Two things have to be true before a travel eSIM will work: your phone must have eSIM hardware, and it must not be locked to a carrier. Check both before you buy anything.
The thirty-second check
Faster than reading any list:
- iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to the bottom. If you see an EID number, you have eSIM.
- Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. Or dial
*#06#— if an EID appears alongside the IMEI, you are fine.
No EID means no eSIM. That is definitive regardless of what any list says.
Apple
Every iPhone from the XR and XS onward supports eSIM. That covers:
- iPhone 17 series, iPhone 16 series, iPhone 15 series
- iPhone 14 series, iPhone 13 series, iPhone 12 series
- iPhone 11 series, iPhone XR, XS, XS Max
- iPhone SE, 2nd generation and later
Two exceptions worth knowing:
US iPhone 14 and later have no SIM tray at all. Models sold in the United States from the iPhone 14 onward are eSIM-only. This is good news for travel eSIMs, but it means you cannot fall back to a plastic SIM.
Mainland China models differ. iPhones sold in mainland China have historically shipped with dual physical SIM slots and no eSIM. If you bought your phone there, run the EID check rather than trusting the model number.
iPads: most cellular models from the 2018 Pro onward support eSIM too.
Samsung
Broadly, Galaxy S20 and newer, plus the foldables and recent A-series:
- Galaxy S25, S24, S23, S22, S21, S20 series
- Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip, all generations
- Galaxy Note 20 series
- Galaxy A54, A55 and several other recent A models
The regional caveat is real here. Samsung sells variants of the same model in different markets, and some — historically certain units sold in the US, South Korea and parts of Latin America — shipped without eSIM. Do the EID check.
Google Pixel
Pixel 3 and newer, with one exception: the Pixel 3 sold in Australia, Japan, Taiwan and via some carriers lacked eSIM. Pixel 4 onward is consistent.
Recent US Pixel models have followed Apple toward eSIM-only.
Other Android manufacturers
Support is patchier and varies by market:
- Motorola: Razr foldables, Edge series, some G-series
- Huawei: P40, Mate 40 and some newer models
- Oppo: Find X3 Pro and later, Reno 5A and later
- Xiaomi: 12T Pro, 13, 14 and later — though many Xiaomi models sold outside Europe omit it
- Sony: Xperia 10 III and later, Xperia 1 IV and later
- OnePlus: limited; some models only on certain carriers
For anything on this list, the EID check is not optional.
The other requirement: unlocked
An eSIM cannot bypass a carrier lock. If your phone was bought on a contract and is still locked, it will only accept profiles from that carrier.
To check on iPhone: Settings → General → About → Carrier Lock. “No SIM restrictions” means you are unlocked.
On Android: the wording varies by manufacturer, so the reliable route is asking your carrier directly.
Most carriers unlock a phone free once it is paid off, but it can take a few days. Do this before your trip, not at the airport.
What if my phone does not support eSIM?
Then a travel eSIM is not an option for that handset, and no provider can change that. Your alternatives are a local physical SIM at your destination, roaming on your home plan, or a portable Wi-Fi hotspot.
Before you buy
- Confirm the EID exists.
- Confirm the phone is unlocked.
- Check your destination is on the plan’s country list.
Three checks, two minutes, and it removes essentially every reason an eSIM purchase goes wrong.