How many eSIM profiles can I store on the 2020 SE?

More than one, but we are not going to quote a fixed number — the limit has moved with iOS versions and we would rather you checked than trusted a figure. Only one eSIM line is active at a time alongside the physical SIM. If a new install is refused, delete a plan you have finished with.

Will using eSIM and a physical SIM together drain the battery faster?

Running two lines means keeping two registrations alive, so it uses more power than one. On a handset this age, that is worth knowing before a long day out. Turning off the line you are not using is the simple fix.

My carrier says the SE doesn't support eSIM. Who is right?

The hardware does support it. Some carriers do not provision eSIM on every plan or every device they sell, which is a policy limit rather than a hardware one — and it does not stop a travel eSIM from a different provider working, provided the handset is unlocked.

Can I move my existing eSIM to a new phone later?

Usually, but it depends on the provider rather than the phone. Some travel plans are tied to the device they were installed on. Check the provider's terms before you rely on transferring one.

Does the iPhone SE (2nd gen) Have eSIM? Yes, With a Catch

Yes — and here is what "dual SIM" means on this phone

The iPhone SE (2nd gen), from 2020, supports eSIM. It also keeps a nano-SIM tray, so it runs one physical SIM and one eSIM at the same time. That is the arrangement Apple used on every iPhone from 2018 until it started removing trays from US models in 2022.

In practice: your usual SIM stays in the tray holding your number, and a travel plan installs as an eSIM alongside it. You choose which line carries data and which handles calls.

The catch specific to this model

The SE was Apple's cheap iPhone, and cheap iPhones are the ones carriers subsidise hardest. A large share of second-generation SEs were sold attached to a contract or a prepaid brand, and a meaningful number of those are still carrier-locked today.

A locked handset will refuse a third-party eSIM even though the eSIM chip is present and working. The error you get at that point is not obviously about the lock, which is why people conclude the phone doesn't support eSIM when it plainly does.

So on this model, the compatibility question is usually answered by the sales channel rather than by the hardware. If you bought it outright and unlocked, you are fine. If it came with a plan, or you bought it used from someone who did, check.

Testing for a lock before you leave

Do this at home, with time to fix it:

Borrow a SIM from a different network and put it in the tray. If it registers and can make a call, the phone is unlocked.
Ask the carrier directly. Most will confirm status and unlock on request once the device is paid off. Allow a couple of days for it to take effect.
Do not use the travel eSIM itself as the test. Providers commonly issue each QR code once. Burning it on a locked phone at the airport leaves you with neither a working plan nor a refund conversation you want to have.

If you are stepping up from a 7 or an 8

The second-generation SE is the cheapest widely available way into eSIM, which is why it turns up so often as the answer to "what do I replace my iPhone 8 with". It is worth knowing what you are and aren't buying.

You are buying the ability to install a travel plan without visiting a shop, and to keep your home number live while you do it. You are not necessarily buying cheaper data — a local prepaid SIM at your destination often still costs less per gigabyte than a travel eSIM, and this SE has a tray, so that route stays open to you either way.

That combination is the real argument for the handset. It can do both, and you can pick per trip.

Getting a plan onto it

Install before you fly. An eSIM profile downloads over the internet, and the moment you most need it is the moment you have no connection.

The steps: buy the plan, open the email, scan the QR code with the phone, and label the line something you will recognise later. Then set your data line to the travel plan and leave calls on your home number. Turn data roaming off on the home line so nothing leaks onto it.

If the option to add a plan isn't where you expect, the wording differs across iOS versions — look for "Add eSIM" or "Add Cellular Plan" in the mobile data settings. If neither exists, check *#06# for an EID; on this model there should be one, and its absence would mean you are not holding a second-generation SE.

Our compatibility checker covers the rest of the range if you are also checking a partner's phone, and the cheapest eSIM comparison is where to start on the plan itself.

Yes, the 2020 iPhone SE has eSIM — if it isn't locked