eSIM not connecting: what to check, in order
Seven reasons the profile is installed but there is no internet, ordered from the most common to the rarest. Two minutes to work through.
The profile is installed, you have landed, and there is no internet. Nine times out of ten it is one of the first three items below, and it takes a minute to fix. Work down the list in order.
1. Data is switched on for the wrong line
The most common cause by far. There are two lines in the phone and the "Cellular data" toggle still points at your home one.
iPhone: Settings → Cellular → Cellular Data → pick the StayOn profile. Android: Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → Mobile data → pick the right profile.
2. Data roaming is off for the profile
It sounds backwards, but this has to be on. For a travel eSIM the local network is formally a "visited" one, and without this toggle the phone will not attach to it. No roaming charge results: you are billed for the plan, not by your home operator.
iPhone: Settings → Cellular → select the profile → Data Roaming → on. Android: Settings → SIMs → select the profile → Roaming → on.
3. The profile itself is turned off
After installation the profile stays in the list but may not be activated. Check that it reads "On" rather than "Off".
4. The phone is clinging to the home network
Common after a long flight: the handset reattached from memory. Turn airplane mode on for ten seconds and off again — the phone will scan for networks from scratch.
5. Network selection is set to manual
If operator selection is manual, the phone hunts for one specific network and never finds it. Switch it back to automatic.
6. The data or the validity has run out
You can check what is left in your account on the site. If the data is gone, top up the same profile — here is how.
7. The phone is carrier-locked
Rare but final: a handset bought on instalments from an operator may refuse other profiles. Only the operator can unlock it.
If none of that helped
Message us on WhatsApp — the button sits in the corner of every page. And separately: if the eSIM never worked, we refund you. That is a rule, not small print.
In short
- Check which line has cellular data enabled.
- Turn data roaming on for the profile — it is required.
- Ten seconds of airplane mode fixes a good share of cases.
- If it never worked, you get your money back.