Education
eSIM, explained.
An eSIM is a SIM card built into your phone. Instead of putting in a piece of plastic, you scan a QR code and a new mobile plan appears on your device. Your normal number stays where it is — the travel plan sits alongside it and carries only data.
The plastic SIM is gone.
For thirty years a SIM card was a tiny chip slotted into your phone. Modern phones replace it with a chip soldered to the board — the eSIM, or embedded SIM. It can hold several profiles at once: your home line, plus as many travel lines as you need.
When you buy an eSIM here, we send you a QR code. Scanning it tells the phone to download that profile and use it for data while you are abroad. Your home line keeps the same number for calls and SMS.
eSIM
Travel eSIM (this site)
Scan a QR code, pay the price shown before checkout, use the plan alongside your own number. Data only — no voice, no SMS. Add and remove lines as you travel.
Roaming
Your home carrier’s roaming
Works with no setup at all, and you keep calls and SMS on the same number. What it costs depends entirely on your own carrier’s tariff.
SIM
Physical local SIM
Often the cheapest per gigabyte. You have to find a shop and show ID, and your home SIM is out of the phone while the local one is in.
Install
Three steps to get online
The same flow applies to every plan in the catalogue. The iOS wording is shown; Android differs slightly but the steps are the same.
1
Buy and receive your QR code
Pick a destination and a plan. After your order is confirmed we email you a QR code and an LPA string, which is the same thing in text form for manual installation.
- You can save the QR code as an image.
- The LPA string is there if you prefer to install by hand.
- Install over Wi-Fi — the profile needs a few megabytes.
2
Scan it while you still have Wi-Fi
Installing the profile needs an internet connection, so do it before you travel or on airport Wi-Fi.
- iPhone: open Camera, point it at the code, tap the banner, then
Continue→Add eSIM. - Android:
Settings→Network→+ SIM→ scan. - Nothing is charged at this step.
3
Label it and choose what uses it
Give the new line a name you’ll recognise, and point mobile data at it while leaving calls and SMS on your usual number.
- Your number stays on the primary line.
- Switch the travel line off when you get home.
- Don’t delete it — you can reinstall from the same QR code while the plan is valid.
Device compatibility
Will my phone work?
eSIM has been a standard phone feature since 2018. Two things to check besides the model: the phone must not be carrier-locked, and some regional variants ship without eSIM even when the model normally has it.
Confirmed supported
The models below are the ones we have confirmed. Many other handsets support eSIM too — the check on the right tells you how to verify yours.
Brand
Models
eSIM
Apple
iPhone XS and XR (2018) and newer · US iPhone 14 and 15 are eSIM-only
✓ YES
Google
Pixel 3 and newer in most regions · Pixel 4 and newer everywhere
✓ YES
Samsung
Galaxy S20 and newer · Z Flip and Z Fold lines · Note 20
✓ YES
Other
OnePlus 11+ · Oppo Find X3+ · Xiaomi 12T+ · Honor Magic5+
✓ YES
Check your exact model
Dial *#06# on the phone. If the list that appears includes an EID number, the device supports eSIM.
Or open Settings → Cellular (iOS) or Settings → Network (Android). If you see “Add eSIM” or “Add cellular plan”, the phone works.
FAQ
Questions we get every day.
Straight answers, including the ones where the answer is “we don’t know yet”. If yours is not here, there is nobody to ask yet — the Terms explain why, and when that changes.
When does my plan's validity start?
The moment your order is confirmed — not when you scan the QR code. This is how our supplier’s network works, and it is the single most important thing to know before you buy. If you purchase a 7-day plan two weeks before your trip, most of it will be gone by the time you land. Buy close to your departure date.
Will I get a phone number?
No. These are data-only plans — no voice calls, no SMS. Your existing number stays active on your primary line, so messaging apps that rely on it keep working over the data connection.
Can I use personal hotspot (tethering) to share the connection?
We don’t know, and we would rather say so than guess. Our supplier does not publish whether personal hotspot is permitted for each individual plan, so we don’t display a promise we can’t stand behind. If tethering is essential for your trip, treat it as unconfirmed and do not buy on the assumption that it works. There is nobody to ask first: this store has no mailbox, no phone line and no chat yet. The Terms say so plainly, and say when that changes.
What if I have no signal after installing?
First check three settings: that mobile data is pointed at the travel line, that data roaming is switched on for that line, and that the line itself is enabled. If it still doesn’t connect, restart the phone — that clears most cases. If none of that helps, there is nowhere to escalate to yet: this store has no mailbox, no phone line and no chat. The Terms say so plainly, and say when that changes.
Which network will I actually be on?
Your device picks whichever partner network is strongest where you are — you don’t choose it, and it can change as you move. Where our supplier publishes the partner list for a destination we show it on that destination’s page; where it doesn’t, that section says so rather than guessing.
Does the plan renew by itself?
No. Every purchase is a one-off. Nothing is stored for automatic rebilling and no subscription is created, so a plan simply stops when its data or its validity runs out.
What is your refund policy?
We are still finalising it, and we won’t publish terms we haven’t confirmed with our supplier. What we can tell you now is the part that matters most: a plan is activated on the supplier’s network as soon as your order is confirmed, which limits what can be reversed afterwards. The Refund Policy sets out exactly what is settled and what is not. There is nobody to ask first: this store has no mailbox, no phone line and no chat yet. The Terms say so plainly, and say when that changes.
What does "lifetime" mean on some plans?
It means the balance has no expiry date, not that the data is unlimited. A lifetime plan still has a fixed amount of data — you can just use it across several trips instead of losing the remainder when a validity window closes.
Ready to skip roaming?
Pick a destination, choose how much data you need, and install the plan before you fly.
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