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A HelloRoam eSIM cannot move to another phone

HelloRoam Editorial TeamLast updated:

A HelloRoam eSIM you have installed cannot move to another phone, including with the phone's own transfer feature. If it has not yet connected to a network your plan covers, email help@helloroam.com and we can issue a new eSIM. After that it cannot move. Do not delete it from the old phone.

Your situation, and the next move

Your eSIM has not connected in your destination yet.
Write to help@helloroam.com. Support can issue a new eSIM for your new phone.
Your eSIM has already connected to a supported network in your destination.
It cannot be moved, and support does not issue a new one for a change of phone.
You are not sure whether your eSIM has ever connected.
On the HelloRoam website, open My eSIMs, then open the plan's details. If it shows Activated On with a date, or Active on the card, treat the eSIM as in use. Ready, Not Activated and Purchase Date tell you nothing. The HelloRoam app shows no label at all. Not sure? Leave the eSIM on the old phone and say so when you write in.
The HelloRoam app still shows a QR code, or on iPhone an install button, for this eSIM.
That is normal, even after the eSIM has connected. It does not mean the code still works, or that the eSIM can move to another phone. Long-pressing the QR code, tapping the install button, or scanning it with another phone changes none of that. Support is still the only way to change phones.
You are not sure the new phone can use eSIM, or it might still be locked to a carrier.
Check that first. A locked phone cannot use a travel eSIM until the carrier unlocks it.

Check both phones before you write in

iPhone

This checks that your HelloRoam eSIM is still on the old phone. It does not move it anywhere.

  1. Open Settings > Cellular on the old phone.
  2. Check the HelloRoam line is still listed there.
  3. Open Settings > General > About on each phone.
  4. Read each phone's exact model number.
  5. Line names like Primary or Secondary are only labels.
  6. If unsure which line is HelloRoam, match the ICCID with your order details.
  7. Don't delete the line.
  8. Leave it as it is, and move on to the contact section below.

Samsung

This checks that your HelloRoam eSIM is still on the old phone. It does not move it anywhere.

  1. Open Settings > Connections > SIM manager on the old phone.
  2. Check the HelloRoam eSIM is still listed there.
  3. Open Settings > About phone on each phone.
  4. Read each phone's exact model number.
  5. If more than one eSIM shows the same name, match them by ICCID.
  6. Do not match them by the order you installed them.
  7. Don't remove the eSIM yourself.
  8. Leave it as it is, and move on to the contact section below.

Pixel

This checks that your HelloRoam eSIM is still on the old phone. It does not move it anywhere.

  1. Open Settings > Network & internet > SIMs on the old phone.
  2. Check the HelloRoam line is still listed there.
  3. Open Settings > About phone on each phone.
  4. Read each phone's exact model number.
  5. Line names are only labels.
  6. If unsure which line is HelloRoam, match the ICCID with your order details.
  7. Don't remove the line yourself.
  8. Leave it as it is, and move on to the contact section below.

Other Android

Menu names change by brand and by Android version. This checks that your HelloRoam eSIM is still on the old phone.

  1. Open Settings > Network & internet > Mobile network on the old phone.
  2. Check the HelloRoam line is still listed there.
  3. Open Settings > About phone on each phone.
  4. Read each phone's exact model number.
  5. Line names are only labels.
  6. If unsure which line is HelloRoam, match the ICCID with your order details.
  7. Don't remove the line yourself.
  8. Leave it as it is, and move on to the contact section below.

If the old phone is gone or broken

  1. If you no longer have the old phone, say so in your first message. Send everything else on the list below anyway.
  2. The old phone helps confirm details faster, but it is not required to write in.

Have this ready before you email us

Write to help@helloroam.com. These details help support find your order, so include as many as you can in your first message.

  • Your order number.
  • The email you used at checkout.
  • Whether you still have the old phone.
  • The make and model of the new phone, and of the old one. The exact model number helps more than the marketing name.
  • Whether your eSIM has ever connected, as far as you know. If My eSIMs shows Activated On, treat it as in use. Ready, Not Activated and Purchase Date tell you nothing either way, so a best guess is all we ask for.
  • A screenshot of the old phone's list of lines, if you still have it: Cellular on iPhone, SIM manager on Samsung, SIMs on Pixel.
  • Which line is HelloRoam. The ICCID helps if you have more than one eSIM.
  • Whether the new phone is unlocked, and whether it supports eSIM.
  • The country and city you are in right now.
  • Crop any QR code out of your screenshots before you send them.

help@helloroam.com

New phone questions, answered

Why is my eSIM QR code no longer valid on my new phone?

A QR or activation code normally works once. After your eSIM first connects to a supported network in your destination, that code stops working, so scanning it on a new phone fails. This is normal, not a sign anything is broken. If you have not connected the eSIM yet, write to help@helloroam.com. Support can issue a new eSIM for the new phone. Once it has connected, it cannot be moved, and a new one is not issued.

How do I activate cellular on a new iPhone?

That turns on cellular service on a new iPhone, but it does not move a HelloRoam e SIM from an old phone. Moving one goes through help@helloroam.com, with no self-serve steps. First check that the new iPhone supports eSIM and is not locked to a carrier. A locked phone cannot use a travel eSIM until the carrier unlocks it. Then write in with both phones' make and model.

Can support move my eSIM if I have not used it yet?

No. The HelloRoam eSIM you already installed cannot be moved to another phone. That is true however you try it, including the phone's own transfer feature, because the profile stays on the phone it was installed on. If it has not yet connected to a network your plan covers, email help@helloroam.com and we can issue a new eSIM for the new phone.

I already used my eSIM and got a new phone. Can I still use it?

No. Once your HelloRoam eSIM has connected to a network your plan covers, its code cannot be used again, so it cannot be scanned onto another phone. That includes the phone's own transfer feature. Your e-sim stays tied to the phone it was installed on. Because it has already connected, support does not issue a new one for a change of phone.

Does the built-in eSIM transfer feature work with a travel eSIM?

No. An installed HelloRoam eSIM cannot be moved to another phone, and the phone's own eSIM transfer feature does not change that. Those features work for carrier profiles, not for a travel eSIM like ours. Write to help@helloroam.com if you are changing phones, and say whether you have used the eSIM yet, because that decides what we can do.

Help with phones and eSIM lines

eSIMs for the trips ahead

eSIM help guides