Can I use my own phone, and is there free wifi?
Short answer
There is a genuine national free wifi network — iTaiwan, over 5,000 hotspots, and since 2020 no registration at all. Connect, open a browser, done.
The free layer, and it is real
Taiwan runs a government wifi service called iTaiwan — the name is a homophone for "love Taiwan" — with more than 5,000 hotspots in indoor public areas: government offices, tourist attractions, transport nodes, cultural and educational facilities.
Since July 2020 there is no registration for anyone, residents or visitors alike. Look for the iTaiwan logo at the entrance, connect to the SSID iTaiwan, and open a browser; the portal appears by itself.
What to expect from it
Bandwidth runs around 8Mbps — comfortable for maps, messaging and looking things up, and not intended for streaming a film. It is a utility layer rather than a home connection.
One catch worth planning around: most hotspots follow the opening hours of the building they sit in. Railway stations and highway rest areas are the exceptions that run 24 hours, which makes them the reliable fallback late at night.
Where it stops and a SIM starts
Free wifi covers the indoors you pass through, not the street between them, so anything needing constant connection — live navigation on a scooter, ride-hailing, maps while walking an unfamiliar district — still wants a local SIM or an eSIM.
The sensible pattern is both: buy connectivity for the moving parts of the day, and let iTaiwan carry you inside stations, museums and offices without spending data.
Good to know
- No registration since 2020 — connect to SSID iTaiwan and open a browser
- Most hotspots follow building hours; stations and rest areas run 24h
- About 8Mbps — fine for maps and messaging, not for streaming
Yes. A prepaid eSIM is usually far cheaper than roaming — but it gives you data only, not a Japanese number.
Yes, but decide how before you fly. A local SIM has to be registered against your passport, and a number of services you use daily will not load.
Yes, if the handset is unlocked — and bring your passport, because every SIM here is registered to a named person.
Buy a prepaid SIM on arrival with your passport — it is cheap, the coverage is good, and a local number is what makes the ride-hailing apps work.
Yes, and you may barely need data — free public Wi-Fi runs on subway trains, buses and in most cafés.