Cosmote eSIM in Greece: The Telekom Rebrand and Your Options

If a phone store doesn't fit your first day, a HelloRoam Greece eSIM installs at home before your flight and starts counting its days when it first connects in Greece.

We checked every price and rule in this guide on November 2, 2026, on the official pages of Deutsche Telekom, Apple, AT&T and T-Mobile.

Cosmote eSIM is now a Telekom eSIM on the same network

Deutsche Telekom announced on September 3, 2026, that COSMOTE TELEKOM, the brand of Greece's OTE Group, would become plain Telekom. It said COSMOTE stores would be renamed Telekom, the COSMOTE App would become the Telekom App, and the official website would become telekom.gr. Deutsche Telekom also said the network name shown on phones would change to TELEKOM.GR.

Get your Greece eSIM before you flyInstall it at home, then turn on data roaming for it when you land. From $2.21.See Greece plans

Deutsche Telekom said its products and services would be renamed too, with COSMOTE 5G becoming Telekom 5G. So when an older guide or a friend says Cosmote, look for Telekom.

A local eSIM in Greece starts with an unlocked phone

Whichever route Telekom offers visitors, these steps get a local eSIM working on your phone.

1. Check your phone before you fly. It has to be unlocked and support eSIM. On an iPhone, open Settings, tap General, then About: "No SIM Restrictions" next to Carrier Lock means it's unlocked. On Android, make sure your phone supports eSIM.
2. Bring your passport. Apple notes that, depending on local rules, you might be asked to show ID like a passport to buy a plan.
3. Ask how the eSIM is activated. Apple says carriers give you the steps, like a QR code or a carrier app.
4. Pick the new line for data. On an iPhone, open Settings, tap Cellular, then Cellular Data, and select it. Apple notes you might still pay roaming fees on your home line if you keep it on.

A physical SIM card isn't a fallback on a newer US iPhone. Apple's iPhone model guide says iPhone 14 and later models sold in the United States have no SIM tray, so on those phones a Telekom line has to be an eSIM.

A travel eSIM for Greece skips the store, but check its network

The other route is an eSIM for international travel that you buy online and install at home over Wi-Fi. This section reflects our plan catalogue on November 2, 2026, and plans and networks can change.

The network matters if Telekom is the reason you searched. In that catalogue, HelloRoam's Greece plans connect to Vodafone and Wind, not Telekom, and they're data only, with no phone number. Telekom's own eSIM is the better buy if you want its network or a Greek number for local calls.

A travel eSIM wins on time. Install it at home over Wi-Fi, and when you land, switch the line on, turn on data roaming for that line and pick it for mobile data.

We sell travel eSIMs, so we've kept the cases where Telekom fits better, and our editorial policy explains how we handle that conflict.

Your US plan's daily fee in Greece is the number to compare

Before you buy anything, check what your US carrier charges in Greece. AT&T's International Day Pass covers Greece at $12 for each 24-hour period you talk, text or use data there, plus $6 for each other line used the same day. A week of daily use comes to $84 for one line. Our guide to what AT&T's Day Pass costs abroad covers the plans that skip it.

T-Mobile includes Greece among its 215+ countries and destinations. Experience More gives you 5GB of high-speed data there and Experience Beyond 15GB, then unlimited data at up to 256 Kbps. Compare T-Mobile's roaming allowances plan by plan before you add a pass.

Keeping your US line on for calls has a price too: on AT&T, making or answering a call or sending a text in Greece starts a Day Pass day. Texts you receive don't, so a bank code sent by text won't start one. To set all three routes side by side, weigh a travel eSIM against roaming before your trip.