When you erase an iPhone, iOS shows a fork in the road: "Erase All Data" versus "Erase All Data & eSIM" — or, on some screens, a toggle asking whether to keep the eSIM. It is a genuinely consequential choice, and the wording does not make the consequences obvious.
In short: keeping the eSIM leaves your mobile plan installed on the phone after the wipe. Erasing it removes the profile from the device permanently, and getting it back requires a new activation code from your carrier or provider.
What each option actually does
Nothing in either option affects your account with the carrier. Your plan still exists and you are still billed for it. What changes is whether the profile — the credential that lets this particular handset use the plan — remains on the device.
- Erase All Data (keep eSIM): photos, apps, accounts and settings are wiped. The eSIM profile stays on the device and reconnects after setup. Choose this when the phone is staying with you.
- Erase All Data & eSIM: everything above, plus the eSIM profile is deleted from the eSIM chip. The phone has no cellular plan afterwards. Choose this when the phone is leaving your hands.
Which option to pick, by situation
- Troubleshooting your own phone: keep the eSIM. You avoid a reinstall and the risk of burning a single-use activation code.
- Selling or giving away the phone: erase the eSIM. Leaving your profile on a phone you no longer own means someone else's device can use your line.
- Trading in at a carrier store: erase the eSIM. Trade-in terms usually require it.
- Sending in for repair: erase the eSIM if the logic board may be replaced; keep it for a screen or battery swap.
- Upgrading to a new iPhone: transfer the eSIM to the new phone first, then erase the old device including its eSIM.
- Returning a rental or loaner: erase the eSIM.
How to erase correctly on iPhone
- If you are keeping the line, transfer it to your new device first: Settings > Cellular > Add eSIM > Transfer From Nearby iPhone on the new phone.
- Back up: Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup > Back Up Now.
- Sign out of iCloud if the phone is leaving you: Settings > [your name] > Sign Out. This releases Activation Lock.
- Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.
- On the confirmation screen, choose "Erase All Data & eSIM" to remove the profile, or the option that keeps the eSIM to retain it.
If you erased the wrong one
Deleting an eSIM profile is not something the phone can undo, but the plan behind it is usually recoverable. The path depends on who issued it.
- Carrier line: contact your carrier and ask them to resend the eSIM activation. Most can push a new profile the same day, sometimes instantly through their app.
- Travel eSIM: ask the provider to reissue the profile against the same plan. Remaining data is normally preserved; validity keeps counting down. Wanderly can reissue from your order page.
- Dual-eSIM phones: check Settings > Cellular before panicking — you may have erased a dormant secondary profile and not the line you use.
- If you kept the eSIM but the phone shows No Service after a wipe, restart once and re-run the carrier settings update prompt before assuming the profile is gone.
Why leaving an eSIM on a sold phone is risky
A profile left behind can register on the network as your line. In the worst case that means a stranger's phone receiving your SMS — including two-factor codes — or consuming your data allowance. Even without malice, the network sees two devices competing for one line, which causes dropped service on your side.
If you have already sold a phone without erasing the eSIM, ask your carrier to deactivate that profile and issue a new one. That immediately invalidates the credential on the old device.
Android equivalent
Android factory reset screens ask a similar question, worded as "Erase downloaded SIMs" or "Erase eSIMs". The logic is identical: erase when the device is leaving you, keep it when you are troubleshooting your own phone. On Pixel and Samsung the checkbox appears on the final confirmation screen and is unticked by default on some builds — read it carefully.
Frequently asked questions
What does "keep eSIM and erase data" mean?
It wipes all your personal content from the iPhone while leaving the eSIM profile installed, so the phone still has cellular service after the reset.
Should I erase my eSIM when selling my iPhone?
Yes. Choose "Erase All Data & eSIM" so your mobile plan credential does not stay on a device someone else will own.
Does erasing an eSIM cancel my phone plan?
No. Your account and plan remain active with the carrier. Only the profile on that handset is removed, and the carrier can issue a new one.
Can I get an eSIM back after erasing it?
Usually yes — your carrier or eSIM provider reissues the profile. You cannot restore it from a backup, and the original QR code will not work a second time.
Which should I choose when just troubleshooting?
Keep the eSIM. There is no benefit to deleting it, and reinstalling risks needing a new activation code.
If a wipe left you without service before a trip, a travel eSIM can bridge the gap in a couple of minutes.
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