Rakuten Mobile Coverage: How to Check Your Area Before Applying

How to check Rakuten Mobile coverage

Use Rakuten Mobile’s service area map (Japanese) for smartphone plans. The page also has a tool for checking a specific address or place, such as your home or workplace.

My suggested routine for each place:

1. Find the place by its address or building name.
2. Zoom in on the exact location, and look at the streets and buildings around it.
3. Compare the colours with the map’s legend for 4G LTE, 5G Sub6 and millimetre wave.
4. Note the update date and the data date shown with the map.

Repeat this for home, work or school, and the stations and roads you use most. A good result at home does not tell you about your office or your commute.

Source: Service area map (Japanese)

What the 4G and 5G map tells you

The map shows three types of Rakuten network area:

• 4G LTE: the main network layer. The map can show 4G LTE areas on their own.
• 5G Sub6: Rakuten Mobile’s 5G areas. Some 5G phones support only Sub6.
• Millimetre wave (ミリ波): a type of 5G that, according to Rakuten Mobile, is available only in very limited parts of the 5G area. It appears when you zoom in.

Rakuten Mobile notes that parts of a 5G area may not have 5G service, and that your phone may use 4G LTE instead of 5G even inside a 5G area. It also says the areas are based on calculations, may differ from actual signal conditions and may change without notice.

The map page also links to a separate map for partner network areas. Partner areas can change, and this guide does not cover them.

Source: Service area map and notes (Japanese)

Why indoor reception can differ

Rakuten Mobile’s notes say that even inside its area, speeds can change underground, indoors and inside large commercial buildings, and depending on signal conditions. It also says calls and data may drop, or be briefly unavailable, when you move between underground and outdoor areas, or between a large building and the street.

A city name is not enough. Saying that coverage in Tokyo or Osaka is good does not tell you how your own building, floor or office will be.

My own checklist before you decide:

• Where exactly: which room, which floor, and whether you are underground for long periods, such as on the subway or in a basement office.
• When: the times of day you need your phone most.
• What for: calls, messaging, video, or using your phone as a hotspot for a computer.
• Your fallback: whether you have Wi-Fi at home or at work if the signal indoors is weak.

Source: Service area map and notes (Japanese)

Check your phone as well as your address

Coverage and phone compatibility are two separate checks. A place can be inside the service area while your phone still cannot use Rakuten Mobile properly.

• Check your model on Rakuten Mobile’s device compatibility page.
• If your phone was bought outside Japan, check the exact model number, not just the model name. Rakuten Mobile warns that a phone bought overseas may not work even if the same model is listed as compatible.
• If your phone supports only Sub6, it cannot use millimetre wave even where the map shows it.

For the full checklist, see how to check an overseas phone.

If your signal is weak after activation

First, narrow down the problem:

• One place or everywhere? If the problem happens only in one place, check that place on the map again. If it happens in several places, also check your phone, SIM and settings rather than assuming it is only a local coverage issue.
• Data, calls or both? If only calls through the Rakuten Link app are affected, see how to use Rakuten Link.
• Is the line active? If your eSIM has not been activated yet, see how to activate your Rakuten Mobile eSIM.

When you test, turn Wi-Fi off. On a dual SIM phone, make sure the Rakuten Mobile line is the one being used. Otherwise you are not testing the Rakuten network.

If the problem happens everywhere, Rakuten Mobile’s weak signal FAQ (Japanese) suggests these checks, among others:

1. Turn mobile data off and back on, then check the connection. If needed, turn airplane mode on and back off, and check again. Next, try turning Wi-Fi on and back off.
2. Check that the Rakuten Mobile line is turned on in your phone’s settings.
3. Close apps you are not using, and update your phone’s software.
4. With an eSIM, restart the phone. With a SIM card, turn the phone off and reinsert the card.

Deleting your eSIM, resetting the phone or changing APN settings without a clear reason are not standard fixes.

If the problem is in one place inside the service area and your phone and SIM are working, you can report it through Rakuten Mobile’s signal improvement request form (Japanese). The form is for Rakuten Mobile users in Japan. Rakuten Mobile says it replies to these requests in Japanese only, and it does not promise an improvement or a date.

Rakuten Turbo needs a separate check

Rakuten Turbo, Rakuten Mobile’s home router service, has its own service area map (Japanese). You check it by entering the postcode or address where you plan to use the router. Rakuten Mobile says this area is different from the area for its smartphone plans, and that some addresses inside the area may not be able to apply.

Good signal on your phone at home does not show that Rakuten Turbo is available at that address. For Rakuten Turbo prices and conditions, see the Rakuten Turbo section of our home page.

Frequently asked questions

Before you apply

If you are still unsure about a place you use every day, check it on the map again before you apply.

Open Rakuten Mobile’s coverage map

• Coverage and phone look fine: check your documents in Rakuten Mobile requirements for foreign residents.
• Prefer to ask in person: see our shop guide. A visit to a shop cannot guarantee reception inside your home.

Planning to use the employee referral offer? See the employee referral steps.