What Is an eSIM? How It Works Abroad, Compatible Phones and Travel eSIMs Compared

• A SIM built into the phone
• No card to insert
• Installed by QR code or app

An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone. Apple describes it as an industry-standard digital SIM that replaces the physical card: instead of inserting a plastic SIM, you download a mobile plan from a carrier, usually by scanning a QR code or through the carrier's app.

For travel, that last row is the point: you can buy a data plan for your destination before you fly, keep your own number on the same phone, and switch data to the travel plan when you land.

• Travel plan carries data
• Home line can stay on
• Watch home roaming fees

A travel eSIM is a second line on your phone. You install it, choose it as the line for mobile data, and your home line stays on for calls and texts if you want it. On iPhone, two eSIMs can be active at the same time on supported models, and iPhone 13 and later support Dual SIM with two eSIMs.

Apple's travel guide says that once you turn on the travel eSIM, it is used for data, and it adds a warning worth reading twice: you might still incur roaming fees from your home eSIM. A common setup is to keep the home line on for calls and SMS and check its data roaming setting before you leave.

• iPhone XS, XR and later
• Look for the EID
• Phone must be unlocked

Two checks answer the question: does the phone have an eSIM chip, and is it unlocked so it accepts another carrier's plan.

Every iPhone from the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR onwards supports eSIM, so yes, the iPhone 11, 12 and 13 have it. iPhone 14 and later bought in the United States can only be activated with an eSIM, and on US Pixel 10 models (except the 10 Pro Fold) you can only use an eSIM too.

• Only facts we checked
• Updated as we verify
• Ad links are marked

Airalo, Saily, Yesim and Drimsim are the travel eSIM providers we compare here; Airalo and Saily are among the most searched eSIM names. Every cell below comes from the provider's own pages, checked on 16 October 2026. Airalo, Saily and Yesim pages do not open from our connection in Türkiye, so we read them through a search index in the United States; where a provider's own pages give no clear answer, the cell says “not stated”.

Bundle prices change by country and date, so we link to the plan pages instead of copying them.

In short: Saily is the clearest on hotspot and starts the plan only when you land. Airalo's packages also wait for the destination network in most cases, but check each package's validity policy before installing early. Yesim and Drimsim suit trips where you do not know how much data you need, because you pay per use instead of buying a fixed bundle.

Drimsim works differently from bundle sellers: there are no day-based plans, you pay only for the data you use, the SIM does not expire, it has an iOS and Android app with top-up, and the company offers a money-back guarantee if a connection failure is not solved within 24 hours.

eSIM for the USA, Europe, Japan and International Travel

The destinations people search for most are the UK, the USA, Europe and Japan. For a single-country trip, such as an eSIM for the USA or an eSIM for Japan, look for that country's own plan. For several countries on one trip, such as an eSIM for Europe, a regional plan covers them with one install.

To find the best eSIM for Japan, the best eSIM for Europe or the best eSIM for international travel across regions, compare the same data amount and validity on each provider's plan page; for a route across continents, check whether the provider sells a global plan.

• Install before you fly
• QR code or app
• Turn on Travel eSIM

Carriers and travel eSIM sellers deliver the plan digitally, by QR code or through their app. Install it at home on Wi-Fi, a day or two before departure, and switch it on when you land.

1. Buy the plan and keep the QR code or the provider app ready.
2. Add the eSIM following the provider's instructions (QR code or app). Label it clearly, for example “Travel”.
3. On iOS 26, when you arrive, tap Turn On Travel eSIM, then choose Travel eSIM Only or Travel eSIM and Current eSIM; the travel eSIM is then used for data.
4. If your provider asks you to enable data roaming on the travel line: Settings > Cellular, tap that line, then Cellular Data Options > Data Roaming.

• Pixel: Network & internet
• Samsung: Connections
• Scan the QR code

Depending on the device and carrier, a Pixel can hold either two eSIMs or one eSIM and one physical SIM. Menu names differ slightly by country and software version; the Samsung UK and US guides above show the two wordings.

• 120 days without registration
• Tourist packs from operators
• Some eSIM sites blocked

Phones brought from abroad can be used in Türkiye for 120 days without registration, according to the Turkish telecoms authority's device registration FAQ. Vodafone Türkiye says the same window of about 120 days applies to roaming in Türkiye; after that, a phone must be registered for a fee or Turkish networks disconnect it.

All three Turkish operators sell tourist packages. Two that we read on the operators' own pages:

• Phone has an EIDSettings > General > About on iPhone
• Phone is unlocked“No SIM Restrictions” next to Carrier Lock
• Plan covers every country on your routeCheck the provider's coverage list
• eSIM installed at home on Wi-FiKeep the QR code or app login for support
• Home line data roaming checkedApple warns of possible home roaming fees
• Home line kept on for SMSBank codes go to your usual number

This page is not a carrier or a shop. Device facts come from Apple, Google and Samsung support pages; Türkiye facts from the Turkish telecoms authority, Turkcell and Vodafone Türkiye; provider facts only from each provider's own site.

All were checked on 16 October 2026. Links marked Ad are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.