!
No Problem Sonia
The APN setting only allows your iPhone/Smart Phone to communicate on the carriers (in this case Vinaphone’s) cellular data network, it does not sign you up for the data plan, to go on the cheaper (1 day/7 day/1 month) data plan you will need to txt the appropriate codes to 888 (see below, copied from post above)
To enable data on your SIM text GPRS ON to 888
To enable your desired 3G data plan text the corresponding code below
1 day unlimited text U1 to number 888 – Requires at least VND 12,000 pre-loaded
7 days unlimted text U7 to number 888 – Requires at least VND 80,000 pre-loaded
30 days unlimited text U30 to number 888 – Requires at least VND 200,000 pre-loaded
As for talk credit you need to add additional credit on top of the amount credit you require for your desired data plan
Regards
Ben
Ben,
I am looking for a 3G USB connection. I use a mac.
Would you have any suggestions as to which network would be good and charges.
I will be traveling to Vietnam for 3 weeks in the near future.
Regards
Faisal
3G USB dongles are available in Vietnam however I have not used or enquired into one for a few years, as free Wi-fi can be found nearly every where (especially in HCMC & Hanoi) if ever do get stuck in a situation where I need internet access on a laptop I simply setup a personal hotspot on my iPhone (in the past when I had one) now that I have joined the Android camp with a recent purchase of the Samsung Galaxy SIII the same functionality is done with the Teathering and portable hotspot feature.
The three main mobile carriers (Mobifone, Viettel & Vinaphone as well as the newer smaller carriers) are all very price compedative when compared to Western rates, as per the rates in this post, I am not sure how different USB 3G dongle rates compare to mobile phone data plans perhaps they are cheaper.
Good luck and let us know how you went
Regards
Ben
Hello Ben, I am a Hanoi resident with an iPad3 using 3G and a mobifone simcard. I have used up the money and now have no way to put new credit on the card – do you have any bright ideas? We can access wifi, but we can’t access the credit page on the mobifone anymore as we don’t have credit… any help would be very helpful as I have to use my iPad for work and we can’t see anyway around except to buy a new sim card.
Hi Mel,
Sorry for the delay replying to your comment, i would recommend dropping your sim into a mobile phone (you might need a sim adapter micro-sim to regular sim)
Purchase a recharge card
Dial 900
press 1 to recharge
enter the 14 digit recharge number
Put sim back in ipad
Hey Ben,
I am also Ben, and I’m going to Vietnam (and possibly also Laos & Cambodia) from June 10-July 20 of this year. I’m legally blind, so all this seems like lots of work; might my best strategy be to simply rely on free WIFI? If I *DO* want 3/4G on my AT&T ipad, might I be able to get someone at a cell store in HCMC to help me change all this stuff, and how much might I want to spend if I planned on checking e-mail & loading the occasional webpage away from WIFI? The other thing I might want to do over cellular is access my iTunes Match music; would that get prohibitively expensive fast?
Hi Ben,
In the major cities of Vietnam Free wifi is nearly everywhere, usually provided by cafes, restaurants and hotels however if you plan to travel outside the major cities and require data access while traveling I recommend you get a local SIM with data, the local shop should be able to assist you. The good news is that 3gb and more data allowance is very cheap by western standards (around $10)