A travel eSIM needs two things from your phone: it must support eSIM, and it must not be locked to your carrier. Both take a minute to check, and it's worth doing before you buy.

Illustration: a traveller sitting on a bed by an open suitcase and a charger, looking at a phone.

The quickest check: look for an EID

Every phone that supports eSIM has an EID, a long number labelled EID. No EID means no eSIM.

  • iPhone: Settings › General › About.
  • Android: Settings › About phone, under SIM status or Status.
  • On many phones dialling *#06# in the phone app shows it too.

iPhone

  • Models: iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and every later model support eSIM, including iPhone SE (2nd generation) and later.
  • Bought in mainland China? Most iPhones sold there don't support eSIM.
  • Carrier lock: open Settings › General › About. Next to Carrier Lock, No SIM Restrictions means the iPhone is unlocked and can use another carrier's eSIM.
  • Where eSIMs are added: Settings › Mobile Service (Cellular on some iPhones) › Add eSIM. If you see that option, the iPhone takes eSIMs.

Android

Many recent Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel and other Android phones support eSIM, but it depends on the exact model and the country it was sold in. The same model can have eSIM in Europe and none in India or mainland China.

  • Samsung Galaxy: Settings › Connections › SIM manager. An Add eSIM option under eSIMs means the phone takes them.
  • Google Pixel: Settings › Network & internet › SIMs.
  • Carrier lock: your carrier can tell you whether the phone is locked to it.
Illustration: two hands, each holding a different smartphone, side by side above a wooden table.

Check your model in our list

Our list of supported devices names the models that take an eSIM, by brand, checked against the manufacturers' own pages. The newest models may not be listed yet.

A smartwatch can't use a travel eSIM: its eSIM works only with a plan from the carrier your phone uses.

Can it hold your own SIM and a travel eSIM?

Yes, on a phone that supports eSIM. A phone can store several eSIM profiles, so you keep your own line and add a travel eSIM. How many can be active at once depends on the phone: supported iPhone models can use two active eSIMs, and Pixel 7 and later can use two eSIM profiles at the same time where the carrier allows it. Other phones may allow only one active eSIM.

If your phone doesn't support eSIM

A travel eSIM won't work on it. Your options abroad are your own carrier's roaming, a local SIM card bought after you land, or a rented pocket Wi‑Fi router.

Once you know it does

Install the eSIM at home, on Wi‑Fi, with our step-by-step guides for iPhone and Android, and switch it on after you land. If it doesn't connect, see what to check when an eSIM is stuck on “Activating”.