After a spring trip to Japan, a summer week in Greece and a long weekend in Morocco, a phone can end up with a small collection: your home line plus several travel eSIMs, some with labels that no longer say much. Before the next trip, three questions come up: how many the phone can hold, which one is actually in use, and whether the old ones should go.
This guide answers whether you can have multiple eSIMs on one phone: how many a phone can store and how many can be active at once, how to label them and switch the data line, when to turn a line off rather than delete it, and how to keep your home number working alongside.
Key facts for several eSIMs on one phone
- Stored: Apple says an iPhone can store eight or more eSIMs; Android phones vary, so check your phone's settings
- Active at once: with Dual SIM, two lines can be active at the same time
- Labels: name each line clearly when you install it
- Mobile data: you choose which line is used for mobile data
- Old lines: turn a line off instead of deleting it until its trip is over, as some eSIMs can be installed only once
Multiple eSIMs on one phone: stored versus active
Two different limits apply. The first is how many eSIMs the phone can store: Apple says an iPhone can store eight or more, while Android phones vary, so check your phone's settings. The second is how many lines can be active at the same time: with Dual SIM, two.
On a trip, give one of those two places to your home line, which keeps your own number, and the other to the travel eSIM for the country you are in. Any other eSIMs can stay stored and switched off until you reach their country.
Label every line when you install it
When the phone asks you to name a new line, use the country or the trip, such as "Japan data", instead of a generic name. With several eSIMs stored, the labels are how you tell them apart at a glance, and they matter most at two moments: when you choose the line for mobile data, and when you delete one.
If an older line has a vague name, look in that line's settings for a label or name option before the next trip.
Switching the data line between travel eSIMs
When you move on to the next country, switch in this order, so that no more than two lines are on at once:
- Turn off the travel line for the country you are leaving.
- Turn on the line for the next country.
- Choose it as the line for mobile data, and check that its data roaming is on.
- Leave your home line on, with its data roaming off.
On an iPhone, these switches are under Settings > Mobile Data (Cellular), and on a Pixel under Settings > Network & internet > SIMs. On a Samsung, lines and mobile data are under Settings > Connections > SIM manager, and data roaming under Settings > Connections > Mobile networks.
Your home line never needs to change during the trip: it keeps your number for calls and texts, while each travel eSIM in turn carries the data.
Turn a line off, or delete it?
Turning a line off keeps the eSIM on the phone without using it; deleting it removes it. Some eSIMs can be installed only once, so keep each one, switched off if you like, until its trip is over.
When the trip and its plan are over and you are sure you will not need that eSIM again, deleting it keeps the list short. Check the label first: if your home number is on an eSIM too, it sits in the same list.
How Telcomia helps
On a route through several countries, a Telcomia multi-country zone plan covers every country it lists on one eSIM, so there are fewer lines to store, label and switch. The plans page also has country plans and plans by the gigabyte, and each plan's details show the Activation line, the duration and the data.
Standard plans are data only, with no number of their own, so a travel eSIM never takes over your home number; calls and messages go through apps over its data.
Before you leave
- On Android, check in your phone's settings how many eSIMs it can store.
- Install every eSIM for the trip at home on Wi-Fi.
- Name each new line after its country or trip.
- Keep your home line on, with data roaming off.
- Keep each eSIM until its trip is over: some can be installed only once.
Questions travellers ask about multiple eSIMs
How many eSIMs can my iPhone hold?
Apple says an iPhone can store eight or more eSIMs. With Dual SIM, two lines can be active at the same time, so the rest stay stored and switched off until you need them.
Can two eSIMs be active at the same time?
Two lines can be, with Dual SIM: for example your home line and a travel eSIM. Whether both active lines can be eSIMs, rather than one SIM card and one eSIM, depends on the phone model.
How do I switch between travel eSIMs?
Turn off the line for the country you are leaving, turn on the one for the next country, choose it as the line for mobile data and check that its data roaming is on. Clear labels make each step quicker.
Should I delete old travel eSIMs?
Not until the trip and its plan are over, because some eSIMs can be installed only once; turn the line off if you just want it out of the way. When you are sure you will not need it again, delete it, checking the label so that you do not remove your home line.
The short version
An iPhone can store eight or more eSIMs and Android phones vary, while Dual SIM lets two lines be active at once. Label every line when you install it, switch the data line as you move between countries, keep your home line on with data roaming off, and turn old travel lines off rather than deleting them until the trip is over.
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