Buy a local Orange SIM with the right document
Orange Bissau describes an entry-level prepaid SIM with a 250 CFA franc headline price, seven-day Orange-network voice and SMS bonuses and 250 MB of bonus internet, at the time of checking. It lists higher-priced 2,500 and 5,000 CFA franc starter options at agencies and selected resellers. Those bonuses are short lived; ask the seller when each allowance begins.
The operator says a new physical SIM can be collected at one of its agencies or points of sale with identification, including a passport. Its customer-identification page says identification is mandatory and free under Decree-Law 22/2013, and expressly includes passports among accepted documents for foreigners. If the line later loses service or registration details are incomplete, Orange tells customers to check with service number 500 and visit an agency to complete identification. Keep the original passport available rather than assuming a phone photograph will pass the check.
One Orange help page says a SIM costs 5,000 GNF with 625 GNF of initial credit, a figure in the currency of neighbouring Guinea, while the Guinea-Bissau product page lists prices in CFA francs. The two pages disagree, so ask for the price at the point of sale and do not budget from the GNF figure.
Distinguish the local eSIM from Orange Travel
Orange Bissau has a local eSIM information page that tells readers to visit a local agency to obtain the profile. It explains how to look for an EID by dialling *#06# and says a device may keep an eSIM alongside a physical SIM. The page does not publish a local visitor eSIM price, activation timing or an online order flow. Confirm with the intended agency that it can issue a local number in the required format, then install and test it there.
A separate Orange Travel eSIM page advertises a digital QR-code order for travel destinations, with data-only and some calls-and-SMS bundles. Its wording addresses Orange customers, customers of other networks and foreign visitors, but it describes international travel packages. It does not establish that its online checkout issues a domestic Guinea-Bissau number or the same tariff as the agency's local eSIM. Inspect the actual destination, included services and start date before choosing either route.
Match Orange's data pass to days in Bissau
Orange Bissau lists mobile-data passes in three time groups: 24-hour options of 60 MB, 200 MB and 1 GB; a seven-day 1.2 GB option; and 30-day options of 3.2 GB, 8 GB and 20 GB. The explanatory text says daily passes start at 100 CFA francs, weekly passes at 500 and monthly passes at 2,500, at the time of checking. These are starting points, not prices for every named volume. The operator says the passes work only within Guinea-Bissau in its 2G, 3G and 4G coverage areas.
Its pass page gives #5234# or pass.orange-bissau.com for purchase and #5234#4# for balance. Another operator account-help page uses #1234# for internet purchases, a different code. Save both and ask the shop to demonstrate the working menu on the actual line. A web purchase flow can also need initial connectivity, so keep a small working allowance or shop assistance for the first top-up.
Orange separately markets time-based unlimited passes for one, three or eight hours, a night from midnight to 06:00, and Sunday. Its page says the clock runs from the purchased period and two overlapping unlimited passes cannot be active together. Such a pass could suit a large upload in Bissau, but it does not improve weak radio coverage on a journey. Confirm the live price and the precise start time on the handset before paying.
Use ARN's Biombo tests within their real scope
The national regulator ARN drove roughly 100 kilometres in the Biombo region on 4 May 2023 to compare Orange Bissau and MTN from a user's perspective. It recorded 232 voice calls, 233 internet-speed tests and 19,747 radio-signal samples. Both operators had an indicated network in all measurements on that particular drive, yet the regulator classified 16.4% of MTN readings and 14.8% of Orange readings as absent, very poor or poor quality. A network indicator on screen therefore did not always mean strong usable signal.
ARN measured average downloads of 21 Mbps on MTN and 20 Mbps on Orange Bissau on that drive, with substantial variation by location. These are regulator measurements from one route and date, not a current speed promise or a nationwide ranking. The report also says 4G was the predominant technology in the samples. Orange's own 3G and 4G page shows a coverage image, but it does not present a readable guarantee for every settlement in its text.
The Biombo road test cannot establish reception on a boat to Bubaque or Bolama. Ask the host about the exact property and download travel details before leaving Bissau.
Find a top-up or agency before the next leg
Orange's agency directory lists a principal agency at Praça dos Heróis Nacionais in Bissau, other Bissau locations, and points in regional towns. Its franchise list includes Bubaque and Bolama as well as Bafatá, Gabu and Canchungo. Listed hours generally cover weekday daytime and Saturday morning, but the directory itself says regional hours may vary. Telephone ahead if a particular shop must issue an eSIM or fix identification before a transfer.
The operator's recharge help page lists three ways to top up credit: Orange Money, the Nha Orange app, or dialling *123* and following the instructions. Its account page lists #123# for main balance and validity. Check the new credit and pass separately after any recharge: buying voice credit is not necessarily the same as buying a mobile-data pass.
Check which roaming direction a regional pass covers
Orange Bissau's West Africa pass is presented to its own customers travelling abroad, with listed destinations including Senegal, Guinea, Mali and Côte d'Ivoire. It offers separate voice-and-SMS and internet choices, and says validity begins on the purchase date, not on the first border crossing. That detail matters if a traveller buys a pass in Bissau days before moving to Senegal. The product does not state that a foreign home operator's pass will cover Guinea-Bissau; ask that operator about the country by name.
The operator's domestic mobile internet page says its local passes are usable in Guinea-Bissau, and the roaming page uses a separate #166# menu. Keep those two purchase routes separate. At a land border, check that the phone has not begun chargeable roaming on an unintended line. If continuing to a neighbouring country, compare the exact partner network and data allowance in the current pass terms before switching data roaming on.
Keep a callable number and the next address
The UK government's Guinea-Bissau help page lists 117 for police and 1313 for ambulance and fire. Save the numbers with the address of the next overnight stop. The Orange Travel page distinguishes data-only bundles from bundles that include calls, so check the exact product's calling capability before relying on it.
UK travel advice says people should carry identification such as a passport or residence permit, especially when driving or in a taxi. That also aligns with Orange's identity process at purchase. Keep the physical document secure but accessible for the shop or an official check. Before a trip beyond Bissau, confirm how to reach the host by ordinary call if mobile internet stops working. Our Guinea-Bissau plan page offers another data option to compare.
Networks our Guinea-Bissau plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Guinea-Bissau, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- MTN4G
- MTN Areeba3G
- Orange4G
- Orange Bissau4G