Which Phones Support eSIM? The Best New List for 2026

Which phones support eSIM? Almost every flagship released from 2018 onward: iPhone XR and XS and newer, Google Pixel 3 and newer, Samsung Galaxy S20 and newer, plus recent Motorola, Huawei, Oppo, Honor, Sony and Nothing handsets. The fastest way to find out about your own device is to dial *#06# on the keypad. If a long number labelled EID appears alongside your IMEI, you have an eSIM compatible phone.

That is the short answer, and for most readers it is the whole answer. The longer one matters, because a handset can be eSIM compatible on paper and still refuse a travel data plan — usually because it is carrier-locked, or because it is a regional variant sold with the feature switched off. Below is how to tell whether yours is genuinely eSIM compatible in about two minutes, at home, rather than in an arrivals hall with 4% battery.

How we built this list

Compatibility lists go stale fast, and most of the ones circulating online are copies of a copy. Here is where ours comes from, so you can judge it.

• Manufacturer documentation first. Every eSIM compatible model below is drawn from the maker's own published specification or support pages — Apple, Samsung, Google, Motorola, Sony and Nothing all maintain them. Where a manufacturer does not publish a clear statement, we say so rather than guessing.
• Model numbers, not marketing names. The same phone name ships with different hardware in different markets. Wherever a regional variant breaks the pattern, it is called out explicitly in the exceptions section.
• The GSMA specification as the backstop. The GSMA defines the eSIM standard that all of this hardware implements, which is what makes a profile from one provider work on a handset from another.
• Atlas activation records. We can see which handset families complete an activation on our own network partners and which generate support tickets. That is what informs the warnings below about carrier locking and about budget Android models.
• No prices quoted from rivals. Where we mention other providers we describe typical market bands rather than exact figures, because those change weekly and a stale number is worse than none.

Last checked: September 2026. If your model is newer than that, check the keypad test first — it is authoritative for your specific unit in a way that any list can never be.

What "eSIM support" actually means

An eSIM — embedded SIM — is a small chip soldered onto your phone's mainboard that does the job of the plastic card you would otherwise slide into a tray. Instead of posting you a card, an operator sends you a profile: a set of credentials your handset downloads, usually by scanning a QR code. If the idea is new to you, our explainer on what an eSIM is and how it works covers the technology in plain English.

So the question "which phones support eSIM" is really three questions stacked together.

1. The hardware. An embedded SIM chip with its own EID — eUICC Identifier, the serial number that identifies the chip itself. No EID, no eSIM, and no software update will add one.
2. The software. An operating system that lets you add and switch mobile plans. Anything on iOS 12.1 or later, or Android 9 or later, generally qualifies.
3. The permission. The handset must be unlocked, or at least not locked in a way that blocks third-party profiles.

Miss any one of the three and the profile will not activate. This is why "does my phone support eSIM according to the list?" is the wrong first question. Plenty of listed models are not eSIM compatible in the hands of the person holding them, because of point three.

Three ways to check your phone

In ascending order of effort. Start with the first; most people never need the third.

1. The keypad check (30 seconds)

1. Open the phone app and go to the keypad.
2. Type *#06#. You do not need to press call — the screen usually updates by itself.
3. Read what appears. You will see one or two IMEI numbers, and on eSIM compatible phones, an EID: a 32-digit number.

If the EID is there, the hardware is there and your handset is eSIM compatible. This test is the reason we put it first: it reports on the unit in your hand, not on the model in general, so it survives every regional variant and every quiet mid-cycle hardware change. If nothing happens at all — which occurs on a few older Android skins — move to the settings check.

2. The settings check (one minute)

On an iPhone, go to Settings → General → About and scroll down. You should find an "Available SIM" or "Digital SIM" entry plus the EID. On iPhone 14 and later sold in the United States there is no SIM tray at all: those models are eSIM-only, which makes the compatibility question moot and the carrier-unlock question more important than ever.

On Android the path varies by manufacturer. Look under Settings → Network & internet → SIMs on a Pixel, Settings → Connections → SIM manager on a Samsung, or simply search your settings for "SIM". Wording like "Add eSIM", "Download a SIM instead" or "Convert to eSIM" confirms you have one of the phones that support eSIM.

3. The manufacturer check (five minutes)

Still unsure? Check your exact model number — the one printed in Settings → About, not the name on the box — against the maker's documentation. Apple publishes a country-by-country breakdown on support.apple.com, and Samsung, Google and Motorola maintain equivalent pages. Model numbers matter because, as the exceptions section explains, the same handset name can be eSIM compatible in London and not in Shenzhen.

The 2026 compatibility list

This is the general picture of which phones support eSIM as of September 2026. Treat it as a starting point and confirm your specific unit with the keypad test, because regional variants are what catch people out.

Apple

Samsung

Google, Motorola and the rest

Xiaomi deserves a note of its own. Support is genuinely inconsistent across its range and across markets, and the company does not maintain a single clear compatibility page. On a Xiaomi, trust the keypad test and nothing else.

The exceptions that catch travellers out

Four patterns account for most of the "but the list said my phone was eSIM compatible" messages we receive.

Mainland China. iPhones sold there have no eSIM and use two physical SIM slots instead. This is a regulatory outcome, not a hardware limitation, and it applies to the handset permanently — buying it abroad later does not change it.

Hong Kong and Macau. Several iPhone models sold in these markets followed the mainland pattern up to the iPhone 13 generation. From the 14 onward the picture improved, but a second-hand phone from that region is worth testing before you rely on it.

Early Galaxy S20 units. Some S20 handsets sold in the United States and South Korea shipped with the eSIM function inactive, despite the chip being present. Samsung enabled it on many via firmware, but not all.

Budget Android. This is the real soft spot, and it surprises people. A sub-£200 handset from 2024 is considerably less likely to be eSIM compatible than a flagship from 2019. Recency is a poor predictor; launch price is a much better one. If you bought your phone in a supermarket, test it before you book anything.

Hardware is not the only requirement

Your EID showed up and your model is on the list of phones that support eSIM. Two things can still stop the profile working.

Carrier locking. If you bought the phone on a contract or an instalment plan, your operator may have locked it to their network. A locked handset will often download an eSIM profile happily and then refuse to connect to anything — which is a particularly frustrating failure, because it looks like the plan is broken rather than the phone. Ask your operator to unlock it. In the UK, the EU and most of the Commonwealth they are obliged to once the contract or payment term ends, and it is usually free.

The question to ask is specific, because front-line staff often answer a different one: "Is this handset unlocked for use with any network, including third-party eSIM profiles?" A yes to "is it unlocked" alone is not always the same answer.

Operator-side profile restrictions. Rarer, but real. A few operators restrict which profiles a device will accept even when the phone is technically unlocked, usually on heavily subsidised hardware. If an installation completes and then sits at "No Service" with a good local signal, this is a likely cause — and our notes on an eSIM not working after installation walk through how to distinguish it from the ordinary causes.

Once you are past both, installing the profile is a five-minute job you can do at home before you fly. Most travellers keep their home number live on the physical SIM and run data on the travel line — the dual-SIM arrangement that avoids roaming charges while keeping you reachable on your usual number.

Tablets, watches and laptops

Handsets are not the only eSIM compatible hardware, and a second eSIM compatible device can be a useful backup if your handset turns out not to be supported.

Cellular iPads from 2018 onward all take a travel profile, and because a tablet is rarely carrier-locked, they often work when a subsidised phone does not. Tethering from a tablet to a phone over Wi-Fi is clumsy but entirely functional.

Smartwatches are a different case. Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch cellular models are eSIM compatible in the technical sense, but their profiles are almost always tied to your home operator as an extension of your existing number. A travel data plan will not normally install on one.

Windows laptops with built-in cellular — several ThinkPad, Surface Pro and Dell Latitude configurations — do accept standard travel profiles, and that is a genuinely underused option for anyone working abroad. Check for a "Cellular" entry in Windows network settings.

What to do if your phone is not compatible

No workaround exists, and this is the one part of the question that has no good news in it. An eSIM cannot be added to a handset that lacks the chip, and any product claiming otherwise is either an adapter of dubious legality or a scam. Your realistic options:

• A local physical SIM. Bought at the airport or a city centre shop. Cheap in South and Southeast Asia, more of a paperwork exercise in Japan and much of the Gulf, where registration rules are strict.
• A portable hotspot. Rent one at the airport or bring your own. Worth it for families and groups sharing one connection; a nuisance if you are travelling alone, because it is one more thing to charge.
• A second handset. An older eSIM compatible phone kept as a travel device costs nothing if you already own one, and doubles as a spare if your main phone is lost.
• Wi-Fi only. Genuinely viable for a short city break where you have downloaded offline maps in advance, and no cost at all.

When a travel eSIM is not the right call

Being honest about the limits: even on eSIM compatible phones, a travel profile is not always the sensible choice.

• You are transiting for a few hours. Airport Wi-Fi will usually do, and a plan you barely touch is money spent for nothing.
• You are staying for months. A local contract with a domestic number is usually cheaper over that horizon and gives you a number for banking, deliveries and appointments.
• Your destination has very cheap prepaid SIMs. In parts of South and Southeast Asia, an airport SIM can undercut most travel plans if you are comfortable queuing and showing ID.
• You need a local phone number. Most travel eSIMs are data-only. If a restaurant, a taxi firm or a landlord needs to text you, plan around it.

For a two-week trip where you would rather not deal with paperwork — a first visit to Japan, say, or a road trip through the United States — the maths tends to favour arriving already connected. Our eSIM versus roaming comparison sets out where the line falls.

Choosing a provider once you are compatible

Confirming you have one of the phones that support eSIM is the hard part of the job; choosing a plan is mostly a matter of reading the small print. The market splits into recognisable shapes.

Global marketplaces — Airalo and Saily are the names most travellers meet first — sell profiles for almost every country. Coverage is broad, per-gigabyte pricing on small single-country plans sits at the higher end of the market, and the experience is polished.

Unlimited-data specialists such as Holafly price by day rather than by gigabyte. That suits heavy users on short trips and is poor value on long ones. Read the fair-use terms, because "unlimited" in this market usually means unlimited at reduced speed past a daily threshold.

Operator-backed providers like Ubigi, which is owned by Transatel and connects through NTT Docomo's infrastructure, tend to have the most predictable network behaviour and less generous customer support.

Local specialists — Sakura Mobile in Japan is the clearest example — often beat everyone on in-country performance and offer nothing outside their home market.

Rather than quote figures that will be wrong within a month, the useful rule is this: on a single-country plan of 5–10 GB for a two-week trip, most reputable providers land within a fairly narrow band of each other, and the differences that actually matter are which local networks the profile can attach to, whether the allowance rolls over, and whether support answers at 2am in your time zone. Check the current price at the moment you buy.

Frequently asked questions

Once you have confirmed your device is eSIM ready, browse Atlas eSIM's country and regional plans and set your data up before departure, so you connect the moment you land.