Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Flip 8: One SIM Slot, Two eSIMs on a Trip

A Galaxy Z Fold 8 or Flip 8 with a single SIM tray still runs two lines at once: keep your home number on the physical card or move it to an eSIM, and put the travel plan on an eSIM beside it. What you lose is the habit of sliding a second plastic card in at the airport — the second line now has to be downloaded, and that is best done before you leave.

If you travelled for years with a dual-card phone, the change feels bigger than it is. The phone still does what you need; only the way the second line arrives has moved.

What actually changed for dual-card travellers

On a dual-tray phone, the routine was simple: home card in slot one, a local card bought on arrival in slot two. With one tray, that local card would push your home card out, which means losing your bank codes and calls to your number for the whole trip. The workable answer is to keep the tray for one line and use eSIM for the other. The Galaxy foldables, like other recent Galaxy phones, keep two lines active at the same time, so the result is the same as before: one number for home, one connection for the trip.

Check what your exact model allows

Samsung sells regional versions of each foldable, and carrier models can carry their own restrictions. Open Settings > Connections > SIM manager: it shows the physical SIM, any eSIMs stored, and whether you can add another. Samsung’s spec page for your model number lists its SIM configuration, including whether two eSIMs can be active together rather than one card and one eSIM (last checked: October 2026). If the phone came from a carrier, confirm it is unlocked before you rely on a travel profile from someone else — a locked phone may refuse it outright.

Three setups that work with one tray

Setup	Home line	Travel line	Tray holds	Fits when
Card plus travel eSIM	Physical SIM	Travel eSIM	Your home card	Your carrier offers no eSIM or you’d rather not convert
Two eSIMs	eSIM	Travel eSIM	Nothing	Your model allows two active eSIMs and your carrier issues eSIM
eSIM plus local card	eSIM	Local physical SIM	The local card	You want a local number and can buy one in person

Only two lines can be active at the same time on these phones, whatever the mix. A third stored profile is fine, but it has to be switched off while the other two run.

Keeping your home card in the tray

This is the least work. Your carrier does nothing, your card stays where it is, and the travel profile goes on as an eSIM. Before you fly, set the home card for calls and SMS. With Mobile data set to the travel line and Auto data switching off, as in the trip settings below, the home card uses no data abroad, and its calls and texts are billed under your carrier’s roaming terms, so read those terms for your destination first. Your bank codes keep arriving, and you can still be reached on your own number.

Moving your home line to eSIM to free the tray

Converting is worth it if you want the tray for a local card, or if you swap phones often and want both lines in one place. Your carrier handles the conversion through its app, website or a store, and some carriers let the Samsung setup screens transfer the line directly. Do it at home, with the old card still working, because the confirmation can come by SMS to that number. Once both lines are eSIMs, keep a note of your carrier’s eSIM replacement process; a reset or a replaced phone means asking them to reissue it.

Settings for the trip itself

In SIM manager, set Mobile data to the travel line and leave Calls and Text messages on your home line. Switch off Auto data switching (Settings > Connections > SIM manager), which otherwise lets the phone move data onto your home line when the travel signal is weak — and that data is billed at your home carrier’s roaming rate. Under Settings > Connections > Mobile networks, data roaming must be on for the travel line to connect. Whether Data roaming can be set per line on your model is visible there — on some One UI builds it is one switch for both lines, so leave it on for the travel eSIM. Then pick the plan for the countries you are visiting; our destination plans and prices show the coverage of each, including regional plans for multi-country routes.

Installing the travel profile before you go

The second line is a download, so do it where the connection is good. You install the travel eSIM through the Simtegre app at home over Wi-Fi before departure, so nothing has to be done on arrival — no QR code to hunt for, no shop, no passport registration. The Samsung installation guide walks through each screen on One UI, including how to name the new line in SIM manager. If you collect profiles over several trips, managing multiple eSIMs without losing track shows how to label and switch them, and how many eSIMs a phone can hold explains the difference between stored and active profiles. Delete an old travel profile only when you are sure you are finished with it; whether a deleted profile can be installed again is answered in the eSIM FAQ.