MIAAirport Guide

SIM cards and eSIMs for arriving at Miami

There's no SIM shop in MIA's international arrivals hall. Where a prepaid SIM is sold upstairs, what one traveler's guide lists, and why an eSIM set up before the flight is usually easier.

A phone with its SIM tray open on a suitcase in the arrivals hall at Miami International Airport
Arriving at MIA

If your phone takes an eSIM, set one up before you fly and you’ll have data the moment you land. MIA doesn’t list a phone shop or SIM seller in its directory, and one traveler who went looking found no SIM counter in the international arrivals hall. Prepaid SIMs were on sale one floor up, on the departures level, at prices that traveler called expensive next to an eSIM.

What you can buy at the airport

TravelTomTom’s guide to arriving at MIA reports:

  • No SIM shop in the international arrivals hall.
  • Two counters on the departures level, Level 2, selling prepaid tourist SIMs: Communitel, the baggage storage counter, and the currency exchange.
  • Prices seen: an Ultra Mobile SIM with 4 GB of data for $37, and a Lycamobile SIM with 12 GB for $70.

Those were one traveler’s findings, not a price list, so confirm the plan and price at the counter, and if it takes only cash, MIA has ATMs on every level. The counters themselves are easy to find:

  • Communitel Baggage Storage: before security on Level 2 in Concourse E and in Concourse H by Door 20. Our listings give daily hours of 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Currency exchange: MIA’s services page lists four booths on Level 2, plus booths in the greeters’ lobbies of Concourse E (Level 1) and Concourse J (Level 3). Our guide to currency exchange at Miami airport lists each one with its hours.
  • InMotion tech shops: our shop and dining list has them in Concourses D, G and H. Neither MIA nor that traveler says they sell SIM cards.

Why an eSIM set up before the flight is easier

An eSIM is a data plan you download to your phone. You buy it online, install it at home, and switch it on when you land. There’s no counter to find and no queue after a long flight. The catch is that your phone has to support eSIM, so check that before you buy.

If your phone doesn’t take an eSIM, TravelTomTom suggests buying a prepaid SIM at a T-Mobile, AT&T or Verizon store in the city rather than at the airport.

Get online while you sort it out

You don’t need a SIM to get through the airport. MIA-WiFi is free with advertising in every indoor public area, including baggage claim, or $4.95 standard and $7.95 premium for an uninterrupted connection, so you can download an eSIM, message your ride or book a car before you leave the terminal. Our wifi page and guide to free wifi at Miami airport explain how to connect.

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