Does my phone support eSIM? How to check

Dial *#06# on the phone. If the screen that appears lists an EID, the phone has eSIM hardware. You then need to confirm one more thing, that the phone is not locked to a carrier, because a locked phone refuses plans from anyone else.

Check on the phone itself

The EID is the 32-digit serial number of the eSIM chip. No EID means no eSIM, whatever a model list says.

On other Android phones the wording changes with the brand and the Android version. Look in the SIM or mobile network settings for an option to add or download a SIM.

Check the carrier lock

A phone bought on contract or on a payment plan may be locked to the carrier that sold it. A locked phone can have a working eSIM chip and still reject a travel plan.

On an iPhone, open Settings, General, About and find Carrier Lock. "No SIM restrictions" means the phone is unlocked. If it says anything else, only your carrier can unlock it. Apple cannot, and the request can take a few days, so do it before the trip.

We did not find one official check that works across Android brands. Google's advice for Pixel owners who did not buy the phone from their carrier is to contact the carrier, and the same applies to other brands: ask the carrier that sold the phone whether it is unlocked.

The same model differs by country

This is the part model lists get wrong. A model name is not one device. Manufacturers build regional variants, and some lack eSIM.

• iPhones sold in China mainland: Apple states that in China mainland only the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone 17e and iPhone Air support eSIM. Other mainland models do not have it.
• iPhones sold in Hong Kong and Macao: certain models have two nano-SIM slots in place of eSIM.
• Mainland iPhones that do have eSIM: Apple notes that eSIMs from carriers outside China mainland cannot be installed while the phone is located in China mainland. Install the travel eSIM after you leave.
• Samsung Galaxy: Samsung's own list carries the warning that eSIM may not be supported depending on the country of origin.
• Pixel: Google notes that a Pixel 3a bought in Japan cannot use two SIMs.

Because of this, treat the lists below as a first filter. The EID check on your own phone is the answer.

Models listed by the manufacturers

Checked on 4 October 2026 against each maker's support pages.

Apple iPhone

Apple lists eSIM support on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and every later model, with the regional exceptions above. The iPhone X, iPhone 8 and earlier models use a nano-SIM only.

Some iPhones have no SIM tray at all. The iPhone Air is eSIM only everywhere. Apple also lists eSIM-only versions of recent models, from the iPhone 14 line onward, when bought in certain countries, the United States among them. For a travel eSIM this makes no difference, since these phones hold more than one eSIM. iPhone 13 and later can keep two eSIMs active at the same time. Earlier eSIM models pair one eSIM with one physical SIM.

Samsung Galaxy

Samsung's United States support page lists:

This is the list for one country. A Galaxy A or an older S model bought elsewhere may differ, which is why the A series is the family where the EID check matters most.

Google Pixel

Google states that a Pixel 3a or any later Pixel can use one physical SIM and one eSIM. Pixel 7 and later can run two eSIMs at once if the carrier allows it. In the United States, Pixel 10 and later models are eSIM only, except the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

Other brands

We did not find a single official list for other manufacturers that we could verify, so we do not publish one. Motorola, for example, documents eSIM on a per-model basis. For any other brand, open the support page for your exact model number, then run the EID check.

How to confirm your exact variant

1. Dial *#06# and look for the EID.
2. Find the model number in the phone's About screen and compare it with the maker's support page for the country where the phone was bought.
3. Check the carrier lock.
4. If all three pass, the phone is ready. The next step is installing the eSIM.

If your phone fails the check, a travel eSIM is not an option on that device. If it passes, you can go on to estimate how much data the trip needs.