Travel eSIM guides
The things worth knowing before you buy — written from what our plans actually do, with live prices rather than rounded marketing figures.
Before you buy
- What is an eSIM?The chip that replaced the plastic SIM: what it is, how it differs from a SIM card, its pros and cons, which phones take one and how to get one.Read the guide · 9 min
- How much data do you need for a trip?What maps, messaging, social media and streaming actually consume per day — with a calculator that turns your own habits into a plan size.Read the guide · 6 min
- Which phones support eSIM?The models that can install one, the two things that catch people out — carrier locks and region variants — and how to check your own handset in about ten seconds.Read the guide · 6 min
- eSIM vs roaming: what data abroad really costsWhat your own carrier charges per day, what the same trip costs on a travel eSIM at today's prices, and the handful of cases where roaming is still the better buy.Read the guide · 7 min
- Roaming charges by carrierHow each major carrier bills you abroad — daily pass, inclusive allowance or per megabyte. Links to every carrier's own current rates, plus the fine print that turns a short trip into a long bill.Read the guide · 8 min
- How to tell if your iPhone is unlockedThe one Settings screen that answers it in seconds, the SIM-swap test for older iOS, and what to do before your trip if the phone turns out to be locked.Read the guide · 7 min
Destinations
- eSIM for EuropeWhether one plan covers the whole trip, why the EU's roaming rules probably don't apply to you, and how much data a fortnight actually takes.Read the guide · 6 min
- eSIM for the USAWhich network you actually end up on, what an 'unlimited' US plan gives you once the daily allowance runs out, and what a trip costs.Read the guide · 6 min
Using your eSIM
- How to install an eSIMStep by step on iPhone and Android, why you install at home rather than at the airport, and what to do when the QR code won't take.Read the guide · 8 min
- How to switch SIM cards and use eSIM on iPhoneDual SIM on iPhone in plain language: labelling lines, choosing which one carries data and calls, and keeping your own number while a travel eSIM does the data.Read the guide · 8 min
- SOS on iPhone: what it means and how to fix itWhy the status bar says SOS or SOS only, what you can still do while it does, and the fixes in order, from airplane mode to the roaming settings that cause it abroad.Read the guide · 8 min
- What does airplane mode do?What it switches off, what you can switch back on, and how airplane mode plus wi-fi keeps a roaming bill at zero until your travel eSIM takes over.Read the guide · 7 min
- How to turn on hotspot on iPhonePersonal Hotspot step by step, connecting over wi-fi, USB or Bluetooth, what to try when it won't show up, and how tethering eats into a travel plan.Read the guide · 7 min