United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
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 United Kingdom
UK eSIM: one plan for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
A roaming pass from your own carrier bills you by the day and throttles you after a few gigabytes. The eSIM4 UK eSIM is a prepaid tourist eSIM, paid once, from USD 2.98 for a week of high-speed mobile data with no physical SIM card, and it is working before you have reached the Heathrow Express or the Gatwick train. It runs on the EE, Three and Virgin Media O2 networks, and the email with the QR code arrives within minutes of paying.
Coverage across the UK
One plan covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the EE, Three and Virgin Media O2 networks, which has the widest 4G and 5G footprint in the country: every city, every motorway, the whole rail network between them and the tourist coast from Cornwall to the North York Moors. Connectivity thins in the Scottish Highlands and islands, in the Welsh valleys away from the main roads and in the deepest parts of the Lake District, as it does on every UK network, so save the offline map before a day in the hills. On the London Underground you have 4G on the Elizabeth line and a growing number of deep Tube sections, with more lines being connected each year. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are separate telecoms territories and are not included.
Which UK eSIM plan to choose
1 GB over 7 days is USD 2.98, enough for maps, messaging and a few photos a day. 5 GB over 30 days is USD 11.98 for a longer stay with photos going home every evening. 20 GB over 30 days is USD 29.98 for a working trip. Unlimited data runs from USD 9.98 for 3 days up to USD 67.98 for 30 days, for anyone who would rather never look at a data counter. Every plan tops up online in about a minute if the trip stretches, and the days only start counting when the eSIM first connects in the UK, so buy it whenever you like, install your eSIM on Wi-Fi at home and switch on data roaming when you land.
Beyond the UK on the same trip
Carrying on to Paris, Amsterdam or Dublin? The Europe eSIM covers the UK and the rest of Europe on one plan, from USD 3.98 for 1 GB over 7 days, so a London to Paris to Rome trip needs one purchase.
Pick a plan, check out and stay connected from the arrivals hall; the QR code will beat you to the suitcase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Only if you choose a plan that includes one. The UK plans come in two kinds. The data-only plans, which include every unlimited plan, give you data and nothing else, and they are the cheaper choice if WhatsApp, FaceTime and maps are all you need, from USD 2.98. The plans whose name shows minutes and SMS, such as 1 GB, 10 SMS, 10 Mins, come with a UK phone number, from USD 3.98 for 7 days, so you can ring a restaurant, a black cab office or the holiday-let owner and take their calls back. The number works for local calls and local texts within the UK only; anything international still runs over WhatsApp and FaceTime on the data. Pick the plan with the minutes if you want the number, and the data-only plan if you do not.
You can; every Heathrow terminal has a vending machine and a newsagent selling local SIMs. The catches are the airport price, the data pack that often has to be bought and loaded separately before the card does anything, a SIM tool you will not have, and the newer phones from the United States that have no SIM tray at all. The UK eSIM is a foreign line roaming on EE: no machine, no top-up, no physical SIM card. Buy it at home, install it over Wi-Fi, and it is live when you land, with the Heathrow Express timetable and the hotel address already on the screen before you reach the tube map.
EE, the network with the widest 4G and 5G footprint in the UK and the one that carries the emergency services network, which is why it reaches further up the Highland glens and along the North Coast 500 than most; visitors on the Scotland subreddit recommend it for exactly that reason. Your phone should automatically pick the strongest EE signal as you move from London to Edinburgh to Skye, and the same plan covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with no new purchase at any border.
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.