Short answer: Most travel eSIMs do not move when you change phones. iPhone and Android transfer tools only work when the carrier supports them, and each travel eSIM seller sets its own rule. Check that rule before you erase the old phone. If the plan cannot move, use the old phone as a hotspot or buy a new plan.
| Seller | Can the eSIM move to a new phone? | What the seller tells you to do | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo | No | Keep using it on the old phone, share it by hotspot, or buy a new eSIM | Airalo help centre |
| Holafly | No | Reinstall on the same phone only, up to 4 times in total | Holafly FAQ, updated 1 October 2026 |
| Saily | Yes | Delete it on the old phone, then use the share option in the Saily app | Saily help centre |
| Nomad | Depends on the plan | Some plans move, some allow up to 3 installs, some allow none | Nomad help centre, updated 24 August 2026 |
| EasyTravelData | No, the QR code works once | Three of our 16 suppliers list a $3.99 replacement service. Contact support first | Our FAQ and catalog |
Seller policies are as their help pages read on 13 October 2026. Our own figures were counted from the live catalog on the same day.
This guide is for anyone who bought a new phone while a prepaid travel eSIM still had data or days left on the old one. It covers what the phone makers’ transfer tools do, what four large sellers say, which plans in our travel eSIM catalog have a replacement service, and what to do when the answer is no. Plan details change, so treat the live listing on each product page as the source of truth before you buy.
Why doesn’t a travel eSIM move like your phone number?
Because the phone only offers the transfer when the carrier behind the eSIM has agreed to it.
Apple’s setup page for eSIM puts the condition in the first sentence: “If your carrier supports eSIM Quick Transfer, you can transfer the SIM from your previous iPhone to your new iPhone without contacting them.” Both iPhones need iOS 18.4 or later. If the carrier is not part of it, Apple’s instruction is to contact the carrier for a QR code.
Apple also publishes a list of carriers that offer eSIM on iPhone. Country by country, it marks which ones support eSIM Quick Transfer. At the end there is a separate section called worldwide service providers, which is where travel eSIM brands such as Airalo, Holafly, Nomad and Ubigi appear. When we read the page on 13 October 2026, the Quick Transfer label appeared under carriers in country sections and not in the worldwide service providers section.
Android works the same way. Google’s help page for Pixel says the transfer needs Android 12 or later on both phones and adds: “Depending on your carrier, this may be automatic during the onboarding process.” When the option does not show up, the page says to “contact your carrier to activate your eSIM.” Samsung’s page for Galaxy phones lists the option under Settings, Connections, SIM manager, Add eSIM, and limits it to “Network Carriers that may allow eSIM Instant Transfer.”
So the tool exists on all three. Whether it shows your travel eSIM as something you can move is decided by the company that issued it. For a travel plan, that means the seller’s rule is the one that counts. If you are setting up one of this year’s iPhones, our iPhone 18 Pro eSIM-only guide covers the rest of the setup.
What should you do before you erase the old phone?
Leave the travel eSIM where it is until you know the seller’s rule. Three things are worth doing first.
Do not delete the eSIM to “start clean”. Apple’s page on erasing an eSIM says: “Don’t erase an eSIM as a troubleshooting step unless directed to by your carrier.” With most travel plans, deleting is the step you cannot undo.
Watch the erase screen. When you choose Erase All Content and Settings, Apple says “you can choose to erase your eSIM or keep it.” Its factory reset page adds: “If you erase your eSIM, you need to contact your carrier to reactivate your cellular plan.” If you are still deciding, keep it.
Write down the plan details. Note the seller, the order number, the plan name, and how much data and how many days are left. On an iPhone the remaining period is not always shown in Settings, so check the seller’s app or your order email.
Trade-ins change the timing. Apple’s checklist for selling or trading in an iPhone tells you to erase the device and the eSIM profile. Once the phone leaves your hands, a plan that could not be moved is gone. Sort out the travel eSIM before the trade-in date, not on the day.
What do the big travel eSIM sellers say?
We read each seller’s own help pages on 13 October 2026. They do not agree with each other, which is the main reason a general answer to this question is usually wrong for somebody.
Airalo. The help article on moving to a new device says the eSIM “can only be installed on one device” and “cannot be transferred to another device.” It suggests using the old phone as a personal hotspot while data remains. If the old phone is broken, Airalo says the eSIM and remaining data cannot be recovered. A second article says: “No, eSIMs typically can’t be reinstalled.”
Holafly. The FAQ says the eSIM “cannot be moved to another phone.” It does allow reinstalling “up to 4 times in total on the exact same phone”, which helps if you delete it by accident and does not help if you change phones.
Saily. Saily’s help centre has a transfer procedure. You delete the eSIM on the current phone, open the Saily app, tap install eSIM, choose the option to share the eSIM, and scan the QR code with the other device. The article gives no limit on how many times this works. Note the order: Saily’s steps delete first.
Nomad. Nomad’s article says its eSIMs can be “reinstalled on the same or transferred to a different device after deletion”, then lists nine plan providers with different rules. Some can be moved after deleting from the old phone. Two allow up to 3 installs. Two do not support reinstalls on any device. Two can be reinstalled on the same device only, and one of those says it “doesn’t currently support eSIM transfers.” You need to know which provider your plan uses before you delete anything.
The pattern across the four: one says yes, two say no, one says it depends on the plan. Before you act on a blog post or a forum answer, open the help page of the company you bought from.
Which of our plans have a replacement service?
Our standing rule is on the FAQ page: the QR code works once, on one device, and deleting the eSIM removes it permanently. That applies to every plan we sell.
There is one exception worth knowing about. Three suppliers list a paid replacement service in our catalog, described in the supplier’s words as a way “to get a new QR code” for an eSIM you already bought.
| Supplier | Plans in our catalog | Replacement service listed | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparks | 252 | Yes | $3.99 |
| 3HK | 31 | Yes | $3.99 |
| Annatel | 3 | Yes | $3.99 |
| Airalo | 173 | No | n/a |
| eSIMGo | 157 | No | n/a |
| TSimTech | 98 | No | n/a |
| NextLink | 91 | No | n/a |
| RoamVault | 50 | No | n/a |
| Ubigi | 41 | No | n/a |
| 7 other suppliers | 25 | No | n/a |
Counted on 13 October 2026 across 921 data plans from 16 suppliers, top-ups excluded.
That is 286 plans out of 921, or 31%, from a supplier with a replacement listing. The other 635 have none. A fourth item in the same group, 3HK Phone Number Replacement at $6.99, adds a phone number to an eSIM. It does not reissue one.
The split is uneven by destination. On the United States plans page there are 30 single-country plans: 10 from eSIMGo, 9 from NextLink, 9 from Airalo and 2 from Sparks. So 2 of the 30 come from a supplier with a replacement listing. The cheapest 10 GB plan for 30 days on that page, at $12.99, is a NextLink plan and is not one of them.
You can tell the supplier from the plan name. It is the word in brackets at the end, as in “USA 7 GB eSIM (Sparks)”. Our guide to the suppliers behind plan names explains what each one is.
Two cautions before you pay for a replacement:
- Write to us first. A replacement has to be matched to your original eSIM. Send your order number through the contact page and wait for a reply before you order.
- Ask what carries over. The listing says you get a new QR code. It does not say whether unused data and remaining days come with it. Get that answer in writing.
How can you use the remaining data without moving the eSIM?
Keep the old phone as a hotspot. This is the route Airalo’s own help page suggests, and it works for any plan that allows tethering.
The old phone needs to stay charged and switched on, with the travel eSIM set as its data line. Turn on Personal Hotspot on an iPhone, or the hotspot setting on Android, and connect the new phone over Wi-Fi. The plan’s data and validity keep running exactly as before. Nothing is reissued and nothing is deleted.
Check two things. First, whether the plan allows it: every product page of ours has a Hotspot line under the price. Second, the trip itself: carrying two phones for a weekend is fine, and for a month it gets tiresome. If the old phone is going to a trade-in before you travel, this route is closed.
If the travel eSIM stops connecting on the old phone after you sign in on the new one, work through the checklist for an eSIM that is not working after landing before you assume it is gone.
When is buying a new plan the better choice?
More often than people expect, because of the sums involved.
Take the two Sparks plans on our United States page. USA 2 GB for 15 days costs $5.49, and USA 7 GB for 30 days costs $10.99. A replacement costs $3.99. If you have 1 GB left on the small plan, you would pay $3.99 to save part of $5.49, and wait for a reply first. If you have 6 GB and three weeks left on the larger one, asking for the replacement makes sense.
A rough rule: ask about a replacement when what is left is worth clearly more than $3.99 and you still have days to use it. Otherwise buy a fresh plan sized for the rest of the trip, install it on the new phone over Wi-Fi, and let the old one run out.
For the 635 plans with no replacement listing, the choice is between the hotspot route and a new plan. You can still write to us. We will tell you plainly if nothing can be done.
Does it matter if you switch between iPhone and Android?
For carrier lines it does. Apple’s page says that if you are transferring an eSIM from a non-Apple device to an iPhone, you should contact your carrier, who will move the number “either by eSIM Carrier Activation or by providing a QR code.” It also says that with iOS 26 or later, some carriers and select smartphone manufacturers support transfers between Android and iPhone.
For a travel eSIM the seller’s rule decides again. A seller that reissues or re-shares the eSIM, as Saily describes, does it through its own app or support team, so the brand of the new phone matters less than whether it is eSIM-capable and unlocked. A seller that ties the eSIM to the first device does so on both platforms. If the new phone is an Android with two SIMs, our Android dual SIM setup guide shows where the settings are.
FAQ
Can I use iPhone Quick Transfer for a travel eSIM?
Only if the company that issued the eSIM supports it, and travel eSIM sellers generally handle moves through their own rules instead. Apple’s page says Quick Transfer works “if your carrier supports” it. If the new iPhone does not offer your travel eSIM as a line to transfer, the phone cannot do it and you need the seller.
What happens if I already deleted the travel eSIM?
It depends on the seller. Holafly allows up to 4 installs in total on the same phone. Airalo says eSIMs typically cannot be reinstalled. For our plans the QR code works once, so a deleted eSIM cannot be added again from the same code. Contact the seller with your order number before buying anything new.
Can I scan the same QR code on my new phone?
Usually not. Most sellers describe the code as single-use, or tie the eSIM to the first device it was installed on. Scanning it on a second phone normally ends in an error. Saily is an exception because its app creates a new code for sharing after you delete the eSIM from the old phone.
Will erasing my old iPhone remove the travel eSIM?
Only if you choose that. Apple says that when you erase all content and settings you can choose to erase your eSIM or keep it. If you erase it, Apple says you need to contact your carrier to reactivate the plan. For a travel plan that cannot be reissued, that means it is lost.
Does a replacement eSIM keep my remaining data?
Ask before you pay. The replacement listings in our catalog say you get a new QR code for an eSIM you already bought, and they do not state what happens to unused data or days. We confirm that for your specific plan when you write to us, which is why we ask you to contact support first.
Conclusion: check the seller’s rule before you delete anything
The phone makers built transfer tools, and carriers decide whether to take part. Travel eSIM sellers each wrote their own rule: Saily lets you move the eSIM, Airalo and Holafly do not, Nomad varies by plan, and in our catalog three suppliers out of 16 list a paid replacement. The safe order is the same in every case. Leave the eSIM on the old phone, read the seller’s help page, and only then erase, trade in or buy again. If the plan cannot move, the old phone still works as a hotspot until the data runs out.
Before you buy, confirm
- Which seller and which supplier issued the eSIM you already have.
- How much data and how many days are left on it.
- Whether that seller moves, reissues or refuses, on its own help page.
- Whether the old phone will still be with you during the trip.
- The new phone is unlocked and supports eSIM.
Soft next step
Affordable travel eSIM, refund if no code in 1 hour. If a new plan is the simpler route, the catalog shows every plan with its supplier, hotspot setting and one fixed price in US dollars. Plan details change, so treat the live listing on each product page as the source of truth before you buy.