In January, I went on a short weekend trip to Reykjavík. Last year, I managed to collect some Airmoney (Airalo currency). I decided to use it to buy eSIM for my trip. The first eSIM bought with Airmoney was Uki Mobile for England (review in this article). Airalo Nenna Mobile eSIM for Iceland was second.
More about eSIM technology and other companies is in this article. In this blogpost, you will find advice on choosing a suitable product for a trip abroad.
Disclaimer: Some links in this article contain affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase any service, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Airalo Discount Code
If you use my Airalo code SANDRA4293 you can get $3 off or 15% discount (link to the discount here) on your first eSIM.
If you already have an existing account you can get 10% discount on eSIMs US$10+ using this link.
Airalo Applications
Airalo has apps where you can buy new plans or track the usage of your existing plans. Below are the links where you can download them:
For Google Play click here.
For Apple Store click here.
Airalo’s offering for Iceland
As for many other countries, Airalo also offers three types of products for Iceland. The first product is the Airalo Nenna Mobile. It is a data plan specifically for use in Iceland.
The second product type is Airalo Eurolink, which can be used in 39 European countries.
The third product is the global product Airalo Discover, which is intended for 127 countries (January 2024).
Detailed instructions on creating an account and buying a data package can be found in this article.
Prices
When I bought my eSIM in January 2024, Airalo offered six Nenna Mobile products. Each product provided a different amount of mobile data – from 1GB (for $4.50) to 20 GB (for $36). The validity of the packages was from 7 to 30 days.
What phones support eSIM?
With this technology’s growing popularity, more and more phones and tablets are on the market that support it. When buying a phone, you should ask the seller if the phone supports eSIM. Airalo regularly updates the list of supported devices, so it is better to check their official support page.
Mobile operators in Iceland and connection type
There are three mobile operators in Iceland – Nova, Siminn and Vodafone. The Nenne Mobile eSIM can only be used in the Nova network.
Each Icelandic operator offers different coverage. If you plan to visit the whole island, check if the area is covered before you travel. It was easy for me, as I wanted to stay only in Reykjavík.
Connection type
Airalo lists 4G/LTE on its website. More and more operators are launching 5G networks, so you may see a 5G icon on your phone.
eSIM Activation
The activation and validity period of the data package will start as soon as the eSIM is connected to the Nova mobile network.
My experience with Airalo Nenna Mobile
My data plan
For this test, I bought a data package with 1GB of data and a validity period of 7 days. The price of the package was $4.50. This package can be had for $1.50 after applying the discount code.
Network registration
My phone supports two SIMs simultaneously. As I was sitting on the plane to Iceland and waiting for other passengers to board, I enabled the Airalo Nenna Mobile eSIM as a second eSIM in the phone settings.
After landing and parking the aircraft at Keflavík airport, I watched how quickly both (e)SIMs can log into the mobile network. The SIM card I usually use registered to the network after almost 3 minutes. Airalo Nenna Mobile eSIM registered a few seconds later. However, the data had a problem – the arrows and the LTE icon did not appear.
As always, when there is a problem, my first step is to enable flight mode. I waited about a minute and then turned off flight mode. It helped, and after turning off flight mode, Airalo registered into Nova’s LTE network, and the arrows and the LTE+ icon also appeared.
Coverage
I tried Airalo Nenna Mobile only from Keflavík Airport to Reykjavík and in the centre of Reyjkavík.
Speed
I couldn’t resist and tried the speed offered by the Nova network in Iceland. To my surprise, the download speed went up to 140 Mbps. What a pleasant surprise!
But what disappointed me was the extremely slow speed while browsing the Internet in the centre of Reykjavík. Some pages took up to 5 minutes to load. On the other hand, social networks and Google Maps worked without problems.
Top-ups
Buying additional data was easy. After clicking on “My eSIM” and “Nenna Mobile,” I saw the offer for these packages. After payment, there is no need to install the eSIM again. The data was automatically added to the existing eSIM. Quite simple, isn’t it?
Application
The application simplifies the purchase and installation of eSIM products. After buying the Airalo Nenna Mobile eSIM, I didn’t have to scan the QR code. I went to “My eSIM” and “Uki Mobile” and read the installation instructions.
After successfully installing the eSIM, the application said, “Your eSIM has been successfully installed.”
Conclusion
Airalo Nenna Mobile pleasantly surprised me with its download speeds. It is excellent for people who like downloading files or watching videos.
On the other hand, the slow loading of websites was disappointing, especially when I needed to find something quickly. A note to myself: I should always find a shelter and not stand outside in freezing cold weather.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Three options – local Nenna Mobile, regional Eurolink and global Discover eSIM | No Unlimited Data bundle |
| Different sizes of data offered – from 1GB to 20GB | Slow browsing and website loading |
| Different validity periods of data plans – from 7 to 30 days | |
| Simple process for top-ups | |
