eSIM
Buy mobile data for a trip with shielded ZEC, then install the eSIM on your phone from its QR code.
An eSIM from ZATS Market gives your phone mobile data in another country. You pay for it with shielded ZEC from your account's Ironwood pool, and you install it from a QR code.
What you get with an eSIM
An eSIM is a data plan that your phone downloads, with no physical SIM card. Each eSIM plan has an amount of data, a number of days, and the countries where it works.
- A plan for one country, or a regional plan that covers several countries at once.
- An activation code, as a QR code and as text, to install the plan on your phone.
- The facts of the plan: its networks, its speed, and the days you have to install it.
The app reads the plans from the eSIM provider's live catalogue. It shows each price in dollars, with an estimate in ZEC. When you pay, the app fixes the amount in ZEC.
Before you buy an eSIM
You can browse countries and plans without an account. To pay for an eSIM, you need:
- An account in ZATS Market, unlocked in this browser. See your account.
- Enough shielded ZEC in Ironwood for the plan and the network fee. To add ZEC, make a deposit.
- A phone that takes eSIMs. Most phones made since 2019 do, but some carrier-locked phones do not.
Ironwood is the shielded pool that your account pays from. The app sends one payment from Ironwood at a time, so an earlier payment must settle first.
Buy an eSIM
Buying an eSIM takes three steps: Destination, Plan, and Pay. Every choice stays in the page address, so a reload or a shared link opens the same step.
Choose a destination
Open Explore and select eSIM, or go to app.zats.market/esim. Search for a country by its name or code, or filter by continent. Choose the country you travel to.
To cover several countries with one plan, open a plan under One plan, several countries. Then choose any country that it covers.
Choose a plan
Filter the plans with the Data and Days chips. Choose a plan, then select Continue.
Review and pay
Check the plan, its price, and the amount in ZEC with the network fee. Type your password, then select Pay.
If your credit at the eSIM provider covers the plan, the button says Buy with credit instead.
If you leave the eSIM flow, the Destination step later shows Pick up where you left off. Select Continue to go back to your plan.
Your credit at the eSIM provider
Your first eSIM purchase opens a prepaid account for you at the eSIM provider. Paying accepts the provider's terms. The app opens this provider account with no email and no ID.
You fund the provider account with a deposit from Ironwood. The provider takes deposits in whole dollars, so the app rounds the deposit up. The rest stays as your credit there, and it pays for your next plan first.
- The pay step shows your credit, the deposit, and what is left as credit.
- Credit at the provider spends only on plans. The provider does not pay it back out.
- The app keeps the key to your provider account sealed under your account.
After you pay for an eSIM
After you pay, the app opens the tracker: the panel that follows the purchase to its end. The tracker shows each step, what it waits for, and how long that usually takes.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Paid in ZEC | Your browser sends the payment from Ironwood to the provider's payment page. A plan bought with credit shows Paid from your credit. |
| Received by the provider | The provider sees the payment and counts it once a Zcash block includes it. Then it credits your provider account. |
| Plan bought | The app buys the plan the moment the credit covers it. The provider then prepares the plan. |
| Ready to install | The activation code arrives, and the tracker shows it. |
The eSIM purchase moves on while your account stays unlocked, on any page of the app. If you lock the account, the purchase waits and carries on after you unlock again. If the provider is slow, the status says Taking longer. The app keeps asking, and you lose nothing.
Install the eSIM
The tracker shows the eSIM once it is ready: a QR code, the activation code as text, and Copy code.
Before you install
Install the eSIM once. Deleting it from the phone usually destroys it, and the provider cannot issue it again. Install over Wi-Fi, because the download needs a connection. Installing does not start the plan: many plans count their days from first use.
Install on an iPhone
To install the eSIM on an iPhone, use the activation code on the tracker:
- Open Settings, then Cellular or Mobile Service.
- Select Add eSIM, then Use QR Code.
- Point the camera at the QR code. Or select Enter Details Manually and paste the activation code.
- Name the plan when asked. Keep your usual number as the default line.
- Turn on Data Roaming for the new line. Most travel plans carry no data without it.
Install on an Android phone
To install the eSIM on an Android phone, use the activation code on the tracker:
- Open Settings, then Network & internet, then SIMs.
- Select Add SIM or the plus button, then Download a SIM instead.
- Scan the QR code. Or choose to enter the details by hand, and paste the activation code.
- Wait for the download to finish before you leave the screen.
- Turn on Roaming for the new SIM, and set it as the line for mobile data.
Phone makers rename these menus, so the names on your phone can differ.
Find your eSIM later
Every eSIM that you buy stays in the app, under your account. The app asks you to unlock the account first.
- My items lists the eSIMs that your account bought, except failed purchases. On a phone, the tab is Items.
- Transactions lists every purchase with its status. Select Purchases to see purchases only. On a phone, the tab is Activity.
Each row opens the eSIM's tracker. It shows the activation code and the plan's facts: price, deposit, ZEC paid, network fee, order, ICCID, and expiry date. For the tracker and both lists, see paying and following a purchase.
What ZATS holds for an eSIM
ZATS holds no money for an eSIM. You pay the eSIM provider directly from Ironwood, into your own prepaid provider account. The price is the provider's own. ZATS sets no price and takes no margin.
The key to your provider account stays sealed under your account in ZATS Market.
If an eSIM purchase fails
The app says what happened, and whether any ZEC left your account.
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| Nothing was paid. | The purchase stopped before any ZEC left Ironwood. The message says why. Fix the cause and pay again. |
| Ironwood is short for this plan | Ironwood holds less than the plan and its fee. Make a deposit, then come back. |
| An earlier payment from Ironwood is still settling | The app sends one payment from Ironwood at a time. Try again in a few minutes. |
| The network refused the payment | The Zcash network did not take the payment. Nothing left your account. |
| The payment page closed before the payment went out | The provider's payment page closed first. Nothing left your account. |
| The provider would not sell this plan | Your deposit stays as credit at the provider, for another plan. |
| The catalogue is not answering | The provider's live catalogue did not respond. Try again in a moment. |