Saily eSIM not working: Causes, ways to fix it, and best alternative solutions

Why won’t my Saily eSIM work?

If your phone is throwing an error and you’re standing there thinking, “Why is my Saily eSIM not working?”, you’ve run into a very normal problem. Most eSIM glitches are tied to the provider, which means they can crop up with any carrier and don’t automatically point to Saily as the problem. A lot of the time it’s a plan activation issue or a small configuration detail that was missed during setup.

Your device isn’t on the list of eSIM compatible phones

Sometimes the issue may be that your phone just doesn’t support eSIMs. Even within the same model line, certain variants ship with eSIM capability and others don’t, particularly region- or carrier-specific versions. So before you sink time into troubleshooting settings, confirm that your device is an eSIM compatible phone and that your exact model is allowed to run an eSIM.

Your Saily eSIM wasn’t activated (or activation didn’t finish)

If you couldn’t activate your Saily eSIM, what might have happened is that the activation stalled partway through, or your phone didn’t switch the eSIM line to “on” afterward. A shaky Wi-Fi connection during setup is a common culprit. So if your Saily eSIM appears to be installed but you’re getting no data, check your settings to confirm activation actually finished.

You don’t have coverage where you are (or your phone picked the wrong network)

At times, the reason why you don’t have coverage is less about Saily and more about the patch of air around you. The signal can be weak in arrival halls, subways, thick-walled concrete buildings, and out in rural areas. There are also situations where your phone latches onto the wrong carrier and then never finishes the connection. If your screen shows “No service” or a “No network” error, chances are you’re bumping into signal or carrier issues.

Your phone is carrier-locked

If your phone is locked to your home carrier, it may block other networks. That includes travel eSIMs. An eSIM on a carrier-locked phone can show as installed and active, but the phone still won’t register on a different carrier. This happens a lot with phones bought on contract. If you don’t know whether your phone is carrier-locked, check the carrier lock status in your settings.

The APN isn’t configured correctly

The access point name (APN) is the setting that tells your phone how to connect to the mobile data network. Most of the time this setting updates automatically when you install your Saily eSIM. But every now and then it doesn’t. And if it doesn’t, you might have full signal bars and still no internet. If your eSIM never kicked in or just quit working, open the APN settings on your phone to see if they match Saily’s details.

Your Saily eSIM expired, or your plan ran out of data

Not every eSIM problem is a technical problem. If your Saily eSIM has expired, or you’ve burned through the data on your plan, the phone can still show a signal while pages fail to load. A few apps might even limp along on cached data and make it feel like a glitch, only adding to the confusion. To rule this out, open the Saily app and check your plan status and remaining data. If the balance is gone, renew the plan or top up your data.

How to fix a Saily eSIM that’s not working

If your Saily eSIM isn’t working, you don’t have to jump straight to reinstalling it. Most issues can be ruled out with a few quick checks that take less than two minutes. Below, you’ll see the steps for iOS and Android if your eSIM is not working on an iPhone or an Android phone like a Samsung, including what to check in your cellular settings, how to confirm the plan is active, and what to do when your phone shows “No network.”

Check that your phone supports eSIMs

Since phone compatibility can be a roadblock that stops your Saily eSIM from working, let’s confirm your specific model supports an eSIM. And if you want a quick explainer before you start tapping around in settings, read up on what an eSIM card is.

On an iPhone (iOS):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “Cellular” (or “Mobile service”).

3. Look for “Add eSIM” (or “Add cellular plan”).

If you don’t see an option to add an eSIM, your iPhone may not support eSIMs, or your carrier may have disabled it.

On an Android phone (Samsung, Google Pixel, and other models):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “Connections” (or “Network & internet”).

3. Tap “SIM manager” (or “SIMs”).

4. Look for “Add eSIM.”

If you can’t find an “Add eSIM” option, it’s usually for the same reasons as on iPhone, which is that your phone doesn’t support eSIMs, or your carrier has the feature disabled.

Turn on the Saily eSIM line and select it for mobile data

An eSIM can be installed but not actually used for data. Your phone might still be trying to pull mobile data from your primary SIM, or it may have the Saily line turned off. This is one of the most common reasons people think their Saily eSIM isn’t working. 

So here’s what you do:

On an iPhone (iOS):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “Cellular” (or “Mobile service”).

3. Tap your Saily line.

4. Make sure “Turn on this line” is enabled.

5. Go back to “Cellular” and tap “Cellular data.”

6. Select your Saily line for data.

On an Android phone (Samsung, Google Pixel, and other models):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “Connections” (or “Network & internet”).

3. Tap “SIM manager” (or “SIMs”).

4. Make sure your Saily eSIM is turned on.

5. Open “Mobile data” (or “Preferred SIM”/“Default SIMs”).

6. Set Saily as the SIM for mobile data.

After you’ve done that on your phone, turn off Wi-Fi and open a web page using cellular data. If it loads, the issue was simply that the wrong SIM was selected.

Turn on data roaming for your Saily eSIM

Your phone still treats foreign networks as roaming when you use a travel eSIM. If data roaming is switched off, your Saily eSIM won’t connect, regardless of whether the eSIM line is turned on and selected for mobile data. This is a common reason why an eSIM can look perfect during testing at home but stop working after you arrive abroad. 

To turn data roaming on, work through these instructions:

On an iPhone (iOS):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “Cellular” (or “Mobile service”).

3. Tap your Saily line.

4. Tap “Cellular data options.”

5. Turn “Data roaming” on.

On an Android phone (Samsung, Google Pixel, and other models):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “Connections” (or “Network & internet”).

3. Tap “Mobile networks.”

4. Select your Saily eSIM.

5. Toggle “Data roaming” on.

Once roaming is enabled, give the phone a few seconds to register on the local network. If it doesn’t connect right away, toggle airplane mode on and off once to refresh the connection.

Reset your network settings

If your Saily eSIM is still not working, a network reset can clear out old carrier settings that may be blocking the connection. This step does not delete your eSIM, but it will remove saved Wi-Fi passwords and paired Bluetooth devices.

This fix is especially useful if you’re dealing with an “iOS no network” issue, an “Android no network” issue, or if your eSIM data stopped working out of the blue. 

To reset the network settings on your phone, follow the steps below:

On an iPhone (iOS):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “General.”

3. Scroll down and tap “Transfer or reset iPhone”.

4. Tap “Reset.”

5. Select “Reset network settings.”

6. Enter your passcode and confirm.

On an Android phone (Samsung, Google Pixel, and other models):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “General management” (or “System”).

3. Tap “Reset” or “Reset options.”

4. Select “Reset network settings.”

5. Confirm the reset.

Check or update your APN settings

If your Saily eSIM shows signal bars but your internet connection does not work, your phone may be using the wrong APN profile for mobile data. To check or update your APN settings, do the following:

On an iPhone (iOS):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “Cellular” (or “Mobile service”).

3. Tap your Saily line.

4. Tap “Cellular data network.”

5. If an APN field is available, compare it to the APN details provided by Saily in the app or setup instructions.

6. Save any changes, then toggle airplane mode on and off once.

Note: Some iPhones don’t show an editable APN menu. If you don’t see it, move on to the next fix.

On an Android phone (Samsung, Google Pixel, and other models):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “Connections” (or “Network & internet”).

3. Tap “Mobile networks.”

4. Tap “Access point names.”

5. Select the active APN and compare it to Saily’s APN details.

6. If it’s missing or incorrect, create a new APN using Saily’s values, save it, and select it as active.

Reinstall and activate your Saily eSIM again

If your eSIM was installed but never “came to life,” a reinstall can clear out what went wrong the first time. This step is also worth taking anytime you hit an error during setup.

But ideally, you should do this when you have a stable internet connection because it is the safest way to reinstall and activate an eSIM without running into the same issue again. 

To reinstall your Saily eSIM and activate it again, do this:

On an iPhone (iOS):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “Cellular” (or “Mobile service”).

3. Tap your Saily line.

4. Tap “Remove cellular plan.”

5. Reinstall the eSIM using the Saily app or the QR code you received.

6. Once installed, confirm the line is turned on, set as the mobile data line, and that data roaming is enabled.

On an Android phone (Samsung, Google Pixel, and other models):

1. Open “Settings.”

2. Tap “Connections” (or “Network & internet”).

3. Tap “SIM manager” (or “SIMs”).

4. Select the Saily eSIM and remove it.

5. Reinstall the eSIM through the Saily app or by scanning the QR code.

6. Confirm Saily is selected for mobile data and data roaming is enabled.

If reinstalling doesn’t help, the next step is to contact Saily customer support. The support team can check activation status on their side and help you finish provisioning.

Bonus tip: Restart your phone. 

If the eSIM settings appear to be in order but the phone still won’t connect, restart the device. A reboot forces the modem to reload network settings and can clear a stuck connection after a plan activation change.

Common scenarios and solutions if your Saily eSIM isn’t working

Further down is a rundown of the most common scenarios people run into when their Saily eSIM isn’t working, paired with fixes that tend to get the service working again.

• I see signal bars, but can’t get online. If your internet connection does not work, confirm Saily is selected for mobile data, turn on data roaming for the Saily line, then check APN settings if web pages and apps still won’t load. 

• I’m dealing with a network issue on an Android device. For an “Android no network issue,” toggle airplane mode on and off, then check that the Saily eSIM line is turned on and set as the mobile data SIM.

• I’m dealing with a network issue on an iPhone. For an “iOS no network issue,” confirm the Saily line is on, selected for cellular data, and has data roaming enabled, then restart the iPhone.

• I’m dealing with a network issue on a Pixel phone. For a “Google Pixel no network issue,” go to “Settings,” then “Network & internet,” then to “SIMs,” and confirm the Saily eSIM is active and selected for mobile data. Reset network settings if it still won’t connect.

• Data worked earlier, then stopped. If your eSIM data stopped working, open the Saily app to check plan status and data usage, then toggle airplane mode on and off to force a fresh network registration.

• Installation fails with an error. If you hit an error when installing eSIM, make sure you have a stable internet connection, then reinstall and activate the eSIM through the Saily app.

• I’m not sure how to troubleshoot my Saily eSIM. For end-to-end Saily eSIM troubleshooting, go through the steps above in order. If the problem is still not resolved after that, contact Saily customer support.

What should I do if I accidentally deleted or lost a Saily eSIM?

Maybe you deleted your eSIM by accident, or maybe you lost the phone it was installed on. Either way, it’s not a great feeling. It’s seriously stressful if anything. But it’s not the end of the world. So if you’re just wondering what happens when you delete an eSIM or need the answer this instant, the gist is that deleting an eSIM removes the SIM profile from the device (but not the plan). For the right instructions, go to the section below that lines up with your situation.

If you deleted the Saily eSIM from your iPhone or Android device

When you delete a Saily eSIM from your iPhone (or remove it on an Android phone), you erase the eSIM profile from that device. Your phone can’t use that plan for mobile data until the profile is installed again.

How to proceed:

1. Connect to stable Wi-Fi. Installing and activating an eSIM requires an internet connection.

2. Open the Saily app and look for the option to install or reinstall your eSIM.

3. Follow the setup steps and complete activation.

4. After installation, make sure the Saily line is turned on, selected for mobile data, and has data roaming enabled.

If the reinstall fails or you see an error when installing the eSIM, contact Saily customer support so they can check the plan and activation status on their side.

If you lost your phone with a Saily eSIM installed

A Saily eSIM profile is bound to the phone you install it on. And if that phone is gone, the profile is gone with it. A new phone needs a fresh installation because the eSIM profile does not transfer over automatically.

What to do from here:

1. Log in to your Saily account from another device.

2. Check whether your plan is still active.

3. Contact Saily customer support and explain that the phone was lost or stolen.

Saily support can tell you whether the eSIM can be reissued to a new phone or whether you’ll need to install a new eSIM for that trip.

Is your Saily eSIM still not working?

If you’ve tried the fixes above with no luck, your Saily eSIM problem is probably not something you can solve in settings, and it’s time to bring in support. Issues at this point are typically tied to plan provisioning, network registration, or activation errors that need a check on Saily’s side. Your best next step is to contact Saily customer support and include a few details up front so they can skip the back-and-forth.

When you contact Saily customer support, share these details:

• Your destination country and current location (city is enough).

• Your phone model (for example, iPhone 15, Samsung Galaxy S23, Google Pixel 8).

• What you see on screen (for example, “No service,” “No network,” or signal bars but no data).

• Whether data roaming is turned on for the Saily line.

• Whether the Saily line is selected for mobile data.

• Any message you saw during setup (especially an error when installing eSIM).