What is an eSIM, and how do you use one abroad?
An eSIM is a SIM card built into your phone: you download it instead of inserting it. What changes from a plastic SIM, how to check your phone, and how to use one on a trip.
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An eSIM is a SIM card that is built into your phone. Instead of putting a piece of plastic into a tray, you download a mobile plan onto a chip that is already there, usually by scanning a QR code or tapping a link. Once it is installed it does exactly what a SIM card does: it tells the phone which network to connect to and who pays for the data.
For travellers that changes one important thing. You can buy data for the country you are going to before you leave, install it at home in a couple of minutes, and land already connected, without visiting a shop or paying your carrier's roaming prices.
What changes compared with a plastic SIM
The network, the signal and the speed are the same. What changes is everything around them.
| Plastic SIM | eSIM | |
|---|---|---|
| How you get it | In a shop or by post | Downloaded, in minutes |
| Where it goes | In the SIM tray | On a chip already inside the phone |
| How many | One per tray | Several stored, usually two in use at once |
| Changing phone | Move the card | Transfer it, or get a new one |
| If the phone is stolen | The thief can take it out | It stays in the phone |
Two practical consequences. First, your usual SIM can stay where it is: the travel eSIM is added next to it as a second line, and you choose which line does what. Second, an installed eSIM is tied to that phone. You cannot pop it out and put it in another one, so install it on the phone you will actually carry.
Does my phone support eSIM?
The quickest check works on most phones: open the phone app and dial *#06#. If you see a line called EID, the phone has an eSIM chip. The EID is the chip's own serial number, see what an EID is.
- iPhone: every model from the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR onwards, plus the iPhone SE from the second generation. Recent iPhones sold in the United States and several other countries have no SIM tray at all and work only with eSIM. iPhones sold in mainland China are the exception: apart from a few recent models, they have no eSIM.
- Android: most recent flagships. Google Pixel from the 3a onwards, Samsung Galaxy from the S20 onwards, the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip, and many recent Motorola, Xiaomi, OPPO and Honor models. The same model can have eSIM in one country and not in another, which is why the *#06# test is more reliable than any list.
One more thing to check: the phone must not be locked to your carrier. On iPhone, go to Settings, General, About, and look at the line about the carrier lock (its name changes by country). "No SIM restrictions" means you are fine. If you bought the phone outright it is almost always unlocked. More in what a carrier lock is.
Why it helps when you travel
When you use your phone abroad with your usual SIM, you are roaming: your carrier pays a foreign network to connect you and passes the cost on to you, sometimes at a daily rate, sometimes per megabyte. A travel eSIM buys the data directly from a network in the country you visit, at a price fixed in advance.
- You know the price before you leave, and nothing arrives on your bill when you come back.
- You land connected. No queue at an airport kiosk, no passport to show for a local SIM.
- You top up instead of starting again. With Wigoo, when the data runs low you add more to the same eSIM from the app.
Your number stays, and so does WhatsApp
A travel eSIM like ours gives you data, not a new phone number. Your usual SIM stays in the phone, and you keep it switched on for calls and texts, including the codes your bank sends you. Receiving texts abroad is usually free; calls follow your carrier's roaming rates.
WhatsApp keeps working with your usual number, with the same chats and contacts. It is linked to the number you registered with, not to the SIM that happens to be providing the data. The same goes for iMessage and FaceTime on iPhone, which keep using your home number.
The setting that makes it work: data roaming
This is where most "my eSIM doesn't work" stories start. A travel eSIM connects through partner networks abroad, so the phone treats it as roaming, and data roaming has to be switched on for the eSIM line. With it off, the phone shows full signal and no internet.
On your usual line, do the opposite: leave data roaming off, so it cannot quietly start using data abroad at your carrier's prices. The details for iPhone and Android are in how to install and activate an eSIM, and the symptom has its own guide: data roaming on but no internet.
When to install it
At home, on wifi, a day or two before you fly. Installing means downloading the profile from a server, so the phone needs an internet connection, and the one thing you will not have when you land is a working connection. Installing early costs nothing: our plans start counting when the eSIM first connects to a network in a country the plan covers, not when you install it.
The steps themselves take two or three minutes. On an iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later it is a single tap on a link, on any phone it can be a QR code shown on another screen, and on Android you can also paste a code. All three are explained in how to install and activate an eSIM.
Quick answers
Is an eSIM the same as a SIM card?
It does the same job, connecting the phone to a mobile network, but it is a chip built into the phone rather than a card you insert. You download the plan instead of receiving a piece of plastic.
Can I install an eSIM myself?
Yes. You do not need a shop or your carrier. You scan a QR code, tap an install link on iPhone, or paste a code on Android, and the phone does the rest in a couple of minutes, as long as it is connected to the internet.
Do I get a new phone number with a travel eSIM?
No. Travel eSIMs are normally data only. Your usual number stays on your usual SIM, which keeps receiving calls and texts.
Can I use WhatsApp with an eSIM?
Yes, with your usual number. WhatsApp is linked to the number you registered with, not to the SIM that provides the data, so your chats and contacts stay as they are.
Can I use an eSIM and a physical SIM at the same time?
Yes, on almost every phone that supports eSIM. The usual setup for a trip is the physical SIM for calls and texts and the eSIM for data.
What happens when the data runs out?
With Wigoo you top up the same eSIM from the app, without installing anything new. The line keeps working as soon as the new data is added.