What Happens to Your eSIM After a Factory Reset? (Do You Lose It?)

No, a factory reset doesn't have to cost you your eSIM (embedded SIM), including a travel eSIM like co:sim's. iOS 17+ and recent Android let you choose to keep your eSIM profiles during the reset, so nothing is lost. Without that choice, a carrier plan's subscription still lives on the account. A travel eSIM works slightly differently.

#The longer answer: why your eSIM usually survives

An eSIM (embedded SIM) is really two things layered together: a physical chip (the eUICC) built into the phone, and a "profile," the downloaded package of network credentials that makes that chip work on a specific carrier, provisioned under the GSMA's industry-standard eSIM architecture (GSMA, eSIM interoperability). A factory reset can't touch the chip itself, since it's hardware, but it can erase the profile stored on it, along with the rest of your data. Modern phones give you a say in that.

On iPhone (iOS 17 and later), going to Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Erase All Content and Settings presents an explicit choice partway through: "Keep eSIMs and erase data" or "Delete eSIMs and erase data." Choosing to keep them leaves every installed eSIM working exactly as before, with no reactivation step at all (Apple, restoring an iPhone or iPad). Apple's own guidance is direct about the alternative too: if you do delete them, you'll need to contact the carrier to reactivate the plan afterward.

Recent Android phones follow the same basic pattern, though the exact menu wording varies by manufacturer: a factory reset typically presents a checkbox or prompt asking whether to erase the eSIM, unchecked by default, so the eSIM survives unless you deliberately choose to remove it. The underlying idea, that wiping an eSIM is a distinct, separate action from wiping the rest of the device, isn't just phone-maker convention either: Google's own Android Management API documentation for enterprise devices defines eSIM wiping as its own explicit flag, separate from a general device wipe (Google, Android Management API), which reflects the same principle at the platform level.

#Does this apply to a travel eSIM the same way?

Mostly yes for the reset moment itself: choosing "keep eSIM" preserves a travel eSIM exactly like a carrier eSIM, since the phone doesn't distinguish between eSIM types when deciding what to erase. Where it differs is what happens next if you didn't keep it, or your phone deleted it anyway. A regular carrier eSIM is tied to an ongoing account relationship, so the carrier can simply push the same subscription back down to a new profile. A single-purchase travel eSIM, including co:sim's, is closer to a one-time data profile installed on a specific device; once it's been activated and then erased, the plan generally doesn't carry over to a freshly reinstalled profile the way an account-based carrier plan does. If you're traveling with a co:sim eSIM, the safe move is simple: avoid factory-resetting the phone mid-trip, and if you must reset it for another reason, choose "keep eSIM" rather than "delete."

#FAQ

#Do I lose my phone number if I factory reset with an eSIM?

No, not directly, and this is a common point of confusion. Your phone number is tied to your carrier account and the eSIM profile that represents it, not to anything stored elsewhere on the phone that a reset would separately wipe. If you choose "keep eSIM" during the reset, the number keeps working exactly as before. If the eSIM does get erased, the number itself isn't gone either, since it belongs to your account with the carrier; you'll just need the carrier to reissue a working profile, typically through their app or by contacting support, before the phone can use that number again. This is also why the "keep eSIM" choice during a reset matters more than people expect: skipping it doesn't erase your number from existence, but it does turn a five-minute reset into a support call you didn't need to make.

#What's the difference between "keep eSIM" and "delete eSIM" during a reset?

"Keep eSIM" erases your personal data, apps and settings but leaves your installed eSIM profiles untouched, so you can start using the reset phone immediately with the same cellular connection. "Delete eSIM" wipes everything, including the eSIM profiles, which is the right choice if you're selling, trading in, or giving away the device, since you don't want your cellular access (or the next owner's ability to use it) tied to the old profile. If you're resetting your own phone to fix a software problem and plan to keep using it, "keep eSIM" is almost always what you want. The prompt only appears if the phone currently has an active eSIM installed; a phone running only on a physical SIM card won't show this choice at all, since there's nothing eSIM-related for the reset to ask about.

#Can I just rescan my old eSIM QR code after a reset?

Usually not, and this is worth knowing before you rely on it. Most eSIM QR codes are designed for one installation; once a profile has been activated on a device, the same code typically won't reinstall it after that profile is deleted. If your eSIM survived the reset because you chose "keep eSIM," you don't need to rescan anything. If it didn't survive, the fix depends on the type of eSIM: a carrier plan can usually be reissued as a fresh profile by the carrier, while a single-purchase travel eSIM that's already been activated generally can't be recovered the same way, since it isn't tied to an ongoing account the way a phone plan is. That asymmetry is the real reason the reset-time choice matters so much for a travel eSIM specifically: there's no equivalent of "call the carrier" waiting on the other side if you skip it.

#Does resetting network settings (not a full factory reset) delete my eSIM?

No. Resetting network settings is a much narrower action, typically found under Settings → General → Reset → Reset Network Settings on iPhone or an equivalent Android menu, and it clears saved Wi-Fi passwords, Bluetooth pairings, VPN configurations and cellular preferences, not installed eSIM profiles. It's a useful troubleshooting step if a phone won't connect properly and you don't want to wipe the whole device. Only a full factory reset, "Erase All Content and Settings" on iPhone or "Factory Data Reset" on Android, is the action that can remove an eSIM profile, and even then only if you choose to. If you're only troubleshooting a connection issue, a network settings reset is worth trying first, since it fixes many common problems without touching anything eSIM-related at all.

#Should I back up anything related to my eSIM before resetting my phone?

It's a reasonable precaution, even though modern phones make it unnecessary in the common case. Since a reset doesn't require you to erase your eSIM if you choose the keep option, most people never need a backup plan for it. As a safety net, though, keep your carrier's app installed and logged in (for a phone plan) or your provider's confirmation email accessible (for a travel eSIM like one from co:sim, which sends the original QR code and order details by email) before you start, so a fresh QR code or reactivation is one step away if something doesn't go as expected. For a co:sim eSIM specifically, the QR code and order details stay in your confirmation email and account dashboard even after installation, so there's no separate backup step required beyond not deleting that email before your trip.

Whichever type of eSIM you're resetting, the safest move is the same: read the reset screen carefully, and choose to keep it. If you're installing a fresh eSIM for an upcoming trip instead, co:sim covers over 190 destinations, from single-country plans like a co:sim Japan eSIM to regional bundles.