How to transfer an eSIM to a new phone, on iPhone and Android
Both handsets can be ready and the option still will not appear, because your carrier controls whether the profile moves.
Swapping phones used to mean moving a physical SIM card between two trays. An eSIM has nothing to move, so the answer depends on which two handsets you own and which company sold you the plan. This page gives you the menu path for every combination, and the checks worth doing before you hand the old phone over.
Moving an eSIM to a new phone means your carrier reissues it
On two iPhones, open Settings, tap Cellular, tap Set Up Cellular or Add eSIM, then tap Transfer From Nearby iPhone. On Android, open Settings, then Network & internet, SIMs, Add SIM, Transfer SIM from another device. Both paths ask your carrier to issue a fresh profile and switch the old one off.
Nothing physically moves. The profile sitting on your old phone is a credential the mobile operator issued, and the GSMA SGP.22 specification that defines it names the operator as the Profile Owner, meaning “the entity that controls the operations that can be performed upon its Profile”.
That makes a transfer a request your carrier fulfils. Google says as much on its own page about the data involved: your SIM and device identifiers are shared with the carrier “so it can perform SIM transfer and issue a new eSIM”. Apple describes the other end of the same exchange, noting that when the plan activates on the new iPhone, it “deactivates your previous SIM”.
Travel eSIMs behave differently, and that difference is where the money goes. A data-only profile bought for a trip is usually sold to install once, so there is no line for anyone to reissue. Our what goes wrong section covers that case in full.
Google’s own wording covers both starting points. You can transfer your physical SIM or eSIM to an eSIM in a new phone. A SIM card can become an eSIM on the new device, and an active eSIM can move, and both journeys end with a profile your carrier has just issued.
If the format itself is still new to you, our explainer on what an eSIM is sits underneath everything here.
Why carrier support decides every eSIM transfer
Apple, Google and Samsung all built the buttons. Whether those buttons do anything is set further upstream, in the rules attached to the profile itself.
Profiles are credentials your operator issues
The GSMA specification defines a Profile as “a combination of data and applications to be provisioned on an eUICC for the purpose of providing services”. The eUICC is the chip soldered into your handset. The profile is what gets downloaded onto it.
Ownership is spelled out in the same document. A Profile Owner is the entity that controls what can be done to a profile, and except for test profiles that is always the operator. Your handset stores the credential. Deciding where it goes next sits with the company that issued it.
Operators can pin a profile in place
SGP.22 defines two Profile Policy Rules an operator may attach to a profile: PPR1, “Disabling of this Profile is not allowed”, and PPR2, “Deletion of this Profile is not allowed”. The device has to honour them.
The same specification describes Profile Policy Management as a system that lets a service provider “implement, manage and enforce its subscription terms and conditions associated with the installed Profile”. A profile that refuses to budge is behaving as designed. It also explains why one carrier offers a one-tap move and another asks you to call.
One profile runs on one phone at a time
GSMA states that a device can store several operator profiles at once, “though only one can be used at a time”. There is no version of this where the same plan runs on two handsets in parallel.
Every vendor path reflects that. Apple deactivates the previous SIM once the new one activates. Telstra describes the moved eSIM as still visible in Settings on the old phone but “inactive on your old device”. Google is blunter still, saying the carrier issues a new eSIM as part of the transfer.
Which carriers actually support each eSIM transfer path
Apple publishes the carrier list for both of its cross-platform transfers, and the two lists are not the same length. Reading them before you commit to a handset saves a phone call later.
Android to iPhone runs on a published list
Transferring an eSIM from Android to iPhone requires iOS 26 or later on an iPhone 11 or newer, a compatible Android phone on Android 16 or later, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. It also requires a carrier Apple has signed up.
Apple names them: AT&T, Cricket, FirstNet, T-Mobile, Verizon and Xfinity Mobile in the USA; A1 and Magenta in Austria; TIM in Brazil; Bell, Koodo, Lucky Mobile, Telus and Virgin Mobile in Canada; T-Mobile in Czechia; Free Mobile, Orange and SFR in France; Telekom and 1&1 in Germany; au and UQ in Japan; AT&T in Mexico; KPN in the Netherlands; Slovak Telekom in Slovakia; Swisscom in Switzerland; and EE in the UK.
Apple’s instruction for everyone else is one sentence long. If your carrier or device does not support the feature, contact your carrier to activate your eSIM.
iPhone to Android is a much shorter list
Moving the other way arrived later. Apple states that iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 added the option, and that a compatible version of Android 17 is needed on the receiving handset.
The supported carriers are AT&T, FirstNet, T-Mobile and Verizon in the USA, KDDI in Japan, DT-DE in Germany, SFR in France, and EE in the UK. Apple adds that availability of eSIM transfer varies by carrier. Anyone outside those eight is back to calling support for a new activation.
Pixel and Galaxy do not share one menu
Google’s own path for Pixel and stock Android reads Settings, then Network & internet, SIMs, Add SIM, Transfer SIM from another device. It asks for Android 12 or later, a current version of Google Play services, and a screen lock set up on both handsets.
Samsung puts the same feature somewhere else entirely: Settings, Connections, SIM manager, Add eSIM, then Transfer SIM from another phone. A separate entry, Transfer SIM from iPhone, handles the cross-platform case. Samsung notes that some carriers may not yet support the eSIM capabilities.
Any tutorial that gives you one universal menu path is describing a phone you may not own. Check your own manufacturer’s page, then your carrier’s, before you try to transfer your existing plan.
Where the carrier still has to be involved
Setting up your carrier’s cellular plan on a second handset happens on their systems rather than in your Settings app. That is why moving a number to another phone can succeed in one country and fail in the next on the same network group.
When a self-service transfer is refused, the fallback is the same everywhere. Ask the carrier to deactivate the profile on the old device and issue a code to activate a replacement, then add the eSIM to a new device with that code.
Step-by-step, how to transfer an eSIM to a new phone
Have both phones charged, on Wi-Fi, with Bluetooth on and the old one unlocked. Every path below asks you to confirm something on the old handset, so keep it working until the new line is live. Follow these steps in order, starting at step 1 whichever pair of smartphones you want to transfer between.
Step 1. Verify both phones meet the setup requirements
For two iPhones, Apple asks that both devices run iOS 18.4 or later, that you are signed in to both with your Apple Account, that both are nearby with Bluetooth turned on, and that you can unlock the previous iPhone with its passcode.
For Android, Google asks for Android 12 or later, the current version of Google Play services, and a screen lock on both devices. Samsung adds that both handsets should be fully updated and on Wi-Fi.
Step 2. iPhone to iPhone, move your eSIM with Quick Transfer
On the new iPhone, open Settings, tap Cellular, then tap Set Up Cellular or Add eSIM. Apple then asks you to choose a cellular plan to transfer from another iPhone. If you do not see a list of numbers, tap Transfer From Nearby iPhone instead.
Give confirmation on the old iPhone when it prompts you. Apple notes that once the plan activates on the new handset, it deactivates the previous SIM, so expect the old phone to drop its signal.
Step 3. Android to Android, transfer an eSIM from one phone to another
On a Pixel or stock Android phone, open Settings, tap Network & internet, SIMs, Add SIM, then Transfer SIM from another device. Google notes this may happen automatically during setup, depending on your carrier.
On a Galaxy, the route is Settings, Connections, SIM manager, Add eSIM, Transfer SIM from another phone. Approve the prompt on the old handset, then verify the move by entering the six-digit verification code shown on the new one.
Step 4. Android to iPhone, check Apple’s carrier list first
Confirm your carrier appears on Apple’s published list before you start. On the iPhone, tap Set Up Cellular and tap Transfer from Android, or go to Settings, Cellular, Add eSIM, Transfer From Android.
Scan the QR code the iPhone displays using the Android camera, pick the number you want to transfer on the Android handset, and confirm. If no phone number is offered and the option never appears, your carrier has not enabled it, and the fallback is a code from your carrier or their own activation, entered through Apple’s Enter Details Manually screen.
Step 5. iPhone to Android, update to iOS 26.3 first
For the eSIM on its own, Apple’s path is Settings, Cellular, Transfer to Android, Transfer eSIM. To move data as well, use Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Transfer to Android.
Check the shorter carrier list before you wipe anything. Eight carriers across five countries is a narrow gate, and this is the switch with the worst outcomes when it fails.
Step 6. Verify the new line works before you touch the old phone
Turn Wi-Fi off on the new handset and load a page over mobile data. Send a text and make a short call if the plan carries a number. Only then treat the move as finished.
Telstra’s guidance is a useful sanity check here. The transferred eSIM stays listed in Settings on the old phone until you delete it, and it is inactive there, so seeing it is not a sign the transfer failed.
Step 7. Erase the old handset last
To remove the profile on an iPhone, open Settings, tap Cellular, then tap Delete eSIM, or tap the plan and tap Delete Plan. Apple warns that if you erase an eSIM you will need to contact your carrier to get a new one.
Selling or trading the phone in is the one case where you want the previous eSIM gone. Apple’s own advice is to choose the option to erase the device and the eSIM profile. Our how to activate an eSIM walk-through covers setting the replacement up from scratch if the transfer does not go your way, including the carrier app and QR code routes Apple lists alongside Quick Transfer.
Where an eSIM transfer goes wrong and costs people money
Deleting a travel eSIM to clear space ends that plan permanently.
Travel and data-only profiles are normally sold as a single install. Our own FAQ page says it plainly: you can only install your eSIM once, and eSIMs cannot be reinstalled or regenerated. Scanning the original QR code a second time returns a message saying the code is no longer valid.
SGP.22 explains why. A download order runs one way through Released, Downloaded and Installed, and a profile marked Unavailable “cannot be reused anymore by the SM-DP+”. Use the remaining data on the old phone or let the plan run out, then buy a fresh plan for the new handset.
Quick Transfer needs both iPhones nearby, on Bluetooth, with the previous one unlocked by passcode. A lost, dead or already-wiped handset rules that path out, so the line has to be reissued by your carrier instead.
AT&T requires Wireless Account Lock to be switched off before any eSIM swap, and its prepaid customers have to call in. A network-locked handset will not accept a travel eSIM at all.
Erasing the old iPhone in the wrong order
Wiping the old phone before the new line is confirmed is the most common way to turn a ten-minute job into a support ticket. Apple’s wording is blunt. Erase the eSIM and you need the carrier to issue another.
Run the order in step 6 and step 7 above. Transfer, prove the line works over mobile data, delete the profile, then erase the handset.
Running out of eSIM slots on the new phone
An iPhone stores several profiles, between five and ten depending on storage. A full list is one of the causes behind the “Unable to Complete Cellular Plan Change” error during an install.
Clear out expired travel profiles rather than live ones. Anything still carrying data or validity is worth keeping until it runs out, because it cannot be put back.
Assuming a transferred number brings the trip data with it
Moving your home line and moving a travel plan are separate jobs. A number transfer does nothing for the data plan you bought for a holiday, and the two are issued by different companies.
If you are flying soon after a phone upgrade, buy the travel eSIM after the new handset is set up. Our guide to eSIM QR codes covers what the code does and why it only works once.
Buying a travel eSIM data plan with a handset swap coming
eSIMply sells travel eSIMs, so read this as an interested party being straight with you. Our plans are data-only, they sit alongside the SIM already in your phone, and each one installs once.
That last point decides your timing. Install the plan on the handset you are actually flying with, after any upgrade rather than before it, because an install spent on a phone you are about to replace cannot be recovered.
Our FAQ page currently answers the validity question two different ways, one saying the clock starts when the eSIM connects to a supported network and another saying it starts on install. Check the install page for the plan you buy, and if the difference matters, install after you land. Our eSIM against a physical SIM comparison sets out the trade-offs before you commit.
Questions people ask before they activate an eSIM on a new phone
Most of what follows comes from the questions search engines record against this topic. Where an answer depends on your carrier, it says so rather than guessing on your behalf.
If you only need to transfer your eSIM and nothing else, the answers about carrier support and travel plans are the two worth reading first.
Usually yes for a carrier line, and usually no for a travel eSIM. Apple, Google and Samsung all ship a transfer tool, but each one states that carrier support decides whether it works.
A data-only travel plan is a different product. Those profiles are generally sold to install once, so there is nothing for anyone to move across.
Sometimes. Google says the transfer may happen automatically during onboarding, depending on your carrier, and Apple offers the same during iPhone setup.
When it does not fire, the manual route is Settings on the new device. Google’s advice for a failed automatic transfer is to contact your carrier to activate the eSIM.
Only when the self-service path is unavailable to you. Apple’s wording is that if your carrier supports eSIM Quick Transfer, you can move the SIM without contacting them.
Prepaid accounts are the common exception. AT&T, for example, asks prepaid customers to call customer care rather than swap the eSIM themselves.
No. The GSMA describes a device storing several operator profiles at the same time, though only one can be used at a time, and a given profile lives on one eUICC.
Activating the plan on the new handset deactivates it on the old one. A dual-line setup needs a second plan of its own.
For a carrier line, usually yes, because each move is a fresh reissue rather than a file being passed around. Each attempt still depends on the carrier allowing it that day.
For a travel eSIM, no. Once the single install is spent, the activation code will not redeem again.
Assume not unless the seller says otherwise in writing. eSIMply’s own FAQ states that you can only install your eSIM once and that eSIMs cannot be reinstalled or regenerated.
The mechanism sits in the specification rather than in company policy alone. A profile download order that has already been installed is no longer in the state the provisioning server will serve.
Every device-to-device path needs the old handset awake, unlocked and nearby, so a dead phone rules them all out. That leaves the carrier route.
Contact your provider, ask them to deactivate the profile on the missing device, and request a new activation for the replacement handset.
It is the hardest of the four combinations, because both directions run on a named carrier list rather than on the handsets alone. Android to iPhone needs iOS 26 or later; iPhone to Android needs iOS 26.3 or later.
Check your carrier against Apple’s published lists before you buy the phone. If it is missing, plan on a call to support as part of the switch.
No. An eSIM transfer moves the cellular plan only, and it is a separate job from the device-to-device data transfer.
Apple bundles the two into one flow when moving to Android, under Transfer or Reset iPhone. Elsewhere you run the data migration and the eSIM setup as two steps.
Check the install page for the specific plan, because sellers differ and wording is not always consistent. eSIMply’s FAQ page currently carries both answers, one tying the clock to the first connection on a supported network and one tying it to installation.
If the distinction affects a short trip, install after you land rather than before you fly. That removes the ambiguity without costing you anything.
Yes for every documented path. Apple, Google and Samsung all require a working internet connection on both handsets, because the new profile is downloaded rather than copied.
Bluetooth is also needed for the iPhone-to-iPhone and cross-platform routes, since the two devices have to find each other first.
For Apple’s Android to iPhone route, the receiving handset has to be an iPhone 11 or later, which takes in every model from that generation through the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max to the current line. Google’s path asks for Android 12 or later on both devices.
Model support is only half of it. eSIMply’s own FAQ adds the other half: the device has to be both eSIM-enabled and network unlocked, because a SIM-locked phone cannot take an eSIM at all.
Sometimes, and it is worth checking before you decide the transfer failed. eSIMply’s FAQ notes that an eSIM requiring manual APN settings will look like a slow or dead connection if the APN is entered incorrectly.
The values live on your plan’s install page. If a profile installs but will not carry data, add the APN manually, switch data roaming on, and restart the phone before contacting anyone.
Not physically. People search for eSIM cards out of habit, but the GSMA describes the eSIM as a secure element permanently embedded in the device, with the profile downloaded onto it.
That is exactly why you cannot pop one out and hand it over. Transferring an eSIM using any of the tools above is a provisioning request rather than a swap of hardware.
Where these facts come from
Every claim on this page traces to a document published by the party that owns the fact. Nothing here is drawn from another comparison site.
- How eSIM provisioning works. The GSMA eSIM programme and its SGP.22 technical specification supplied the definitions of a profile, the eUICC, the Profile Owner, Profile Policy Rules PPR1 and PPR2, and the download states a profile moves through.
- iPhone menu paths and requirements. Apple’s support pages on setting up an eSIM, moving an eSIM from Android, moving an eSIM to Android and erasing an eSIM.
- Android menu paths and requirements. Google’s Transfer a SIM to a new phone page and its note on how the data is handled, plus Samsung’s SIM manager documentation for the Galaxy route, which differs from stock Android.
- Carrier behaviour. Telstra on self-service transfers and the inactive profile left behind, and AT&T on account locks and prepaid accounts.
- Travel eSIM behaviour. eSIMply’s own FAQ page, including the single-install rule and the storage limits behind install errors.
eSIMply sells travel eSIMs, so we are one of the companies described on this page. We earn a commission when a reader buys a plan from us.
Jamie has worked in telecommunications for more than 8 years across mobile, SMS, eSIM, apps, and adjacent technology. He now writes for eSIMply as the tech content writer, analysing the top eSIM providers and breaking down what travellers actually need to know.
While we do our best to ensure accuracy, prices and plan availability are subject to change. Last updated by Jamie Cole.
