Device compatibility

Does the iPhone 16 Pro Max support eSIM?

The iPhone 16 Pro Max 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 Pro Max 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 Pro Max does with a travel eSIM

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

The iPhone 16 Pro Max 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 Pro Max, 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 Pro Max 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 Pro Max 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 Pro Max

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 Pro Max at a glance

Specification	iPhone 16 Pro Max
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 Pro Max eSIM questions

Does the iPhone 16 Pro Max 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 Pro Max 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 Pro Max?

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 Pro Max by market

United States and Puerto Rico (A3084): The United States and Puerto Rico iPhone 16 Pro Max is model A3084, which has no SIM tray. It works only with eSIM, so any local data plan abroad must come as a travel eSIM.
Canada, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands (A3295): Model A3295 is the iPhone 16 Pro Max for Canada, Japan, Mexico, Iraq, Jordan, the Gulf states, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It has a nano-SIM tray on the left side, so a physical home SIM and a travel eSIM can be used together.
Other countries and regions, including the United Kingdom and Europe (A3296): The iPhone 16 Pro Max sold in the United Kingdom and most other countries is model A3296. It supports Dual SIM with a nano-SIM and an eSIM, and Dual eSIM as well, so the travel eSIM can sit next to a SIM card or a second eSIM.
China mainland, Hong Kong and Macao (A3297): The iPhone 16 Pro Max sold in Hong Kong is model A3297, listed with Dual SIM using two nano-SIM cards and no eSIM. A travel eSIM cannot be added to it, so a physical SIM card is needed abroad.

Networks on the iPhone 16 Pro Max

Model A3084, the United States iPhone 16 Pro Max, adds mmWave 5G on bands n258, n260 and n261. Its sub-6 GHz list also includes n14, n29, n53, n71 and n76, and its LTE list includes bands 14, 29 and 71.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max model A3296 sold in the United Kingdom connects to sub-6 GHz 5G on bands including n1, n3, n7, n8, n20, n28, n38, n77 and n78. It lists no mmWave and no 5G band n14, n29 or n71.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max model A3295 sold in Japan lists LTE bands 11 and 21 together with 5G bands n14, n29 and n71. It has no mmWave, and it supports Dual SIM with a nano-SIM and eSIM, and Dual eSIM.
Model A3297, the Hong Kong iPhone 16 Pro Max, does not list 5G band n53 or LTE band 53. It connects to sub-6 GHz 5G only.
The United States iPhone 16 Pro Max can have two eSIMs active at once and supports Voice over LTE and Wi-Fi calling. A travel eSIM can carry data abroad while the home number stays on for calls and messages.
Apple offers satellite features on iPhones bought in Hong Kong and Macao only from iPhone 16e onward, so the iPhone 16 Pro Max model A3297 has none. Those bought in China mainland are excluded as well.
Roadside Assistance via satellite on the iPhone 16 Pro Max covers the United States and Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and Australia, and visitors can use it there. In the UK it connects to Green Flag, and in the US to AAA or Verizon.

Worth knowing about the iPhone 16 Pro Max

Apple's list of iPhones that take two nano-SIM cards includes the iPhone 16 Pro Max bought in China mainland, Hong Kong or Macao. On those phones both numbers can make and receive calls, but only one cellular data network is used at a time.
Carrier locks block eSIMs from other providers on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. To check, open Settings, then General, then About: No SIM Restrictions beside Carrier Lock means the phone is unlocked. Only the carrier that sold it can remove the lock.
When you travel with iOS 26 or later, the iPhone 16 Pro Max can suggest turning on a travel eSIM you bought before leaving, and turn it back off when you return home, depending on your country or region.
An eSIM from a China mainland carrier will not install on an iPhone 16 Pro Max bought elsewhere. Apple points visitors to China mainland toward prepaid data eSIMs from worldwide providers instead.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is on the iOS 27 compatibility list, so it still receives the newest major version of iOS.

What the iPhone 16 Pro Max 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 Pro Max compares with other Apple models

iPhone 17 Pro: iPhone 17 Pro, 2025, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 17: iPhone 17, 2025, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone Air: iPhone Air, 2025, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 16 Pro: iPhone 16 Pro, 2024, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 16: iPhone 16, 2024, stores 8, 2 active
iPhone 16e: iPhone 16e, 2025, stores 8, 2 active