SIM card for iPhone: which size, and which models have none

Which SIM card for iPhone do you need?

The SIM card for iPhone models made in the last decade and more is a nano-SIM, and on many recent ones it's an eSIM with no card at all. Every iPhone from the iPhone 5 onward takes a nano-SIM, an eSIM, or both, according to Apple's own list. Older sizes only matter if you're reviving something from a drawer.

Apple is firm about one thing: don't trim a bigger card to fit. Its size page says a cut or modified SIM "might prevent connection to cellular networks", and damage to the tray from one isn't covered by the hardware warranty. If your card is the wrong size, ask the carrier for a new one.

We read Apple's support pages on 9 November 2026. Model lists change with each release, so the edge of your phone is the final word: a slot with a pinhole means a tray, a blank edge means eSIM only.

Does the iPhone 14 have a SIM card?

It depends where it was bought. Apple says iPhone 14 models and later bought in the United States can only be activated with an eSIM. There's no tray. The same phone sold in Europe, the UK and most of Asia kept a nano-SIM tray alongside its eSIM.

The iPhone 15, 16 and 16e follow the same US-only rule. The iPhone 17 family widened it. Apple lists the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max and 17e as eSIM only when bought in the United States, the US Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Guam, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar or Oman. Apple's list now puts the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max in the same group. So a Canadian or Japanese iPhone 17 has no tray, though a Canadian iPhone 14 does.

Phones get imported and resold, which is why we'd check the edge before trusting the receipt. Our iPhone 14 page and the eSIM iPhone guide go model by model.

Does the iPhone 13 or iPhone SE have a SIM card?

Yes, both. The iPhone 13 has a nano-SIM tray and an eSIM, and it was the first iPhone that can run two eSIMs at once. Every iPhone SE has a nano-SIM tray. The third-generation SE adds an eSIM, and the original has none. The second generation (2020) has both: Apple's tech specs list it as "Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM)", with the caveat that eSIM isn't supported in every region. Apple's SIM size page only lists the tray, which is why it reads as nano-SIM only. Our SE (2nd generation) page has the detail.

So, do all iPhones have SIM cards? All of them have a SIM. Not all of them have a card.

Can an iPhone use two SIMs?

Yes, from the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR onward. Apple's Dual SIM page describes two lines that can both make and receive calls and messages, while the phone uses one cellular data network at a time. Up to the iPhone 12 that means one nano-SIM plus one eSIM. From the iPhone 13 it can be two eSIMs.

There are regional quirks. Apple says certain models sold in Hong Kong and Macao take two nano-SIM cards instead.

There's also a condition that catches people out. To use two different carriers, Apple says the iPhone must be unlocked by your carrier, unless both plans come from the same carrier. Two lines on a locked phone is not a travel setup.

Can you put a travel SIM in an iPhone?

Usually, if the phone is unlocked. Check before you leave: Settings, General, About, and look for "No SIM restrictions" next to Carrier Lock. If it says anything else, only your carrier can unlock it, Apple says, and that can take days. A locked iPhone fed a foreign card shows a warning along the lines of "The SIM card inserted in this iPhone does not appear to be supported."

Then the route splits.

iPhone with a tray. A local nano-SIM bought on arrival will work. In Japan, an airport SIM runs to about $12 with a passport; in the United States it's around $20, with no ID needed. The cost is that swapping cards takes your home number offline until you put the old one back. Our guide to removing the SIM card from an iPhone covers the tray and the pin.

iPhone without a tray. Plastic is out. Apple's travel page lists the alternatives: a prepaid eSIM from a local carrier, bought before the trip or in person after you land, such as at an airport kiosk, or a data-only eSIM from a worldwide provider. It notes some local purchases ask for ID such as a passport. On iOS 26 and later, when a travel eSIM activates, you can choose to use the travel eSIM only or keep your current line on too.

Our view: on any iPhone from the XR onward, add a travel eSIM and leave the home SIM alone. You keep your number for bank codes, and there's nothing small to lose. The numbers rarely argue otherwise. Nomad's 10 GB for 30 days in Japan was $16 when we read its site in August, close to the airport SIM, with no queue. The cheapest eSIM table shows where a local SIM still undercuts that, and how to activate an eSIM covers the setup.

Prepaid SIM cards for iPhone

There's no special iPhone prepaid SIM. Any carrier's prepaid nano-SIM fits any unlocked iPhone with a tray, and any carrier's prepaid eSIM installs on any unlocked iPhone from the XR on. Labels saying "for iPhone" on a SIM pack describe the size, not a different product.

What does vary is the network behind it, and that's a country question rather than a phone one. Start with the USA or Japan guide, or the best eSIM for international travel page for anywhere else.