Most "my eSIM is broken" messages we get are not broken eSIMs. They are one of about five situations, and knowing which one you are in tells you immediately whether it is a two minute fix, something only the app can lift, or the one case that genuinely cannot be undone. This guide is written from real support conversations, so it also tells you plainly where we cannot help.
Before anything else: do not delete the eSIM profile
This is the single most expensive mistake, and it is usually made by someone who is trying to be helpful to themselves. Activation looks stuck, so they remove the profile and plan to scan the QR again.
The QR is single use. It installs once, onto one device. Once the profile has been installed and then deleted, that line is gone, and for the UK Number there is no reissue. If something looks wrong, leave the profile in place and ask first. Deleting it is the one action nobody can reverse for you.
"Invalid QR" or "already used" usually means it worked
This is the most common false alarm. If scanning returns invalid or already used, the profile is very often already installed from the first attempt. Do not rescan. Open Settings, then Cellular or Mobile Network, and look for a second line that appeared. If it is there, the install succeeded and you are past this step.
Two related things that are also normal and not faults:
- The number showing as +44000000000 right after install. That is the placeholder the phone shows before the line registers. Dial *132# or *#100# from the eSIM line to see the real number.
- A low balance notice from the carrier. The line runs on a package, not on credit, so it does not need a balance.
No service after installing
Work these in order, one at a time, and give each a few minutes before moving on. Rushing through all of them at once makes it impossible to tell which one worked.
- Settings, Cellular, tap the eSIM line, turn Data Roaming on.
- Airplane mode on, then off, and wait a few minutes.
- Registration is usually minutes, but in some countries it takes one to six hours. If you are inside that window, waiting is the fix.
- Still nothing: turn off automatic network selection on that line and pick a local network by hand. If the first one will not connect, try the next.
If none of that produces signal, that is the point to contact us with your order code, not before. There is a fuller walkthrough in our guide to codes not arriving.
The line has signal but an app will not accept the number
This is a different problem from the two above, and it is the one where the honest answer is the least satisfying. If the eSIM line has signal, the line is registered and working. If a verification code from one app does not arrive, request a code from any other app. That single test splits the whole problem:
- The other code arrives. The line is proven. What you are hitting is that specific app refusing this number, usually a block tied to your device or your IP address rather than to the number itself. We cannot see those blocks and we cannot lift them. Deleting the app completely and reinstalling before registering is the fix that works most often; a different device is the next thing to try.
- No code arrives from anything. Then it is a signal problem after all, so go back to the section above.
We do not swap a number because an app refused it. A replacement would sit behind the same device and the same IP and hit the same wall, so it would cost you time and change nothing. We also never promise that any particular app will accept any particular number, and that limit is stated openly in our terms rather than buried.
Travel eSIMs work differently from the UK Number
Worth knowing before you assume a rule applies to both:
- A travel data plan works only in the country it was bought for, and once installed it cannot be exchanged for another country. Check the country before buying, not after.
- Travel data can be topped up on the same eSIM from your order page. Same QR, no reinstall. That is also how a trip longer than one plan is covered.
- Unused data expires with the plan. It does not roll over.
- The UK Number carries no data at all. It is for incoming SMS and calls.
What support always sorts out
These are ours to fix, and you should not hesitate:
- Payment confirmed but no QR on the order page.
- A payment that is stuck unconfirmed on chain, or sent in the wrong coin or the wrong amount.
- Anything where the order page and your payment disagree.
Send your order lookup code, the eight character code (it looks like AB12-CDEF) from the order page you saw after payment, or from your receipt email if you entered one at checkout. It is the only thing that identifies an order. We keep no accounts, so we genuinely cannot find an order from a phone number or an email address.
Refunds, plainly
Crypto settles on chain. There is no card and no bank in the middle to reverse a charge, which is exactly why the delivery side has to be right, and why delivery and payment errors are always sorted out.
What a refund does not cover is an app declining the number, or a travel plan bought for the wrong country and then installed, or a profile that was deleted after activation. Those are not us withholding a remedy; in each case there is nothing left to give back. The full policy is on the refund page.
Quick answers
Can I get a new QR code? For a travel data eSIM, yes, support can look at it. For the UK Number, no. The QR is single use and there is no second one, which is why the profile should not be deleted.
I deleted the profile. What now? The line cannot be recovered. Contact support with your lookup code so a person can confirm what happened, but be prepared for that answer.
How long does the number stay mine? The first six months are included. After that a top up every six months keeps the line, and without one the line deactivates. Nothing renews automatically and there is no card on file, so it is always your choice.
Can support see my +44 number? No. It is not stored anywhere on our side. It exists on your phone only, via *132# or *#100#, or in Settings, Phone, My Number.
How fast is delivery? The QR appears on your order page seconds after the payment confirms on chain. If it feels slow, it is the blockchain confirmation, not us preparing anything by hand.
