packing and gear
By Katherine Gillespie, a writer at the Strategist covering outdoors and travel gear. She was previously an editor at Paper.
Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos Getty Images
eSIMs (the e stands for “embedded”) are simply digital versions of the traditional SIM cards that store your cell-phone number and customer data. Rather than making you physically switch cards every time you change networks or numbers, eSIM-compatible smartphones are able to store the data of multiple plans and providers internally.
They’re ideal for travel. Whereas accessing internet in a foreign country used to mean paying exorbitant data fees, buying a physical SIM card from a local store, or just desperately asking random café workers for Wi-Fi passwords throughout your trip, eSIMs allow you to switch to a new cell-phone network without jamming one of those annoying little metal pin things into your iPhone. Starting at around $5 for a week’s worth of cellular data (the plans are usually pay-as-you-go, so you’re not locked into an extensive contract), they tend to be both cheaper and more reliable than the physical SIM cards available for tourists to purchase in airport arrival malls.
I have been buying eSIMs for years now, and for better or worse have been able to use Instagram and Google Maps in rural Turkey, remote Patagonia, and the mountains of Morocco. Not all those who wander are lost, especially if they purchased 30GB of cellular internet before leaving home.
eSIMs let you switch between cell-phone networks more easily
You can toggle between different eSIMs (and also the number on your physical SIM card, if you have one) using your phone’s cellular settings. As with a physical SIM card, some eSIMs give you a new number that lets you send texts and make calls as well as access cellular data, while other cheaper ones just provide internet. Online eSIM stores like Airalo and Holafly simplify the process of purchasing eSIMs for international travel, offering eSIM plans for hundreds of countries within a single hub.
Most newish high-end smartphones are eSIM-compatible
If you’ve purchased an iPhone, Google Pixel, or Samsung Galaxy in the past three years, it’s probably eSIM-ready. In fact, the newest iPhones only work with eSIMs, and don’t have physical SIM-card slots.
To check whether your iPhone is eSIM-compatible, look for “ESIM” in the General>About menu. On Android, dial and call *#06#, which should reveal a “Device Info” screen. On eSIM-compatible Android phones, an eSIM unique identification number will be listed among that info. Note that your smartphone will also have to be carrier-unlocked in order to switch between different eSIM plans.
They’re reasonably easy to install
eSIMs can only be installed once, so if you don’t get it right, you lose whatever money you paid. The process only takes a few minutes but does require a certain degree of concentration; the precise steps required will vary across different models of smartphone. You can purchase an eSIM and begin the installation process before leaving on your trip, but the final step will require Wi-Fi or internet access of some kind — I usually just use whatever’s available at the airport.
I’ve purchased eSIMs from the websites of local carriers while traveling, but most of the time prefer to shop through Airalo, which has a slick app that makes it easy to choose between eSIMs for different countries and regions, and prepaid plans for different lengths of trip. The plans are reasonably priced, and Airalo provides extensive installation guidance each time, which is key. Probably the best thing about Airalo is how easy it is to upgrade your plan on the go should you happen to use to post too many Stories and run out of data — it all happens within the app.
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