Egypt SIM card 90-day phone IMEI block — how to avoid it in Hurghada
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TL;DR
After 90 days with an Egyptian SIM, your foreign phone gets IMEI-blocked. Workarounds: a portable Wi-Fi router with a local SIM, a second phone, or an eSIM (Trip.com or M8 Egypt from online marketplaces).
What the community said
If your phone supports eSIM, get an Egyptian eSIM for at least one day — it's very cheap. If your phone isn't blocked yet, you can extend the usage period from there.
4 days ago Egyptian eSIM — a few dollars/day
If you first inserted an Egyptian SIM into your phone in 2025 and 90 days have passed, the phone will be IMEI-blocked. You either pay a tax of 38% of the phone's value or use a workaround.
4 days ago Unblock tax — 38% of phone value
A reliable workaround is buying a portable Wi-Fi router in Egypt with a local SIM and using it as a hotspot for your main phone. This way your main phone never gets an Egyptian SIM and avoids the IMEI block.
4 days ago Portable Wi-Fi router with Egyptian SIM
Another option: bring a spare phone and buy a SIM before departure. You can order an M8 Egypt physical SIM from Russian marketplaces (Wildberries/Ozon) or get a virtual eSIM via Trip.com. Use the spare phone as a hotspot for your main device.
4 days ago M8 Egypt SIM (Wildberries/Ozon); eSIM via Trip.com
If your phone has no eSIM and you didn't order a physical SIM in advance, marketplace delivery may only arrive on your departure day. Plan ahead — order at least a week before your trip to avoid this problem.
7 days ago Order SIM at least 7 days before departure