Does Jio Work in China?

Jio China roaming packs and prices

Jio’s China roaming packs cost from ₹589 for 1 day to ₹5,999 for 30 days. Jio postpaid customers buy the same packs at the same prices, which Jio calls a Pre-on-Post recharge. All prices on this page are in Indian rupees, from Jio’s international roaming pack page with China selected, checked Oct 18, 2026.

Jio prepaid international roaming plans for China

On prepaid, Jio sells 11 voice and data packs that work in China, from ₹589 for 1 day to ₹5,999 for 30 days.

Pack	Validity	Data in China	Calls	Texts
₹589	1 day	1GB	100 minutes in total, outgoing and incoming	20
₹951	10 days	4GB	100 minutes outgoing, 100 incoming	25
₹2,499	10 days	1GB a day	100 minutes outgoing a day, unlimited incoming	100 a day
₹1,499	14 days	2GB	100 minutes in total, outgoing and incoming	100
₹1,551	14 days	8GB	100 minutes outgoing, 100 incoming	50
₹2,851	30 days	12GB	150 minutes outgoing, 150 incoming	100
₹2,899	30 days	5GB	100 minutes outgoing, 100 incoming	100
₹3,999	30 days	20GB	250 minutes outgoing, unlimited incoming	100
₹4,999	30 days	15GB	1,500 minutes outgoing, unlimited incoming	1,500
₹5,999	30 days	30GB	400 minutes outgoing, unlimited incoming	500
₹2,799	365 days	3GB	100 minutes in total, outgoing and incoming	50

• Calls: outgoing minutes cover local calls in China and calls to India, including Wi-Fi calls. Only the ₹5,999 pack also covers calls to other countries.
• When the data runs out: speed drops to 64kbps until the pack ends. Once the minutes or texts run out, standard PayGo rates apply.
• When a prepaid pack starts: with your first call, text or data use on an eligible network in a country the pack covers.
• Daily allowances on the ₹2,499 pack reset every 24 hours from your first use. If you first use it at 10:00am in China, each day’s allowance lasts until 9:59:59am the next day.
• In-flight pass: the ₹2,499, ₹2,899, ₹3,999, ₹4,999 and ₹5,999 packs include one free day of in-flight use on 22 partner airlines, with 100 minutes of outgoing calls, 250MB of data and 100 texts. Incoming calls don’t work in flight.
• Back in India: pack benefits stop while you’re on a network in India. If you travel to a covered country again before the pack expires, the unused benefits may carry on.
• No refunds: once a pack’s validity has started, you can’t cancel it or get a refund.
• Not available: Jio’s terms say prepaid numbers from the Assam, North East and J&K circles can’t use international roaming.

Data-only packs for China cost ₹599 for 1GB over 7 days, ₹999 for 2GB over 14 days, ₹2,999 for 5GB over 7 days, ₹4,499 for 8GB over 14 days and ₹5,899 for 10GB over 21 days. The Global Packs, ₹1,101 and ₹1,102, give ₹933.05 or ₹933.90 of credit for 28 days, charged at standard rates. Only the ₹1,102 pack supports Wi-Fi calling.

Jio postpaid international roaming plans for China

Jio postpaid customers buy the same packs for China at the same prices as prepaid customers. Three things work differently on postpaid:

• When the pack starts: Jio’s terms say a postpaid pack’s validity starts when you buy it, not when you land, unless the pack details say otherwise. Buying it just before you fly, or after you land, avoids losing days.
• Roaming without a pack: postpaid customers can turn on international roaming without buying a pack. All use is then charged at standard rates against your credit limit, and Jio recommends raising your credit limit before you travel. Roaming stays on until you turn it off.
• Billing: roaming charges can appear on your bill up to three billing cycles later.

Child accounts can’t use standard rates abroad and must buy a pack.

Jio China roaming charges without a pack

Without a pack, Jio’s standard rates for China are ₹2 a minute for local calls, calls to India and incoming calls, ₹100 a minute for calls to other countries and ₹2 per text. Data costs ₹0.02 per 10KB, about ₹2 per MB. Incoming texts are free, and Jio doesn’t charge for incoming calls you reject. On prepaid, these charges come out of your prepaid balance.

These are the rates on Jio’s pack page with China selected. The PayGo rates PDF linked from the same page still lists ₹5 a minute and ₹5 a text for China.

Wi-Fi calling doesn’t work on standard rates, so Jio says to turn it off if you roam without a pack. Jio also advises turning off mobile data and avoiding calls and texts abroad if roaming is on without a pack.

How to activate Jio international roaming for China

Buying a pack turns on international roaming on your Jio number:

1. Buy a pack for China. On Jio’s international roaming pack page, choose China and tap Buy next to a pack. In the MyJio app, Jio’s postpaid steps are: tap Mobile, scroll down to International Services, tap Int’l Roaming, then Explore Jio Pre-on-Post plans, and choose China as the country you’re visiting. A Jio store or retailer can also recharge your number with a pack.
2. To check that roaming is on, open MyJio, tap Mobile and go to International Roaming Activation under International Services. You can turn roaming on or off there.
3. In China, check that data roaming is on, network selection is set to Automatic and the network mode is 4G/LTE or Auto.
4. If your phone doesn’t connect, set the network mode to LTE, turn off automatic network selection and pick a partner network from the list. Jio says pack benefits apply only on its preferred partner network, and other networks are charged at standard rates. We found no Jio page that names its partner network in China.
5. For help abroad, send “Hi” on WhatsApp to +91 70188 99999, or call that number. Jio says the call is toll-free for active Jio roaming users.

Postpaid customers who want to roam without a pack can turn roaming on in MyJio under ISD & roaming, then Int’l Roaming, then Activate.

Google and WhatsApp on Jio roaming: what’s known

Not confirmed. We found no Jio page that says how Jio routes roaming data or whether apps blocked in China work on it.

The only first-hand report we found from a Jio customer is a GSMArena reader comment from June 16, 2024. The reader wrote that they spent a week in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shenzhen with international roaming on their Jio and Airtel SIMs, and that “Everything worked including WhatsApp, Google services and facebook.” They had also installed the Proton VPN app, so the comment doesn’t show whether roaming alone got past the firewall.

BGR explained in July 2026 that a roaming phone sends its traffic through the local network back to the carrier’s home country before it goes online. BGR says this is what lets roaming phones reach Facebook and YouTube in China. It didn’t name Jio.

None of these reports describes a test. Have a backup ready. Our WhatsApp in China page covers other ways to reach it.

When you still need a VPN

Roaming doesn’t help on Wi-Fi. BGR notes that local Wi-Fi networks and local SIMs in China are subject to the Great Firewall. On hotel or café Wi-Fi in China, you need a VPN for blocked apps, whatever your phone plan. A VPN is also your fallback if Jio roaming data doesn’t get past the firewall for you. Install and test one before you leave India. See eSIM or VPN for China and VPN for hotel Wi-Fi in China.

Jio China roaming cost compared with travel eSIMs

Extra cost for data in China for one person, checked Oct 18, 2026, on each provider’s site:

Option	Data in China	10 days	14 days
Jio ₹951 and ₹1,551 packs	4GB (10-day pack) or 8GB (14-day pack)	₹951	₹1,551
Jio ₹2,499 pack	1GB a day	₹2,499	No 14-day pack
Nomad	Unlimited, 2GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps	₹3,138.70	₹3,709.37 (15 days; no 14-day plan)
Trip.com mainland China eSIM	100GB a day, capped at 10Mbps	₹1,480.04	₹2,624.19

• 10 days: Jio’s ₹951 pack costs the least but has 4GB for the whole trip. Trip.com costs ₹529.04 more for up to 100GB a day at 10Mbps, and Nomad’s unlimited plan costs ₹3,138.70. Jio’s 1GB-a-day pack costs ₹1,018.96 more than Trip.com.
• 14 days: Jio’s ₹1,551 pack has 8GB. Trip.com costs ₹1,073.19 more, and Nomad’s nearest plan, 15 days of unlimited data, costs ₹3,709.37.
• Fixed data on Trip.com: the same Trip.com listing sells smaller plans, such as 5GB for 10 days at ₹291.98. Speed drops to 384kbps after the 5GB.

Trip.com showed a 5% limited-time discount on these plans on Oct 18, 2026; the table uses its full prices.

Jio’s voice and data packs include calls and texts on your Indian number. Trip.com lists voice calls and SMS as not included, and Nomad’s plans are data only. Nomad says its plans can’t be bought after you arrive in China, so buy one before you fly. It also says you can’t buy add-on data while you’re physically in China or India. Speed limits on unlimited eSIM plans, and how each one routes data, are on our eSIM comparison. For India’s other big carrier, see Airtel roaming in China.