A travel router with eSIM support gives a whole group one connection and keeps your phone free. The catch is that router eSIM support is inconsistent, and a failed profile download on a router is much harder to recover from than on a phone.
Before you buy a plan for a router
- Confirm in the router’s manual that it accepts a third-party eSIM, not only the manufacturer’s own data packages.
- Check how the router expects the profile: a QR code shown to its camera, a photo uploaded through its web interface, or a manually typed SM-DP+ address and activation code.
- Check that the router lets you enable data roaming. Our plans always connect as a roaming partner, so a router that cannot enable roaming will never get data.
Installing
- Connect a laptop or phone to the router’s admin Wi-Fi and open its management page.
- Find the eSIM or profile section and choose to add a profile.
- Upload the QR code image, or enter the SM-DP+ address and activation code from your order.
- Enable data roaming on the profile, then reboot the router.
One profile, one device
A profile installed on a router cannot then be moved to your phone. Decide which device the plan is for before you install it.