Vodacom South Africa has announced that that it will offer an eSIM to all customers including prepaid, post-paid and top-up and Vodacom Business clients. It will be available at selected Vodacom Shops, approved dealers and additional Business channels.

The information appears on the Vodacom website under its general terms and conditions for eSIMs.

The Vodacom eSIM is available as a new activation or through a SIM swap for existing customers.

Just like a Telkom eSIM, a QR Code is used to scan for set-up, and requires customers to send a request for it during the activation process. I.e. someone else cannot do it on behalf of you – the owner of the SIM in the device has control of this.

According to the network, a Vodacom eSIM will work on smartphones bought, or a contract taken out from the network itself and from “another provider within the OEM approved region.”

eSIM compatibility is from a hardware side, so devices need to support it in order to use it, despite being an “embedded” SIM that is not physical.

The company also adds that if devices were sourced outside of SA, it may not work with a Vodacom eSIM based on how the smartphone is managed from the source location or regional-based locks. Customers would then have to contact the store it was purchased at for changes.

Current smartphones in SA that support eSIM are iPhone 11 upwards, Samsung Z Series, Samsung Galaxy S20 upwards, Huawei Mate 40 and P40 upwards and the Oppo Find N2 Flip.

Recharged will post an update on the process of switching from a prepaid SIM to a Vodacom eSIM. Activation fees have not been listed on the site. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Activation fees not listed yet.