How to use a local SIM card in Egypt with a locked phone

For a carrier-locked phone, the most reliable solution is to buy a small portable Wi-Fi router at a local telecom office for around $15–20, insert the Egyptian SIM into it, and use it as a hotspot for your main phone.

Another option is to bring a second phone with eSIM support, use it with the local SIM or an Egyptian eSIM, and share the connection to your locked main phone. On iPhones, the hotspot appears as a Wi-Fi network, though real-world performance should be verified.

iPhone users must go into Settings, find the SIM card section, manually enable the SIM, and turn on roaming — otherwise mobile data won't work even with a valid local SIM inserted.