What is an eSIM?

A SIM without the card

Every phone that connects to a mobile network needs a SIM — the identity the network recognises. A physical SIM is a small chip you insert. An eSIM (embedded SIM) is a chip soldered into the phone at the factory, which can hold one or more SIM profiles downloaded over the internet.

So "buying an eSIM" really means buying a profile and installing it: you scan a QR code, or tap an install link, and the phone downloads it. Nothing is posted and there is no shop to visit.

Can you keep your normal SIM?

Yes. Phones with eSIM usually take a physical SIM as well, and use both at once: your normal number for calls and SMS, and the eSIM for mobile data. You choose which line does what in Settings.

Which phones have one

iPhone XS and newer, Google Pixel 3 and newer, Samsung Galaxy S20 and newer, and many others — but not every model, and not every region's version of a model. Our list of eSIM phones and the phone checker tell you for sure.

How people in Pakistan use it

• Non-PTA phones: a data-only roaming eSIM gives mobile internet to a phone that local SIMs no longer serve. How that works.
• Travel: an eSIM for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the UK or Turkey, installed at home before the flight. Travel eSIMs.

Is it safe?

An eSIM profile is installed through the phone's own settings, the same way on every network in the world. It cannot read your messages or files. The one thing to protect is the QR code itself: it can be installed once, so do not share it.