Device compatibility

Does the Pixel 9 Pro support eSIM?

The Pixel 9 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 9 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

2024

Released

Seconds to install, median

What the Pixel 9 Pro does with a travel eSIM

The Pixel 9 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 9 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 9 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 9 Pro, and where it will not appear

The Pixel 9 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 9 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 9 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 9 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 9 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 9 Pro at a glance

Specification	Pixel 9 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 9 Pro eSIM questions

Does the Pixel 9 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 9 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 9 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 9 Pro by market

United States (including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile) (GR83Y): Google lists the Pixel 9 Pro model GR83Y for the United States, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile only. It is the Pixel 9 Pro version with mmWave 5G on top of sub-6 GHz 5G.
Outside the United States and Japan (GEC77): Outside the US and Japan the Pixel 9 Pro is model GEC77, with the same model number in Belgium, France and every other listed market. It pairs one nano-SIM slot with an eSIM and connects to sub-6 GHz 5G.
Japan (GWVK6): The Pixel 9 Pro sold in Japan is model GWVK6. It takes a nano-SIM and an eSIM, uses sub-6 GHz 5G, and is the only Pixel 9 Pro that lists FeliCa, the contactless standard used in Japan.

Networks on the Pixel 9 Pro

The Pixel 9 Pro model GR83Y for the US supports mmWave 5G on bands n258, n260 and n261 and sub-6 GHz bands n29, n48 and n70, but leaves out LTE bands 21, 32, 39, 42 and 75.
The international Pixel 9 Pro, GEC77, lists 5G bands n75, n76 and n79 and LTE bands 21, 32, 39, 42 and 75, while dropping 5G bands n29, n48 and n70 from the US list.
A Pixel 9 Pro in dual SIM mode still connects to 5G networks. Only one of the two lines can be the default for mobile data, so set the travel eSIM as the data SIM under Settings, Network and internet, SIMs.
On the Pixel 9 Pro you can answer a call on the second SIM while on a call on the first, which then goes on hold. This needs mobile data on for both SIMs, automatic data switching on the second, and Wi-Fi calling from its carrier.
Satellite SOS on the Pixel 9 Pro works in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and Australia, and in European countries such as the UK, Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Poland and Finland. Replies from emergency services arrive by text, usually within a few minutes.
Satellite SOS on a Pixel 9 Pro activated in the US is included free for the first two years after activation. Google notes that setup is required and that connection times vary with location and site conditions.

Worth knowing about the Pixel 9 Pro

On the Pixel 9 Pro the SIM card tray has moved to the bottom section of the phone, Google notes, which is where the ejection tool goes when you swap a SIM card.
A Pixel 9 Pro from the Google Store is sold SIM unlocked and works with a travel eSIM from any provider. Carrier-sold phones can be SIM locked for up to two years, and only that carrier can lift the lock earlier.
Google places the Pixel 9 Pro among the Pixel 8 and later phones due seven years of OS and security updates, starting from its first availability on the Google Store in the US.
The Pixel 9 Pro went on sale on the US Google Store in September 2024, a month after the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL, which places the end of its seven-year update window in September 2031.
To avoid roaming charges on a Pixel 9 Pro, Google suggests a prepaid eSIM from an international provider, activated when you reach your destination. The phone can keep several eSIM profiles and switch lines as you travel.
Switching from an iPhone, a Pixel 9 Pro can pull the eSIM across under Settings with Transfer a SIM from another phone and a QR scan. Carriers listed for this include au (KDDI), UQ mobile, Bell, Koodo, Deutsche Telekom and A1 Telekom Austria.

What the Pixel 9 Pro 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 9 Pro compares with other Google models

Pixel 10 Pro: Pixel 10 Pro, 2025, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 10: Pixel 10, 2025, stores 5, 2 active
Pixel 9 Pro XL: Pixel 9 Pro XL, 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 Pro: Pixel 8 Pro, 2023, stores 5, 2 active