How to tell whether your phone supports eSIM (and what to do if it doesn't)

Before buying any eSIM you need to be sure your phone will accept it, and here's the most common misunderstanding in the industry: it isn't one condition, it's two, and you need both.

1. The phone has to have the chip. That depends on the model and is easy to check.
2. It has to be carrier unlocked. That doesn't depend on the model but on how it was bought, and it's the one that leaves most people halfway there.

A modern phone locked to an operator has the chip in perfect working order and still won't install anything. That's why a list of models isn't enough on its own.

Check it on your own phone, in 30 seconds

You don't need to look up the spec sheet or the model number. The handset itself will tell you, and that check beats any list.

On an iPhone

Open Settings and go into Mobile Data (on some versions it's called Mobile Service or Cellular). If you see Add eSIM or Add Data Plan, your iPhone supports it. If it doesn't appear anywhere, either the model doesn't have it or the phone is locked.

On Android

The path varies a little between manufacturers, but it's always in the same place: Settings, then Connections or Network & internet, and from there SIM manager or SIMs. If you see an option to add an eSIM or download a SIM, it supports one.

The dialler shortcut

On many phones, dialling *#06# brings up the handset's identifiers. If a code called EID appears on that screen, your phone has an eSIM chip. It's a useful second clue, though it says nothing about whether the phone is locked.

The list by model, as a rough guide

It's handy for a quick idea before you pick up the phone, but the check above still wins: some models had regional variants built without eSIM.

If your phone is locked to an operator

A locked handset only accepts lines from whoever sold it, and that includes eSIMs. It usually happens with phones that came subsidised as part of a contract.

Unlocking is done by that operator, and across most of Europe it's free once your minimum term is over or the handset is paid off. It's normally sorted with a phone call or from your online account, and can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Until then no eSIM will work, ours or anyone else's.

Four reasons the option doesn't show up

• The model doesn't have it. The simplest case, and there's no way around it.
• It's locked to an operator. That one is fixable: ask whoever sold it to you.
• The software is badly out of date. On some older Android phones the option arrived in a later update.
• It's a regional variant without eSIM. This happens with handsets bought in Asia and in some Latin American markets.

It supports it. What now?

Next comes choosing how many days and how much data, which is where almost everyone buys more than they need just in case.

Here are the real numbers for what a day of travelling uses, in case they help you avoid overpaying: how much data you actually use on a trip.