eSIM Help

An eSIM is a SIM that’s stored digitally on your phone. The eSIM stores data that’s downloaded and is needed for your phone to securely connect you to Virgin Media’s mobile network. We call this a ‘profile’. They work like regular SIM cards, without needing to put a physical SIM into your phone.

A SIM card has a chip embedded it. With eSIM, your phone (or device) has been made with the SIM chip already embedded inside. To connect you simply download a SIM profile to this embedded SIM (or eSIM).

You’ll need to download a SIM profile from Virgin Media to your compatible device. When you sign up with us, we’ll display or email you a QR code. Using another device to display the QR code, securely download the profile to your device, then you just need to activate it.

Some phones have an eSIM as well as a SIM card slot. These are called ‘Dual SIM with eSIM’ phones.

Dual SIM with eSIM phones give you more options that aren’t available with a regular SIM card. For example:

• Having two mobile numbers each with their own plan, on a single phone.

• Travelling abroad? You can have a local network data plan, without swapping SIMs.

Yes, you can have two separate mobile numbers, including:

• One mobile number for business and one number for personal (eSIM isn’t available for Virgin Media Business customers at the moment)

• Two mobile numbers on the same Virgin Media account

• Two mobile numbers from separate Virgin Media accounts

At the moment, you can download more than one eSIM but only one can be active at a time. But you can easily switch between them – perfect if you have one number for work, and another for play. You can however use a physical SIM card and one eSIM profile at the same time. If you have multiple eSIM profiles, only one can be used at a time.

Virgin Media Business customers can’t get an eSIM on their phones just yet.

Yes they do!

For the latest list of eligible phones head over to /help/esim-handsets

Currently Virgin Media offer eSIM on these select tested devices however you can head over to your manufacturers page to check if your devices is eSIM enabled.

eSIMs are available for all our Pay Monthly customers with eligible devices, once you’ve checked that your device is compatible with eSIM (keep a look out for the eSIM compatible logo on our devices web page). Existing Pay Monthly customers can request an eSIM by calling 789 on your Virgin Mobile phone or online using My Account.

Alternatively new customers can request an eSIM for compatible devices during their purchase online or by calling 0800 052 0422.

The great thing about our eSIM is that you will receive the QR code and instructions to download your profile in an email almost as soon as your order has been placed. It’s also eco-friendly, with no waste or packaging sent in the post to be recycled. When you’ve signed up to My Account.

www.virginmobile.co.uk/youraccount, using another device to display your QR code, scan and securely download your eSIM to your chosen device.

QR codes are a type of barcode. The eSIM codes are unique and need to be scanned with your phone's camera. There's a QR code reader built into your phone which will launch during setup of eSIM. No need to download a third-party app.

When you scan your QR code, you’ll be connected to Virgin Media so we can download your eSIM profile onto your phone, safely and securely. It only takes a few seconds.

If you’ve chosen an eSIM capable device which doesn’t need a physical SIM. An embedded SIM or eSIM allows you to download a profile directly to your phone without needing a physical SIM card.

This varies from device to device, but generally you should be able to find it in the ‘about this device’ or in your general settings. The EID is the Electronic Identity of the embedded SIM card.

Yes, you can move your eSIM profile at any time, but the other phone must support eSIM.

iOS 12 was used on the Apple X and 11 ranges. Our guide is for iOS 13 but if you’re still running iOS 12 you can still set up and use your eSIM profile. You may see some minor differences and you’ll get an ‘Uncertified Data Plan’ message from Apple when your eSIM profile is activated. This message has been removed from iOS 13 and is nothing to worry about.

To download your eSIM profile onto your iPhone using the QR code:

1. Connect your iPhone to WiFi

2.  Use your phone’s camera to scan the QR code confirm ‘Add Data Plan’

Or:

1. Go to Settings > Mobile Data

2. On the ‘Mobile Data’ screen select ‘Add Data Plan’

3. Scan the QR code

• You’ll need to pick a name for each mobile number and also choose which mobile number to use by default for data, calls and texts

• You can change these settings whenever you like by going to Settings > Mobile

You can manually download an eSIM to your iPhone.

To do this:

• Make sure your iPhone is connected to WiFi

make sure you have your eSIM QR Code handy -

• Go to Settings > Mobile Data.

• On the ‘Mobile Data’ screen select ‘Add Data Plan’.

• Then select ‘Enter Details Manually’

• On the ‘Enter Activation Code’ screen, there are two fields to fill in:

•SM-DP+ Address: = RSP- 0001.oberthur.net

• Activation code: Displayed under the QR code and will be 4 blocks of 5 numbers and letters

• Confirmation code: This is not needed for Virgin Media and should be left blank.

If you have a connected iPad that supports eSIM you can download an eSIM onto it. Apple publishes a list of iPads that support eSIM on their website. Click here for details.

If you have both SIMs active, you have two different mobile numbers.

Yep, you can make and receive calls and messages from both of your mobile numbers.

To start with, all your contacts will be assigned to the mobile number you chose during setup. To change this, go to a contact and choose the default mobile number to be used for that person.

If you're just entering a phone number straight into the dialler, you'll be able to choose which mobile number to call from by selecting that mobile number at the top of the screen.

For incoming calls, there's an indicator to show which mobile number you're receiving the call on – this will be the first one or two letters of the name you assigned to each mobile number. So, if your labels are called Virgin Mobile and Business, the call indicator would be ‘V’ or ‘B’ (if they were Personal and Private they would be ‘Pe’ and ‘Pr’).

Check that your dial assist is switched off and also reselect UK to make sure all your contact numbers return to the right formatting.

No, it's only possible to use iMessage and FaceTime with one mobile number – the one you selected during setup. You can change the default mobile number whenever you want, just go to ‘Messages’ and change it in the settings.

Data will only work if you’re on a call using your default mobile number, unless you turn on ‘Mobile Data Switching’.

To do this, go to Settings > Mobile Data > Mobile Data Switching. This will automatically switch mobile numbers for mobile data when you're on a call.

Visit Apple's support page for more info https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209044

To download your eSIM profile to your Google Pixel using the QR code:

• Go to My Account at Virgin Media and bring up your eSIM QR code on screen

• Make sure your Google Pixel is connected to WiFi

For Android P:

• Go to Settings > Mobile Network > Operator

• Select ‘Add Operator’

You'll then be asked to use your phone’s camera to scan your QR Code. The eSIM profile will download and you'll be asked to activate your new eSIM and choose whether you want to use the eSIM or your regular SIM, if you have one in the phone.

For Android Q:

• Go to Settings > Network and Internet

• Click the + button for ‘Mobile network’

• Select ‘Don’t have a SIM card? Download your SIM instead’

• On the following screen click ‘Next’

• Choose ‘OK’ to use WiFi to download the eSIM profile

Visit Google Pixel support page for more info https://support.google.com/pixelphone/

To download your eSIM profile onto your Samsung phone using the QR code:

• Go to My Account at Virgin Media and bring up your eSIM QR code on screen

• Make sure your Samsung phone is connected to WiFi

Use your phone’s camera to scan the QR code and confirm by pressing ‘Add Data Plan’

OR

• Go to Settings > Connections

• Select ‘SIM card manager’

• Click the + button for ‘Add mobile plan’ under eSIMs

• Select ‘Add using QR code’ and point the camera at the QR code

The eSIM profile will download and you'll be asked to activate your new eSIM.

The way this works varies from one Samsung phone model to another.

For the Samsung Galaxy S20 4G, you must choose between the eSIM profile or the SIM card. Only one can be active at a time.

For the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G, S20 5G Plus or S20 Ultra 5G, you can use either two SIM cards or a SIM card and an eSIM. You won’t be able to use all three.

Visit Samsung support for more info. https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/model/

If you’ve accidently deleted the eSIM profile from your phone, don’t panic.

Simply go to My Account and follow the download steps.

Your ‘My Account’ will contain the most recent QR code, it will only be visible when it is deactivate/removed from your device. During your purchase of an eSIM you would have been required to set up an account.

Yep, whenever your profile is available to download you’ll find it on your My Account page. If it’s already downloaded onto a device it won’t be shown so remember to delete it from the device first.

Yes, if you want to move your SIM to another phone, delete it from the original phone and use My Account to scan the QR code using the camera of the new phone. Remember, the new phone will need to support eSIM for you to be able to do this.

If your new phone supports eSIM then simply delete the profile from the other device and scan your QR code on My Account with the new phone. That’s it, you’re all set.

If the phone you’re switching to doesn’t support eSIM then you’ll need to call 789 and request a regular SIM card. When this arrives, don’t forget to delete your eSIM.

You can’t store any of your own data on the eSIM itself. All of your phonebook entries and texts will be stored on your phone and never on the eSIM. That way you won’t lose any data when you move from one eSIM device to another.

Call 789 to request a SIM upgrade. Your number will automatically be moved to your eSIM.

Call 789 and report the loss. We’ll stop any calls from your lost phone. If you have another eSIM-compatible phone we can put a new QR code into the screen on your My Account and you can download it using the camera, or we can pop a new SIM card in the post.

If you’ve had your phone lost or stolen, then we can:

· Block your existing SIM so it can’t be used to make any calls

· Blacklist your phone or mobile device so it can’t be used on any UK network, provided we've got your IMEI number. Don’t worry if your device is recovered, we can unblock it again

·  We can also send you a replacement SIM card or eSIM profile

If you've had your device stolen, you can report it at http://keepup.Virgin Media.com/lostandstolenphones

Simply text us for free on 07533 016 422 between 7am and 11pm Monday to Friday, 8am and 8pm Saturday to Sunday, and one of our team will be happy to help.

We recommend reporting the theft to the local police to get a crime reference number. Most insurance companies will ask for this when making a claim.

Simply call 789 and we’ll send you a pack to return it. If you’ve downloaded an eSIM please remember to delete it before you send it back.

If you’re returning your iPhone for repair or replacement and you’re using an eSIM, you'll need to request a replacement SIM card or replacement eSIM pack, so you can continue to use your existing mobile number with a temporary phone.

Once you’ve moved your existing mobile number across to your replacement SIM card or eSIM, you’ll need to follow the steps below.

If you’re returning your iPhone and you’re using an eSIM, you’ll need to do the following:

• Back up all your data to iCloud and iTunes

•Go to Settings > Account > iCloud and turn off ‘Find My iPhone’

• Go to Settings > General > Reset and select ‘Erase All Content and Settings’.

• Select ‘Erase iPhone’

• Following the ‘Erase iPhone’ prompt, select ‘Erase All’

Your phone will remove all your personal content and it’ll be ready to return.

If you’re returning your Google Pixel for repair or replacement and you’re using an eSIM, you'll need to request a replacement SIM card or eSIM pack, so you can continue to use your existing mobile number with a temporary phone. Once you’ve moved your existing mobile number across to your replacement SIM card or eSIM, you’ll need to follow the steps below.

If you’re returning your Google Pixel and you’re using an eSIM, you’ll need to do the following:

• Make sure you know the Google account details of the phone.

• Backup the phone’s data to your Google account.

• Connect your phone and keep it plugged in during the factory reset.

• Open your phone's Settings app.

• Tap ‘System’, then ‘Advanced’, then ‘Reset options’.

• Tap ‘Erase all data (factory reset)’. Check that the box to ‘Erase Downloaded SIMs’ is ticked and then tap ‘Erase all data’. If needed, enter your PIN, pattern or password.

• To erase all data from your phone's internal storage, tap ‘Erase everything’.

• When your phone has finished erasing, pick the option to Restart.

If you’re returning your Samsung device for repair or replacement and you’re using an eSIM, you'll need to request a replacement SIM card or eSIM pack, so you can continue to use your existing mobile number with a temporary phone. Once you’ve moved your existing mobile number across to your replacement SIM card or eSIM, you’ll need to follow the steps below.

If you’re returning your Samsung device and you’re using an eSIM, you’ll need to do the following:

• Make sure you know the Google account details of the phone.

• Backup the phone’s data to your Google account.

• Connect your phone and keep it plugged in during the factory reset.

• Open your phone's Settings app

• Tap ‘General Management’, then ‘Reset’.

• Tap ‘Factory data reset’. Read all the info that’s displayed about what will be deleted and make sure you have everything backed up. At the bottom of the screen there’s an option to include eSIMs. Tap the button to enable ‘All eSIMs on your phone will be erased…’ and then tap ‘Reset. If needed, enter your PIN, pattern or password.

• You must confirm the reset by tapping ‘Delete all’.

• When your phone has finished erasing, you’ll be taken to the initial setup screen.

If you plan to use mobile data while travelling outside the EU and you have mobile data switched on, you may get charged for data use on both lines.

Please head over to your Devices support pages for information on eSIM capable devices as well as set up.