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If you are planning a trip and wondering whether your phone will work with a travel eSIM, you are in the right place. You can get a useful hint without any special tools.
What "supports eSIM" actually means
An eSIM is a SIM that is built into your phone, so you add a plan by scanning a QR code instead of inserting a card. For that to work, your phone needs two things:
- eSIM support in the hardware itself.
- A carrier unlock, meaning the phone is not locked to one carrier.
Both matter. A phone that has eSIM hardware but is locked to a carrier may not accept an eSIM plan from somewhere else. The rest of this article helps you check each one.
The quick keypad check
Here is the simple version:
- Open your phone's dialler or the Phone app and bring up the keypad.
- Dial
*#06#. - Look through the details that appear for a line called EID.
If you see an EID, that helps identify that your phone can use eSIM. Menu and screen names depend on the phone brand and software version, so what you see may look a little different from what we describe.
An EID is a hint, not a promise
It is worth being honest about what this check can and cannot tell you. Seeing an EID is a good sign, but it is not a guarantee. A phone that shows one can still be locked to a carrier.
The reverse may also be possible. Some phones may support eSIM without showing an EID on that screen, which is general knowledge rather than something we have verified for any particular model. If your phone shows nothing, do not give up yet. Check with the manufacturer, who knows your exact model best.
Carrier-locked phones
A phone bought through a carrier or on a contract may be locked to that carrier. To use a ChoEsim eSIM, your phone must be carrier-unlocked. The simplest step is to ask your carrier whether your phone is unlocked, ideally before you plan anything around it.
If you are not sure how your phone was bought, that question is still a good one to ask. It is a short question, and it is better asked before you travel than at the airport.
Examples by brand, and why your exact model still needs checking
Our device check page shows examples of phones by brand that are listed as eSIM-capable. They are examples only, not a test of your phone and not a guarantee. Phones come in many versions and regions, and the same model name can differ between them, so a name on an example list could still be wrong for your exact phone. We would rather say so than risk a mistake that costs you a trip.
So the plan is short. Do the keypad check, ask your carrier about the unlock, and confirm your exact model with its manufacturer. Once you have a yes on all three, you have checked what can be checked. Our device check page walks through the same steps in one place, and the installation guide shows what comes next.