What is an eSIM and is it useful for people travelling to France?

People travelling to France may benefit from having an eSIM on their mobile phone. 

Although mobile phone contracts in France are varied and competitive they are usually geared towards those spending most of their time in France. 

People who only travel occasionally to France – for example to visit a second-home – may find it more advantageous to use an eSIM (embedded SIM) rather than taking out a second contract specific to France. 

What are the benefits? 

An eSIM can be linked to a mobile phone contract to provide temporary access to a new network, without having to physically remove the current SIM inside the phone.

This allows users to keep their original number etc in place while also benefitting from the advantages of the eSIM. 

These include being able to connect to the local data network and / or having a temporary mobile number for that country without the need for a dedicated contract.

This is particularly useful for people who are travelling, as seen in the following example: 

A person is travelling from the UK to France for a six-week holiday. They buy an eSIM and set it up at the airport.

When in France, their eSIM allows them to connect with a 4G or 5G mobile network without using the data roaming policy in their original UK phone contract, avoiding roaming fees from their UK sim provider. 

The eSim can also provide a French mobile number (a +33 number) allowing them to more easily use certain services that require a phone number as part of the sign-up process (for example, to use a parking application). 

At the same time, their phone also keeps the original number attached to their main SIM (in this case a +44 number) allowing them to continue to receive calls and messages without issue, and use communications such as SMS and WhatsApp with this number.

It also allows them to retain access to apps attached to the phone number and, for example, to receive two-factor authentication texts for certain sites / logins without having to keep swapping SIM cards.

An eSIM contract is usually added to your device via an app or by scanning a QR code and many can be used in and across multiple countries/networks.

You do not need to physically add an eSIM into your phone but must have a SIM card installed for one to work. 

Read more: French iPhone users bring group action against Apple for ‘spying on them via Siri’

Not all phones can use the technology

However despite their growing popularity not all mobile phones can use an eSIM as generally the technology only became commercially available around 2017 meaning it is unlikely to work on an older phone. 

Also some newer low-cost models cannot accept eSIMs, plus it is also necessary not just for your phone but also for your contract provider to support it. 

eSIM contracts cannot be switched between devices as easily as a typical SIM card can, which may result in the requirement to purchase a new eSIM if a phone is changed. 

While some eSIM cards come with a new mobile number for that country this is not always the case.