Transferring an eSIM to a new Android phone has two routes, and trying them in the right order saves time. The built in transfer during the new phone’s setup moves a carrier line directly between many recent Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices. When that option is missing, the carrier can issue a fresh profile for the new phone, which works on every network and every device pair.
This guide covers both, the Samsung and Pixel specifics, the cross brand cases, and why a travel plan follows completely different rules.
In this guide:
- Try the built in transfer first
- The carrier reissue route
- Samsung Galaxy specifics
- Pixel and cross brand transfers
- Travel eSIMs follow different rules
- What can go wrong, and the fix
- After the transfer
- Adding a travel plan to the new phone
Try the built in transfer first
Recent Android devices can move a carrier line from a nearby phone, either during initial setup or afterwards from the SIM settings. Where it is available it is the fastest path by a wide margin.
What it needs:
- Both phones nearby, unlocked and powered on, with Bluetooth enabled.
- A carrier that supports the feature for your line. This is the variable that most often decides the outcome.
- Recent software on both devices. Update before starting rather than halfway through.
Where to find it: on the new phone, look during setup for an option to bring a SIM or mobile plan from another device, or afterwards under Settings, Network and Internet, SIMs, then the option to add or download a SIM. Google documents the Pixel behaviour on its dual SIM support page.
If the option is absent, do not hunt for it in other menus. Its absence means the carrier or the device pair does not support it, and the next section is the answer.
The carrier reissue route
This works everywhere, which is why it is worth knowing even if the built in transfer succeeds for you today.
- Set up the new phone and connect it to Wi Fi. Installing a profile needs an internet connection that is not the line you are moving.
- Collect the new phone’s IMEI and EID from Settings, About phone. Our glossary covers what an EID and an IMEI are.
- Ask the carrier for an eSIM for the new device, through their app where possible.
- Scan the QR code they send under the new phone’s add eSIM screen, displaying the code on a laptop since a phone cannot scan its own screen.
- Test the line: a call, a text, and a page loaded on mobile data with Wi Fi off.
- Remove the old profile afterwards, not before.
Copy the EID exactly. One wrong character produces a profile that silently refuses to install, and it is the most common cause of a reissue failing at the last step.
Samsung Galaxy specifics
On a Galaxy, eSIM controls live under Settings, Connections, SIM manager, and the add option reads Add eSIM.
Three Samsung specific points. Support varies by region and variant rather than by model name, so if the add option is missing entirely, check your exact model number against Samsung’s Galaxy eSIM compatibility page before assuming something is broken. Rename each line in SIM manager as soon as it installs, because Samsung labels lines by slot and the resulting SIM 1 and SIM 2 confusion produces misleading error messages later. And check per line data roaming after the move, since those preferences do not carry across from the old phone.
If the new line installs but will not connect, the fixes in order are in eSIM not working on Samsung and Android.
Pixel and cross brand transfers
Pixel to Pixel transfers are among the better supported cases, and Pixel to Samsung or Samsung to Pixel work in some combinations and not others. The determining factors are both device models and the carrier, not Android itself, which is why identical looking setups behave differently.
The practical approach is unchanged: attempt the built in option during setup, and if it is not offered, request a reissue. Do not spend time trying to force a feature that is not being offered, because its absence is a support decision rather than a hidden setting.
For moves between ecosystems, see transferring an eSIM from iPhone to Android and from Android to iPhone.
Travel eSIMs follow different rules
Everything above describes a carrier line. A prepaid travel plan is a different product and none of the transfer features apply to it.
Travel profiles are bound to the device that downloaded them and their activation codes are single use, so there is nothing to move and nothing to rescan. Contact the provider with your order reference and ask about a reissue for the new device. Many will do it once, with remaining data intact. If they cannot, a small plan for the new phone is the practical answer, and the cheapest eSIM plan guide covers sizing one without overpaying. Plans by country are on the destinations index.
The rule in every case: ask before you delete. A deleted travel profile usually cannot be recovered, as covered in why an eSIM will not transfer to a new phone.
What can go wrong, and the fix
Five failures cover almost every Android eSIM transfer that stalls, and none of them need a factory reset.
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No transfer option during setup | The carrier or device pair does not support it | Use the carrier reissue route |
| QR code will not scan | The code is displayed on the same phone, or the image is too small | Show it on a laptop, or enter the details manually |
| Profile downloads then fails to activate | The EID given to the carrier was wrong, or the code was already used | Ask the carrier to reissue against the correct EID |
| New line shows no service | Registration has not completed | Restart, then select a network manually |
| New line has service but no data | Wrong data line, or roaming off for that line | Set it as the mobile data line, switch on data roaming |
The third row is the one worth guarding against in advance, because a profile built for the wrong EID cannot be installed by any amount of retrying. Copy the identifier from the phone rather than typing it from a photograph, and read it back to the agent before they generate anything.
For the states in the last two rows, the ordered checks in the complete eSIM troubleshooting guide resolve nearly all of them.
After the transfer
Four things to check on the new phone before you consider the job done.
- The line is labelled clearly, especially if you run two.
- The right line is set for mobile data, with automatic switching off if you do not want it.
- Data roaming is set deliberately per line: off for a home line abroad, on for a travel plan.
- The old phone’s profile is removed only once everything above is confirmed working.
Then, if you are travelling soon, read the dual SIM travel setup guide so the new phone is configured before you fly rather than at an airport.
Adding a travel plan to the new phone
The second line on a new Android phone is worth setting up before your next trip rather than at an airport.
Viasimo sells prepaid travel eSIMs for more than 190 destinations, delivered by email as a QR code within minutes of purchase and installed straight from the phone’s eSIM screen with no app. Every plan is a one off purchase, so nothing renews and nothing needs cancelling, and the covered countries and validity are shown before you pay. It is data only, so it runs alongside the carrier line you just transferred without touching your number.
Compare sizes on the destinations index, or go direct to the USA, Europe or Japan.
If you would rather start from the plans themselves, the eSIM plan picker asks for your destination and your trip length and shows you what fits.
