Device compatibility

Does the Pixel 8a support eSIM?

The Pixel 8a 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 8a 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

2024

Released

Seconds to install, median

What the Pixel 8a does with a travel eSIM

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

The Pixel 8a 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 8a, 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 8a 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 8a 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 8a

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 8a at a glance

Specification	Pixel 8a
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 8a eSIM questions

Does the Pixel 8a 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 8a 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 8a?

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 8a by market

United States and Canada (GKV4X): Model GKV4X is the Pixel 8a sold in the United States and Canada, apart from the Verizon version. It uses sub-6 GHz 5G only, with no mmWave, the same type of 5G that the European and Japanese models use.
United States (Verizon only) (G8HHN): Model G8HHN is the Verizon version of the Pixel 8a, and the only one with mmWave 5G, on bands n260 and n261. Its sub-6 GHz 5G list is shorter than the other models, with bands such as n1, n3, n28, n77 and n78.
Europe, United Kingdom, Australia, India, Singapore and Taiwan (G6GPR): In Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, Norway, India, Singapore and Taiwan, the Pixel 8a is model G6GPR. It connects to sub-6 GHz 5G only, so it has no mmWave, which in the Pixel 8a range only the Verizon model offers.
Japan (G576D): The Japanese Pixel 8a is model G576D. It is the only Pixel 8a with FeliCa, and it adds 5G band n79 and LTE bands 21 and 39 for Japanese networks, next to the usual nano-SIM and eSIM.

Networks on the Pixel 8a

The international Pixel 8a model G6GPR lists 5G bands n1, n3, n7, n8, n20, n28, n38, n40, n41, n75, n76, n77 and n78. It does not list 5G band n71 or LTE bands 13, 14, 25, 29, 30, 48 and 71.
The Pixel 8a model GKV4X lists 5G bands n25, n29, n48, n70 and n71 and LTE bands 13, 14, 25, 29, 30, 48 and 71 for North American networks. It does not list 5G bands n40, n75 or n76, or LTE bands 18, 19, 32 and 42.
From the Pixel 8a onward, a Pixel can take a call on its second SIM while the first line is already on a call. Both SIMs need mobile data and automatic data switching on, and the second SIM's carrier must support Wi-Fi calling.
A Pixel 8a can have two eSIM profiles switched on together, where the carrier allows it. A traveller can keep a home eSIM active for calls and texts and set the travel eSIM as the default for mobile data under Network and internet, then SIMs.
The Pixel 8a has no Satellite SOS, since Google offers that feature only on the Pixel 9 and later models other than the Pixel 9a. Emergency calls on the 8a need mobile or Wi-Fi signal.

Worth knowing about the Pixel 8a

The Pixel 8a gets seven years of OS and security updates, the same span as the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, counted from its first day on sale on the Google Store in the United States.
Google lists May 2024 as the month the Pixel 8a first went on sale on its US store, so its seven-year update window reaches May 2031.
The Pixel 8a received the September 2026 Pixel update on Android 17, build CP3A.260905.009, alongside the Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 phones.
Every Pixel 8a sold on the Google Store is SIM unlocked and works with a travel eSIM from any provider. A Pixel 8a bought from a mobile carrier can be SIM locked for up to two years, and only that carrier can remove the lock.
Some older physical SIM cards do not work in the Pixel 8a, which shows a message that the SIM is no longer supported. The fix is to ask the carrier for a new SIM card.
Converting a physical SIM to an eSIM on the Pixel 8a is done under Network and internet, SIMs, Convert to eSIM, with Wi-Fi on. It needs a carrier that offers eSIM for Pixel, and the old card stops working once the eSIM is active.

What the Pixel 8a holds

eSIM profiles it can store: 5
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 Pixel 8a compares with other Google models

Pixel 9a: Pixel 9a, 2025, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 8 Pro: Pixel 8 Pro, 2023, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 8: Pixel 8, 2023, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 7 Pro: Pixel 7 Pro, 2022, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 7: Pixel 7, 2022, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 6: Pixel 6, 2021, stores 5, 2 active