Device compatibility
Does the iPhone 13 Pro support eSIM?
The iPhone 13 Pro 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.
8
Profiles stored
2
Active at the same time
2021
Released
40
Seconds to install, median
What the iPhone 13 Pro does with a travel eSIM
The iPhone 13 Pro 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 13 Pro 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 13 Pro 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 13 Pro, and where it will not appear
The iPhone 13 Pro 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 13 Pro, 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 13 Pro 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 13 Pro 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 13 Pro
- 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 13 Pro at a glance
| Specification | iPhone 13 Pro |
|---|---|
| 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 13 Pro eSIM questions
Does the iPhone 13 Pro support eSIM?
How many eSIMs can the iPhone 13 Pro hold?
Will I lose my own number?
Do I have to turn roaming on?
Can I install before I fly?
Does tethering work on the iPhone 13 Pro?
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.
The iPhone 13 Pro by market
- United States (A2483): In the United States the iPhone 13 Pro is model A2483, and it has a SIM tray on the left side for a nano-SIM card. A home SIM card can stay in that tray while a travel eSIM handles data abroad.
- Canada, Japan, Mexico and Saudi Arabia (A2636): Model A2636 is the iPhone 13 Pro sold in Japan, and Apple's Japanese specifications list it with Dual SIM using a nano-SIM and an eSIM, plus Dual eSIM support, so a travel eSIM can be added as a second line.
- Other countries and regions, including Europe (A2638): The iPhone 13 Pro sold in Germany is model A2638. It supports Dual SIM with one nano-SIM and one eSIM and can also keep two eSIMs active, so a travel eSIM fits alongside either kind of home line.
- Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia (A2640): Model A2640 is the iPhone 13 Pro on Apple's Russian site. Apple lists it with a nano-SIM and an eSIM and with Dual eSIM support, so a travel eSIM can be installed on it.
- China mainland, Hong Kong and Macao (A2639): The iPhone 13 Pro sold in Hong Kong, model A2639, takes two nano-SIM cards and has no eSIM. A travel eSIM cannot be installed on it, so a physical SIM card is needed for data abroad.
Networks on the iPhone 13 Pro
- The United States iPhone 13 Pro, model A2483, supports mmWave 5G on bands n258, n260 and n261 as well as sub-6 GHz 5G, and its LTE list includes bands 11 and 21 alongside 14, 29 and 71.
- The iPhone 13 Pro model A2638 uses sub-6 GHz 5G on bands such as n1, n3, n7, n8, n20, n28, n38, n77 and n78. Its list has no 5G band n29 or n71 and no LTE bands 11, 14, 21, 29 or 71.
- Model A2636, listed on Apple's Japanese site, supports LTE bands 11, 14, 21, 29 and 71 and 5G bands n29, n71, n77, n78 and n79. It uses sub-6 GHz 5G only, with no mmWave.
- The iPhone 13 Pro supports Voice over LTE and Wi-Fi calling. Apple adds that 5G, VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling are offered only in select markets and through select carriers, so what works abroad depends on the travel plan's network.
- Dual SIM with two eSIMs is supported on iPhone 13 models and later, in addition to a nano-SIM plus an eSIM. On an iPhone 13 Pro, a travel eSIM can therefore sit beside a home eSIM with the SIM tray left empty.
- Emergency SOS via satellite needs an iPhone 14 or later. The iPhone 13 Pro relies on mobile or Wi-Fi coverage to reach emergency services, so it cannot text for help from places with no signal.
Worth knowing about the iPhone 13 Pro
- An iPhone 13 Pro locked to its carrier will not accept a travel eSIM from another provider. Under Settings, General, About, Carrier Lock reads No SIM Restrictions on an unlocked phone; only the original carrier can lift a lock, not Apple.
- Apple notes that not all carriers support eSIM and that eSIM on the iPhone 13 Pro may be disabled when the phone is bought from some carriers, so a carrier-bought phone should be checked before a trip.
- Apple's eSIM model list covers the iPhone 13 Pro except for units sold in Hong Kong, Macao and China mainland. In Hong Kong and Macao the eSIM exceptions include the iPhone 13 mini but not the 13 Pro.
- With iOS 26 or later, an iPhone 13 Pro can offer to switch on a travel eSIM when you reach your destination and switch it off again when you return, bringing your home line back on.
- eSIM Quick Transfer lets an iPhone 13 Pro send its number to a new iPhone, or receive one, without calling the carrier, as long as both phones run iOS 18.4 or later and are signed in to the same Apple Account.
- Some carriers can move an eSIM from an Android phone to an iPhone 13 Pro running iOS 26 or later, using a QR code shown on the iPhone. The Android phone needs Android 16 or later.
- The iPhone 13 Pro appears on Apple's list of iPhone models compatible with iOS 27, so it can run the latest major version of iOS.
What the iPhone 13 Pro holds
- eSIM profiles it can store
- 8
- Active at the same time
- 2
- Released
- 2021
- 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 13 Pro compares with other Apple models
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15, 2023, stores 8, 2 active
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2022, stores 8, 2 active
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14, 2022, stores 8, 2 active
- 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