How to remove an eSIM from an iPhone, Samsung or other Android phone, and what you lose when you do

To delete an eSIM, open your SIM or cellular settings, tap the line and pick Delete eSIM, Remove or Erase eSIM, depending on the brand. Deleting removes the profile from the phone but does not cancel your contract, and many carrier and travel eSIMs cannot be reinstalled afterwards. The exact path for each brand follows, checked on 16 October 2026.

Do you need to delete the eSIM, turn it off, or cancel the line?

Most people only need to turn the line off: deleting is permanent on the phone, and only your carrier can cancel the contract. The three actions are often confused, and they do very different things.

Table checked on 16 October 2026 against the sources linked below. Apple's own advice is blunt: "Don't erase an eSIM as a troubleshooting step unless directed to by your carrier", and "If you erase an eSIM, you'll need to contact your carrier to get a new one", according to its page on how to erase an eSIM, published on 17 September 2026.

Apple names the cases where erasing is the right move: after you have transferred the eSIM's plan or number to another device, and before you sell, trade in or give away the phone. Outside those cases, turning the line off is safer.

To turn a line off on an iPhone, open Settings, tap Cellular, tap the line and switch off Turn On This Line; it is the same switch that Apple's No Service troubleshooting page tells you to tap when a line is off. On a Pixel, Google's dual SIM help page says to tap the SIM and turn off Use this SIM. Xiaomi calls the same action Disable mobile plan.

How to delete an eSIM on an iPhone or iPad

On an iPhone, the button is Delete eSIM when you have one plan, and Delete Plan when you have several. Apple's steps for iPhone are these:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Cellular. On UK iPhones this menu is called Mobile Service: Vodafone UK's guide for the iPhone 17 on iOS 26 uses that label.
3. If you have a single plan, tap Delete eSIM.
4. If you have several plans, tap the plan you want to erase, then tap Delete Plan.
5. Follow the instructions on the screen to confirm.

On an iPad, the menu is Cellular Data instead of Cellular; the rest is the same. If you use iPhone Handoff for that eSIM, Apple warns that you must ask your carrier to turn it off, because "Your carrier may continue to charge you until you request them to turn off the service".

A deleted line can sometimes stay listed under Cellular. Holafly's help page on deleting an eSIM gives the fix: keep your personal line turned on, tap the leftover entry and tap Update Contacts. If that option does not appear, turn on another SIM or eSIM line and try again. iPhone models from the XR and XS onwards have an eSIM, except in mainland China, where Apple says only a few recent models support it; the models are on our iPhone eSIM page.

How to remove an eSIM from a Samsung Galaxy

On a Samsung Galaxy, the path is Settings, Connections, SIM manager, then the plan, then Remove. Vodafone UK's guide for the Galaxy S26 on Android 16 gives these steps, and its Galaxy S24 guide on Android 14 shows the same menus:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Connections.
3. Tap SIM manager.
4. Tap the eSIM plan you want to delete.
5. Tap Remove and follow the instructions on the screen.

Samsung's own page on using an eSIM with your Galaxy phone uses the older label SIM card manager and adds a step: switch the plan's toggle off before you tap Remove. The same page offers Remove all mobile plans, which wipes every eSIM at once. Use it only if you want every line gone, for example before selling the phone.

Samsung is explicit about the contract: "Removing plans on your Galaxy smartphone does not affect your contract with the network provider." Its Malaysian page adds that you should contact your carrier "to terminate or suspend your subscription" after removing a plan. Galaxy models with eSIM are listed on our Samsung Galaxy page.

How to erase an eSIM on a Google Pixel

On a Pixel, the button is Erase eSIM, inside the SIM's settings page. Google's help page and Vodafone UK's Pixel 10 guide describe the same button but name the menu differently:

• Google's Pixel help: Settings, Network & internet, Mobile network, select the eSIM, tap Erase eSIM. Google notes that some of these steps only work on Android 11 and later.
• Pixel 10 on Android 16 (Vodafone UK): Settings, Network and Internet, SIMs, select the plan, tap Erase eSIM, then tap Erase to confirm, according to Vodafone UK's Pixel 10 guide.

Other parts of Google's own help page already use the SIMs label, so on a recent Pixel expect SIMs rather than Mobile network. Pixel owners can also ask for a password before any eSIM is deleted: Settings, Security, Advanced, Confirm SIM deletion. That setting protects you from deleting a line by accident.

Google adds that in the US, the Pixel 10 and later, except the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, use eSIM only. On those phones, deleting your only eSIM leaves the phone with no mobile service at all until the carrier issues a new one. See our Google Pixel eSIM page for the models.

Delete an eSIM on Xiaomi, Motorola, HONOR, OPPO and other Android phones

Android makers each rename the SIM menu. The paths below come from the manufacturer or from Vodafone UK's per-model device guides, with the Android version each one was written for.

Paths checked on 16 October 2026 in Vodafone UK's guides for the Motorola Razr 60 Ultra, the HONOR 400 and the OPPO Find X9 Ultra, and in Xiaomi's support article.

Xiaomi: Xiaomi's article on how to disable, name or delete an eSIM says to turn on Use eSIM, open Manage eSIM, and "Disable an eSIM card before you delete it". It warns that deleting "will permanently delete" the profile and that the eSIM "will not be restored and displayed in the eSIM list". A second Xiaomi article names the menu Mobile network instead, so the label depends on the HyperOS or MIUI build. Xiaomi also offers Reset eSIM, which removes all mobile plans at once.

OnePlus, Nothing, vivo and others: we found no official, current path from these makers or from a carrier guide. Open Settings and type eSIM or SIM in the search bar: it lands on the SIM page, where the delete button sits under the plan. Check that your model has eSIM on our Xiaomi, Motorola, HONOR and OPPO pages, or the full list of eSIM phones.

What happens when you delete an eSIM?

The line disappears from the phone at once, but the contract, the number and the bill stay alive until your carrier ends them. Here is what changes, according to the makers and providers:

• Service stops on that phone. Holafly's page on what happens if you delete your eSIM says the plan is removed instantly and you lose calls and data on that line.
• Your contract continues. Samsung says removal "does not affect your contract", and Xiaomi says deleting "does not cancel any mobile data plans you have purchased from a carrier". Apple says to contact your carrier to cancel a plan.
• Getting the line back needs the carrier. Apple says you will need to contact your carrier for a new eSIM. Our guide to getting a deleted eSIM back covers that recovery.
• Your personal data is untouched. Holafly notes that photos, apps and settings stay, and that deleting does not change the phone's carrier lock status.
• A space frees up. Phones store a limited number of profiles; our article on how many eSIM profiles an Android phone can store explains the limit.

The old QR code rarely helps. Nomad's help centre says "most QR codes are single-use", which our guide to why eSIM QR codes expire explains in more detail.

Can you delete a travel eSIM after your trip, and can it come back?

Yes, you can delete a travel eSIM once the trip is over, but whether it can come back, with any unused data, depends on the provider. Holafly says it is fine to keep expired profiles, so there is no rush. Policies differ by provider:

Policies checked on 16 October 2026. If you might travel to the same region again, keep the profile and turn it off instead. Airalo lets you top up an eSIM whose validity has ended or whose data has run out, which is only useful if the profile is still on the phone. It also warns that the validity period keeps running while a line is turned off.

Running several trips at once? Our guide to two travel eSIMs at the same time shows how to keep them apart.

The eSIM is stuck on "Activating" and you cannot delete it

Before you try to delete it, check where you are. Airalo's help centre says a travel eSIM can show Activating while you are still at home, even though it is fully installed. Activation finishes once you reach the destination and are in network coverage. In that case there is nothing to delete: wait until you land.

If you are in the right country and it still says Activating, deleting it is the last step, not the first, because Apple says not to erase an eSIM as a troubleshooting step unless your carrier tells you to. Try these in order:

1. Follow our 10 fixes for a travel eSIM that will not work abroad.
2. If it is a carrier eSIM at home, read why a carrier may refuse to activate a supported phone.
3. If you deleted it on an iPhone but the line is still listed, use Holafly's tip from the iPhone section: tap the entry and tap Update Contacts, or turn on another SIM or eSIM line and retry.
4. If it still will not go, contact the carrier or provider that sold the eSIM, since only they can see the profile's state on their server.

Should you delete the eSIM before a reset, a repair or a sale?

Delete it before you sell or give the phone away; keep it during a reset or a repair you will come back from. Apple's checklist for selling or trading in an iPhone says to choose the option that erases the device and the eSIM profile.

When you erase content and settings to fix a problem, Apple says you can choose to erase your eSIM or keep it, so pick keep. Holafly gives the same advice: during a factory reset, avoid any option that says delete eSIMs or remove eSIMs if you still need the line.

Moving to a new phone? Transfer first, then delete the old copy. For two iPhones, see our guide to transferring an eSIM between two iPhones. If the old phone is already lost, broken or wiped, read how to move an eSIM without the old phone.

Before you tap Delete: a 5-point check

1. Is it the right line? Rename your lines first (Xiaomi calls it Change nickname) so you do not erase your main number.
2. Would turning it off be enough? If you only want to stop roaming or data, turn the line off.
3. Do you still have your login or codes? For a travel eSIM, note whether the provider allows a reinstall (see the table above).
4. Is any data left? Unused data on a travel eSIM is lost with the profile unless the provider allows a reinstall.
5. Have you told the carrier? If you want the billing to stop, cancel the line with the carrier; deleting the eSIM alone does not do it.