Device compatibility

Does the iPhone 11 support eSIM?

The iPhone 11 is what decides whether a travel eSIM installs, not the Apple name on the box. Storage, radio and market variant all change from one model to the next, so every figure below was checked on this model.

Yes. The iPhone 11 stores up to 5 eSIM profiles and can keep 2 active at the same time. Installing a travel eSIM takes about 40 seconds and does not touch your normal SIM.

Profiles stored

Active at the same time

2019

Released

Seconds to install, median

What the iPhone 11 does with a travel eSIM

The iPhone 11 is a phone, so the travel profile is a data line and your existing line stays the voice line. Calls and texts to your usual number keep arriving while Orbislo carries the browsing.

Installing writes the profile. Nothing is spent until it attaches to a network at the destination, so an install three weeks early costs exactly the same as one at the gate. Do it at home, on wifi, while you still have a connection to fix anything.

Storage and active lines

The iPhone 11 holds 5 profiles, which is at the low end of everything we have checked. Delete the dead profiles from old trips before you install, or the sheet will simply refuse.

Active is how many lines run at the same time, and on the iPhone 11 that is 2. Storage is how many profiles sit on the device waiting, and that is the number that runs out without warning.

Each destination's line installs in one tap from the Orbislo app, and while it is valid every refill lands on that same line. Most of Europe runs on a single line, so a trip through several neighbouring countries takes one slot rather than one per country.

Home line: calls and texts, so bank codes still arrive on your usual number.
Orbislo line: mobile data, with roaming switched on.
Automatic data switching: off, or the phone borrows the expensive line in a tunnel.

5G on the iPhone 11, and where it will not appear

The iPhone 11 is a 4G device. It will show LTE everywhere, and that is the handset rather than the plan. Nothing in settings will produce a 5G icon on it.

88 of our 197 destinations are 4G only on the networks we buy from. On those the icon reads LTE whatever the handset can do, and no setting changes it.

Speed belongs to the network rather than to the profile.

What goes wrong on the iPhone 11, and the fix

Data roaming has to be switched on for this line. Your profile is issued outside the country you are standing in, so the device treats every attachment as roaming. Leave it off and the iPhone 11 finds a network and then refuses to use it.

If the profile will not download at all, the order refunds automatically inside 60 seconds, with no ticket. Install again from the same order, because the profile is reissued to your account rather than lost.

On this device the sequence is Settings, Cellular, tap the Orbislo line, turn on Data Roaming. Then Settings, Cellular, Cellular Data, choose Orbislo, and turn off Allow Cellular Data Switching.

No service on the Orbislo line: roaming is off on that line.
Connected but nothing loads: mobile data still points at the home line.
Works, then stops after an hour: automatic data switching moved you back.
Still searching: airplane mode on for 20 seconds, off, then restart.

Your SIM tray, and tethering

Your physical SIM stays exactly where it is. Adding an eSIM does not touch the tray, does not wipe the card and does not need it taken out. Remove it and you lose your own number, which is the opposite of the point.

Tethering is included on every Orbislo plan at no extra charge. The iPhone 11 can share the travel data with a laptop, a tablet or a watch, and nothing behind the hotspot needs a profile of its own.

What an Orbislo plan does once it is installed

Data never expires. A gigabyte you do not use in Lisbon is still there in Bangkok next year, metered plans have no throttle, and every customer gets 100 MB of free rescue data once a month on the line in use when the balance runs out. Unlimited runs full speed to 2 GB a day and then 1 Mbps.

One balance pays in all 197 destinations, and most of Europe runs on a single line, so a rail trip through three neighbouring countries is one install and one balance rather than three of each. Refills arrive on the line you already have, with no new plan or expiry date. Where a destination has more than one partner network, the line can move between them without you touching a setting.

How to install a travel eSIM on the iPhone 11

Open the Orbislo app and tap Install
Confirm in the Add Cellular Plan sheet iOS shows you
Leave the label as Orbislo
Turn on Data Roaming for the Orbislo line

Data roaming sounds like it will cost you money. On the Orbislo line it cannot, because it is how that line reaches partner networks abroad and there is no charge beyond the data you already bought.

The iPhone 11 at a glance

Specification	iPhone 11
Takes an eSIM	Yes
Profiles stored	5
Active at the same time	2
5G on partner networks	No, this device is 4G only
Physical SIM tray	Yes, and it keeps working
Voice on the travel line	Data only
Tethering	Included, no extra charge

Stored is how many profiles the device keeps. Active is how many run at the same time. Checked on this model rather than assumed from the brand.

iPhone 11 eSIM questions

Does the iPhone 11 support eSIM?

Yes. It stores 5 profiles and runs 2 at the same time. Installing an Orbislo profile takes about 40 seconds and does not touch the SIM you already have.

How many eSIMs can the iPhone 11 hold?

5 stored, 2 active at once. Storage is the number that runs out, because a provider that issues a new profile for every trip fills it in a few holidays.

Will I lose my own number?

No. Keep the home line as the voice line and point mobile data at Orbislo. Calls and texts keep arriving on your usual number, as long as your home carrier delivers them abroad.

Do I have to turn roaming on?

Yes, on the Orbislo line only, and it cannot cost you anything. The profile is issued outside the country you are in, so every attachment counts as roaming.

Can I install before I fly?

Yes, and you should. The plan starts counting when the profile first attaches to a network abroad, so an install three weeks early costs the same as one at the gate.

Does tethering work on the iPhone 11?

Yes, on every plan and at no extra charge. Share the travel data from the hotspot with a laptop, a tablet or a watch. Nothing behind it needs a profile of its own.

Pick the destination, then install its line in one tap

Take the metered wallet for maps and messaging, because the balance never expires. Take unlimited if you tether a laptop or stream, and read the 2 GB a day figure before you do.

Get an eSIM for your trip Full install guide See pricing Check coverage

The iPhone 11 by market

United States and Canada (A2111): Model A2111 has a nano-SIM tray and an eSIM for Dual SIM. Its LTE list includes bands 14, 29 and 71 but not band 28 or 32, which is worth checking against the networks at your destination.
Europe, Japan and other countries and regions (A2221): Model A2221 uses Dual SIM with one nano-SIM and one eSIM. Its LTE list includes bands 11, 21, 28 and 32 and leaves out 14 and 71, and it can hold a travel eSIM beside a home SIM card.
China mainland, Hong Kong and Macao (A2223): The iPhone 11 sold in Hong Kong is model A2223, which takes two nano-SIM cards and has no eSIM. A travel eSIM will not install on this version, so a physical SIM card is needed abroad.

Networks on the iPhone 11

5G on iPhone starts with the iPhone 12 models, so the iPhone 11 connects over 4G LTE at most. A travel data plan that includes 5G still works on it, using the LTE part of the network.
The iPhone 11 offers Gigabit-class LTE with 2x2 MIMO and LAA, plus Voice over LTE and Wi-Fi calling. Apple notes all three depend on select markets and select carriers.
The North American iPhone 11, model A2111, does not list LTE band 28 or band 32. It does list bands 1, 3, 7, 8 and 20, and TD-LTE bands 38, 40 and 41.
The Japanese spec sheet for the iPhone 11 shows model A2221 with FeliCa and LTE bands 11, 21 and 28, while bands 14 and 71 are missing from its list.
Model A2223 lists LTE bands 14, 29 and 71 but not 28 or 32, and adds TD-SCDMA at 1900 and 2000 MHz for older 3G networks.
An iPhone 11 runs Dual SIM with a physical SIM and an eSIM. Apple limits two eSIMs at once to iPhone 13 and later, so on the iPhone 11 a travel eSIM needs the home line on a physical card, or runs as the only line.
iPhone 11 models bought in China mainland, Hong Kong or Macao use Dual SIM with two nano-SIM cards. Both numbers can make and receive calls and messages, but the phone uses one cellular data network at a time.
Emergency SOS via satellite needs an iPhone 14 or later. The iPhone 11 cannot text emergency services by satellite, so it depends on mobile or Wi-Fi coverage for help in remote areas.

Worth knowing about the iPhone 11

Apple's list of iPhone models compatible with iOS 27 includes the iPhone 11, so it can still install iOS 27.
The iPhone 11 has to be free of any carrier lock before a travel eSIM from another provider will work. Look for No SIM restrictions beside Carrier Lock in Settings, General, About; if it is missing, the selling carrier must remove the lock.
According to Apple, eSIM on the iPhone 11 may be disabled when the phone comes from some carriers, and a wireless plan can limit roaming or switching providers even after the contract ends.
On iOS 26 and later, the iPhone 11 might ask whether a newly bought travel eSIM is for use at home or while travelling, and offer to switch it on when you arrive.
On iOS 17.4 or later, an iPhone 11 can add a travel eSIM from a QR code shown on its own screen by touching and holding the code and choosing Add eSIM. A provider's setup link works the same way.
Where the carrier supports it, the physical SIM in an iPhone 11 can be converted to an eSIM on the same phone, which frees the tray for a local SIM card on a trip.
A prepaid data eSIM from a worldwide provider can be used on an iPhone 11 in China mainland, but an eSIM from a China mainland carrier cannot be used on one bought outside China mainland.

What the iPhone 11 holds

eSIM profiles it can store: 5
Active at the same time: 2
Released: 2019
Form factor: Phone
Network generation: 4G only, this model has no 5G radio
Physical SIM tray: Has a tray as well as eSIM

How the iPhone 11 compares with other Apple models

iPhone 13: iPhone 13, 2021, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 12: iPhone 12, 2020, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone SE 3rd generation: iPhone SE 3rd generation, 2022, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone XR: iPhone XR, 2018, stores 5, 2 active
iPad Pro M4: iPad Pro M4, 2024, stores 8, 1 active
iPad Air M2: iPad Air M2, 2024, stores 8, 1 active