Swiss phone: prepaid, eSIM, and Swisscom (official pages)
Companion to the kit Mobile phone page. Prices change often, so open the carrier page the day you buy.
What this page adds
The main phone page lists Swisscom / Sunrise / Salt prepaid hubs. This page focuses on eSIM vs physical SIM, with Swisscom as the worked example (it publishes the most help pages), plus short official pointers for Sunrise. EPFL’s “Mobile subscription” pages are staff IT (Swisscom NATEL go for EPFL-assigned numbers), useful only if you later get an EPFL work phone, not for a student day-1 SIM.
Day-1 choice (student newcomer)
| Option | When it helps | Official starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Prepaid + physical SIM | Buy in a shop with passport; works on almost every phone | Carrier prepaid pages on phone.html |
| Prepaid + eSIM | Phone supports eSIM; you want activation without waiting for a plastic card | Swisscom / Sunrise eSIM help below |
| Monthly subscription | Longer stay, predictable data; more ID / credit checks | Same carrier sites, re-check terms |
Swisscom’s newcomers / expat page states you can start with an eSIM and activate online, and that with valid ID you can get started even before a permanent residence permit; many newcomers start on prepaid and switch later. Confirm live: Swisscom, Mobile, Internet & TV for expats.
Need internet at home beyond mobile data (fibre, cable, contract terms)? See Home internet for a private flat.
Once your Swiss SIM works, install the free Alertswiss app for official public alerts: see Alertswiss, sirens and public alerts.
Swisscom prepaid vs eSIM
Prepaid overview: no fixed monthly fee; top up as you go; also available as eSIM. If unused for 12 months, Swisscom states the SIM/eSIM becomes invalid and remaining credit lapses (GTC for Mobile Prepaid). On 5 Oct 2026 the prepaid page advertised « Activation worth 19.90 free of charge » (a promotion; Swisscom does not list a starting-credit amount). Basic tariff on the same page (5 Oct 2026): surfing CHF 2.00 per day of use (only if more than 10 KB is used that day), calls CHF 0.29 per minute, SMS CHF 0.15. If you port your prepaid number out to another provider, remaining credit expires (same prepaid FAQ).
→ Swisscom Prepaid
eSIM help (Swisscom): an eSIM is digital (no plastic). Swisscom states eSIMs are currently free of charge, so you save the CHF 40 SIM card activation fee (eSIM help page, 5 Oct 2026). Swisscom also confirms eSIMs work with prepaid. Prepaid eSIM: order/set up in My Swisscom; subscription eSIM: select eSIM when ordering, then QR / My Swisscom app.
→ Swisscom, Order, set up and use a Swisscom eSIM
Practical tip: keep a foreign SIM in a dual-SIM / dual-eSIM phone until your Swiss number and TWINT / banking apps work.
Keeping a number (porting)
- It is a Swiss-provider-to-Swiss-provider process. Federal rule: providers must let customers keep their number when they change provider within the same category (fixed network, mobile network, 0800-type services) (OST art. 34a, RS 784.101.1). All three carrier pages below describe moving a Swiss number between Swiss providers; none describes bringing in a foreign number, so plan on a new Swiss number on arrival.
- Do not cancel your old contract yourself. The new provider cancels it for you with your authorisation. Sunrise: "We'll cancel the old contract. Please do not take any action, as this will delay number porting." Salt: you fill in a power of attorney with the new contract and Salt handles the rest. Swisscom: select "Keep my number" in the order; the porting form comes automatically.
- Leaving a prepaid number: send a free SMS YES to 499 to your current provider (Sunrise and Salt pages).
- Leaving a subscription: a free SMS INFO to 503 to your current provider returns the earliest fee-free porting date, the early-termination fees if you port now, and the contract holder's name (Sunrise). Porting before the end of the minimum term or cancellation period costs whatever your old contract says.
- Timing (as each page states it): Sunrise, no sooner than 7 working days after the request, never on weekends or holidays; Sunrise Prepaid FAQ, prepaid porting "as a rule" 5 to 10 days. Swisscom, 1 to 2 weeks depending on the provider you leave. Salt, request up to 365 days before your current contract ends; you keep using the old SIM until the transfer runs, and Salt texts the date without an exact time.
- Prepaid credit does not move: Sunrise says remaining prepaid credit is not transferred and expires, so use it up first.
- Swap the SIM only when the old one dies. The new SIM works only once the number is ported (Sunrise); Salt recommends waiting until your current provider has stopped the service before changing SIM.
- Keeping your Swiss number on Swisscom Prepaid: Swisscom's Prepaid FAQ says you can transfer your mobile number to Swisscom Prepaid free of charge: choose “Keep my number” when you order. If your current number is on a prepaid SIM, first send an SMS with the word YES to 499 to authorise the transfer; Swisscom then cancels your old service and moves the number.
Sources: Swisscom, Transfer phone number · Swisscom, Switch offer · Sunrise, Mobile number porting · Sunrise Prepaid FAQ · Salt, Join Salt Mobile
Sunrise (official, short)
- Prepaid hub: Sunrise Prepaid
- eSIM setup help: Sunrise, Set up and use the eSIM
- Fees (including eSIM activation amounts when published): Sunrise, Service fees. Check the amounts on the live page.
Sunrise Prepaid FAQ (5 Oct 2026): registration needs a valid ID or passport; the starter pack is a one-time CHF 19.90 with CHF 20 starting credit; an eSIM usually works within minutes, a physical SIM comes by post in about two working days; a prepaid number unused for 17 months is deleted and its credit forfeited. Re-check on Sunrise Prepaid the day you buy.
Salt (official, short)
- PrePay starter (live 5 Oct 2026): Salt PrePay states a free SIM card with CHF 10.- included (also « Initial credit of CHF 10.- and SIM-Card for free »). Re-check that page the day you buy.
- eSIM for prepaid: Salt states eSIM is available for prepaid customers in the same way as the physical SIM. Activation uses an eSIM voucher with QR code sent by post, so it is not instant like the Swisscom / Sunrise app route. Swapping an existing physical Salt SIM for an eSIM costs CHF 59 in a Salt Store (as stated on the page). → Salt, eSIM
- ID to subscribe: one official identity document plus a second one with your photo; prepay from age 16, postpay from 18. → Salt, Join Salt Mobile
- Plans / other PrePay links: phone.html.
EPFL mobile (staff only, do not confuse)
EPFL IT documents EPFL-assigned Swisscom subscriptions (NATEL go Swiss premium) and Cockpit data packs for staff/service phones. Students needing a personal number should use consumer prepaid/subscription pages above, not Service Now staff forms.
Sources:
Check before you buy
- Exact in-store ID list for prepaid without a Swiss address. Narrowed 5 Oct 2026: Sunrise asks for a valid ID or passport; Salt for one official ID plus a second photo document; Swisscom says valid ID lets you start before a permanent permit. None of the three pages says whether a Swiss address is required, so bring passport + EPFL enrolment + commune attestation when you have them.
- Whether your phone model supports Swisscom/Sunrise eSIM (check the manufacturer + carrier device list).
- Starter CHF (live 5 Oct 2026, open the prepaid page the day you buy): Sunrise starter pack CHF 19.90 + CHF 20 credit (Prepaid FAQ). Salt PrePay free SIM + CHF 10.- initial credit (PrePay page). Swisscom prepaid advertises activation worth 19.90 free of charge but does not list a starting-credit amount; the eSIM help page says a physical SIM activation costs CHF 40 and eSIMs are currently free.