Travelling with an iPhone that has no SIM tray
If your iPhone has no SIM tray, you cannot buy a plastic SIM at the airport. A travel eSIM is the way to get local data, and it takes a few minutes to set up before you leave.
Your own line stays
An iPhone can hold several eSIMs and use two at once. Your home line keeps receiving calls and messages while the travel eSIM carries your data.
Install before you fly
Buy and install the travel eSIM at home, on Wi-Fi. With iOS 17.4 or newer you can tap Install on iPhone in our email, with no QR code to scan.
Set it up when you land
Under Settings › Cellular, choose the travel eSIM for cellular data and turn on data roaming for that line. Turn data roaming off on your home line, so it cannot run up charges.
When you are back
Switch cellular data to your home line again. You can keep the travel eSIM and add data to it for the next trip, or remove it.