Device compatibility

Does the Pixel 8 Pro support eSIM?

The Pixel 8 Pro 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.

Yes. The Pixel 8 Pro stores up to 5 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

2023

Released

Seconds to install, median

What the Pixel 8 Pro does with a travel eSIM

The Pixel 8 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 Pixel 8 Pro 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 8 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 Pixel 8 Pro, and where it will not appear

The Pixel 8 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 Pixel 8 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 Pixel 8 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, 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 8 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 Pixel 8 Pro

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 8 Pro at a glance

Specification	Pixel 8 Pro
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 8 Pro eSIM questions

Does the Pixel 8 Pro support eSIM?

Yes. It stores 5 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 Pixel 8 Pro hold?

5 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 Pixel 8 Pro?

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 Pixel 8 Pro by market

Europe, United Kingdom, Canada, India, Singapore and Taiwan (GC3VE): The Pixel 8 Pro sold in Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, India, Singapore and Taiwan is model GC3VE. It connects to sub-6 GHz 5G only, which is the kind of 5G that travel data plans run on in almost every country.
United States and Australia (G1MNW): Model G1MNW is the Pixel 8 Pro for the United States and Australia. It adds mmWave 5G on bands n257, n258, n260 and n261, and like every Pixel 8 Pro it pairs one nano-SIM slot with an eSIM, so a travel eSIM can run beside a home SIM card.
Japan (GE9DP): The Japanese Pixel 8 Pro is model GE9DP, the only version with FeliCa for Japanese tap-to-pay and transit cards. It also carries mmWave, but on band n257 alone, and it keeps the nano-SIM plus eSIM layout of the other models.

Networks on the Pixel 8 Pro

The Pixel 8 Pro model GC3VE lists 5G bands n1, n3, n7, n8, n20, n28, n38, n40, n41, n75, n76, n77 and n78 among others, and LTE bands 32 and 42. It does not list LTE band 29 or 5G bands n29, n48 and n70.
The United States and Australian Pixel 8 Pro, model G1MNW, adds 5G bands n26, n29, n48 and n70 and LTE bands 29 and 39. It does not list 5G bands n75 and n76 or LTE bands 32 and 42, which the GC3VE model supports.
On the Japanese Pixel 8 Pro model GE9DP, 5G band n79 and LTE bands 21, 39 and 42 appear in the band list. Those cover frequencies used by Japanese networks, and the phone still keeps the global bands such as n1, n3, n28, n77 and n78.
A Pixel 8 Pro can keep one physical SIM and one eSIM active, or two eSIM profiles at the same time where the carrier allows it. A traveller can leave a home number on for calls and texts and pick the travel eSIM as the mobile data line.
While the Pixel 8 Pro is on a call on one SIM, calls to the other SIM go to voicemail. During that call, all mobile data runs through the SIM making the call, unless Data during calls is turned on under Network and internet, then SIMs.
Satellite SOS on Pixel starts with the Pixel 9, so the Pixel 8 Pro cannot text emergency services by satellite. On a remote hike or road trip beyond mobile and Wi-Fi coverage, it has no way to reach help by itself.

Worth knowing about the Pixel 8 Pro

The Pixel 8 Pro is covered by seven years of Android OS and security updates, measured from the date it first went on sale on the Google Store in the United States, and those updates can also bring new features.
The Pixel 8 Pro went on sale on the Google Store in the United States in October 2023, so its seven years of updates run until October 2030.
Android 17 is available for the Pixel 8 Pro, and it received the September 2026 Pixel update on build CP3A.260905.009, the same build that the Pixel 10 series received that month.
A Pixel 8 Pro from the Google Store comes SIM unlocked and accepts a travel eSIM from any provider. One bought through a mobile carrier can be SIM locked for up to two years, and only that carrier can lift the lock.
Google warns that some older physical SIM cards do not work in a Pixel 8 Pro and show a message that the SIM is no longer supported. A travel eSIM avoids that problem, since no card is inserted.
The physical SIM in a Pixel 8 Pro can be turned into an eSIM on the same phone under Network and internet, SIMs, Convert to eSIM, where the carrier offers it. The phone must be on Wi-Fi, and the old card stops working afterwards, which frees the tray for a local SIM.

What the Pixel 8 Pro holds

eSIM profiles it can store: 5
Active at the same time: 2
Released: 2023
Form factor: Phone
Network generation: 5G capable where the network carries it
Physical SIM tray: Has a tray as well as eSIM

How the Pixel 8 Pro compares with other Google models

Pixel 9 Pro: Pixel 9 Pro, 2024, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 9: Pixel 9, 2024, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 9a: Pixel 9a, 2025, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 8: Pixel 8, 2023, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 8a: Pixel 8a, 2024, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 7 Pro: Pixel 7 Pro, 2022, stores 5, 2 active