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What transfers, what does not, and what happens to a travel plan when you change handsets.
Moving an eSIM means one of two things, and they work differently. Moving your home line to a new phone is a transfer your network handles, and on recent handsets it happens during setup without you doing much. Moving a travel plan you bought for a trip is a different matter, and whether it can move at all depends on the plan rather than on the phone.
A line from the network you pay monthly belongs to your account, not to the handset. When you set up a new phone, the transfer is offered as part of that setup, and the network confirms it in the background. Nothing is copied from the old handset; the old profile is retired and a new one is written to the new phone. That is why the line stops working on the old handset once the move completes.
During setup the new iPhone offers to bring the line across, with the old one nearby and unlocked. If you skip it at setup, Settings, Cellular, Add eSIM, then Transfer from nearby iPhone does the same thing later.
Recent Android versions offer the same during setup where the network supports it. Where it is not offered, the route is to ask the network to reissue the line for the new handset, which they do from your account.
Usually minutes. Some networks queue the request and it can take longer, and a few still require a call. Keep the old handset until the new line is confirmed working.
This is the case people ask about most and it is the one with the least automation. The two systems do not hand a profile to each other. What actually happens is that the network issues a new profile for the new handset, and you install it there. Your number and your plan stay the same; only the profile on the phone is replaced.
Ask the network to reissue the line before you wipe the old handset. Once the old profile is deleted you have removed your own fallback, and if the reissue is delayed you are left without a working line on either phone.
Most networks send the reissued line as a QR code or an activation code. Displaying it on a laptop and scanning with the new phone is the quickest way. Manual entry with the activation code does the same job if there is no second screen.
A plan bought for a trip is usually tied to the profile it was installed as, and most are written to install once. That means the answer to whether it moves to a new phone is set by the plan's own terms, not by the handset. Check those terms before changing phones mid-trip, because the phone will let you delete a profile that cannot be reinstalled.
Install it on the new handset the same way you installed it on the old one, using the original code. Do not delete it from the old phone until the new install is confirmed.
The plan stays on the handset it was installed to. For the new phone, a fresh plan is the route. This is worth knowing before a trip rather than during one.
A profile move carries the line. It does not carry your messages, your contacts, your call history or anything stored in apps. Those travel through the phone's own backup and restore, which is a separate process, and they are unaffected by what happens to the SIM. People sometimes delay a transfer because they think their messages ride on it; they do not.
Codes sent by text arrive on whichever handset holds the line. If a transfer is in progress and neither phone has the line yet, those codes have nowhere to land. Complete the line move before you sign into accounts on the new phone.
A common question is how to retrieve a QR code from a phone that already has the profile installed. The honest answer is that you cannot: the code is consumed at installation and the phone does not store it in a re usable form. What you can retrieve is your account with the network or the plan, which is where a fresh code comes from.
For travel plans, the confirmation message with the code is the record worth keeping. Where a plan permits a reinstall, that message is what makes it possible.
Confirm the new handset is unlocked and has eSIM hardware. Request the transfer or the reissued profile while the old phone still works. Install and confirm the line carries a call and data on the new handset. Only then delete anything from the old one. Doing it in that order means every step has a way back, and no step depends on a phone you have already wiped.
| Situation | How it moves | Reinstall on the old phone? |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone to iPhone, home line | Offered during setup, or Transfer from nearby iPhone | No, the old profile is retired |
| Android to Android, home line | Offered during setup where the network supports it | No, the old profile is retired |
| iPhone to Android, or the reverse | Network reissues a new profile | No, ask the network again if needed |
| Travel plan, reinstall allowed | Install again with the original code | Depends on the plan's terms |
| Travel plan, install once only | Does not move | No, a fresh plan is needed |
| Messages, contacts, apps | Phone backup and restore, not the SIM | Unaffected either way |
A home line, yes: your network moves it, and on recent handsets it is offered during setup. A travel plan, only if its own terms allow a reinstall, because most are written to install once.
Between two iPhones, or two recent Android handsets on a network that supports it, the transfer is offered during setup. Across iPhone and Android it is not automatic; the network issues a new profile instead.
The profile on the old handset is retired and a new one is written to the new handset. The number and the plan stay yours. That is why the line stops working on the old phone once the move finishes.
You start it, the network completes it. On two iPhones it is a menu option you run yourself. Across systems, or where the network does not support the automatic route, you request the reissue and then install what they send.
You cannot retrieve it from the handset. The code is used up at installation and is not stored in a re usable form. A fresh code comes from your network or, for a travel plan, from the original confirmation message and the plan's support.
A physical SIM, yes, if it fits the tray and the iPhone is unlocked. An eSIM, no: there is nothing to carry across, so the network reissues the line for the new handset instead.
Between two phones of the same kind it is a setup prompt. Across iPhone and Android it takes a request to the network and one install. The part that causes trouble is deleting the old profile too early, which removes the fallback.
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