Travel

Working abroad with a Mac.

In a few countries the internet works differently: some services are blocked, calls in common apps don’t connect, a SIM needs a passport or biometrics, and hotel Wi-Fi wants a local phone number. These guides say what to expect, with a source for every claim.

East Asia China Google, WhatsApp and many Western sites are blocked; Wi-Fi often asks for a Chinese number. Read the guide → Middle East United Arab Emirates Messaging works, but WhatsApp calls don’t; internet calls need a licensed or approved app. Read the guide → Europe and Asia Russia Many Western services are blocked, mobile internet is often disrupted, and foreign SIMs may lose data on arrival. Read the guide → Europe and Asia Turkey Most tools work, but Discord is blocked, social media can be throttled, and phones need IMEI registration. Read the guide → South Asia India Most tools work, but regional internet shutdowns are common, and satellite phones require prior permission. Read the guide → Southeast Asia Vietnam Most tools work, but Telegram is blocked and cable faults slow foreign sites several times a year. Read the guide →

What each guide covers

Sources are government and regulator pages, embassies’ travel advice, operators’ own pages, and reputable news outlets and research for what officials don’t publish. Latest check: 1 November 2026. The guides describe the rules; they don’t give legal advice or ways around them.

When a service won’t load, Kilobat tells a network block, or a service’s own “not available in your region” answer, apart from an outage: see blocked here, not down and “not available in your region” answers.

For the network problems you meet anywhere, see Kilobat for digital nomads, hotel Wi-Fi sign-in on a Mac and saving hotspot data.

Know whether it’s the network, the country or you.

Download for Mac ↓
brew install seifip/kilobat/kilobat