United States eSIM

Staying connected in the United States

The quickest way to get online in the United States is to install a travel eSIM at home and switch it on when you land at JFK, LAX or any other US airport. AirOva sells three kinds of USA plan: fixed GB plans, unlimited data with no data cap, and plans with calls. The plans run on Verizon and AT&T, with 5G where available — each plan card lists its network.

Which USA plan to choose

GB plans suit most trips. A one-week city break usually fits in 3–5 GB, two weeks with social media, photos and some streaming in 8–12 GB, and a road trip with navigation running all day calls for 15–20 GB. Unlimited plans are priced by the number of days, for travellers who would rather not count gigabytes between ride-hailing, navigation and streaming on long drives. Plans with calls add call minutes and SMS to mobile data. Not sure? See how much data you need.

Coverage: cities, national parks and road trips

Coverage is strong in the cities and along the interstates. New York subway stations have signal, but the tunnels between them are still being wired, so on many lines expect drops between stops. In the national parks, signal is usually limited to lodges, visitor centres and villages — Old Faithful in Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon's South Rim village, Yosemite Valley, Furnace Creek in Death Valley — and trails and back roads are mostly offline. So are long stretches of Big Sur on the Pacific Coast Highway, the Mojave section of Route 66 and Utah's canyon country.

Arriving at JFK, LAX or another US airport

Most international visitors land at JFK, LAX, San Francisco (SFO), Miami (MIA) or Chicago (ORD). After landing, turn off airplane mode, switch the eSIM line on, choose it for mobile data and enable Data Roaming for that line; the plan is prepaid, so roaming adds no charge. Keep roaming off on your home SIM. Validity starts on the first connection to a US network, so installing a few days early costs nothing — see how to install an eSIM.

Apps and local specifics

Uber and Lyft run in almost every US city; add a payment method at home, and at airports head for the rideshare pickup zone shown in the app. New York's subway and buses take OMNY — tap a contactless card or phone wallet at the turnstile. Most visitors need no US number, since WhatsApp, iMessage and FaceTime run on data; the exception is an app that asks for one to verify an account, where a local SIM helps — see eSIM vs pocket Wi-Fi vs local SIM. An ESTA, if you need one, is unrelated to your eSIM. The USA eSIM guide goes park by park.

One last tip: US distances are big, so cache offline maps for every park, desert leg and scenic drive before you set off, and a rural dead zone will never leave you lost. If a road trip eats more data than planned, top up the same eSIM from your account, with no new QR code. A USA plan covers the USA only, so add a separate plan if your route crosses into Canada or Mexico.