Device compatibility
Huawei eSIM compatibility
Find your exact model below. The answer changes by model, and sometimes by the market a handset was sold in, so the name on the box is not enough on its own.
2
Huawei models checked
1
Take an eSIM
1
Profiles the roomiest model stores
2
Models with a market caveat
Where the eSIM screen lives on Huawei
Two screens do all the work. The first one adds the profile. On Huawei it is Settings, then search that screen for eSIM.
The second one shows the device identifier, which is the only proof that a handset really takes an eSIM. On Huawei it is Settings, About phone, Status, where the EID sits under the IMEI. No EID means no eSIM, whatever a compatibility list says.
Storage, active lines, and the difference people miss
Two numbers get mixed up constantly. Storage is how many profiles the device keeps. Active is how many of them run at the same time. Storage is the one that fails, because it fills quietly and then refuses an install at an airport.
The Huawei models below hold between 1 and 1 stored profiles. The Orbislo Passport is one permanent profile, updated over the air for the next country, so it takes one slot and keeps it.
None of the 2 Huawei models below hold more than one eSIM profile at a time. There is no room for a second travel profile, so install the one you need and delete it before you install another.
- Home SIM: 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.
Profiles and lines, Huawei model by model
| Model | Released | Profiles stored | Active at once | 5G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P40 | 2020 | 1 | 1 | Yes |
| Mate 40 Pro | 2020 | 1 | 1 | Yes |
Stored is how many profiles the device keeps. Active is how many run at the same time. Checked model by model rather than read off a manufacturer page.
Carrier locks and market variants
A carrier lock is the one thing that stops an eSIM ready Huawei from taking a travel profile. The hardware is there, and the operator that sold the handset has switched the feature off.
Ask that operator to unlock it, which is usually free once the contract is paid, then restart and try again. If the eSIM screen is missing from Settings altogether, the unit shipped without the feature and unlocking will not bring it back.
We recorded a market or carrier caveat on 2 of the 2 models below: P40, Mate 40 Pro. Each one is written out on its own model page rather than hidden in a footnote.
The install that fails on Huawei, and the fix
One toggle accounts for about 60 percent of the no service reports we see. An Orbislo profile is issued outside the country you are standing in, so the phone treats every attachment as roaming. Leave it off and the phone 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 Huawei the sequence is the SIM screen, the Orbislo line, Roaming on. Then set Orbislo as the SIM for mobile data and turn off automatic data switching. A few older Android builds also want the access point name typed in, and it is printed in your order.
- No service on the Orbislo line: roaming is off on that line.
- Connected but nothing loads: mobile data still points at your 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.
Watches, tablets and the rest of the Huawei line
Tethering is included on every Orbislo plan at no extra charge, so one profile on the phone can carry a laptop, a tablet and a watch behind it. We have not tested a single Huawei watch, so this page does not claim one works.
Every Huawei device below is a handset. If you travel with a tablet as well, buy the plan for the phone and share it over the hotspot rather than buying a second profile.
What the plan does, whichever Huawei you carry
The device decides whether the profile installs. It does not decide what the plan does. Data never expires, tethering is included, and every account carries 100 MB of free rescue data a month in 200 countries.
Coverage is 145 destinations, built from 75,333 traveller samples across 157 partner networks. 66 of those destinations are 4G only on the networks we buy from, so a 5G handset shows LTE there. That is the network, not your phone.
Where we lose
We lose on raw destination count. Airalo's global plan reaches 169 destinations and ours reaches 145. If you are going somewhere we do not cover, buy from them. We would rather write that here than have you find out in an arrivals hall.
Huawei eSIM questions
Does every Huawei phone support eSIM?
How do I check my own Huawei device?
Will a carrier locked Huawei phone take a travel eSIM?
Can I keep my own number while I travel?
What happens to my physical SIM?
What if the eSIM will not install?
Pick the destination, then install once
Data never expires, so buying early costs nothing extra. The plan starts counting when the profile first attaches to a network abroad, not when you install it.