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A fixed plan costs less overall; an unlimited plan (a daily high-speed allowance, then slower) works out to a lower daily rate the longer you stay, and suits a road trip where the phone is the navigation system. The price depends on how much data you want and how many days you're staying; every current option and price is in the plan selector at the top of this page.
In the USA your plan connects to T-Mobile, with 5G in and around the major cities and along most interstates and 4G LTE beyond that. Your phone joins the network automatically once the plan is switched on. If it hasn't connected a minute after landing, work through the no-signal checklist.
Hawaii and Alaska, yes: the plan covers all 50 states. Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam are separate KnowRoaming destinations with their own plans, so add the one you need to the same eSIM before you fly on.
Not the USA plan; it stops at the land borders. For a trip that crosses into Canada or Mexico, choose the North America plan, which covers all three countries and switches networks by itself at the border. Already in the USA on a USA plan? Add a Canada or Mexico plan to the same eSIM before you cross. Details in does a region plan cover every country in it?
In the visitor centers and main lodges, usually; on the trails and scenic drives, often not. Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, and the Grand Canyon all have long stretches with no signal on any network. Download offline maps and save your reservations before you drive in, and hotspot from the car when you're back in range.
Yes. A phone still locked to a carrier contract can't add plans from anyone else. If you bought your phone outright or finished your contract, it is usually unlocked already; if you're not sure, carrier-locked vs unlocked: how to tell shows you where to look.
In the app: open My plans, choose your USA plan, and tap Top up. The extra data lands on the same eSIM within a few seconds, with nothing new to add or scan. Full steps are in topping up data without reinstalling the eSIM.
Weeks ahead. The plan's days don't start until you turn it on and connect in the USA, so a plan bought a month before departure is still complete when you land. Plans need to be activated within 90 days of purchase. See what plan validity means and when it starts.
United States (USA) eSIM for road trips, city breaks, and the national parks
Set it up before you fly. It's live the moment you land, nothing to check, nothing to remember.
Already with us? Get the app on the App Store or Google Play.
The United States of America (USA) runs on your phone from the moment you clear immigration: the rideshare to the hotel, the tap-to-pay coffee, the map for a drive that turns out to be four hours, not forty minutes. The best eSIM for the USA is the one that is already working when you switch airplane mode off. Add a USA plan at home, on Wi-Fi, and your phone connects to 5G as you walk out of arrivals.
Below: how a USA plan works, how to set it up before you fly, what to expect on arrival and on the road, and what to do if your trip crosses into Canada or Mexico.
A US trip is often the long one: two or three weeks, several states, maybe a border. KnowRoaming is built for that. You add the KnowRoaming eSIM, called KR.One, to your phone once, then add a plan per trip: a USA plan now, a North America plan the year you drive up to Vancouver, Mexico for the winter after that. The eSIM stays; only the plan changes, and nothing needs deleting when you get home.
The plan's days start when you turn it on and connect in the USA, not at checkout. Buy it weeks ahead, add it at home, and a delayed flight costs you nothing. The full rule is in what plan validity means and when it starts.
Choose a fixed plan for a set amount of data at the lowest overall price, or an unlimited plan when you'd rather not count. A fixed plan suits maps, messaging, and social along the way; go unlimited if you're streaming, on video calls, or working remotely on a longer trip. Unlimited plans give you a daily high-speed allowance, then a slower speed until the allowance resets the next day. If a fixed plan runs low, top up in the app and the extra data lands on the same eSIM. Hotspot works on every plan, fixed or unlimited; a laptop or a travel partner's phone shares the same eSIM data.
See it in two minutes: Meet KR.One, iPhone setup with KR.One, or Samsung setup with KR.One.
Do this at home on Wi-Fi. It takes about a minute, and it saves you from doing it on airport Wi-Fi after a nine-hour flight.
Before you leave
- Get the KnowRoaming app (available on iOS and Android) and choose your USA plan.
- Tap Add. First time on this phone? The app adds KR.One and your USA plan together. Already have KR.One? Only the plan is added, with nothing to scan.
- Leave data roaming off on the KnowRoaming line until you land, and turn it off on your home line too so it doesn't run up charges in the background. Steps are in turning off roaming on your home line.
When you land
- Turn the plan on in the app, then turn data roaming on for the KnowRoaming line. That setting lives in your phone, so the app can't flip it for you.
- Give the phone a minute to find the network. If nothing happens, turn airplane mode on for 30 seconds and off again.
Prefer a QR code? The checkout page and your confirmation email both carry one; scan it from your phone's settings. Every tap is in how to add your plan, start to finish, or watch the iPhone QR walkthrough or the Samsung QR walkthrough. Still no signal after landing? Work through the no-signal checklist.
You won't need data in the immigration line, but you'll want it the second you're through: rideshare pickups at the big hubs are in marked zones you find in the app, and taxis, buses and airport trains all take a card or a phone tap. Rideshare works on the phone number you already have; the app only needs data, not a US number.
The USA is a card and phone-wallet country, with a tipping screen at the end of most transactions. Restaurant bookings, event tickets, theme-park queues, and hotel check-ins increasingly live in apps too. Cash still gets used at markets, small diners, and toll booths in some states, so carry a little.
If you're renting a car, your phone is the navigation system. Set the KnowRoaming eSIM as the line for mobile data before you leave the lot, and turn on the hotspot if someone in the back seat needs a laptop.
The first hour is where the plan pays for itself, and the big hubs each do it differently. At JFK the AirTrain connects to the subway and the Long Island Rail Road, and rideshare pickups are by terminal. At LAX every rideshare and taxi leaves from the LAX-it lot, reached by a green shuttle, so open the app once you're on the bus, not before. Chicago's O'Hare has the Blue Line straight into the Loop, San Francisco has BART from the international terminal, and Miami's Metrorail runs from the airport. Most of those want a ticket bought in an app or a card tap at the gate, and rideshare zones move often enough that the app's live instructions are the ones to trust.
If you're connecting onward on a domestic flight, gate changes are common and announced in the airline's app first. The plan is already on; leave it on.
Your USA eSIM connects to T-Mobile, with 5G in and around every major city and along most interstates, and 4G LTE beyond that. Your phone picks the network automatically once the plan is on; there is nothing to choose by hand.
The USA is big, and no network covers all of it. Expect dead zones in the national parks (Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon's inner trails), along stretches of the Pacific Coast Highway and across much of the rural West. That is true for locals on the same network, not a limitation of the plan. Download offline maps for any drive that leaves the interstate, save your bookings offline, and treat the gaps as part of the trip.
A USA plan covers all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska. It stops at the land borders. If your trip takes in Niagara Falls from the Canadian side, Vancouver, Tijuana, or a week in Cancún, choose the North America plan instead: the USA, Canada, and Mexico on one plan, switching networks by itself at the border. Read do I need a new plan for every country? before you decide.
Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam are each their own KnowRoaming destination with their own plan. Flying on to San Juan? Add that plan to the same eSIM before you board.
Most current iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and Google Pixel phones support eSIM. Check yours before you add a plan; it takes a few seconds.
The check that matters more for the USA is the carrier lock. A phone bought on a US carrier contract is often locked to that carrier and can't add plans from anyone else until the contract is complete; unlocking is usually free once it is. If you're not sure whether yours is locked, carrier-locked vs unlocked: how to tell shows you where to look.
One more USA-specific note: iPhone 14 and later models sold in the USA have no physical SIM tray at all. If that's your phone, it is already an eSIM phone, and a KnowRoaming plan sits alongside whatever line is on it now.
Keep your home number too
Adding a USA plan doesn't touch your regular SIM. Calls and texts on your usual number keep working exactly as before. The new plan handles data while you're there, and most phones run both at once without you doing anything else. Bank codes and two-factor texts still arrive on your home number, as long as that line stays switched on. A USA plan is data only, so calls home go over WhatsApp, FaceTime, or your carrier's Wi-Fi calling, not a US number.
One plan. No roaming surprises. Live the moment you land.
Visitors to the USA usually fall back on one of three things: a daily roaming pass from home that turns into a slow lane after the first gigabyte, a prepaid SIM from a phone store that comes with a new number your contacts don't have, or hotel Wi-Fi in a country where the taxi, the tip, and the trailhead map all need data. A USA plan added before you fly beats all three: one price agreed at home, live the second you land, and hotspot for the rental car included. If you want a named side-by-side, the blog has KnowRoaming vs Airalo, kept up to date there rather than here.
Real travelers rate KnowRoaming 4.5 out of 5 on Reviews.io. More than a decade in travel connectivity, more than 200 destinations, and support that doesn't clock off: WhatsApp and live chat, any time, any day.
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Trusted by frequent travelers.
Works like a bomb. The new app layout needs to be easier to navigate. Especially when trying to topup in a hurry.
Renier
Reliable service throughout our trip in China.
Arlindo
Pretoria, ZA
Works very easily when sorting out an eSIM
Chris
Oslo, NO