Installing a travel eSIM does not replace your existing number. It is an additional data line. While your SIM stays in the phone, calls and texts still use that SIM. Whether they arrive abroad depends on your own carrier, not on our plan.
Give each line one job
1Leave your SIM installed and switched on
Bank, payment, and login codes are sent to your existing number. Remove that SIM, or switch that line off, and those messages have nowhere to land.
2Use the eSIM for mobile data
In cellular settings, set the new eSIM as the default line for mobile data, and turn data roaming on for that line only. Data then uses the travel plan. The data-roaming switch on that line does not bill your home carrier for data. Your number stays available for calls and texts, still priced by your own carrier. If data still fails, follow no signal after landing.
3Keep voice on your existing number
During setup the phone asks which line is the default. Leave calls and texts on your number, and give the eSIM a label you will recognize, so a verification text is not aimed at a data-only line.
iMessage and FaceTime
On iPhone, open Settings → Messages → Send & Receive. If your number is still listed and selected, iMessage can keep using it. Apple sometimes confirms the number with a text message. That text also uses your SIM. If your carrier does not deliver it abroad, the check fails, and iMessage may be left with only your Apple Account email.
The travel eSIM did not cancel the number. It supplies data. Whether the number remains available in iMessage depends on whether your SIM can receive that confirmation text.
Do not change your WhatsApp number
WhatsApp is tied to the number you registered with. After that, chats use data, not your carrier's international SMS. Do not tap Change Number in the app unless you actually mean to switch numbers. A travel eSIM usually has no phone number you can register with.
Bank codes
- When the code is sent to your existing number, that line has to be on, and your carrier has to allow inbound SMS abroad. We cannot promise that on your carrier's behalf.
- If you bought a physical SIM that comes with its own number, texts use that card, not the travel eSIM. Only the abilities written on the product page apply, for example the T-Mobile US SIM. Anything the page does not state is not included.