How to Turn Off Data Roaming When You Use an eSIM

A home plan usually includes some roaming data for a reason, and on many operators it is unlimited but slow, throttled, or charged at a daily rate. Either way it is not what you paid for. A travel eSIM gives you local data at local prices, and the two have no reason to coexist on a trip.

The good news is that the setting is not hidden. It is in the same menu as the cellular data switch on both iPhone and Android, and it takes about thirty seconds per line.

1. Open Settings > Cellular.
2. Tap your home line, the one that shows your operator’s name or your usual number.
3. Under Cellular Data Options, turn Data Roaming off.
4. While you are in the same screen, turn Cellular Data off for that line. With roaming disabled and the line’s cellular data off, the phone cannot spend your home data abroad even by accident.
5. Go back to the main Cellular screen and, if you do not need your home number for calls and messages, switch Voice & Data for that line to Off.

You do not need to remove the physical SIM. Switching the line’s cellular data off and roaming off is enough to guarantee no charges, and it keeps the line available for calls and two-factor codes if you need it later.

1. Open Settings > Network & internet (on Samsung, Connections).
2. Tap SIMs or SIM card manager.
3. Tap the home line and turn Roaming off.
4. If the option is Mobile data, switch it off for that line as well.

Some brands also let you disable the SIM entirely from the same screen. That is optional, and it has a downside: you lose calls and SMS on that line, and you may need the operator’s unlock code or a reboot to bring it back. Turning roaming off is enough for the billing problem.

This is the part that catches people. The travel eSIM needs data roaming enabled. Your home operator sees you as abroad when you connect to a local network, so the travel profile only registers if roaming is on for that line.

The rule is simple:

• Home line: roaming off, cellular data off.
• Travel eSIM: roaming on, cellular data on, and set as the default data line.

If you turn roaming off everywhere at once, the eSIM will not connect and you will have no data at all. That is the single most common cause of “I installed the eSIM and it does not work”.

On iPhone, go to Settings > Cellular and look at the Default Data Line (or Cellular Data on older versions) at the top of the screen. Whatever is selected there is the line that uses data on Wi-Fi and mobile networks.

On Android, open Settings > Network & internet > SIMs and look at which SIM is marked as the preferred or data SIM. Samsung phones show the option in the SIM card settings; other brands put it under Mobile network or in a per-SIM menu.

If the home line is the default, the phone sends your data over roaming even when the travel eSIM is installed and working. Change the default line and the problem disappears.

There are legitimate reasons to leave roaming on for your home line, and they are all about voice and messages rather than data:

• You receive SMS verification codes. Turning off the line’s cellular data does not stop SMS, so this normally keeps working. Data roaming off is the setting that matters for charges.
• You want calls at your home rate. Some plans include voice roaming, or you would rather use a local SIM for calls.
• You have a plan that includes unlimited data roaming. Some operators include it. If yours does, keeping it on is fine, but it is still usually slower and more expensive than a local eSIM, and it is not worth relying on.

The safest configuration for a typical trip is: home line with data roaming off and cellular data off, travel eSIM with roaming on and set as the default data line, and the physical SIM left in the tray for calls if you want them.

Then the problem is elsewhere. In order of likelihood:

1. The eSIM is not the default data line. Check the setting described above.
2. The profile is installed but not enabled. On iPhone, the eSIM line must be switched on under Cellular; on Android, the SIM must be enabled in the SIM manager.
3. The phone is attached to a network from another country. Restart the phone with airplane mode on for thirty seconds, then let it search again.
4. The plan has not started. A travel eSIM only starts counting when it connects to a network in the destination, so if you are still at home it will not show as active. Our guide on when the plan starts explains how the clock works.

The full eSIM troubleshooting guide covers the rest, including what to do when the phone shows no signal at all in the destination.