Will my phone work?

Last updated: 17 August 2026

An eSIM is a SIM card you install digitally, with no plastic card to put in. Two things have to be true before one of our plans will work on your phone: it has to support eSIM, and it must not be locked to a network.

Confirm on the phone itself — that is the check to trust. We cannot detect this from the website, and no website can, whatever it claims.

• Checking on the phone itself
• What if my phone doesn’t support eSIM?
• Is my phone locked to a network?
• Tablets, hotspots and watches

Checking on the phone itself

This takes about fifteen seconds and is the definitive answer.

iPhone

Go to Settings → Mobile Service (called Mobile Data on older versions) and look for Add eSIM. If it is there, your iPhone supports eSIM. You can also check Settings → General → About for an entry called EID. Every iPhone from the XS and XR onwards supports eSIM.

Android

The path differs between manufacturers, so try these in order:

• Settings → Network & internet → SIMs — look for Add eSIM or Download a SIM instead.
• On Samsung: Settings → Connections → SIM manager — look for Add eSIM.
• On Pixel: Settings → Network & internet → SIMs — look for Download a new eSIM.
• Failing those: Settings → About phone → IMEI — look for an EID.

The presence of an “add eSIM” option is the most reliable sign of all, because unlike an EID it does not depend on how your SIM slots are currently being used.

What if my phone doesn’t support eSIM?

There is a third option besides buying a new phone or giving up: eSIM adapters. These are physical SIM cards you put in your normal SIM slot, which then hold an eSIM profile — letting an older phone use an eSIM it could not otherwise. Makes include 9eSIM, eSIM.me and EIOTClub.

Please read this part carefully before you spend anything:

• We do not sell, supply or support adapters, and we have no relationship with any of these companies. We mention them only because they exist and may help.
• Results vary by phone. Adapters do not work with every handset, and some need an app that only runs on Android. Check the maker’s own compatibility list before buying.
• Our refund policy covers our eSIM, not your adapter. If you buy an adapter and it does not work with your phone, that is between you and whoever sold it — though we will still refund an eSIM you have not installed.

If you would rather not take the risk, borrowing a compatible phone for the trip is the simpler answer.

Is my phone locked to a network?

A carrier-locked phone (also called network-locked) is one that will only work with SIMs from the company that sold it. It is common on phones bought on contract or on pay-monthly deals, and it is easy to miss, because everything looks normal until you try to install another SIM.

A locked phone cannot use our eSIM — or anyone else’s. Your current network can unlock it, usually free and often within a day or two. It is worth sorting out before you travel rather than at the airport.

When it isn’t locked but still won’t work

Occasionally a phone is not carrier-locked, yet installing an eSIM still fails — on an iPhone you may see “This eSIM is not supported by this iPhone”. This usually means your home provider has restricted the handset to their own SIMs, which is a separate setting from the standard carrier lock.

It is not a fault with the eSIM, and buying another one will not fix it. Contact your home provider and ask them to lift the restriction.

Tablets, hotspots and watches

Our plans are data only, which makes them a good fit for more than just phones:

• Tablets — iPads and Android tablets with mobile data support eSIM from roughly the same generations as phones. A wifi-only tablet cannot use one.
• Portable wifi hotspots — many recent Android-based ones take an eSIM, and one plan can then serve a whole family’s phones. Check the manufacturer’s specification.
• Smart watches — some support eSIM, but Apple Watch is not supported: it needs a plan from the same network as the paired iPhone, which a travel eSIM cannot provide.

For anything that is not a phone, check the maker’s specification rather than our list, which covers handsets.

One more thing about regional versions

The same model can have eSIM in one country and not in another. Phones bought in mainland China generally have no eSIM at all, whatever the model name says, and a few Samsung and Pixel variants differ by region too. If your phone was bought outside the UK, lean on the on-handset check rather than the model name.

Still not sure?

Email us at support@labbaikesim.com with your phone’s make and model and we will tell you. We would much rather answer that question than process a refund.

And if you do buy something your phone turns out not to support, our refund policy covers you — we refund any eSIM you have not installed.