The task in short
You keep your home number for calls and texts while a travel eSIM gives your phone mobile data abroad. An eSIM is a digital SIM profile you add to a phone without swapping a physical card.
Each line takes its own job. The home line handles calls and texts, while the eSIM handles mobile data.
Before you start
A few checks now will save time once you land. Work through them before you buy the plan.
- Confirm that your phone supports dual SIM and eSIM. The phone maker's own instructions say which models do.
- Check that the plan covers each country you will visit, and that the provider names its partner networks there.
- Make sure your home line is active and can receive a text, since some providers send a verification code by text or ask for an identity check, called eKYC, before activation.
Set up the eSIM as a second line
Install the plan at home, where your connection is stable. Some providers start the validity period at first use, so read their instructions before you activate.
The eSIM setup guide walks through each screen in more detail. Setting names vary by phone, so follow the labels closest to the ones below.
- Buy the plan and keep the activation details from the provider, including the code on screen.
- Open the mobile network settings and choose the option to add a plan.
- Scan the code on screen, or enter the details by hand if your phone asks for them.
- Name the new line as the travel line, so it is easy to tell apart from the home line.
- Select the travel line for mobile data in the mobile network settings, either before you leave or once you land.
- Keep the home line selected for calls and texts.
- Turn off data roaming on the home line in its mobile data settings.
- After you land, turn on data roaming for the travel line if the plan needs it.
Calls, texts and messaging apps
Calls and texts to your home number keep arriving on the home line while it stays active. How they reach you abroad depends on your home provider's terms for international use, so read those terms before you travel. Settings such as voicemail and call forwarding can also change where calls end up, so check them before you leave.
Messaging apps are the simplest way to call people abroad. Their calls run on data, so they use the travel line and do not depend on the home line's international terms.
Your messaging apps stay tied to your home number, so you do not need to change anything in them. Verification codes sent by text still arrive on the home line, so keep it active while you travel.
When calls or texts go to the wrong line
Many problems come from a setting on the wrong line. Start by checking which line handles data and which handles calls and texts.
- No data on the travel line: confirm the travel line is selected for mobile data and that data roaming is on for it.
- No signal at all: move near a window, then turn airplane mode on and off so the phone searches again.
- Missing calls or texts on the home line: confirm the home line is still selected for calls and texts and that it is still active with your home provider.
- Plan will not activate: check the activation details for typing mistakes, and finish any identity check the provider asks for.
- Data still fails: some plans need an access point name (APN), the network address setting the phone uses to reach data. Enter it only if the provider's own instructions give it.
- Last step: restart the phone, then contact the provider through its own help channel, with your activation details ready.
Picking a plan that keeps setup simple
Setup is easier with a provider whose plan covers your destinations and names its partner networks clearly. Read the coverage guide before you buy, and look at the validity period too. A plan that suits a short trip may not suit a longer stay, so compare validity periods and extension options.
If you also need to share the connection with a laptop or tablet, a hotspot lets several devices share a single data connection, either from your phone or from a separate pocket WiFi device.
Terms for cancellation, validity and identity checks differ between providers and between countries, so check each provider's own instructions before you buy.