CelcomDigi Prepaid (Purple SIM)
Physical SIMMalaysia's largest network: 95-country roaming passes, free SMS reception in China
Best for: Travelers wanting unlimited multi-country data on Malaysia's strongest network, plus a +60 number for SEA service registrations
Overview
CelcomDigi prepaid (the classic "purple SIM") runs on Malaysia's largest merged Celcom-Digi network. The 30-Day Unlimited roaming pass (3GB daily high-speed + unlimited 1Mbps) covers 95 countries including China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, US and UK at RM118 on postpaid — but prepaid is split (effective 2026-05-21): RM118 covers 76 countries, and China sits in a 5-country RM148 tier (Brunei, China, Oman, Turkey, UAE). Receiving SMS while roaming in mainland China is free with zero balance — its core keep-alive value. Since the 2022-2023 merger, everything moved to celcomdigi.com, the CelcomDigi app, and *118#/*124# USSD menus.
Celcom (founded 1988, Malaysia's oldest operator) merged with Digi to form CelcomDigi Berhad (reg. 425190-X), the country's largest carrier — 20M+ subscribers, 98% population coverage. Old purple prepaid SIMs keep working in the new system.
China roaming in practice: SMS reception is free on insertion; data attaches to China Mobile / China Unicom 4G (5G requires prior local Malaysian activation). The classic APN trap survives: Androids defaulting to a "celcom4g" APN stick on EDGE — switch APN to celcom3g and toggle airplane mode. Voice is expensive (RM6/min incoming, up to RM12/min outgoing): treat it as a data-and-SMS card.
2026 roaming passes (one-time, prepaid-eligible; effective 2026-05-21, re-verified via help.celcomdigi.com 2026-09-16): RM28/3 days 4GB (SG/ID/TH only); RM48/3 days, RM58/7 days (2GB daily), RM98/14 days, RM128/10 days (1GB-country list: Afghanistan, Fiji, Iran, Macedonia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Panama, PNG, Samoa, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turks & Caicos, Vanuatu, Yemen), RM118/30 days (3GB daily, unlimited 1Mbps) — each with 15 min voice and AeroMobile in-flight roaming. Coverage: the multi-country passes span 95 countries on postpaid; on prepaid the 30-day pass splits to RM118/76 countries with China in the RM148 tier (Brunei, China, Oman, Turkey, UAE). Postpaid 5G 120+ subscribers get 50% off and monthly options (RM40/30GB 3-country, RM70/80GB 95-country); prepaid is one-time-pass only.
Keep-alive rules changed post-merger. Reload extends validity by amount: RM5=5d, RM10=10d, RM30=30d, RM50=50d, RM100=100d (Digi side: 120d). After credit expiry a 50-day grace period allows top-up only. Super Long Life extensions via *118#: RM1/1d, RM2/3d, RM8/15d (Celcom) and RM108/365d on Digi plans (validity T&C pages were CloudFront-geo-blocked from the 2026-09 audit egress — rules per the 2026-08-22 verification with no contradicting source; re-verify from a MY IP or the app). Credit caps at RM1,000; reloads carry a 6% service tax.
eKYC is mandatory: passport photo + liveness check at activation. Buy from sellers who complete registration with your own passport where possible — pre-registered SIMs carry reclaim risk. An un-eKYC'd SIM shows no signal in China; *124# responding confirms registration took. Sources: celcomdigi.com roaming pages + third-party tests, verified 2026-08-22.
Popular plans
| Plan | Data from | Validity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Day Pass (SG/ID/TH) | 4GB high-speed | 3 days | RM28 |
| 3-Day Unlimited Pass (95 countries) | 2GB/day high-speed + unlimited 1Mbps | 3 days | RM48 |
| 7-Day Unlimited Pass (95 countries) | 2GB/day high-speed + unlimited 1Mbps | 7 days | RM58 |
| 14-Day Unlimited Pass (95 countries) | 3GB/day high-speed + unlimited 1Mbps | 14 days | RM98 |
| 10-Day Pass (1GB countries) | 1GB (Afghanistan, Fiji, Iran, Macedonia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Panama, PNG, Samoa, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turks & Caicos, Vanuatu, Yemen) | 10 days | RM128 |
| 30-Day Unlimited Pass (prepaid: RM148 for China tier) | 3GB/day high-speed + unlimited 1Mbps | 30 days | Prepaid RM118/76 countries; RM148 for Brunei/China/Oman/Turkey/UAE; postpaid RM118/95 countries |
| Keep-alive (reload-based) | Pay per use | RM5=5d … RM100=100d (+50d grace) | from RM5, ~RM192/year via SLL |
Pass prices verified on help.celcomdigi.com 'Roaming Passes (Effective date 21 May 2026)' 2026-09-16 (main site geo-blocked from the audit egress); prepaid 30-day split RM118/76 countries vs RM148 China tier confirmed there. Validity rules per CelcomDigi prepaid T&C and Malaysian prepaid termination rules (50-day grace) — T&C pages geo-blocked 2026-09, rules carried from the 2026-08-22 verification with no contradicting source. RM1 ≈ USD 0.21.
Pros
- Strongest network in Malaysia post-merger
- Free SMS reception while roaming in China
- 95-country roaming footprint on postpaid (prepaid 30-day pass: 76 countries + RM148 5-country tier)
- In-flight roaming included in every pass
Things to note
- Keep-alive costs rose sharply: the old RM1/50-day trick is gone
- 6% service tax on every reload; credit caps at RM1,000
- 5G roaming gated behind local Malaysian activation
- Mandatory eKYC (passport + liveness) at activation
- Expensive voice rates (RM6/min incoming while roaming)
Key features
- Free SMS reception in mainland China
- Unlimited roaming passes up to 95 countries (postpaid); prepaid 30-day: RM118/76 countries, China tier RM148
- Super Long Life validity extensions via *118#
- *124# balance & validity check
- Malaysia's largest merged network