eSIM not working abroad? Check these settings first

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For an eSIM not working abroad, work through the checks below in order and stop when data returns. If none of them helps, the phone may be carrier-locked: check Is my phone unlocked? and Does my phone support eSIM?.

First checks: data roaming and the data line

Run four checks in order: Data Roaming, the data line, Airplane Mode for about 30 seconds and Date & Time. Apple lists three of them for roaming issues abroad (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple).

1. Data Roaming on for the travel line. On iPhone, the switch sits in that line’s Cellular Data Options; on a Pixel, it is Roaming under Network & internet → SIMs (Google). Both full paths are in the data roaming guide; we found no confirmed Samsung path.
2. The travel line as the data line. Your phone uses one line for data at a time, Apple and Google say (Apple, Google). Pick the travel line under Cellular Data on iPhone or under “Your primary SIMs” on a Pixel; the dual SIM guide has the steps.
3. Airplane Mode for about 30 seconds. Turn it on, wait about 30 seconds, then turn it off “and let your iPhone automatically select the best network,” in Apple’s words.
4. Date & Time on Set Automatically. If the date and time are wrong after you arrive, turn on Set Automatically in Settings → General → Date & Time.

Steps 3 and 4 are Apple’s iPhone steps. Menus can differ by model and software version.

Your US line has its own Data Roaming switch, and whether it stays on is your choice. Apple warns that with both lines on you “might still incur roaming fees from your home eSIM” (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple).

“No Service” or “SOS only”

For No Service or SOS only in the status bar abroad, Apple’s fix is to make sure Data Roaming is on. With two lines, Apple says to tap the number you want to modify first, so check the travel line (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple).

That is step 1 above, applied to the right line. If the label stays, run steps 3 and 4, then the lock check: no setting on this page fixes a carrier-locked phone.

Installed at home, not active yet

An eSIM not activated before your trip is normal. On most of our plans the days start when the eSIM first connects at your destination (plan details as of October 29, 2026). At home, it shows no data yet.

Our Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mayotte and Suriname plans are the exceptions: their days start at installation. Check the activation rule shown on your plan; how to install an eSIM covers the install itself.

Full bars, no data: the APN

For an eSIM not working with signal bars showing, check the APN, the access point name your plan connects through. Google’s Pixel settings list says access point names “help your carrier find the right IP address for your phone” (checked on October 29, 2026, Google).

Our plan pages say either “APN sets itself” or give the value to enter by hand, and on which phone. When a plan needs it by hand, your order email and order page show the value too; without it, data does not start. The plan page also says when a network asks for an ID check (KYC) before data works.

Our Japan plan needs it by hand on Android: its page gives the APN, and iPhone sets it on its own. Apple’s APN steps for US iPhones are not in the pages we checked, so we give no iPhone path. If your plan needs one on iPhone, write to us.

Choosing a network by hand

Each of our plans lists its own networks per country, so pick only from your plan’s list. Japan networks on our plan are SoftBank, KDDI and Rakuten, each listed as 5G (plan details as of October 29, 2026; see our Japan eSIM).

On a Pixel, Google’s settings list has “Network: Pick your network operator from available networks” (Google). Choose one your plan lists there.

On iPhone, Apple’s troubleshooting goes the other way: after Airplane Mode, it says to let the iPhone pick the network automatically (Apple). We have no confirmed iPhone path for manual selection, so we give none. Menus can differ by model and software version.

Is your phone carrier-locked?

To use an iPhone with another carrier abroad, Apple says it “cannot be locked to a carrier” (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple). A travel eSIM is another carrier’s plan, so the toggles above cannot get around a lock.

On iPhone, “No SIM restrictions” next to Carrier Lock under Settings → General → About means unlocked (Apple). Samsung and Google publish no such check, and the unlock itself comes from your carrier: Is my phone unlocked? has both routes, beside Does my phone support eSIM?.

Still not working

With the eSIM not working after every check, Apple’s last step is to “contact your carrier”. For the travel line, that is us (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple).

Reply to your order email or use the contact page. Send the phone model, the country, the steps you tried and a screenshot of any error.

Don’t delete the eSIM to reinstall it. Apple says “Don’t erase an eSIM as a troubleshooting step unless directed to by your carrier.” After an erase, “you’ll need to contact your carrier to get a new one” (Apple).

Delete it only once you are done with it: how to delete an eSIM. More fixes are on eSIM help.

Frequently asked questions

Sources are linked in the text. Menus can differ by model and software version.

Unfamiliar term? See the eSIM glossary.