How to Buy eSIM for Your Smart Device

eSIM mobile plans are a great way to buy eSIM for your smart device. These are common for smartphones, laptops, tablets, and smartwatches for personal use. There is a lot of buzz around eSIM in cell phones, so we want to discuss eSIMs and physical SIMs to help you figure out which one is right for you.  This article will inform you about how to buy eSIM mobile plans, how to activate these plans, and the best eSIM cell phone plans for your new device. 

Using an eSIM Card

eSIM cards are an excellent way to connect smart devices to mobile networks. eSIM cards, or embedded SIM cards, are built into the device and receive programmed instructions from your mobile carrier when you buy a cell phone plan. The important difference between eSIM cards and SIM cards is that you no longer buy a card as you did with physical SIM cards. When purchasing a phone plan with a SIM card, oftentimes, you would also purchase a SIM card from that same company. 

When you buy a SIM card, you usually pay a dollar or so for the card itself. It’s not a big price, but you must buy it to activate your plan. eSIM cards mean companies no longer need to send any hardware to the customer, removing that cost. It varies by company, but many eSIM cards are downloaded free of charge. No need to buy an eSIM when switching carriers or adding a new line. Other companies have a small service charge for activating a new eSIM account, but it is always relatively inexpensive. This section will discuss how to buy eSIM on a variety of devices. 

eSIM Cards in Smartphones

Buying eSIM for a smartphone is a simple process! The majority of smartphones come with eSIM compatibility. When you pick out a new cell phone plan, you receive online instructions or a QR code that activates the eSIM card on your device. eSIM cards in smartphones are the same, but the way to activate them varies a bit between Apple, Android, and Google devices. Wireless carriers also have unique ways to activate eSIM. 

You can activate eSIM on your smartphone at any time. While activation is common when buying an eSIM phone plan or switching devices, you can also switch out a physical SIM on your phone with an eSIM phone plan. Here are the basics for activating an eSIM device on your account:

• To convert SIM to eSIM on the same device, navigate to your cellular screen in settings and find the appropriate button that “converts to eSIM.” The menus within the phone should guide you through the process from there, ending in your phone activating the new card. Now, power off your phone and remove the physical SIM card, as it is no longer in use. Power it up, and you should be all set. 
• To convert SIM to eSIM on a new device, there should be an input for an eSIM activation when you power up the phone for the first time. Your carrier should allow you to activate your eSIM card directly on the device when you start the device transference process. For further information regarding converting SIM to eSIM on a new device, contact your carrier’s customer support or browse their help pages to figure out the steps to take with the process. 
• To convert SIM to eSIM with a new carrier, the carrier will either activate the eSIM card automatically as your phone starts up for the first time, or they will send you a QR code, and your new phone will prompt you to scan the code. From there, your phone will activate your account automatically, and within minutes, your phone should be good to go. 

eSIM Cards in Tablets and Laptops

Physical SIM cards were not popular additions to tablets and laptops, but many more devices have eSIM compatibility of late. A laptop or tablet with an eSIM card lets you hook it to your cell phone plan and receive service. Buying eSIM for a tablet or laptop will likely be less expensive than a phone line, but you may need a cell phone line with that same company. 

eSIM Cards in Smartwatches

Smartwatches are the most common personal eSIM use outside of tablets and laptops. The new smartwatches have eSIM compatibility, making them a good match for cellular service. Smartwatches don’t go through as much data as other devices, making eSIM plans cheaper on smartwatches. Adding cellular to your smartwatch grants excellent flexibility in your connection to mobile networks, especially if you like to go out and about without a cell phone. To buy eSIM for a smartwatch, add a new line to your carrier’s website. Adding a smartwatch line should be one of the options, and you can buy an eSIM plan from there. 

How to Buy eSIM Card for Your Smart Device

When you have a smart device, it’s important to know how to buy an eSIM card to connect it to the mobile network of your choice. 

What is an eSIM Card?

The SIM card connects your phone to a mobile network, letting you talk, text, and use data on the device. You can swap your SIM card (physical or embedded) from phone to phone with little issue, which means you can retain your phone number and contacts when you move to a new phone. You can use a smartphone without a SIM card, but it can only access WiFi and operate through its WiFi connection without an active SIM or eSIM card. 

SIM cards, while an essential part of any smart device, never need to pull a lot of weight in terms of processing or tasks. SIM cards do not need to be as big as they are, especially considering the SIM card and the housing needed for it to detach from the device. Phones have undergone a many-year process to become smaller, sleeker, and much more powerful. Many smartphones are not optimized to be as small as possible--rather they are optimized for size with all the necessary hardware. 

In this equation, phone manufacturers scratched their heads at all the space allocated to the physical SIM card housing when they also put in an eSIM as a part of the hardware in the device. The dilemma is: wireless providers aren’t too keen on switching to eSIM phone plans because physical SIMs work fine, and they don’t want to lose customers by forcing a switch. 

That’s why many phones have physical SIM and eSIM compatibility. The last five or so years of cell phones have both. It’s been a slow movement from physical SIM cards to eSIM cards. Only the most recent phones, including the iPhone 14 series, are eSIM only. 

Apple iPhones are eSIM Only

The iPhone 14 models are eSIM only in the United States. This is an exciting development in cell phone models, as the lack of a SIM tray opens up a lot of space for other hardware. While the 14 models are eSIM only, the older models retain physical SIM compatibility. Older phone models are physical SIM compatible, and wireless providers are physical SIM and eSIM compatible. Physical SIM compatibility is phasing out, but it will be years before physical SIMs are no more. 

Pros and Cons of eSIM Phones

As of right now, buying an eSIM is a fun thing to do but not a necessity to get the best network coverage. eSIMs in cell phones offer a neat set of pros but nothing that drastically changes your day-to-day cellular operation. The basic trade-off is that eSIM phone plans make it easier to switch carriers but harder to switch devices on the same carrier. 

 Let’s talk about the pros and cons of eSIMs. 

Pros

• Easier to switch networks. Phones with eSIM cards are designed to switch instantly from one carrier to another, an advantage over physical SIMs, where you need to order a new SIM card from the new carrier and switch it out with the old one. 
• No chance of accidental damage. SIM cards are teeny tiny, and there is always a chance for a mishap whenever you have to eject your SIM card. 
• Store multiple networks on the same eSIM card. Many eSIMs can store multiple virtual SIM cards, letting you switch easily between networks if you run through areas with unreliable networks or travel to different countries. 
• Dual-SIM devices often use eSIM cards. Dual-SIM devices are growing in popularity, letting you easily store multiple numbers on the same device and switch between them. 
• Saves space. Last but not least, eSIMs take up less space than physical SIM cards, opening up the possibility for new phone models to be sleeker and more powerful. 

Cons

• More difficult to swap devices. Switching devices with a physical SIM card is as easy as moving the SIM from one to the next. It has all your information stored on it, so you have to transfer your contacts, pop in the SIM, and you are good to go. Swapping devices with eSIM cards is more involved and challenging. 
• Higher probability of technical difficulties. Due to the simple fact that eSIMs are new there is a larger chance that you will run into problems when switching your device. If you run into trouble when buying an eSIM phone plan, you should be able to solve the problem by contacting their customer support. Remember to keep a strong WiFi connection when you make the switch!

How to Buy eSIM Phone Plan

The final part of the process is deciding on buying an eSIM phone plan. eSIM-compatible cell phone plans are in abundance in both major wireless networks and MVNOs, so the next step is deciding what cell phone plan is best for you. Cell phone plans come in all shapes and sizes, making it easy to land on a plan that’s not the one you need. We will highlight four excellent cell phone plans for different data users. The main difference in these plans is the amount of data given with each plan, which also has a big impact on the plan’s price. 

AT&T Unlimited Premium Plan

Quick Facts: 

• $85/75/60/50/45 a month
• Unlimited talk, text, and premium data
• 50 GB high-speed hotspot data
• 4k UHD Streaming
• No contract 

Out of the three major wireless companies, we like AT&T the best for its premium wireless plan. Each of the three major wireless companies has tiered unlimited plans. The main difference between these plans is something called “premium” high-speed data. AT&T’s most expensive plan is around $20 more expensive per month than their cheaper option, and gives unlimited premium high-speed data. 

Premium high-speed data means they can never slow down your data speeds. This is great for people who value their data speed or rely on it for everyday activities, as well as those who live in spaces with, on average, high data usage during the day. It also lets you stream UHD on mobile, which is great for those who, for example, stream video on their daily commute. 

This plan is for people who want unlimited premium high-speed data and use it daily. 

T-Mobile Essentials

Quick Facts: 

• $60, $45, $30, $25 a month
• Unlimited talk and text
• Unlimited high-speed data
• 3G Hotspot
• No contract 

Our other major wireless cell phone plan is T-Mobile Essentials. This is the “cheap” option from major wireless networks, which gives unlimited high-speed data but not unlimited premium data. What we want to highlight with this plan and just about every major wireless plan is the steep multi-line savings. We really like the  T-Mobile Essentials as a family plan. While $60 a month for a single line is pretty pricey, savings add up fast with multiple lines. Halving the cost with the third line is spectacular. We recommend this affordable cell phone plan for families and friends who need a lot of data during the month. 

T-Mobile Essentials has 50 GB of premium high-speed data. After that, you will only get slowed down if the T-Mobile network burns through all their MVNO customers and still has an overfull bandwidth. Unless that happens, you and all the members of your family plan will enjoy lightning-fast speeds all night long. 

Visible Wireless Unlimited Plan

Quick Facts: 

• $30 a month
• Unlimited talk and text
• Unlimited high-speed data
• No contract 
• Runs on Verizon’s network

Their basic unlimited plan is $30 monthly per line with unlimited data and high-speed hotspots. This is our favorite MVNO plan for people who want a cell phone plan with unlimited high-speed data. Be warned: most “unlimited” MVNO plans have a hard cap on high-speed data. When you hit that data cap your data speeds are slowed way down, but you still get “unlimited” data. The relatively low data caps make MVNOs not great options for people who use a lot (>50 GB per month) of data. They will always hit the high-speed data limit, and being stuck with low-speed data is terrible. Visible’s unlimited plan gives unlimited high-speed data. Their competitive pricing cements them as our favorite MVNO plan. 

Mint Mobile 10 GB Plan

Quick Facts: 

• $20, $25, $35 a month
• Unlimited talk and text
• 10 GB high-speed data
• Three, six, or twelve-month contract 
• Runs on Verizon’s network

Last but not least is Mint Mobile’s 10 GB cell phone plan. This is a great choice for people wanting to find a cheaper option for their cell phone service while being able to use some mobile data when out and about. Mint Mobile’s savings come from contracts. Their contracts are three months, with six-month and 12-month offerings. If you get three months at a time, it costs $35 a month, and that is a bit on the pricey side when it comes to this kind of phone plan. The 12-month contract ($20 a month) puts this at a fantastic price if you can swing it. Multi-line plans receive the lowest price all the time, making them a great way to join Mint’s network while retaining some extra flexibility in your mobile plan. Mint Mobile’s family plan lets you enjoy the lowest price without worrying about the contract. 

Key Takeaways

Buying eSIM for your device is as easy as changing the way your cell phone (or other smart device) connects to the network. While physical SIMs will eventually go out of service, there are likely many years when both physical SIM and eSIM cards will work for many cell phones and cell phone plans.