Before you buy a travel eSIM, two things must be true: your phone has an eSIM chip, and it is not locked to your home carrier. Both take under a minute to check.
Check 1: does it have an eSIM?
The fastest test: dial *#06#
Open the phone app and dial *#06#. If the screen shows a line called EID (a long number), your phone has an eSIM. If it only shows IMEI numbers, it most likely does not.
Or look in settings
- iPhone: Settings > Cellular (or Mobile Service). If you see Add eSIM, you are set.
- Samsung Galaxy: Settings > Connections > SIM manager. An Add eSIM option means yes.
- Google Pixel: Settings > Network & internet > SIMs. An option to download a SIM means yes.
Rules of thumb
- iPhone: every model from the XS and XR onwards, including every iPhone SE from the second generation. US models from the iPhone 14 onwards have no physical SIM slot at all.
- Samsung: most Galaxy S models from the S20, the Z Flip and Z Fold range, and some A series phones such as the Galaxy A54. Some models sold in certain countries, mainland China among them, ship without eSIM.
- Google Pixel: from the Pixel 3 onwards, with exceptions for some models sold in some countries or through some carriers.
These are rules of thumb, not guarantees. The *#06# test is the one to trust.
Check 2: is it unlocked?
A carrier-locked phone accepts only that carrier's SIMs and eSIMs. Your travel eSIM would install but never connect.
- iPhone: Settings > General > About, then scroll to Carrier Lock. It should read No SIM restrictions.
- Android: the menu varies. The reliable test is to borrow a friend's SIM from another carrier: if it gets a signal, the phone is unlocked.
- Bought outright from Apple, Samsung, Google or an electronics store? It is almost always unlocked. Phones on a payment plan from a carrier are the ones to check.
If it is locked, ask your carrier to unlock it before you travel. In many countries they must do it once the phone is paid off.
The catches
- Dual SIM is not the same as eSIM. Some phones take two physical SIMs and no eSIM, such as the versions of the iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 sold in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. The EID test tells them apart.
- One eSIM, one phone. An eSIM installs on one device and cannot be moved to another. Install it on the phone you are taking.
- Tablets and watches may have an eSIM too, but most travel data plans are meant for phones. Check the plan before buying one for a tablet.
No EID? You can still get online abroad: five ways to get data when your phone has no eSIM.