How to turn off data roaming on your home line, and keep it on for the eSIM
With two lines in the phone, roaming is set per line. Turn Data Roaming off on your usual SIM and leave it on for the travel eSIM. Your number still receives calls and SMS, but it can no longer use mobile data abroad, which is where unexpected roaming charges come from.
See travel data packsOne switch per line, and they do opposite jobs
Apple describes data roaming as the permission to use a cellular data network outside your own carrier's coverage. On a dual-SIM phone each line has its own switch, and abroad you want them set in opposite ways.
Your home line goes off. With data roaming off, it cannot use mobile data outside its network even if the phone decides to fall back on it. The travel eSIM goes on. To the phone, every network abroad is a roaming network for that line too, and without the switch it will not connect. On a prepaid travel plan, Snoozim's included, switching it on costs nothing extra.
The switch only covers data. Calls and SMS on your number keep working and are billed by your operator under its own roaming terms.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
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How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
On an iPhone
- Open Settings and tap Cellular (Mobile Data in some regions).
- Tap your usual line, then Cellular Data Options, and turn Data Roaming off.
- Go back, tap Cellular Data and select the travel eSIM as the data line.
- Open the travel line, then Cellular Data Options, and turn Data Roaming on.
These follow Apple's roaming and Dual SIM support articles. Two side effects are documented by Apple. While data roaming is on for the data line, the other line loses Visual Voicemail and MMS. And the automatic switch of data to your other line during a call does not work while you are using data roaming, which in this setup is what you want.
On Android
- Google Pixel: Settings, Network and internet, SIMs, tap your usual SIM and turn Roaming off. Back in SIMs, set Data to the travel eSIM, then open it and turn Roaming on.
- Samsung Galaxy: Settings, Connections, Mobile networks, Data roaming. With two SIMs, check which line each switch applies to.
- Other brands: type roaming into the search box at the top of Settings.
The Pixel path matches carrier guides for recent Pixels and Google's own help for choosing the data SIM, where it notes that only one SIM can be the default for data. The Galaxy path is from Samsung's support page, which adds that if the roaming switch is greyed out, mobile data has to be switched on first.
Ships, planes and the edges of the EU
Inside the EU, and in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, your home line may already roam at domestic prices under roam like at home, within your operator's fair use limits. Outside that area, charges depend on your operator. The fair use calculator works out how many GB your home plan gives you in the EU, and the guides for Switzerland and the UK cover two common surprises.
Ships and planes are the other trap. The EU's consumer portal warns that when mobile service comes from a satellite system on board, EU roaming rules no longer apply and there are no price caps. Its advice is to turn roaming off or use flight mode on board. Read the cruise guide before sailing.
Check that it worked
Once you land, look at the data counters. Both iPhone and Android show mobile data use per line in the mobile settings; Apple notes the figures sit under the Cellular Data heading. After a day, your home line should show nothing new and the travel eSIM should show everything.
Leave the home line itself switched on. SMS codes from your bank arrive over the mobile network, not over data, so they still come through with data roaming off. WhatsApp also keeps working on your usual number, because it uses whichever line carries the data.
Will I still receive SMS with data roaming off?
Yes. The data roaming switch only controls mobile data. Calls and SMS on your number keep working under your operator's roaming terms.
Should I switch off my home line completely?
Not unless you want to be unreachable. Keeping it on with data roaming off lets bank codes and calls arrive while the eSIM handles data.
Why does the travel eSIM need data roaming on?
Because every network abroad counts as roaming for it. A prepaid travel plan already covers that use, so the switch only lets it connect.
Is roaming free on a cruise ship in Europe?
Not necessarily. The EU says its roaming rules do not apply to satellite service on ships and planes, so turn roaming off or use flight mode on board.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
See travel data packs