Device compatibility
Does the Pixel 7 support eSIM?
The Pixel 7 is what decides whether a travel eSIM installs, not the Google 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.
5
Profiles stored
2
Active at the same time
2022
Released
40
Seconds to install, median
What the Pixel 7 does with a travel eSIM
The Pixel 7 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 Pixel 7 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 Pixel 7 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 Pixel 7, and where it will not appear
The Pixel 7 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 Pixel 7, 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 Pixel 7 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, Network and internet, SIMs, the Orbislo line, Roaming on. Then set Orbislo as the SIM for mobile data and turn off automatic 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 Pixel 7 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 Pixel 7
- Open the Orbislo app and tap Install
- Confirm the eSIM download prompt
- Settings, Network and internet, SIMs, select Orbislo
- Turn on Roaming and set Orbislo as the SIM for mobile data
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 Pixel 7 at a glance
| Specification | Pixel 7 |
|---|---|
| Takes an eSIM | Yes |
| Profiles stored | 5 |
| 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.
Pixel 7 eSIM questions
Does the Pixel 7 support eSIM?
How many eSIMs can the Pixel 7 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 Pixel 7?
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 Pixel 7 by market
- United States (mmWave model) (GQML3): Model GQML3 is the Pixel 7 with mmWave 5G on bands n260 and n261. It was sold only through Verizon, AT&T or the Google Store, and it is the only Pixel 7 that does not list 5G bands n75 and n76.
- United States, Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, Australia, India, Singapore and Taiwan (GVU6C): The Pixel 7 model GVU6C is sold in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, much of Europe, India, Singapore and Taiwan. It uses sub-6 GHz 5G only, with no mmWave, and it is the one Pixel 7 model sold both in and outside the United States.
- Japan (G03Z5): The Pixel 7 sold in Japan is model G03Z5. Like the international GVU6C, it connects to sub-6 GHz 5G only, with no mmWave.
Networks on the Pixel 7
- The Pixel 7 models GVU6C and G03Z5 list 5G bands n75 and n76 and LTE bands 32 and 39, which the US mmWave model GQML3 does not. All three share 5G bands such as n1, n3, n7, n28, n41, n77 and n78.
- The Japanese Pixel 7 adds FeliCa and LTE band 42 to what the international GVU6C offers, while its 5G bands are the same, with no band n79 listed. Like every Pixel 7, it pairs a nano-SIM with an eSIM.
- The Pixel 7 can hold two active eSIM profiles at once if the carrier allows it. A travel eSIM and a home eSIM can therefore run together, or the travel eSIM can sit beside a physical SIM card.
- A Pixel 7 in dual SIM mode can still use 5G. Mobile data comes from one default SIM at a time, chosen under Network and internet, then SIMs, and during a call all data goes through the SIM making that call.
- Google's Satellite SOS begins with the Pixel 9, so the Pixel 7 has no way to text emergency services by satellite when there is no mobile or Wi-Fi signal.
Worth knowing about the Pixel 7
- The Pixel 7 receives five years of OS and security updates from the date it first became available on the Google Store in the United States.
- Google dates the Pixel 7's US Google Store launch to October 2022, placing the end of its update window in October 2027.
- A Pixel 7 bought from the Google Store is SIM unlocked, while one from a carrier can be locked for up to two years. If a new SIM still fails after an unlock, Google suggests connecting to Wi-Fi, installing updates and dialling the code *#*#7465625#*#*.
- Conversion starts with the Pixel 7 series, so the Pixel 7 can convert a physical SIM into an eSIM on the same phone. The option is under Network and internet, SIMs, needs Wi-Fi and carrier support, and disables the physical card once done.
- For international trips, Google recommends a prepaid eSIM from an international provider on the Pixel 7, switched on when you land, to avoid roaming charges. Several eSIM profiles can be stored and switched between.
- Android 17 is on offer for the Pixel 7, and the phone is on Google's list of Pixel devices that can download it.
What the Pixel 7 holds
- eSIM profiles it can store
- 5
- Active at the same time
- 2
- Released
- 2022
- Form factor
- Phone
- Network generation
- 5G capable where the network carries it
- Physical SIM tray
- Has a tray as well as eSIM