Device compatibility

Does the iPhone 12 support eSIM?

The iPhone 12 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 12 stores up to 8 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

2020

Released

Seconds to install, median

What the iPhone 12 does with a travel eSIM

The iPhone 12 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 12 holds 8 profiles, which is enough that most people never reach the limit. It still fills up if a provider issues a fresh disposable eSIM for every trip.

Active is how many lines run at the same time, and on the iPhone 12 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 12, and where it will not appear

The iPhone 12 has a 5G radio and the travel profile uses it. Where a partner network runs 5G, you get 5G, on the same profile and at no extra cost.

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 12, 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 12 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 12 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 12

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 12 at a glance

Specification	iPhone 12
Takes an eSIM	Yes
Profiles stored	8
Active at the same time	2
5G on partner networks	Yes, where the network runs it
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 12 eSIM questions

Does the iPhone 12 support eSIM?

Yes. It stores 8 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 12 hold?

8 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 12?

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 12 by market

United States (A2172): The United States iPhone 12 is model A2172. It pairs a nano-SIM tray with an eSIM and adds mmWave 5G on bands n260 and n261, so a traveller can leave the home SIM card in the tray and load a travel eSIM as the second line.
Canada and Japan (A2402): Model A2402 takes one nano-SIM and one eSIM, and its band list adds LTE bands 11 and 21 and the spec sheet lists FeliCa. It connects to sub-6 GHz 5G only, with no mmWave listed.
United Kingdom and most other countries (A2403): The iPhone 12 sold in the United Kingdom is model A2403, with Dual SIM built from a nano-SIM and an eSIM. A travel eSIM installs next to the physical card, and 5G runs on sub-6 GHz bands only.
China mainland, Hong Kong and Macao (A2404): Model A2404, the iPhone 12 sold in Hong Kong, holds two physical nano-SIM cards and has no eSIM. No travel eSIM can be installed on it, so owners of this version need a physical SIM card at their destination.

Networks on the iPhone 12

5G on an iPhone needs an iPhone 12 model or later, so the iPhone 12 can use the 5G part of a travel data plan where the network offers it. Apple supports higher frequency 5G only in the United States, on an iPhone bought there.
Using 5G with Dual SIM on an iPhone 12 requires iOS 14.5 or later, which matters when a travel eSIM runs beside a home line. Turning on Low Power Mode on an iPhone 12 also switches off 5G Standalone where a network offers it.
Model A2172 lists 5G bands n1, n3, n7, n28, n71, n77 and n78 among others, plus LTE bands 14, 29 and 71 alongside bands 3, 7, 20 and 28.
The iPhone 12 model A2403 does not list 5G band n71 or LTE bands 14, 29 and 71. Its 5G list covers n1, n3, n7, n8, n20, n28, n38, n41, n77, n78 and n79.
Model A2404 lists neither 5G band n71 nor LTE bands 14, 29 and 71, and connects to sub-6 GHz 5G only. It keeps the n78 and n79 bands and TD-LTE bands 34, 38, 39, 40 and 41.
The iPhone 12 supports Voice over LTE and Wi-Fi calling. Apple adds that 5G, LTE, VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling come only in select markets and through select carriers, so what works abroad depends on the plan in use.
Dual SIM on the iPhone 12 means one physical SIM plus one eSIM. Running two eSIMs at the same time needs an iPhone 13 or later, so here a travel eSIM pairs with a card in the tray, or works as the only line.
Emergency SOS via satellite needs an iPhone 14 or later, so the iPhone 12 has no satellite connection. Outside mobile and Wi-Fi coverage it cannot text emergency services by satellite.

Worth knowing about the iPhone 12

A travel eSIM from another provider works on the iPhone 12 only when the phone has no carrier lock. Settings, then General, then About shows No SIM restrictions next to Carrier Lock on an unlocked phone, and only the carrier that sold it can lift a lock.
Apple warns that eSIM on the iPhone 12 may be disabled when the phone is bought from some carriers, and that a service plan can restrict roaming or switching providers even after the contract ends.
An iPhone 12 bought in China mainland, Hong Kong or Macao uses two nano-SIM cards. Apple notes that in Hong Kong and Macao, 5G with Dual SIM on iPhone 12 models needs iOS 14.5 or later.
The iPhone 12 appears on Apple's list of iPhone models compatible with iOS 27, so it can still install iOS 27.
With iOS 26 or later, an iPhone 12 holding a travel eSIM can show a Turn On Travel eSIM prompt after landing, then ask whether to use the travel eSIM alone or with the current line. If you keep both, the travel eSIM carries the data.
eSIM Quick Transfer can move a number onto an iPhone 12 without a call to the carrier, provided both iPhones run iOS 18.4 or later, use the same Apple Account and have Bluetooth on. Some carriers also convert a physical SIM to an eSIM on the same phone.
An eSIM issued by a China mainland carrier will not work on an iPhone 12 bought elsewhere. For a trip to China mainland, a prepaid data eSIM from a worldwide provider is the route Apple describes.

What the iPhone 12 holds

eSIM profiles it can store: 8
Active at the same time: 2
Released: 2020
Form factor: Phone
Network generation: 5G capable where the network carries it
Physical SIM tray: Has a tray as well as eSIM

How the iPhone 12 compares with other Apple models

iPhone 14: iPhone 14, 2022, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 13 Pro: iPhone 13 Pro, 2021, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 13: iPhone 13, 2021, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone SE 3rd generation: iPhone SE 3rd generation, 2022, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 11: iPhone 11, 2019, stores 5, 2 active
iPhone XR: iPhone XR, 2018, stores 5, 2 active