How to Transfer an eSIM to a New Android Phone

eSIM-only phones are mainstream now. The Pixel 10 shipped without a SIM tray in the US, and the big carriers treat plastic SIMs as the fallback. Moving your line to a new Android phone is now a software step. Android has a built-in transfer tool that works during setup or afterwards, but it depends on your carrier, the menus differ on Samsung, and travel eSIMs mostly refuse to move at all. Here is every path, in order of least pain.

Most failed transfers trace back to one of these, so check them first:

• Android 12 or later on both phones, current Google Play services, and a screen lock set on both. That is Google's official requirement for the SIM transfer tool.
• Carrier support. The built-in tool only works if your carrier has enabled it. Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T support it on recent Pixels (Pixel 7 and later) and Galaxy S23 and later. Many MVNOs do not, and you will need a QR code instead.
• Wi-Fi on both phones, ideally the same network, and Bluetooth on. The phones pair locally during the handoff.
• Battery above 50 percent on the old phone. A transfer that dies mid-way is the main cause of the no-service-on-either-phone state.
• The old phone unlocked and in your hands. If it is broken or wiped, skip to the carrier app or QR methods below.

Also: an eSIM transfer moves your line, not your data. Photos, apps, and messages travel separately, so back up your old Android phone before you factory reset anything.

This is the smoothest route when your carrier plays along. During first-boot setup on the new phone:

1. Keep the old phone nearby, unlocked, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on.
2. Proceed through setup until the mobile network step (worded as Connect to mobile network or similar).
3. Choose the option to transfer a SIM from another device, then pick the line to move.
4. Confirm on the old phone when it prompts you. Some flows have you scan a QR code shown on the new phone with the old phone to pair them.
5. Tap Activate and wait, typically two to five minutes.

On some carriers the move is automatic: the wizard detects the eSIM on your old phone during the data transfer step and offers to bring it along. Take that offer if you see it. If the network step only offers a QR scan, your carrier has not enabled device-to-device transfer, so jump to the carrier app section.

Skipped the SIM step during setup? Run the same transfer any time later.

On Pixels and most stock-ish Android phones:

1. Open Settings > Network & internet > SIMs.
2. Tap Add SIM (some builds say Add eSIM).
3. Choose Transfer SIM from another device.
4. Approve the request on the old phone and follow the pairing prompts.

On Samsung Galaxy phones the path is Settings > Connections > SIM manager > Add eSIM, then Transfer SIM from another device. Samsung pairs the phones over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and shows a 6-digit verification code on the new phone that you enter on the old one, so keep both within arm's reach. This route works for carrier eSIMs, not travel eSIMs.

When the new phone shows signal and can place a call, the old phone's line goes dead. That is expected. Do not factory reset the old phone until you have made a test call and sent a test SMS from the new one.

The QR code is the universal fallback, and for many MVNOs the only option. The catch people miss: your old QR code is almost always dead. Activation codes are single use; once a profile is downloaded to a phone, that code will not install on a second one. You need a fresh eSIM profile for the new device.

1. Log in to your carrier's website or app and request a new eSIM for your line. Some carriers ask for the new phone's EID or IMEI (on the box, or in Settings > About phone).
2. The carrier emails a QR code, shows it in your account dashboard, or pushes the profile straight to the phone.
3. On the new phone, go to Settings > Network & internet > SIMs > Add SIM, pick the QR scan option (often behind Set up manually), and scan the code from a second screen; a laptop works fine.
4. Wait for activation, then restart if signal does not appear within a few minutes.

If you get a manual activation code instead of a QR image, there is an enter-code-manually link on the scan screen for the SM-DP+ address and code.

Verizon. Put the new phone on Wi-Fi, install the My Verizon app, and sign in. Go to the Mobile tab, pick the line, choose Change or replace device on this line (or Activate or get SIM), and follow the prompts. Only the Account Owner or an Account Manager can move a line, and on single-line accounts Verizon authenticates through the old phone, so keep it alive until the switch completes.

T-Mobile. The T-Life app handles SIM changes. Go to Manage, select the line, then SIM transfer or activation. Enter the new phone's IMEI, review, and tap Activate. T-Mobile often sends an interactive SMS to confirm; reply to it or the swap stalls. Turn off SIM protection on the account first if you use it.

AT&T. The built-in device-to-device transfer works on supported phones and plans, but not universally. Otherwise use att.com or the myAT&T app: Bring your own device > Switch the device used on my line, or request a new eSIM QR code. Make sure Wireless Account Lock is off before you start; it blocks all device swaps while enabled.

Since iOS 26, Apple supports direct eSIM transfer to Android. On the iPhone, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Transfer to Android, move your data, then confirm the eSIM transfer with a double-click of the side button. The Android phone needs a compatible version of Android 16, and the carrier must support cross-platform moves; in the US that means AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, with quiet failure on most smaller ones.

When direct transfer is not offered, do it manually:

1. Request a new eSIM or QR code from your carrier for the Android phone.
2. Install it via Settings > Network & internet > SIMs > Add SIM.
3. Once the Android phone has service, delete the old plan from the iPhone under Settings > Cellular.

Do not delete the eSIM from the iPhone first; a live iPhone line is your safety net if the install fails. And turn off iMessage before the number moves, or texts from Apple users can vanish into iMessage limbo. Our iPhone to Android switching guide covers that and the rest of the data move.

Failures cluster into a few patterns:

• The transfer option never appears. Your carrier has not enabled it, one phone is below Android 12, or Play services is outdated on the old phone. Update, reboot both, then fall back to the carrier app or a QR code.
• The phones will not pair. Same Wi-Fi network, toggle Bluetooth, both screens unlocked, phones physically next to each other.
• Activation hangs at the spinner. Give it a full ten minutes; carrier provisioning can be slow. Then restart the new phone. The profile often finishes activating after a reboot.
• QR error: code no longer valid. The code was already consumed, possibly by a failed attempt. Request a fresh one instead of rescanning.

The reassuring part: in Google's flow, if the transfer errors out, the old phone's eSIM keeps working. Retry once, then ask the carrier to push the eSIM to the new device directly, which bypasses the phone-to-phone mechanism entirely.

The worst case: the old phone loses service, the new one never gains it. It happens when provisioning completes on the carrier side but the profile download fails. You are not locked out:

1. Get the new phone on Wi-Fi. Everything below works without cellular.
2. Open the carrier app and sign in. Most can re-push an eSIM to the device they are running on, or issue a new QR code on the spot.
3. No luck? Use the carrier's web chat over Wi-Fi, or call support from any other phone, with the new phone's EID and IMEI ready. Ask them to reset and resend the eSIM on the line.
4. 911 still works from a phone with no active SIM, so emergency calls are never blocked during this window.

Once service is back, re-check the features that reset with a new SIM profile: APN settings on MVNOs, VoLTE, and Wi-Fi calling. Here is how to turn Wi-Fi calling back on once the line is live.

Travel eSIMs from Holafly, Airalo, Saily, and Nomad follow different, unfriendly rules:

• Holafly eSIMs cannot be transferred to another device. Their policy is explicit. If a plan is still active when you switch phones, that data is stranded unless support issues a new installation code.
• Airalo eSIMs cannot be reinstalled once deleted. Removing the profile from the old phone does not free it up; the QR is single use. Airalo's in-app support can regenerate codes case by case, but treat that as a favor, not a feature.
• Android's transfer tool will not move them. It works through carrier integration, and travel eSIM providers are not integrated.

Practical rules: never delete a travel eSIM with remaining data before confirming the provider will reissue it, and buy travel eSIMs after a phone upgrade rather than before. Some providers now offer re-downloadable eSIMs from an account dashboard; look for the word reinstall in the FAQ before you buy.