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Bosphorus Mobile

How your Turkey eSIM works

Two minutes at home and one switch when you land. This is the whole process — including the part most guides skip: what to do on arrival.

Three steps. Only the last one happens in Turkey.

You can install the eSIM up to 180 days before you travel.

  1. Step 1At home

    Choose your plan

    Pick the data and the number of days. Pay in pounds, euros or dollars — no account needed.

  2. Step 2At home

    Scan the QR code

    Your eSIM arrives by email within seconds. Install it at home, before you fly. Installing does not start the clock.

  3. Step 3In Turkey

    Land and switch it on

    Turn on data roaming for the new line when you arrive. Validity begins at the first network connection.

Will my phone work?

Two checks, less than a minute.

  1. 1

    Dial *#06#

    If an EID number shows up on the screen, your phone supports eSIM.

  2. 2

    Make sure it is unlocked

    A phone locked to your home operator cannot use another provider's eSIM. Phones bought outright are usually unlocked; if yours came with a contract, ask your operator.

Supported models at a glance

Apple
iPhone XS, XR and every newer model, including SE (2020 and later). iPhones sold in mainland China have no eSIM.
Samsung
Galaxy S20 and newer, Note20, Z Fold and Z Flip, plus recent A-series such as A54 and A55. Some US and Korean variants differ.
Google
Pixel 3 and every newer model.
Others
Many recent Xiaomi, OPPO, Motorola, Sony and Huawei phones — use the *#06# check to be sure.

Most iPads with mobile data and many smartwatches support eSIM as well.

Step by step, for your phone

Install on Wi‑Fi before you fly. The plan does not start until the eSIM connects in Turkey.

Install — iPhone

At home
  1. Open Settings → Mobile Service (Cellular on US iPhones) and tap Add eSIM.
  2. Choose Use QR Code and scan the code from your order email, shown on another screen.
  3. Tap Continue, then label the new line “Turkey”.
  4. Keep your usual line as the default for calls, messages and mobile data. The plan has not started.

Switch on — iPhone

In Turkey
  1. Open Settings → Mobile Service → Mobile Data and select the Turkey line.
  2. Go back, tap the Turkey line and turn on Data Roaming.
  3. Give it up to a minute. The network name appears in the status bar.
Cannot scan the code?
The order email also carries an SM-DP+ address and an activation code. Choose the option to enter details manually on the same screen and type them in.
Data roaming
Turn off Data Roaming on your home SIM so it cannot run up charges in the background.

Nothing starts until you connect in Turkey

  1. Buy

    Any time. The QR code arrives by email within seconds.

  2. Install

    Up to 180 days before first use. Installing does not start the plan.

  3. First connection

    Validity begins when the eSIM first reaches a Turkish network, and runs in consecutive days.

  4. Top up

    Add data — or days on the unlimited plan — to the same eSIM, from inside Turkey.

If it does not connect

  1. Select the Turkey line for mobile data

    With two lines on one phone, data keeps flowing through whichever you chose last. Pick the eSIM.

  2. Turn on Data Roaming for that line

    A travel eSIM is technically roaming, so it needs roaming switched on — for the eSIM only, not for your home SIM.

  3. Toggle Airplane mode

    Ten seconds on, then off, makes the phone search for the network again. A restart does the same.

  4. Still offline? Email us

    Write to support@buyesimturkey.com from any Wi‑Fi. We answer from Istanbul.

Get online before the plane doors open

Install at home, land connected, and top up later without hunting for a workaround.

Choose a plan

Will my phone work?

Two checks, less than a minute.

  1. 1

    Dial *#06#

    If an EID number shows up on the screen, your phone supports eSIM.

  2. 2

    Make sure it is unlocked

    A phone locked to your home operator cannot use another provider's eSIM. Phones bought outright are usually unlocked; if yours came with a contract, ask your operator.

Supported models at a glance

Apple
iPhone XS, XR and every newer model, including SE (2020 and later). iPhones sold in mainland China have no eSIM.
Samsung
Galaxy S20 and newer, Note20, Z Fold and Z Flip, plus recent A-series such as A54 and A55. Some US and Korean variants differ.
Google
Pixel 3 and every newer model.
Others
Many recent Xiaomi, OPPO, Motorola, Sony and Huawei phones — use the *#06# check to be sure.

Most iPads with mobile data and many smartwatches support eSIM as well.

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