---
title: "Working from Vietnam with a Mac: internet, eSIMs and what’s blocked"
url: "https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam"
description: "Working from Vietnam with a Mac: Telegram is ordered blocked, undersea cable faults slow foreign sites several times a year, social media accounts are verified by phone number and new SIMs need a face scan. Sourced and checked."
---

Travel · Southeast Asia

# Working from Vietnam with a Mac: internet, eSIMs and what’s blocked

Vietnam is one of the easier countries in Asia to work from with a Mac. Most services load, and mobile data is fast and cheap. The two things that catch people out are Telegram, which the government ordered blocked in 2025, and the undersea cables that carry much international traffic, where faults can slow some sites and services hosted abroad.

Region

Southeast Asia

Blocked

Telegram, ordered blocked in May 2025[1](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-1)[2](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-2).

Calls

Telegram calls go with Telegram[1](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-1); undersea cable faults can make any call to a server abroad worse[3](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-3).

SIM rule

New SIM cards are registered with facial recognition, checked against the national database, since April 2026[6](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-6).

VPN law

Social media accounts must be verified with a Vietnamese number or an ID number before they can post[5](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-5).

**Checked 1 November 2026.** Rules and blocks change, sometimes overnight. Each claim links to its source; where a source and this page differ, the source wins.

## What’s blocked or restricted

Vietnam blocks specific services and sites rather than whole categories.

- **Telegram.** On 21 May 2025 the telecoms department of the Ministry of Science and Technology told internet providers to stop Telegram’s activities in Vietnam, saying the platform hadn’t cooperated in criminal investigations[1](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-1).
- **Identity rules.** Decree 147 of November 2024 requires platforms to confirm users’ identities with official documents or local mobile numbers[2](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-2).
- **Undersea cables.** Most international traffic travels on submarine cables, such as AAG, APG, IA, AAE-1, ADC and SJC2, and they have had some ten incidents a year since 2022[3](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-3). In August 2026, four were faulty or impaired at the same time[3](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-3), and for much of 2024–25 three of the five active cables had problems[2](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-2).

A cable fault isn’t a block. International services can slow while local sites remain responsive, especially at peak hours[3](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-3). Operators reroute traffic, including over a land cable to Singapore, which softens the worst of it[4](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-4). When Telegram or another blocked service won’t load, Kilobat can identify signs of a network block or a service’s own regional refusal, though the result can be inconclusive. See [blocked here, not down](https://kilobat.app/is-it-down#blocked-here).

## Calling apps

For calls, the cables matter more than any rule. When international capacity drops, video and voice calls to servers abroad can stutter, and gaming and streaming slow too[3](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-3).

- Telegram calls are unavailable along with the rest of Telegram[1](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-1). Move contacts who use it to another app before you go.
- Ordinary phone calls through your carrier aren’t internet calls, and don’t depend on the cables in the same way.

## How mobile data reaches your Mac

There are three ways to get mobile data to your Mac.

- **A Vietnamese SIM.** Cheap and fast for local sites. Your data goes through the Vietnamese network, so the Telegram block applies, and so do cable faults on foreign traffic[1](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-1)[3](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-3).
- **Roaming on your home SIM.** Roaming data can be routed through your home carrier[8](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-8), but the route and service availability vary by carrier and network. Check with your provider and do not rely on access to a specific service.
- **A travel eSIM.** Many exit to the internet through another operator’s gateway in a third country[8](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-8)[9](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-9). What loads, and how fast, depends on that route; sellers rarely say which it is.

Vietnamese law still applies to what you do in Vietnam, whichever way the data travels.

## What the law says about VPNs

Vietnam’s rules for visitors are about identity more than circumvention.

- Since 25 December 2024, social network accounts used in Vietnam must be verified with a Vietnamese mobile number or a personal ID number; unverified accounts can’t post, comment, livestream or share[5](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-5).
- Foreign platforms verify with an ID number when a user confirms they have no Vietnamese mobile number[5](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-5).
- The Telegram order cited the Telecommunications Law and the decree that implements it[1](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-1)[7](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-7).

The sources used here don’t address individuals’ use of VPNs directly. The rules in force put the duties on platforms and telecom operators.

## SIM and eSIM registration

Every SIM is tied to a verified identity, and since 2026 to a face.

- Since 15 April 2026, new mobile subscriptions require facial biometric verification, with personal data checked against the national resident and identity databases[6](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-6).
- When an operator detects a device change, it may suspend outgoing calls and SMS until the subscriber re-verifies; for some already-verified subscribers the device-change requirement began on 15 June[6](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-6).
- The user then has 30 days to verify before all services are suspended[6](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-6). Registration runs through the VNeID app, operator apps or service points[6](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-6).
- Since September 2026, foreigners who are in Vietnam lawfully can apply in person for a VNeID electronic identity account with their passport[10](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-10).

## Hotel and café Wi-Fi

Hotel, café and coworking Wi-Fi is usually a password on the table or at the front desk, sometimes with a sign-in page.

- On Wi-Fi, international traffic crosses the same undersea cables[3](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-3). A café speed test to a local server can look fine while a video call abroad struggles.
- If a sign-in page never appears, see [why the Wi-Fi sign-in page doesn’t show](https://kilobat.app/guides/captive-portal-not-appearing).

## Prepare your Mac before you go

Plan for slow international links rather than blocks.

- Download big installers, updates and container images before you go, or overnight, when international links are less busy than at peak hours[3](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-3).
- Move group chats and call contacts off Telegram before you arrive[1](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-1).
- For two-factor sign-in, an authenticator app works offline. Its codes come from a shared secret and the clock[11](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-11), so they keep working when texts to a roaming number are slow.
- Save offline maps and booking details in case your connection drops on the road.

## Where Kilobat helps

Kilobat checks your connection and the service to help you investigate what may be wrong.

- **Is it them or me, or blocked here?** Kilobat checks your connection and the service’s status page. It may identify signs of a network block or a service’s own regional refusal; results can be inconclusive. See [blocked here, not down](https://kilobat.app/is-it-down#blocked-here) and [“not available in your region” answers](https://kilobat.app/docs/health#region-unavailable).
- **Hotel Wi-Fi sign-in.** Kilobat can notice a sign-in page and offers a button to open it. With Pro, it can warn before a session expires once it has learned its usual length. See [hotel Wi-Fi login on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/hotel-wifi-login-mac).
- **Leak test.** The VPN leak test checks for selected DNS, IPv6 and UDP leaks. Passing these checks does not prove that all traffic uses the VPN. See [proxies and VPNs](https://kilobat.app/proxies-vpns).
- **Hotspot data saver and data packs.** The Travel profile holds back backups and updaters on your phone’s hotspot, and a budget that starts over only when you reset it fits a prepaid data pack. See [save hotspot data](https://kilobat.app/save-hotspot-data).
- **Call reports.** After each call, Kilobat says whether it froze and why, so a congested international link isn’t blamed on the café. See [video calls](https://kilobat.app/video-calls) and [Kilobat for digital nomads](https://kilobat.app/digital-nomads).

Guides for the road: [Wi-Fi login page does not appear on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/captive-portal-not-appearing), [Homebrew or npm downloads fail on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/homebrew-npm-download-fails), [Mac uses Personal Hotspot data in the background](https://kilobat.app/guides/hotspot-background-data) and [Test for call stutter](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/test-call-stutter).

## Questions

**Why is the internet in Vietnam slow for foreign sites but fine for local ones?**

An undersea cable fault is one possible cause. International links can slow during faults, although operators can reroute traffic and other causes can also affect a connection[3](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-3)[4](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-4).

**Does Telegram work in Vietnam?**

The government ordered internet providers to block it in May 2025[1](https://kilobat.app/travel/vietnam#source-1).

## Sources

1. [Al Jazeera: Vietnam orders ban on popular messaging app Telegram (May 2025)](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/24/vietnam-orders-ban-on-popular-messaging-app) News
2. [Freedom House: Freedom on the Net 2025, Vietnam](https://freedomhouse.org/country/vietnam/freedom-net/2025) Rights group
3. [VnExpress International: fourth undersea cable failure disrupts Vietnam internet services (August 2026)](https://e.vnexpress.net/news/tech/vietnam-innovation/4th-undersea-cable-failure-disrupts-vietnam-internet-services-5114439.html) News
4. [Viet Nam News: backup infrastructure keeps Việt Nam’s internet stable after undersea cable incident (March 2026)](https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1777383/backup-infrastructure-keeps-viet-nam-s-internet-stable-after-undersea-cable-incident.html) News
5. [Viet Nam News: social network users must authenticate accounts from December 25 (November 2024)](https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1666838/social-network-users-must-authenticate-accounts-from-december-25.html) News
6. [Vietnam Ministry of Science and Technology: biometric verification for mobile subscribers](https://english.mst.gov.vn/biometric-verification-required-for-mobile-device-changes-from-april-15-197260410180048155.htm) Government
7. [Viet Nam News (Bizhub): Việt Nam moves to block Telegram over serious legal and cybersecurity violations](https://bizhub.vietnamnews.vn/viet-nam-moves-to-block-telegram-over-serious-legal-and-cybersecurity-violations-post376009.html) News
8. [Vomhoff et al.: Challenges and Opportunities for Global Cellular Connectivity (2024)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.19706) Research
9. [Motallebighomi et al.: eSIMplicity or eSIMplification? Privacy and Security Risks in the eSIM Ecosystem (USENIX Security 2025)](https://www.usenix.org/conference/usenixsecurity25/presentation/motallebighomi) Research
10. [Vietnam Briefing: VNeID rules for foreigners under Decree 320](https://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/vietnam-vneid-rules-foreigners-decree-320.html/) News
11. [IETF RFC 6238: TOTP, the Time-Based One-Time Password Algorithm](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6238) Standard

Checked on 1 November 2026. Government, regulator and travel-advice pages come first where they exist; news outlets and research cover what officials don’t publish, such as which services are blocked. This page explains the situation; it isn’t legal advice.

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

Kilobat is a Mac menu-bar app that checks your own line, the Wi-Fi sign-in page and the service’s status page, guards a hotspot’s data and reports on every call.

[Download for Mac ↓](https://kilobat.app/downloads/Kilobat-1.31.1.dmg?via=site)

```
brew install seifip/kilobat/kilobat
```

## More countries

- [China](https://kilobat.app/travel/china): Google, WhatsApp and many Western sites are blocked; Wi-Fi often asks for a Chinese number.
- [United Arab Emirates](https://kilobat.app/travel/united-arab-emirates): Messaging works, but WhatsApp calls don’t; internet calls need a licensed or approved app.
- [Russia](https://kilobat.app/travel/russia): Many Western services are blocked, mobile internet is often disrupted, and foreign SIMs may lose data on arrival.
- [Turkey](https://kilobat.app/travel/turkey): Most tools work, but Discord is blocked, social media can be throttled, and phones need IMEI registration.
- [India](https://kilobat.app/travel/india): Most tools work, but regional internet shutdowns are common, and satellite phones require prior permission.