Lost, stolen, broken or wiped phone: how to get your eSIM number onto a new one

You cannot transfer an eSIM without the old phone using the built-in transfer tools, because Apple, Google and Samsung all need the previous device to approve the move. Instead, your carrier issues a new eSIM for the same number after checking your identity. This guide covers each step and the main carriers' rules, checked on 16 October 2026.

Why can't you transfer an eSIM without the old phone?

Because phone-to-phone transfer is a handshake: the old phone has to be switched on, nearby and able to confirm that you are giving up the line. Each maker sets the same kind of condition:

• iPhone: Apple's eSIM set-up page lists eSIM Quick Transfer requirements: "Unlock your previous iPhone with the device passcode", both devices nearby with Bluetooth on, and both on iOS 18.4 or later.
• Pixel: Google's SIM transfer page says both the new and the current device must have Android 12 or later, the current Google Play services and a screen lock, and that you should have the other device near.
• Samsung Galaxy: Samsung's US SIM page describes Transfer SIM from another phone, where you tap Transfer on the old device and type in the code shown on the new one.

Carriers apply the same logic. Verizon's My Verizon eSIM FAQ answers "Do I need my old phone during the transfer?" with "Yes", for authentication if there is only one line on the account. With several lines, another device on the account can authenticate instead.

All of these tools also need the carrier to support transfer. Google says that when the transfer is not detected, you should contact your carrier to activate your eSIM. That carrier route is the one you need when the old phone is gone.

Lost or stolen: what should you do first?

Block the line with your carrier first, then lock or erase the phone remotely, and only then ask for a new eSIM. Until the line is blocked, anyone who can use the phone can receive your calls and text codes.

1. Suspend or block the line. Apple's page on a lost or stolen iPhone says to contact your wireless carrier, report the missing iPhone and "ask them to disable your account". The numbers for each carrier are in the tables below.
2. Mark the phone as lost. On an iPhone, Find My puts it in Lost Mode, which locks it with your passcode and suspends Apple Pay cards. On Android, Google's Find Hub page lets you secure or erase the device from another phone or a browser.
3. Do not remove the iPhone from Find My, even after a remote erase. Apple warns that removing it switches off Activation Lock, which makes the phone easier to resell.
4. Note the IMEI. Google says your mobile service provider can use the IMEI to disable the device, and that Find Hub shows it.
5. Ask for the replacement eSIM once you have a phone to put it on, as described in the next sections.

Find My and Find Hub only help if they were turned on before the loss. Apple states that without Find My you cannot mark the iPhone as lost or erase it remotely. For more on protecting a line, see our guide to eSIM security and privacy.

How does a carrier reissue an eSIM?

The carrier links a fresh eSIM profile to your number, sends it to you as a QR code, an app download or an activation link, and the old profile stops working. In Apple's own transfer process, the plan on the new iPhone deactivates the previous SIM when it activates. Carriers say the same of a replacement: Movistar's eSIM page says the old eSIM stops being operational after an eSIM change, and Orange Spain says the original card stops working once the duplicate is activated.

Three things vary from one carrier to the next:

• The channel: the carrier app, the web account, the phone line, chat or a shop.
• The identity check: sometimes a code sent by text to your number, which you cannot receive while the line is on a lost phone. That is why some carriers send a QR code by email or post, or ask you to visit a shop with ID.
• The format: Orange France and Free Mobile require a physical SIM first after a loss or theft, then a switch back to eSIM.

An old QR code will not help. EE and O2 both say an eSIM QR code can only be used once, and our article on why eSIM QR codes expire explains why.

How to get a replacement eSIM in the UK

Checked on 16 October 2026 on EE's eSIM help, O2's eSIM help, Vodafone's eSIM help and Three's eSIM help. None of the four states a price for a replacement eSIM on these pages.

Three says an ordered eSIM is "sent to you immediately", with the QR code and the confirmation code emailed separately, each usable once. O2 asks you to tell it within 24 hours, and ideally at once, so it can send a new SIM with your existing number while blocking your old device. O2's phone lines are not open 24/7 (8am to 9pm on weekdays), unlike EE's.

How to get a new eSIM in the US

Checked on 16 October 2026 on AT&T's SIM page and Verizon's FAQ. Neither page states a fee for a replacement eSIM. T-Mobile's help pages could not be loaded on that date, so we do not describe its process: use the T-Mobile app or call T-Mobile.

Verizon's suspend FAQ says you can suspend a lost or stolen line for up to 30 days and that Verizon blocks the device. It also warns that the line disconnects automatically after 30 days and you lose the number, so request the new eSIM before then. AT&T notes that plan fees continue while a line is suspended.

How to get a new eSIM in France

Checked on 16 October 2026 on Orange's loss and theft page, SFR's loss page, Bouygues Telecom's stolen phone guide and Free's loss or theft article.

Orange's suspension page explains why a plastic SIM comes first: you must be able to receive, on your line, the text message with the security code sent during the eSIM request. Free gives the same reason in shorter form: "pour des raisons de sécurité". Both let you suspend the line in the same order. SFR says its suspension takes effect within 2 hours and does not stop subscription billing; Bouygues says its suspension is immediate.

How to get a new eSIM in Germany

O2: O2's eSIM page says that if the old device is lost or stolen, the eSIM quick transfer does not work and you should contact its service team to request the QR code again. You can block the eSIM yourself in Mein O2 or the Mein O2 app. Transfer is free, but O2 says that issuing a new eSIM, for example after losing the old device, may cost a fee set in its price list.

Vodafone: Vodafone's lost or stolen phone guide says to block the SIM in MeinVodafone or on the blocking hotline 0800 172 1212, then order a replacement or load your eSIM profile onto a new device from there. From the Vodafone network the short number is 1212, and from abroad +49 172 12 172 12. No fee is stated on that page.

Telekom: Telekom's help pages could not be loaded on 16 October 2026, so we do not quote its process here. Use the MeinMagenta app or Telekom customer service.

How to get a new eSIM in Spain

Checked on 16 October 2026 on Movistar's eSIM page, Vodafone's lost eSIM page and Orange's theft and loss page. None of the three states a price for an eSIM-to-eSIM replacement on these pages; Orange's theft page puts a new SIM at 5 € including VAT, and its duplicate page adds shipping costs if it is posted.

What if the old phone is broken or was reset?

If the broken phone still turns on and you can unlock it, try the normal transfer first; if it does not, the carrier route above is the only one. The makers' transfer tools ask for an unlocked old device, so a phone with a dead screen or no power cannot approve the handshake.

A factory reset is different from a loss: the phone works, but the eSIM may be gone. Apple's factory reset page says you can keep or delete your eSIM during the reset, and that if you erase it, you need to contact your carrier to reactivate your cellular plan. If you kept it, it is still on the phone, and the normal transfer can work once the phone is set up again.

If the eSIM was erased, the situation is the same as a deleted eSIM: our guide to getting a deleted eSIM back covers recovery, and our guide on deleting an eSIM and what happens after explains what the delete actually removed.

Can you move a travel eSIM without the old phone?

Usually not: most travel eSIM providers tie the profile to the phone it was first installed on, so if that phone is lost or dead, the remaining data is lost too. Saily is the main exception among the providers we checked.

Policies checked on 16 October 2026. If your phone was lost mid-trip, contact the provider through its app or website chat before buying a new plan: Airalo's app, for example, may offer a check on whether a deleted plan can be reinstalled or replaced. A travel eSIM only needs an unlocked phone with eSIM hardware; see whether you need an unlocked phone for a travel eSIM.

Is your new phone ready for the eSIM?

Check that the new phone is unlocked, has an eSIM chip and can reach Wi-Fi before the carrier issues anything. Samsung's Canadian eSIM page notes that the new device must be unlocked for a transfer to succeed. Apple says an iPhone needs Wi-Fi or a hotspot to download the eSIM, except some eSIM-only models in some countries.

Make sure the model actually has an eSIM chip: our list of eSIM-compatible phones and the brand pages for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel list them. If you do still have the old iPhone, our guide to transferring an eSIM between two iPhones is the faster route.

Checklist: new eSIM without the old phone

1. Block or suspend the line with your carrier (lost or stolen phone).
2. Mark the phone as lost in Find My or Find Hub, and keep it in your account.
3. Get the new phone, unlocked and eSIM-capable, and connect it to Wi-Fi.
4. Request the replacement eSIM through the carrier's app, website, phone line or shop, with ID ready.
5. Install it, make a test call, and check that the old line was not left suspended.
6. For a travel eSIM, contact the provider; with Saily, log in to the app with the same email.