Talisim

Travel eSIM questions, answered

Installing an eSIM, whether yours will take one, how much data a trip really uses, and what to do when you land and the bars stay empty.

Installing, in four steps

  1. 1

    Buy your plan. The eSIM lands on a private link, and the same link is emailed to you.

  2. 2

    Open that link on your phone while you still have wifi, before you fly.

  3. 3

    Tap the install button for your phone and confirm. The phone does the rest.

  4. 4

    Label the new line "Talisim" so you can find it, and leave it switched off until you land.

On your phone, step by step

Where to tap in Settings to install the eSIM, turn on data roaming for it, and what to check when you've landed and there's no data. Pick your phone.

Install the eSIM on an iPhone

The quickest way is the Install button in your Talisim email, tapped on the phone you're travelling with. If you'd rather do it from Settings, scan the QR code in the email from another screen.

1. Open Settings and tap Cellular.
2. Tap Add eSIM.
3. Tap Use QR Code and scan the code in your email. On iOS 17.4 or later you can also touch and hold the QR code in the email and tap Add eSIM.

In the UK, Cellular is called Mobile Service. iPhones from before iOS 17.4 use the QR code or the manual details.

Name the new line Talisim on an iPhone

Phones call a new eSIM Secondary, Travel, SIM 2 or the network's name. Naming it Talisim makes it easy to tell from your home line, and it's the name these steps use. If you'd rather not, look for the phone's own name wherever they say Talisim.

1. Go to Settings, then Cellular, and tap the new line. It may be called Secondary, Travel or Personal.
2. Tap Cellular Plan Label.
3. Tap Edit custom label and type Talisim.

In the UK it says Mobile Service and Mobile Plan Label.

Turn on data roaming for the Talisim line on an iPhone

The eSIM won't connect abroad until data roaming is on for it. This isn't your home carrier's roaming: the plan is already paid for, and your carrier can't charge you for it. Then make the Talisim line the one used for data. If you didn't rename it, it's the line called Secondary, Travel, SIM 2 or the network's name.

1. Go to Settings, then Cellular, and tap the Talisim line.
2. Check Turn On This Line is on and turn on Data Roaming. On your home line, leave Data Roaming off so your carrier never roams.
3. Back on Cellular, tap Cellular Data, pick Talisim, and leave Allow Cellular Data Switching off.

If Data Roaming isn't on the line's page, tap Cellular Data Options there and it's inside. In the UK: Mobile Service, Mobile Data Options and Allow Mobile Data Switching. On iOS 26 the iPhone may also ask to turn on the travel eSIM when you land.

Landed and no data? Check these in order

  1. 1 Settings > Cellular > Talisim: Turn On This Line is on.
  2. 2 Same page: Data Roaming is on.
  3. 3 Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data: Talisim is ticked.
  4. 4 Turn Airplane Mode on for 15 seconds, then off.
  5. 5 Restart the iPhone.
  6. 6 Still nothing: enter the APN shown on your order page. Look for Cellular Data Network in the Talisim line's settings; if it isn't there, the phone sets the APN itself.

Installing your eSIM

How do I install a travel eSIM?
Open the private order link we email you, tap the install button for your phone, and confirm when the phone asks. It usually takes a minute or two. One-tap install needs iOS 17.4 or later, or a recent Android; older phones use the QR code or the manual details on the same page. To use the QR code, scan it from a second screen. An iPhone on iOS 17.4 or later can also take it straight from the email: touch and hold the QR code and tap Add eSIM.
Should I install it before I fly or after I land?
Before you fly, on wifi. Installing needs a working internet connection, and hunting for airport wifi with no data is the exact situation you bought the eSIM to avoid. On nearly every plan, installing doesn't start your days, so there's no cost to doing it early. A plan marked "Starts on install" starts counting the moment it's installed, so install that one just before you leave.
When do my days start counting?
On nearly every plan, when the eSIM first connects to a network abroad, not when you buy it or install it. A few start the moment they are installed, and say "Starts on install" on the plan. You have 180 days from purchase to install it, so buying ahead of the trip is fine.
Do I have to take my normal SIM out?
No. Your usual SIM stays where it is and your number keeps working for calls and texts. The Talisim line sits alongside it and carries the data. Phones have handled two lines at once for years.
Can I install the same eSIM on a second phone?
No. An eSIM stays on the phone it was first installed on and can't be moved to another one, so decide which phone is carrying the data before you install it.
I deleted the eSIM from my phone. Can I install it again?
Yes, on the same phone. Open your order link, tap Install details under the eSIM, and install it again with the QR code or the manual details, the same ones you used the first time. It's the same eSIM with the same plan, so there's nothing new to buy. It only works on the phone it was installed on first: a deleted eSIM can't be reinstalled on a different phone.
What is the APN and do I need to set it?
It's the setting that tells your phone how to reach the network's data. Most phones set it for you when the eSIM installs. If the line looks connected but data doesn't flow, enter the APN shown next to your eSIM on your order page, in the Talisim line's mobile data settings. If you entered the install details by hand, check it either way.
Should I turn roaming off on my normal SIM?
Yes, and it's the single best way to avoid a surprise bill. These are two separate switches: turn data roaming ON for the Talisim line, because that's how it connects, and turn data roaming OFF for your home line. Leave both on and your phone can quietly fall back to your home carrier at its roaming rates, which is the thing you bought this to avoid. Do it before you take off, while you're still thinking about it.

Will it work on my phone?

How do I check if my phone supports eSIM?
Look for an EID, the number only eSIM hardware has. On an iPhone: Settings, then General, then About. On a Pixel: Settings, then About phone, then SIM status. On many phones, dialling *#06# shows it too. No EID means no eSIM, whatever a spec sheet says. On a tablet, look under About or Cellular in settings.
Which iPhones support eSIM?
The iPhone XR, XS and XS Max onwards, plus both the 2020 and 2022 SE. Two things to know: iPhones bought in mainland China have no eSIM hardware at all, and the iPhone 14 and later sold in the US have no SIM tray, so eSIM is the only option there.
Which Android phones support eSIM?
Google Pixel 3 and later, Samsung Galaxy S20 and later, the Note 20, and every Fold and Flip. Recent Motorola, Oppo, Huawei, Sony and Honor models have it too. The list changes every year, so the *#06# check is quicker and more reliable than looking it up.
My phone supports eSIM but the install still fails.
Nearly always a carrier lock. A phone locked to your home network refuses profiles from anyone else. Your carrier is obliged to unlock it once the contract is paid off, and it usually takes a day. If you bought a plan and could never install it, email us: an eSIM that was never installed is refundable in full within 180 days of purchase.
Does it work on an iPad or a laptop?
If the device has eSIM and is unlocked, yes. That covers iPads from the 2018 Pro onwards and most Windows laptops with mobile broadband built in. It works the same way: install the profile, turn data roaming on for it.

Using your data

How much data will I actually need?
It depends on what you do, not where you go. Maps and messaging barely register, at roughly 5MB an hour. Scrolling social with autoplay on runs 200 to 400MB an hour. A video call is 500MB to 1GB an hour. Streaming is the one that bites: about 1.5GB an hour at 1080p on YouTube, and up to 3GB an hour on Netflix in HD. If you're navigating, messaging and posting photos, 5GB covers a fortnight comfortably. If you stream on the train, double it.
Why are there two or three plans with the same data and days?
They're the same allowance on different routes through the network. Routes can differ in which local networks you can use, which country websites think you're in, how far a day pass slows down after its allowance, and price. Each line on the plan says what's different about it. If none of that matters to you, take the cheapest.
What do labels like "Avoids Hong Kong IP" mean?
Most travel eSIMs send your traffic back through a hub in another country, so websites see you there rather than where you are. Hong Kong is a common hub, and some apps and sites, TikTok and Facebook among them, are restricted from Hong Kong. "Avoids Hong Kong IP" is our supplier's label for plans that don't exit there. "Japanese IP via IIJ" plans run through IIJ, a Japanese carrier, so you appear to be in Japan. "US IP route" and "Malaysian IP route" are what our supplier calls those routes; it hasn't published more than the name, so if appearing in one country matters to you, for a banking or streaming app, say, email us before you buy and we'll check.
What happens when I run out?
On a fixed plan, data stops, and nothing bills you for going over. On a day pass, the speed drops until the next day's allowance starts. Wifi still works. Most eSIMs can take a top-up on the same eSIM until the plan expires, with no new QR code and nothing to reinstall. On a fixed plan a top-up adds data and days; on a day pass it adds days at the same daily allowance, and doesn't bring the speed back before the allowance resets.
Can I top up an eSIM I have already?
Usually, yes. Open your order link, or sign in with the email you ordered with, and any eSIM that can take one shows a Top up button with the top-ups that fit it. Once the plan has expired the button won't be there, so buy a fresh plan instead.
Does tethering use my data faster?
Hotspot and tethering work, as far as your phone allows, and use the same data. A tethered laptop uses the gigabytes at the same rate, but it's a far hungrier device than your phone. Background updates, cloud sync and twenty browser tabs will get through a plan much quicker. Turn automatic updates off before you tether.
Can I make calls and send texts on it?
Data only: no phone number, calls or texts. WhatsApp, FaceTime, Signal and iMessage work over data. Voice and video calls in those apps work too. Keeping your usual number reachable as well means leaving that line switched on, and then your home carrier charges its own roaming rates for whatever comes through — incoming calls abroad are often billed just for ringing. Most people switch the home line's data roaming off and use the apps.
Does unused data roll over?
No. It expires with the plan and isn't refunded. Buy the size you'll use rather than the biggest one, because a 20GB plan is no bargain if you come home with 12GB left on it.

When something goes wrong

I've landed and there's no data.
Work through these in order. Turn data roaming on for the Talisim line. Check the line is switched on and selected for mobile data. Turn airplane mode on and off again. Restart the phone. That clears almost everything; if you are still dark afterwards, email us with your order code.
Why do I have to turn roaming on? Isn’t that the thing I’m avoiding?
The roaming you're avoiding is your home carrier billing you by the megabyte. This is a different thing with the same name. The Talisim line is a foreign profile using a local network, and every phone calls that roaming. Your home carrier isn't involved and can't charge you for it. Leave it off and the eSIM simply won't connect. Turn it on for the Talisim line only, and leave your home line's data roaming off.
The QR code won't scan.
A phone's camera can't scan a code shown on its own screen. Use the one-tap install button on the same phone, which skips the camera, or open your order link on a laptop and scan it from there. An iPhone on iOS 17.4 or later can also touch and hold the QR code in the email and tap Add eSIM.
It says the eSIM cannot be added.
Usually it's already installed. Look through your phone's mobile plans for a line you added and forgot to label. If it genuinely isn't there, the phone is probably carrier-locked, or the profile has already been used on another device.
Data works but it's slow.
Check how much you have left first, because an empty plan looks exactly like a broken one. If there's data remaining you're likely on a congested cell or a 3G fallback. Turning airplane mode on and off forces the phone to pick a network again, which often lands somewhere better.
My phone keeps using the wrong line.
Set the data line yourself instead of leaving it automatic. On an iPhone: Settings, then Cellular, then Cellular Data, pick Talisim, and leave Allow Cellular Data Switching off. On a Pixel: Settings, then Network & internet, then SIMs, and set Mobile data to Talisim. On a Samsung Galaxy: Settings, then Connections, then SIM manager, and set Mobile data to Talisim.

Orders, payment and refunds

I've lost the link to my eSIM.
Search your inbox for Talisim, then check spam, because the email carries both your order code and the link. If it has genuinely gone, email support@talisim.com from the address you bought with and we will send it again.
Do I need an account to buy one?
No. It's guest checkout. To come back later, request a sign-in link at the email you ordered with and you'll see your orders. Your order link works with or without signing in, and it's a credential too, so don't post it anywhere public.
Can I get a refund?
An eSIM that hasn't been installed is refundable in full for 180 days after purchase. Once it's installed on a phone it isn't, because the network has issued it by then, and neither is one left uninstalled past 180 days. Unused data at the end of a plan isn't refunded. The terms page has the detail.
Is there a discount for buying several eSIMs?
Yes: 10% off when you buy 2 or more, and 15% off at 4 or more. It counts every eSIM in your cart, so a family can mix plans and destinations and still qualify, and it comes off the whole order. The plan page and your cart show the discounted price before you pay, and it's applied automatically at checkout. There's no code to enter. Each phone needs its own eSIM, so a group of 4 or more travelling together gets the biggest discount.
Do I need to show ID or a passport?
We don't ask for ID or a passport. You enter an email and a card at checkout, and that is all.
Can I buy one for someone else?
Yes. Nothing is tied to your name, so buy it and forward the link to whoever is travelling. They install it on their own phone and it works exactly the same.
What card details do you keep?
Never your card number: you enter it on Stripe's checkout page and it never touches our servers. We see the card's brand, its last four digits and the country that issued it, which is how we recognise a payment if you contact us. The privacy page lists everything we keep and for how long.

Still stuck?

Send us a message with your order code and we'll dig into it. A real person reads it.

Contact support

or email support@talisim.com