How Do eSIM Plans Work?
Step 1: Purchase Your eSIM Data Pack
You'll receive an email with your eSIM after purchase, no matter where you are in the world.
Step 2: Receive Activation Details
You'll get a QR code or manual installation instructions via email and WhatsApp to activate your eSIM.
Step 3: Install And Activate Your New eSIM
Set up your eSIM before your trip, and once you reach your destination, enable the data plan to start using the internet.
Is My Mobile Phone eSIM Compatible?
- iPhone XR, XS, XS Max
- iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd & 3rd gen)
- iPhone 12, Mini, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 13, Mini, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 14, Plus, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 15, Plus, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 16, Plus, Pro, Pro Max, 16e
- iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e
- iPhone Air (eSIM only, no SIM tray)
- iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max
- iPhone Duo (foldable, eSIM only, no SIM tray)
- iPad Pro 11″ (2018+) & 12.9″ (2018+)
- iPad Air (2019+)
- iPad (2019+)
- iPad Mini (2019+)
- iPad 10th Gen (2022)
*Two eSIMs can be active at the same time on iPhone 13 and later. *iPhones from mainland China do not support eSIM. *Hong Kong/Macao models (except 13 mini, 12 mini, SE 2020, XS) lack eSIM. *US models of iPhone 14 and later do not have a physical SIM tray. *iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are eSIM only in the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Guam, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. *iPhone Air and iPhone Duo have no SIM tray in any country. They run on eSIM only.
Explore China
China eSIM: Google, WhatsApp and Instagram without a VPN
Here is the part that matters most for China. A SIM bought at the airport counter puts you on a Chinese subscription, and with it the filters that block Google, Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram and most of the apps you rely on. An eSIM4 China eSIM is a prepaid tourist eSIM that connects you as a roaming visitor instead, so those apps keep working the way they do at home, no VPN required, no passport registration, no queue. It runs on the China Unicom network, it is high-speed mobile data only with no physical SIM card, and it starts at USD 2.98.
Twelve plans, three ways to think about them. By the gigabyte for a short or moderate trip: 1 GB over 7 days at USD 2.98 for a few days of meetings, 3 GB or 5 GB over 30 days at USD 8.98 and 13.98 for a couple of weeks across two or three cities. By the month for work: 10 GB or 20 GB over 30 days at USD 24.98 and 38.98. Or unlimited, from 3 days at USD 9.98 up to 30 days at USD 67.98, for the traveller who would rather never look at a data counter. All of them top up online in a minute if the trip runs long.
Coverage across China. Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Guilin and the high-speed rail lines between them, so the Beijing to Shanghai train is a working afternoon rather than a dead one. Connectivity thins in the mountains and the far west, as it does on every network, so save the offline map before a countryside day.
Buy now, start later. The eSIM is emailed within minutes and does nothing until it first connects in China. Install it a week out on Wi-Fi at home, switch on data roaming when you land, and the plan days begin from that first connection, wherever you are flying from.
Hong Kong, Japan and the rest of the region. One Asia eSIM covers China, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and ten more countries from USD 3.98 for 1 GB over 7 days. Two things set it apart from the China plan: it carries you across borders with nothing to swap, and inside China it connects to China Unicom, China Mobile and China Telecom rather than China Unicom alone, which makes the Asia plan the pick for the widest coverage on the mainland and the China plan above the pick for the lowest price.
Choose a plan, pay in USD by card, and stay connected from the arrivals hall; the QR code is in your inbox in minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, and so do Google, Gmail, Instagram, YouTube and the rest. The China eSIM is a foreign line roaming in China, so your traffic leaves the country the way a visitor on a home SIM does and the filters that apply to Chinese subscriptions never see it: no VPN, no settings, nothing to switch on. The one habit to keep is to leave WhatsApp on the eSIM data rather than the hotel Wi-Fi, because the Wi-Fi is a Chinese connection and the same apps stall on it. Tethering is included, so the laptop can share the eSIM in the hotel room too.
It loads and it will show you the city, but it is the wrong map for China: the mainland data is thin, walking directions and transit are patchy, and most visitors switch within a day. Apple Maps works well in China and runs on the eSIM with no setup, and the English version of Amap is what the locals use for subway routes, walking directions and the pin of the restaurant you are meeting at. Save the hotel and the key sights in both before you fly, and the eSIM carries the live map, the ride app and the translator from the arrivals hall onwards, from USD 2.98 for a week.
Not for the tourist set. Alipay and WeChat Pay register with your home number and a foreign Visa or Mastercard; DiDi rides sit inside Alipay as a mini-app and work on a foreign account; train tickets go through the official 12306 app or Trip.com against your passport; and the one-time codes all arrive on your home SIM, which stays in the phone the whole trip. The exception is food delivery and a few local mini-apps that insist on a Chinese number, and for those a local SIM is the only route. Everything else runs on the China eSIM, with Google and WhatsApp intact.
An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone. Instead of swapping a plastic card, you scan a QR code, or tap one link on a recent iPhone, and the plan installs in about a minute alongside your existing SIM. Your home number stays exactly as it is, and you can switch between plans in Settings whenever you like.
You pay once, from a few dollars, instead of a daily roaming charge, and there is no airport kiosk, no ID check and no card to swap. Buy it at home, install it on Wi-Fi, and you land with maps, ride apps and WhatsApp already working in the arrivals hall. If plans change, every eSIM tops up online in about a minute.
As a guide: 1 GB covers a week of maps, messaging and a few photos a day; 5 GB over a month suits social media and daily browsing; 20 GB or unlimited suits streaming, video calls and working on the road. If in doubt, start small: every plan tops up online in about a minute, so you never pay for data you will not use.
Yes. Our regional plans cover many destinations on one eSIM, so a multi-stop trip needs nothing new at each border: Europe, Asia, Latin America, North America, Africa, Oceania and a World eSIM for trips that cross regions. The countries included are listed on each regional plan page, and you can combine a regional plan with a country plan for the best value.
No. Most people are done in under two minutes: scan the QR code from the activation email, or on iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later simply tap the Direct Installation link in the same email and the eSIM installs itself. Step-by-step guides are here for iPhone guide and Android guide, our support team is on hand, and a refund guarantee covers you if the eSIM cannot be installed on your device.
Most phones from the last five years support eSIM, including every iPhone from the XR onwards and recent Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel models. Check your model in our compatibility guide before you buy. If your phone was bought on a carrier contract it may need to be unlocked first, which your carrier can do.
Open the activation email, then on iPhone go to Settings, Cellular, Add eSIM and scan the QR code, or tap the Direct Installation link on iOS 17.4 or later. On Android go to Settings, Connections, SIM Manager and scan. Most phones can scan the QR code straight from a screenshot in your photo gallery, so no second phone is needed. Once the eSIM appears in your cellular settings it is installed and ready. Full walkthroughs: iPhone guide and Android guide.
Install it any time before you travel, on Wi-Fi at home: the eSIM does not expire while it sits on your phone. When you land, switch it on and enable data roaming, and your days start counting from that first connection abroad, not from the day you bought it. You can also install on arrival, as long as you have Wi-Fi to download the eSIM.
Yes. Your phone runs as a dual SIM, with your home SIM and the travel eSIM side by side, and most phones store several eSIMs at once with one active for data at a time. Keep a plan for each country on your trip and switch between them in Settings as you cross borders.
Yes. Tethering is included on every plan, so your laptop or a second phone can share the connection whenever you need it.
Your connection pauses rather than charging you more. Top up online in about a minute using the link in your activation email, or in the Yabb app, and you are back online with the same eSIM.
The activation email includes a link to a live usage page for your eSIM, so you can see exactly how much data is left at any time and top up before it runs out.
Top local carriers at up to 5G speeds. The network for this destination is shown above the plans on this page, and the eSIM connects to it automatically when you land.
Choose a 90-day plan where one is offered, or top up your existing plan as you go. Either way the eSIM stays on your phone for the whole trip.
Travel eSIMs are data only, which is exactly why there is no ID or address check to buy one. Everything you normally use runs on the data: WhatsApp, FaceTime, iMessage, Uber, maps and your bank app. If you want a real phone number for calls and SMS abroad, our Yabb app gives you calls, texts and a temporary local number without roaming charges. In a few countries we also sell plans that include a local number, minutes and texts, shown in the plan name; those minutes and texts are for local calls and local texts within that country only.
Yes. WhatsApp, iMessage and Signal stay on your existing number with every chat intact; there is nothing to re-register. The eSIM simply supplies the data they run on.
Yes, with your home SIM left in the phone. The eSIM carries all your data, and most carriers deliver incoming text messages to your home number abroad at no charge, so one-time codes from your bank, Google, Airbnb and the rest arrive exactly as they do at home. Keep the home SIM switched on with data roaming turned off, and only the eSIM uses data. Two things to know before you fly: making a call or sending a text from the home SIM is what triggers roaming charges on most carriers, so leave calling and texting to WhatsApp and the like, and a few carriers do charge for incoming texts or block them abroad, so a quick check with your carrier before you leave settles it.