Device compatibility

Does the iPhone 16 support eSIM?

The iPhone 16 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 16 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.

Worth knowing about this modelUnited States models are eSIM only and have no SIM tray. Models sold elsewhere keep the tray.

Profiles stored

Active at the same time

2024

Released

Seconds to install, median

What the iPhone 16 does with a travel eSIM

The iPhone 16 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 16 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 16 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 16, and where it will not appear

The iPhone 16 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 16, 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 16 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

Tethering is included on every Orbislo plan at no extra charge. The iPhone 16 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 16

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 16 at a glance

Specification	iPhone 16
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 16 eSIM questions

Does the iPhone 16 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 16 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 16?

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 16 by market

United States and Puerto Rico (A3081): The iPhone 16 sold in the United States and Puerto Rico is model A3081, and it has no SIM tray at all. It runs only on eSIM, so a travel eSIM is the only way to add a local data plan abroad, and a physical SIM bought on arrival cannot be used.
Canada, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands (A3286): Model A3286 is sold in Canada, Japan, Mexico, the Gulf states, Iraq, Jordan, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It keeps a nano-SIM tray on the left side, so a traveller can keep a home SIM card in the tray and run a travel eSIM next to it.
Other countries and regions, including the United Kingdom and Europe (A3287): In most other countries, including the United Kingdom, the iPhone 16 is model A3287. It supports Dual SIM with one nano-SIM and one eSIM, and it also supports Dual eSIM, so a travel eSIM can sit alongside either a physical SIM card or a second eSIM.
China mainland, Hong Kong and Macao (A3288): The iPhone 16 sold in China mainland, Hong Kong and Macao is model A3288, which takes two physical nano-SIM cards and has no eSIM. A travel eSIM cannot be installed on this model, so travellers with an A3288 need a physical SIM card at their destination.

Networks on the iPhone 16

Only the United States model A3081 of the iPhone 16 includes 5G mmWave, on bands n258, n260 and n261. Every other iPhone 16 model connects to sub-6 GHz 5G only, which is the type of 5G that travel data plans use in most countries.
The iPhone 16 model A3287 sold in the United Kingdom and most other countries covers 5G bands n1, n3, n7, n8, n20, n28, n38, n40, n41, n77 and n78 among others. It does not list 5G bands n14, n29 or n71, or LTE bands 14, 29 or 71.
The iPhone 16 model A3286 sold in Japan supports LTE bands 11 and 21 as well as 5G bands n14, n29 and n71, alongside the common bands such as n1, n3, n28, n77 and n78. It connects to sub-6 GHz 5G only, with no mmWave.
The iPhone 16 model A3288 from China mainland, Hong Kong and Macao does not list 5G bands n14, n29, n53 or n71, or LTE bands 53 and 71. It connects to sub-6 GHz 5G only, with no mmWave.
The iPhone 16 supports Voice over LTE and Wi-Fi calling, and outside China mainland, Hong Kong and Macao it can hold two active eSIMs at the same time. That lets a traveller keep a home number on for calls and texts while a travel eSIM carries the mobile data.
On an iPhone with two active lines, both numbers can make and receive calls and messages, but the phone uses mobile data from only one line at a time. Travellers choose which line carries data under Settings, then Cellular, then Cellular Data.
An iPhone 16 bought outside Armenia, Belarus, China mainland, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macao and Russia can text emergency services by satellite with no mobile or Wi-Fi signal, in countries on Apple's supported list such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Apple does not offer satellite connectivity on iPhone models bought in China mainland, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Russia. For phones bought in Hong Kong or Macao, satellite features start only with iPhone 16e, so the iPhone 16 model A3288 has none.
Messages via satellite on the iPhone 16 lets you send iMessage and SMS texts off the grid in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan. It needs iOS 18 or later and is free for two years after the phone is activated.
Roadside Assistance via satellite on the iPhone 16 works in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, and international visitors can use it while in those countries. It connects to AAA or Verizon in the US, Green Flag in the UK, and motoring clubs such as NRMA in Australia.

Worth knowing about the iPhone 16

To use a travel eSIM from another provider, the iPhone 16 must not be carrier locked. Check under Settings, then General, then About: if Carrier Lock shows No SIM Restrictions, the phone is unlocked. Only the carrier that sold the phone can remove the lock, and this can take a few days.
On iOS 26 and later, the iPhone 16 can offer to switch on a travel eSIM when you arrive, and lets you pick travel eSIM only or travel eSIM plus your current line. When you get home, it can turn the travel eSIM off and your home line back on automatically.
eSIM Quick Transfer moves a phone number from an old iPhone to an iPhone 16 without calling the carrier. Both phones need iOS 18.4 or later, the same Apple Account, and Bluetooth turned on. On iOS 26 and later, more than one number can be moved in a single transfer.
On iOS 17.4 and later, a travel eSIM can be installed on the iPhone 16 by pressing and holding a QR code shown in an email or browser and tapping Add eSIM, or by tapping a setup link from the provider, so no second screen is needed to scan the code.
An eSIM from a China mainland carrier cannot be used on an iPhone bought outside China mainland. Travellers visiting China mainland with an iPhone 16 from elsewhere can still use a prepaid data eSIM from a worldwide provider.
The iPhone 16 appears on Apple's list of iPhone models compatible with iOS 27, so it can install the latest major version of iOS along with the eSIM and travel features that come with it.

What the iPhone 16 holds

eSIM profiles it can store: 8
Active at the same time: 2
Released: 2024
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 16 compares with other Apple models

iPhone Air: iPhone Air, 2025, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 16 Pro Max: iPhone 16 Pro Max, 2024, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 16 Pro: iPhone 16 Pro, 2024, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 16e: iPhone 16e, 2025, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 15 Pro Max: iPhone 15 Pro Max, 2023, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 15 Pro: iPhone 15 Pro, 2023, stores 8, 2 active