Does a factory reset delete your eSIM?
Not necessarily. On an iPhone, Erase All Content and Settings stops to ask, with one button to keep the eSIM and one to delete it. Google's and Samsung's reset guides do not say what happens to an eSIM, so on Android you read the confirmation screen before tapping. Keep it if you are keeping the phone; delete it only if the phone is leaving your hands.
Check eSIM compatibilityOn iPhone: the question comes halfway through
- Open Settings, then General.
- Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone, then Erase All Content and Settings.
- Tap Continue.
- Choose Keep eSIM and Erase Data, or Delete eSIM and Erase Data.
- Enter your passcode and your Apple Account password.
These are the steps in Apple's factory reset article, and the eSIM choice appears before the passcode. Apple adds that if you erase the eSIM, you need to contact your carrier to reactivate your cellular plan. For your home line that is a phone call; for a prepaid travel eSIM it can be the end of the plan. Apple also notes that restoring an iPhone from a computer with the Finder does not delete the eSIM.
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Several countries on one trip? Same eSIM, same data, no swapping lines at the border.
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For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
The button next to Reset Network Settings
Many people do not need a full erase at all. They want to fix a connection, so they open Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Reset. That menu holds two options with very different results.
Reset Network Settings removes saved Wi-Fi networks and VPN settings, and Apple warns that cellular data roaming may also be turned off. The eSIMs stay. Delete All eSIMs, a few lines further down the same menu, does what it says: every eSIM on the phone is removed and you need a new eSIM or a physical SIM to connect again.
If you reset network settings while travelling, check afterwards that Data Roaming is back on for the travel line, because without it the line will not connect abroad. Our no-service guide lists the other checks.
On a Google Pixel
Google's path for a factory reset is Settings, System, Reset options, Erase all data (factory reset), then Erase all data again. Google's own article does not say whether the eSIM survives, so do not assume either way.
What is documented is that removing eSIMs is its own action on a Pixel. Carrier guides for Pixel phones list a separate Erase eSIMs entry in the same Reset options menu, and Google describes erasing a single eSIM from Settings, Network and internet, Mobile network, Erase eSIM. If you want to be sure a travel eSIM is not wiped by accident, Google offers Confirm SIM deletion under Settings, Security, Advanced, which asks for your password before any eSIM can be erased.
After the reset, the phone asks for the Google Account that was on it. Google warns that without it you will not be able to use the device at all.
On a Samsung Galaxy
Samsung's path is Settings, General management, Reset, Factory data reset, then Reset and Delete all. If a Samsung account is signed in, you need its password, and the phone must be online to sign out of it.
Samsung's reset guide does not mention eSIM. Menus vary by model and carrier, so read the final confirmation screen slowly and look for anything that mentions eSIMs or mobile plans before you tap Delete all.
The method matters too. Samsung explains that Factory Reset Protection is triggered when the phone is reset by any method other than Factory data reset in Settings, after which it asks for the Google account that was registered on it. Resetting from Settings is the route that causes the fewest surprises. If what you really need is to fix the network, Samsung's Reset mobile network settings, in the same menu, does not erase your apps or data.
Keep or delete: which one to choose
- Keeping the phone and resetting to fix a problem: keep the eSIM.
- Selling, trading in or giving the phone away: delete it. Apple says to erase the device and the eSIM profile in that case.
- In the middle of a trip: avoid the reset if you can, and if not, keep the eSIM.
The trip case deserves the extra caution. A deleted Snoozim eSIM cannot be reinstalled from the same QR code, and any data left on it goes with it, as explained in what happens if you delete an eSIM. Apple's own advice points the same way: do not erase an eSIM as a troubleshooting step unless your carrier tells you to.
Does Erase All Content and Settings remove my eSIM?
Only if you choose Delete eSIM and Erase Data. The other button, Keep eSIM and Erase Data, erases the phone and leaves the eSIM installed.
Does Reset Network Settings delete the eSIM on iPhone?
No, that is a separate option called Delete All eSIMs. Reset Network Settings can turn data roaming off, so check it afterwards.
Does a factory reset on Android delete the eSIM?
Google's and Samsung's reset guides do not say. Read the confirmation screen before tapping, and do not reset in the middle of a trip if you can avoid it.
Should I delete the eSIM before selling my phone?
Yes. Apple recommends erasing the device and the eSIM profile when you sell, trade in or give away a phone.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
Check eSIM compatibility