United States

Staying connected in United States

The United States draws visitors all year round for every kind of trip: visiting family in California or Texas, conferences and trade fairs, settling children into university, or a classic East Coast run through New York, Washington and Boston. Summer and the end-of-year holidays are the busiest and priciest times, while autumn brings the famous foliage to New England.

The country is so large that one trip can mix dense cities with hundreds of miles of desert or mountain driving. In town you will lean on your phone for ride-hailing, subway times and restaurant bookings; on long routes such as Route 66 or Highway 1, and inside national parks like Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon or Yosemite, there can be long stretches with no mobile signal, so plan ahead before leaving the city.

Coverage and networks

There are 2 eSIM options for United States. Each network belongs to the option it is listed with, so compare them before choosing.

If you are also visiting Canada, consider the United States & Canada plan; adding Mexico, look at United States, Canada & Mexico.

Signal and speed depend on where you are, your device and network conditions, and can differ between plans.

Choosing a data allowance

eSIM plans for United States currently last 1 to 30 days and come in these types:

• Daily data (500MB, 1GB, 2GB and 3GB per day): suits a steady routine. Check when the daily allowance resets and what happens once it is used.
• Total data (3GB to 30GB): one allowance for the whole trip, handy when some days are heavier than others.
• Unlimited: always read the fair-use policy; after a set amount, speed may be reduced.

Suggestions for this trip

• A 5–7 day city trip built around maps, ride-hailing and photo posts: 1GB a day usually does the job; if you video call home every evening, go for 2GB a day.
• A 10–15 day self-drive road trip: all-day navigation and music streaming use more data than you might expect, so consider 3GB a day or an unlimited plan (fair-use policy).
• A long family visit where you are mostly on home Wi-Fi: 10GB or 20GB of total data over 30 days is often better value than daily data.
• A 3-day business trip with email and messaging: 1GB a day is enough; for frequent video meetings choose 2GB a day or more.

Count your arrival and departure days. Before paying, check the exact plan for when validity starts, how days are counted, and whether hotspot, calls or SMS are included; these differ between plans.

Before you go

• Ride-hailing: Uber and Lyft operate in most large cities and at airports; install them and add a payment card before you fly.
• Payments: International cards and phone wallets are accepted almost everywhere; at sit-down restaurants a tip is customarily added when you pay.
• Wi-Fi: Coffee chains, public libraries and many airports offer free Wi-Fi, handy for downloading maps or video calls when you want to save data.
• National parks: Before heading into western parks and desert areas, download offline maps for the whole region, screenshot your bookings and fill up the tank.
• Time zones: The mainland spans four main time zones, so double-check times on domestic flights and meetings when crossing between coasts.
• Emergencies: Dial 911 for police, ambulance and fire.
• eSIM setup: Before buying, make sure your phone supports eSIM and is not carrier-locked. Install the eSIM before you fly, on a stable Wi-Fi connection, following the instructions sent with your plan.
• On arrival: Set the travel eSIM as your mobile data line and follow its roaming instructions. Turn off data roaming on your home SIM to avoid unexpected charges.