Yes, I have an iPhone 14 Pro.

Thanks for this. I'm going to copy this info into a Google doc so I can save it and go through the info carefully. Thanks to the others who answered too. You've been a big help.

Thank you for asking. Your situation does not match mine exactly, but you articulated your questions well enough that it was helpful.
Thank you for answering. I think I knew most of that already, but the reinforcement is helpful.

How would I buy an Airalo (or other) eSIM for western Europe (England and Benelux) and avoid starting usage on it but still have it ready to go on arrival? In other words, I would like to buy the eSIM and its data plan, install the eSIM, and have the full time and data available to me upon arrival. I'm not sure what word I should use other than activate, and I'm not sure how I should use the word activate, but I want to have everything ready to go before I travel ("activate" it) but not start the usage period (don't "activate" it). A possible complication is that I will be taking a ship to cross the Atlantic, so will not have cell service until arrival. Thanks for any help.

There are lots of good videos on YouTube about how to buy and install an Airalo esim. I prefer not to install until perhaps one day before arrival, so if I mess up and actually activate it it will be of no consequence. Typically you will run out of data before you run out of time. A 1GB eSim is usually good for 7 days, a 5GB eSim is good for 30 days, for example, so losing one day is not a big deal.

A few them are "started upon purchase".

a lot are "started upon loading esim into phone"
A lot of are "started only upon first proper network connection, sometimes only in that specific country ".

Very few are "started on a specific date".

Ubigi offers free esim profile (no charge, you can sign up for an account, get esim, load it on phone. Their firewall blocks you from doing anything other than accessing their website to buy a plan).

RedBullMobile and Eskimo offer free esim (and some free data to try it out)


How much data do you need and which countries? There are a few providers which are PAYG (you refill wallet, wallet valid for 12/24/36month or lifetime), each country you go to deducts from that wallet at a some rate. Useful in your home country as a backup network if the local provider is different (eg you use att stateside, the esim allows TMobile connection stateside). Also useful if you visit countries at an irregular or semiregular pattern especially non-EU, making it harder to use up a 1/3/7day esim with xGB data

Just a quick heads up.

Flexiroam 7Gb, 360 day, 150+ country data esim is currently on sale for $40. This is an 80% discount over their regular pricing.

I've used this in the past and it works well and they are a reliable provider with quality local carriers. They have a very good app also and it tracks usage and balance for accurate reference.

Edited to add link:
7Gb, $40 esim

I saw this yesterday and bought one for my upcoming South Africa trip. I hope it works!

You can install the Airalo eSIM before arriving. It will not "activate" until you connect to the local carrier when you arrive and your time and data starts then. Also you can just leave the SIM "off" until you arrive in settings.

Had a great experience purchasing eSIM off Taobao for Japan and USA. Cheap cost and seamless activation process(I typical pre-activate before leaving the last departure point)

Yes, that's what I did for an earlier trip. My concern is that immediately upon installation, the eSIM will have roaming on and connect to some network, thus starting the clock. Ideally, the eSIM should install with all settings off and let the user turn them on when desired.

How can I be sure that no network local to home will be a roaming partner? Thanks.

No, that won’t happen. What might happen is that your eSim activates when you install it, not when it connects to a network in the destination country. I use Airalo and every eSIm I have bought says that “The validity period starts when the eSim connects to any supported network/s”. However Airalo videos say that there are some eSIMs that will start on installation. You should check by clicking on Details/Show more/Activation policy.

Thanks.

I checked this morning (8-11), and the $40 deal is dead. The bundle has bounced back to the regular price of $199. There seems to be a trend of either an 70-80% discount around the first week of every month, so if you might be interested in the future, perhaps you should bookmark the link I posted above. A nice feature that is included is the 360 clock can be delayed up to 3 months before it needs to be activated. So if you catch the sale pricing, you have some leeway on extending the expiration date.

how important are the networks?
 

An Airalo eSIM for UK-only uses "O2-UK" and "Three UK" networks. An Airalo eSIM for Europe uses, in UK, "EE", "Hutchison 3G", and "Vodafone" networks. How significant is this? For my upcoming need, I could buy a UK eSIM and an eSIM for the single other country I will visit for $2 more. (The data limits will surely meet my needs, with the slightly more expensive option even more surely meeting my needs.) I will mainly be in urban areas, except for visiting some sites on Hadrian's Wall. Recommendations? Thanks.

While I think Airalo has really good offers, I also have to say that I sometimes run into issues. Already twice the APN set during installation was wrong. Only after back and forth with the support, mainly replying to stupid questions, they gave me another APN value to enter. Now I have an issue in Mauritius, the eSIM was working fine for two days then suddenly did not transfer any data anymore while still 4G connected to the network and more than enough data remaining. So far no real help from support, just the turn-on-off phone type of suggestions.

My conclusion is to always have a backup.

I have used both a UK only and a multi country eSim in the UK, with Airalo. I have had more problem with connectivity in the UK than any other country, which would include France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Malta, Slovenia and some others. I have had several problems in the UK and none that I remember in other countries, unless I was in a very remote or mountainous area where problems could be expected. Sometimes only one or zero bars and losing connections. Mostly I have been in the north of England but I had the same problem near Heathrow. I don’t know if the issue is the eSim or the UK wireless network. I would incline to the country specific choice.