eSIM Not Working After You Land? A Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Guide

The plane lands, you switch on your phone, and there is no signal. It is frustrating, but in most cases it does not mean the eSIM is faulty. Usually a single setting has not been switched on yet. This guide is organized by the problem in front of you, from the simplest fix to the least common, and most steps take less than a minute.

A tip before takeoff: take a screenshot of these steps. You may need them at the exact moment you have no internet.

Rule one: do not delete the eSIM

However long it takes, do not delete the eSIM from your phone settings. An eSIM is installed once, and deleting it does not bring it back automatically. Every fix below works without deleting anything, and if none of them works, contact support before you try anything else.

If the installation never finished

With Simply, installation happens right inside the app, with no codes to type in yourself. If it stopped halfway, the cause is usually one of three things:

• An unstable connection: installation needs steady internet. Move to a stronger Wi-Fi network, retry from the app, and avoid public networks that ask you to sign in.
• The phone, or its version, does not support eSIM: some models support eSIM in certain versions only, depending on the country of purchase. Check the compatible devices list or our guide Does Your Phone Support eSIM?
• The phone is locked to one carrier: a locked phone rejects any eSIM from another provider. Phones bought in Saudi Arabia are usually unlocked, but check if you bought yours abroad or through a carrier contract.

Before you retry, open your phone settings. If a new line already appears in your list of SIMs, the installation did finish and there is no need to repeat it. To go through the steps from the start, see the eSIM installation guide.

Manual eSIM activation: when do you actually need it?

Manual activation means typing the eSIM details in yourself, the server address and the activation code, instead of scanning a QR code. It is how providers that email you a code expect you to install. With Simply you never need it: installation runs inside the app, with no code to scan and nothing to type, so there is no QR code that can fail in the first place.

If another provider sent you a QR code and it will not scan, the fix sits with them: ask them to reissue it, because an activation code is usually valid for a single installation only. And if your phone asks you to enter details manually while you are setting up a Simply eSIM, that is a sign you started from your phone settings instead of the app. Close that screen and start again from inside the Simply app.

You landed and there is no signal at all

This is the situation that comes up most on arrival, and it is usually solved in three steps, in this order:

1. Turn the line on: on iPhone, go to Settings → Cellular (called Mobile Data or Mobile Service in some regions), tap your travel eSIM and switch on Turn On This Line. On Android, your lines are usually under Settings → Connections → SIM manager.
2. Turn on data roaming for the travel eSIM only: this is the most common reason for having no connection on arrival, because travel eSIMs need it switched on. On iPhone, you will find it inside the settings for that line. On Android, it sits under mobile network or SIM settings, depending on the manufacturer. Keep it off on your primary SIM.
3. Reset the connection: switch Airplane Mode on for a few seconds, then off again. If the signal still does not appear within a few minutes, restart the phone.

If there is still no signal, try choosing a network manually. On iPhone, open the settings for the line, tap Network Selection and turn off Automatic. On Android, look for Network operators in your mobile network settings. Wait for the list of available networks, then try them one at a time. If none of them connects, switch back to automatic.

Signal bars are showing, but there is no internet

Here the eSIM is connected to a network, but your data is not going through it. Check three things:

• Your data line: make the travel eSIM your source of data. On iPhone, go to Settings → Cellular → Cellular Data and select it. On Samsung phones, go to SIM manager → Mobile data. Many travelers turn the eSIM on and forget this step, so the phone stays on the primary line.
• Automatic switching between lines: on iPhone, turn off Allow Cellular Data Switching. Android phones have a similar option under a different name. Turning it off keeps your data on the travel eSIM even when the signal dips, and closes the door on roaming charges from your home carrier.
• Your plan balance: open the Simply app and check your usage. If your data has run out, add a new plan from the app without changing the eSIM.

The internet works, but it is slow or keeps dropping

• Try another network: use Network Selection as described above. Another network may be stronger where you are standing.
• Hold the network type steady: if the connection keeps jumping between 5G and 4G, choose 4G (LTE) in the line settings (on iPhone: Voice & Data) and see whether it settles.
• After crossing a border: your phone may cling to a network from the previous country. Switch Airplane Mode on and off so it searches for networks in the new one. If your trip covers several European countries, the Europe Bundle covers them with one eSIM instead of one per country.
• On mountain roads and in remote areas: coverage thins out for every network there, so download offline maps before you set off.

Your Saudi number is not receiving messages

Your primary SIM stays in place and keeps receiving calls and bank verification codes, as long as its line stays switched on. If messages stop arriving, check that you turned off data roaming on the primary line only, not the whole line. If the problem continues, contact your home carrier, because receiving messages abroad depends on its roaming service. The full details are in our guide Keep Your Own Number While Traveling.

When to contact support

If you have tried the steps above and still have no connection, email support@thesimply.app before you delete anything, or visit the support page. Include your phone model, your destination and the steps you have already tried, which gets you to a fix faster. If you need free airport Wi-Fi to send that email, first read what to watch out for on airport networks.

The best time for all of this: before you fly

Most arrival problems disappear when you install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi and check your settings once before takeoff. If this is your first eSIM, start with How to Install Your First eSIM in 5 Minutes. If the National Day break is around the corner, finish your prep with the pre-flight connectivity checklist. Plans and details are waiting in the Simply app.