Device compatibility
Does the Galaxy S25 support eSIM?
The Galaxy S25 is what decides whether a travel eSIM installs, not the Samsung 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
2025
Released
40
Seconds to install, median
What the Galaxy S25 does with a travel eSIM
The Galaxy S25 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 Galaxy S25 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 Galaxy S25 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 Galaxy S25, and where it will not appear
The Galaxy S25 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 Galaxy S25, 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 Galaxy S25 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 Galaxy S25 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 Galaxy S25
- 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 Galaxy S25 at a glance
| Specification | Galaxy S25 |
|---|---|
| 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.
Galaxy S25 eSIM questions
Does the Galaxy S25 support eSIM?
How many eSIMs can the Galaxy S25 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 Galaxy S25?
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 Galaxy S25 by market
- United Kingdom and Europe: Samsung UK lists the Galaxy S25 as Dual-SIM with a nano-SIM (4FF) and an embedded SIM. The slot types are SIM 1 plus SIM 2, SIM 1 plus eSIM, or Dual eSIM, so a traveller can keep a home SIM in the tray and add a travel eSIM.
- Australia: Samsung Australia's specification for the Galaxy S25 lists a nano-SIM and an embedded SIM. Its 5G bands include n1, n3, n7, n8, n20, n28, n77 and n78, so an Australian S25 can take a travel eSIM and use sub-6 GHz 5G abroad.
- Hong Kong: Samsung Hong Kong's Galaxy S25 is a dual nano-SIM phone with no embedded SIM listed. It cannot take a travel eSIM, so for data abroad the owner has to buy a physical SIM card at the destination.
- United States (SM-S931U, SM-S931U1): The US Galaxy S25 is SM-S931U through carriers and SM-S931U1 unlocked. It has one nano-SIM slot and can hold two eSIMs, with two lines active at a time, so a travel eSIM can run beside the home line.
- Other markets (SM-S931B, SM-S931B/DS, SM-S931W, SM-S931N, SM-S9310, SM-S931E, SM-S931E/DS): Other Galaxy S25 model codes are SM-S931B, SM-S931B/DS, SM-S931W, SM-S931N, SM-S9310, SM-S931E and SM-S931E/DS. SIM set-up varies, and the Chinese version takes two nano-SIMs with no eSIM.
Networks on the Galaxy S25
- On Samsung UK's specification, the Galaxy S25 covers LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20, 28 and 32 among others, and 5G bands n1, n3, n7, n8, n20, n28, n77 and n78, plus n75 as a supplementary downlink. No mmWave is listed.
- Samsung Australia lists the Galaxy S25 with 5G on n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n26, n28, n66, n38, n40, n41, n77 and n78, and LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 28 and 40 among others.
- The Canadian Galaxy S25 supports 5G on n2, n5, n25, n66 and n71 plus n38, n41, n77 and n78 only. It skips n1, n3, n7, n8, n20 and n28, so on those bands abroad it will connect over LTE instead of 5G.
- A Galaxy S25 from Hong Kong lists 5G band n79 and LTE band 34 as well as n28, n77 and n78. It runs two nano-SIMs and has no eSIM, which rules out a travel eSIM.
- The US unlocked Galaxy S25 adds mmWave 5G on n257, n258, n260 and n261, and sub-6 GHz 5G on n1, n2, n5, n7, n25, n28, n41, n66, n71, n77 and n78. A travel eSIM abroad connects on those sub-6 GHz bands.
- Samsung states that the Galaxy S25 series supports dual SIM and eSIM, and that running a nano-SIM alongside an eSIM may reduce data speeds in certain areas. Turning off the unused line in SIM Card Manager avoids this.
- KDDI customers in Japan have had satellite messaging, satellite data and quake and tsunami alerts since 2025 on Galaxy S22 and newer flagships, the Galaxy S25 among them. It is tied to KDDI and does not come with a travel eSIM.
Worth knowing about the Galaxy S25
- Samsung commits to seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates for the Galaxy S25, measured from its global launch. It came with Android 15 and One UI 7.
- Samsung's Galaxy S25 specification sets the security update period as valid until 31 January 2032.
- The Galaxy S25 receives monthly security updates, according to Samsung's security update scope, which also notes that some carriers may only ship updates quarterly.
- For a travel eSIM on a Galaxy S25, go to Settings, then Connections, then SIM manager, then Add eSIM, and tap Scan QR code. If there is no QR code, tap Enter activation code and type in the code from the provider.
- With eSIM Instant Transfer, a number can be moved to a Galaxy S25 from an older Galaxy or Android phone, or from an iPhone on supported carriers, without contacting the carrier. The Galaxy S25 must be unlocked for this to work.
- The Galaxy S25 can switch a physical SIM to an eSIM from SIM manager with Convert to eSIM, if the carrier allows it. That frees the tray while keeping the home number, and Samsung notes eSIM support can depend on the phone's country of origin.
- A carrier-bought Galaxy S25 may need to be unlocked before another provider's plan will work on it. Samsung says to contact the original carrier about its unlocking policy and any unlock code.
What the Galaxy S25 holds
- eSIM profiles it can store
- 5
- Active at the same time
- 2
- Released
- 2025
- Form factor
- Phone
- Network generation
- 5G capable where the network carries it
- Physical SIM tray
- Has a tray as well as eSIM
How the Galaxy S25 compares with other Samsung models
- Galaxy S25 Ultra
- Galaxy S25 Ultra, 2025, stores 5, 2 active
- Galaxy S25 Plus
- Galaxy S25 Plus, 2025, stores 5, 2 active
- Galaxy S24 Ultra
- Galaxy S24 Ultra, 2024, stores 5, 2 active
- Galaxy S24
- Galaxy S24, 2024, stores 5, 2 active
- Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Galaxy S23 Ultra, 2023, stores 5, 2 active