What Happens if I Delete eSIM?

The SIM card in your phone is what connects the device to your mobile number and account. Without a SIM card, your phone is just a small tablet or personal computer. What happens if you delete your eSIM? Your phone will no longer send or receive text messages, or calls, or access a mobile network. You will also lose access to your phone number. 

The rest of the phone will continue working, and you’ll be able to use WiFi to use apps and access the internet—but all of the apps you’ve downloaded onto your device will remain unchanged. As a note, if you delete eSIM, you cannot use your number to make WiFi texts and calls, even if your phone allows it. Your cell phone number is tied to your SIM card, and without the number, you cannot use those features. However, third-party apps like GroupMe and WhatsApp work fine! 

Help! I accidentally deleted my eSIM 

Here’s What to Do

If you accidentally delete your eSIM from your smartphone, you won’t be able to connect to your mobile network or send texts and calls. You can, however, still use WiFi. If you delete an eSIM from your device, find a strong WiFi connection and open up your carrier’s cell phone app or website on the internet. When you log in, you should be able to start the process to activate eSIM on your device. If you run into any trouble, you should contact their customer support. They should get you fixed up in no time!

Why Delete eSIM From Your Device

You might need to erase your eSIM if you are in the middle of transferring your account from one phone to the next, or if you are about to give it away, be it through selling or trading in. These are the steps to erase your eSIM if you so choose: 

• Navigate to settings
• Go into your “cellular” or “mobile data” 
• Go into your phone plan
• Tap delete

This will erase your account from the device. Importantly, this does not delete your account. Your number is still active, and you will receive messages and notifications when you reactivate your eSIM on that device or on another device. You can lose your account when you switch carriers if you don’t bring your number. The most common reason to delete an eSIM from your device is if you are switching to a new carrier or want to swap from an eSIM phone plan back to a physical SIM phone plan. In this article, we will discuss whether or not it’s time to switch carriers, how to delete your eSIM and keep your number, and the differences between physical SIMs and eSIMs. 

Finding the Right Time to Switch Cell Phone Carriers

There are a lot of plans on the market, and it is important to figure out what you need in a data plan. When you delete your eSIM, you are signaling it’s time to go forward with the move you plan on making, and there’s no need to rush that. Unfortunately, no cell phone is the absolute best; rather, it comes down to finding a plan that fits you. The right plan provides you with all the features you need to use your phone during the month without giving you too much, which results in you overpaying. Many people have plans at major wireless networks where they receive unlimited high-speed data and a hotspot allocation but don’t use that much data each month. If you use less than 30 GB of data a month, then an MVNO plan can save you a lot of money. 

So, if you are ready to buy a new plan, the last step is figuring out the right cell phone plan for you! No cell phone plan is the best overall, but there is a plan that fits you. Finding that plan prevents you from overpaying for features and data that you don’t need or underpaying and having to meter out data slowly over the month. 

The Parts of a Cell Phone Plan

Deciding which phone plan best suits you is rather challenging. There are tons of plans, and they are all slightly different from one another, and then there are major wireless networks and MVNOs, and, well, it is easy to get stuck and unable to decide which plan is right for you. This section will discuss the major factors that comprise plans. It’s up to you to figure out how important each of these factors is, and once you know that, you can choose a plan based on those factors! 

Cost

The plan's monthly cost is extra important when you get to the stage of comparing it to the competition. There are a few plans out there that are completely free. The caveat with them is that they provide almost no data, talk, or text during the month. That plan, while unbeatable in the cost department, leaves a lot to be desired. Overall, the monthly cost of the plan is influenced by its features. This is a good time to think about what you need out of a cell phone plan. The cheaper plans come with two major downsides. One is limited high-speed data. Many MVNO “unlimited” plans have a cap on high-speed data before speeds are reduced significantly. The other downside to affordable MVNO plans is that they don’t have priority data, so you risk having slower data speeds whenever there is a lot of mobile data usage in your area. 

The question to ask is this: How highly do you value the cost of the plan? If you value an affordable plan above all, you should get a limited data plan that makes you allocate your data and stay in WiFi zones to stay under your amount. If you are a heavy data user and want to splurge for a plan with unlimited high-speed data then you will pay more. 

Data

Data is the major factor that determines the cost of a cell phone plan. Any cell phone plan that offers unlimited high-speed data is naturally more expensive than limited-data ones. If you know how much data you use each month, you can search for a limited-data plan which will save you money, but if you use over 50 GBs then your options are rather limited. 

Lowering your data usage is a great way to save money on your monthly cell phone bill. If you can create a routine that saves on your mobile data consumption each month, you can purchase a limited data plan and save big. The problem with limited-data plans is that you will run out if you’re not careful. If you run out of data, most carriers will throttle your speeds down to 3G speeds, which is rather slow. 

The question to ask is this: Do you need unlimited data, or are you comfortable with a cap on the data you use each month? 

Add-Ons

Some higher-tier plans come with add-ons and extra features, like free subscription services or mobile hotspot data. These add-ons are nice, but make sure they are things that you will use. If you, for instance, receive a Disney+ subscription but never use it, that add-on starts to cost you as it is baked into the plan's overall cost. 

The question to ask is this: Will you use the add-ons given as a part of the plan? If so, great! You can count that against the price, especially if they are something that you already have. 

Deal

The last part of our little list is whether or not they have an active deal. Deals come in many shapes and sizes and are a great little addition to your new plan. When it comes to a new phone plan, every few dollars saved is nice. That being said, the deals generally only apply to the first few months of service. It is important to look for any attached strings that tie you into more than you need. The biggest deals to watch out for are cell phone contracts. A cell phone payment plan can lock you into the carrier for years, reducing your options as you pay off a new cell phone a bit every month. 

Note: Don’t put too much stock in a new-customer deal if it’s not a plan you like on its own. 

Prepare to Switch Carriers

Once you’ve zoned in on a new plan, it is time to switch carriers. You will delete your old eSIM and replace it with a new one during this process. This is all done through the software on your phone, so you don’t need to take anything out or put anything in. 

Porting Your Phone Number

Porting your phone number is how you can keep your account and contacts when you move from one plan to the next. There are ways to do this online and in-store, but when you switch eSIM plans it is even easier to keep your number than when you had a physical SIM card. This process should be easy, but any mistakes are hard to settle. Keep your old number active for as long as possible to keep lines of communication open between you and both your old and new carriers. 

Have your current account information on hand when you purchase your new plan. If you are keeping your current phone, they may ask for the phone’s ESN/IMEI number, found in the settings under device info. After you iron out the details with your new provider, they should handle the rest. They will contact your current company and begin changing your plan and keeping your phone number. 

If your phone has a physical SIM card, you will swap it out for a new one, courtesy of the new company. It can take a few hours (up to a day) when your phone is offline. This is the time it takes for your two carriers to dot their i’s and cross their t’s. After that, you’re all done! Congratulations! You’ve got a new service provider, and your phone is up and running. 

With an eSIM card the activation is almost instantaneous. One of the advantages to eSIM phone plans is how easy it is to activate and deactivate your plan. When you delete eSIM, your phone disconnects from mobile networks. Activating an eSIM with your current or new carrier should get it all squared away in a few moments. 

Unlocking Your Phone

If you want to bring your phone to a new carrier, it must be unlocked. When you purchase a phone from a carrier, it is locked to that carrier, and it will stay that way for a few months at least. It’s annoying, but phone companies do this in order to discourage people from “hopping” networks every month or a few months to keep abreast of new customer deals and, in short, be a thorn in the carrier’s side. If you haven’t paid off your phone, you will get hit with an early termination fee by your current provider. 

Different carriers have different specific requirements for unlocking your phone, but they always follow the same general criteria: 

• Your phone must be paid off
• You must have purchased it from the carrier
• It is not claimed as lost or stolen
• Your account is in good standing

Some carriers automatically unlock cell phones when you hit those requirements, and some require you to request an unlock on their website. To check if your phone is unlocked, go into your settings and, if you have an iPhone, go to cellular and cellular data. If you see “Cellular Data Options,'' your phone is unlocked. For Android phones, go to settings and mobile networks. If you see network operators, then your phone is unlocked!  

If you don’t see that, then, unfortunately, your phone is probably locked, meaning you can’t transfer that phone to the new carrier at this time. You can search for carrier-specific requirements to see what you need to do or talk to a representative to see what is keeping your phone locked. 

If your phone is still locked, you may have to wait a month or two for your carrier to complete the unlocking process. 

Key Takeaways

What happens if you delete your eSIM? Not much! Your phone will function as normal, just without access to any mobile network. Activating a new eSIM with that carrier or a new one, as long as you have all your information on hand, should only take a few moments. The preparation is key in this endeavor. Here are a few key takeaways to remember before you delete your eSIM and switch carriers!

• Remember to figure out what you need in a cell phone plan. It is easy to overpay with a premium plan that gives you many features you don’t need. 
• You should also avoid underpaying with your phone plan and running out of data in the middle of each month. 
• Switching carriers is often challenging, but it does not have to be so. If you are in contact with both carriers during the process and follow their instructions, the switch should be painless. 
• Your phone must be unlocked before switching carriers. If your phone is locked, it cannot connect to any other networks until you meet the criteria to unlock it. 
• Porting your phone number is easy as long as you don’t delete your eSIM account with your current company. If you close your account with a company they can get rid of all your data. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I delete eSIM?

Deleting your eSIM means you can no longer send text messages, make calls, or connect to a mobile network with your smart device. 

What happens if I accidentally delete eSIM on my iPhone?

If you accidentally delete eSIM on your iPhone, you will lose the ability to send texts, make calls, or connect to a mobile network with your smart device. As long as you have a WiFi connection, however, you should be able to reinstall eSIM if you contact your wireless provider. 

Can I delete and reinstall eSIM?

Yes! Deleting your eSIM from your phone does not mess with your account stored at the company; it just means your phone cannot use it. You may run into issues trying to reinstall it. If so, contact your mobile provider’s customer support when you are able to reinstall eSIM on your device. 

How do I restore eSIM after deleting it?

This process varies from company to company, but it usually occurs through their mobile app or website portal.