How to Tell if Your Phone Supports eSIM: Find Your EID

Forget the spec sheet. The fastest way to answer "does my phone support eSIM?" is to track down one specific number called the EID. If your phone shows one, the eSIM hardware is physically there, regardless of what the marketing page says (Engadget).

An eSIM is a digital SIM soldered into the device itself, which lets you activate a carrier plan without ever touching a physical nano-SIM card (Apple Support). Android phones got the feature first, starting in 2017, with iPhones following a year later. The rollout since then has been messy: Google's Pixel 2 shipped with eSIM support in 2017, Motorola didn't add it until 2019, and Samsung waited until the Galaxy S20 series arrived in 2020 (Engadget). That gap matters because "newer phone" and "eSIM phone" aren't the same thing, especially outside the flagship tier.

This guide walks through finding your EID on iPhone and Android, what the settings screens actually show, and why hardware support is only step one. A phone with an EID still needs to be unlocked and your carrier still needs to support eSIM activation for that exact model before any of it works.

Before diving into settings menus, here's the order that actually answers the question:

1. Find the EID. No EID, no eSIM hardware.
2. Check your unlock status. A locked phone won't accept another carrier's eSIM.
3. Confirm your carrier supports eSIM activation for your specific model, not just "eSIM phones" in general.
4. Check for regional restrictions, since some countries limit eSIM to a short list of models.

Each of those is a separate failure point, and skipping one is the most common reason people assume a phone "doesn't support eSIM" when the real issue is a locked carrier or a plan that hasn't added eSIM yet.

How to find your phone's EID number

The EID is a 32-digit identifier tied directly to the eSIM chip, not to your account, your carrier, or your SIM slot. If the number is there, the hardware exists (Engadget).

On both iPhone and Android, dialing *#06# from the phone app pulls up a screen of device identifiers, including the EID where one exists. It's a useful shortcut because it works the same way regardless of how a manufacturer has renamed or buried the settings menu (Engadget; Verimei).

Don't mistake the EID for the IMEI or IMEI2 sitting next to it on that same screen. The IMEI is a 15-digit identifier tied to the primary modem and SIM slot, and IMEI2 identifies a second SIM path on dual-SIM devices. Neither one confirms eSIM hardware the way the EID does (Verimei).

If *#06# shows an IMEI and an IMEI2 but no EID field at all, that's a reasonably strong sign the phone doesn't have an embedded eSIM chip. Cross-check it against the settings path for your platform below before ruling it out completely, since a few device skins hide the EID in a secondary status menu rather than the main device-info screen.

Once you find the EID, screenshot it. Some carrier activations ask you to read the number aloud or enter it manually, though most modern eSIM setups use a QR code scan instead, which skips manual entry of the EID altogether. Keep the screenshot as a backup in case your specific carrier's process still asks for it.

How to check eSIM support on iPhone

Open Settings > General > About and scroll for an EID field. If it's listed, your iPhone has eSIM hardware; if it's missing, it doesn't (Engadget).

Apple's cutoff is the iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR; those models and everything released after support eSIM (Apple Support; Engadget). iPhone 13 and later can run two eSIMs simultaneously, which is useful for keeping a personal line and a work or travel line active without juggling physical cards (Engadget). In the US, every iPhone 14 model and later ships with no physical SIM tray at all, so eSIM isn't optional on those units, it's the only way to get cellular service (Apple Support, deployment guide).

The regional exception worth knowing: in China mainland, only five models support eSIM at all, the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max, iPhone Duo, 17e, and iPhone Air. Every other iPhone, including units bought outside mainland China, cannot install an eSIM profile from a mainland carrier (Apple Support, China eSIM guide). Even on a supported model, activation in China mainland isn't a self-service settings toggle; Apple requires an in-person visit to the carrier's own store to complete it (Apple Support, China eSIM guide). If you're buying a phone there or traveling through with eSIM plans, confirm your exact model against that list before you land, not after.

How to check eSIM support on Android

Go to Settings > About phone, then look under Device details or Status information for the EID. The exact label shifts depending on the manufacturer and Android version running on the device (Engadget).

For a second confirmation, check Settings > Network & Internet > SIM manager on stock Android, or Settings > Connections > SIM Manager on Samsung phones. If there's an option to add or manage an eSIM there, the hardware supports it (Engadget; Samsung UK).

Samsung publishes one of the more complete compatibility lists in the Android world. It covers the Galaxy S20 through S26 series and their Plus, Ultra, and Edge variants, plus the full Z Fold and Z Flip lineup going back to the original models. Separately, four specific FE models also made the list: the Galaxy S23 FE, S24 FE, S25 FE, and S26 FE, not the entire FE range going back further (Samsung UK). A handful of A-series models are included too, like the A54 through A57, though Samsung notes that availability there is often restricted to specific regions such as Europe, North America, and Korea rather than being global (Samsung UK).

That regional caveat is exactly why checking your own phone beats reading someone else's list. Budget Android models and region-specific variants frequently skip the embedded chip even when a flagship sibling has it, and a list built for one market won't necessarily apply to a phone bought in another (Engadget). If your settings menu shows an EID and an eSIM option in SIM manager, trust that over a spec sheet every time.

Confirm your phone is unlocked and your carrier actually supports eSIM

Finding an EID proves the hardware exists. It proves nothing about whether a specific carrier will let you activate a plan on it, which is where a lot of eSIM confusion actually starts (Engadget).

Check unlock status before you assume a travel eSIM will work. On iPhone, go to Settings > General > About and look at the Carrier Lock field; "No SIM restrictions" means the phone is unlocked and can accept another carrier's eSIM (Engadget). A locked phone will show an EID just fine and still refuse a foreign carrier's profile, so this step isn't optional if you're buying a travel data plan before a trip.

Carrier-side features add another layer that's easy to overlook. Apple notes that automatic eSIM Carrier Activation and the ability to transfer an eSIM between devices both depend entirely on whether your specific carrier has built support for them. Neither is guaranteed just because the phone itself is eSIM-capable (Apple Support, deployment guide). A phone can check every box on this list and still hit a wall if the carrier hasn't flipped the switch on its end for that model or that plan.

If you've confirmed the EID, the unlock status, and still aren't sure whether activation will go through, skip the general compatibility lists and call your carrier directly with your exact model number. That's a more reliable answer than cross-referencing a manufacturer's page against your plan type, since carrier rollout timing varies even within the same phone lineup (Engadget).

What to do now

Start with the EID. Dial *#06# or check your settings menu, and if the number shows up, the hardware question is answered. From there, check Carrier Lock status on iPhone or your Android unlock settings before buying anything, since that's the step most people skip and the one most likely to cause a failed activation.

Once both of those check out, open your carrier's own eSIM compatibility page or activation app and enter your exact model rather than relying on a general list someone else compiled. That's the difference between a plan that activates on the first try and one that bounces back with a vague error message the day you're trying to leave for a trip.