eSIM activation troubleshooting guide

Having trouble activating your new Mint Mobile account with eSIM? We’ve got a few tips you can follow that should help make things a bit easier.

Check Phone Compatibility

Double-check to make sure your phone supports eSIM. Most modern iPhone and Android phone do nowadays, but it doesn’t hurt to confirm.

Complete Your Number Transfer Before Installing Your eSIM

NOTE: If you are getting a new Mint Mobile phone number, you can skip this step.

If you’re bringing your phone number to Mint Mobile, it’s important that you make sure your number transfer is complete before installing an eSIM. You can check the status of your number transfer in the Mint Mobile app or just wait until you receive the confirmation email. Most number transfers take just a few minutes, but some can take longer.

Ensure Phone is Unlocked

Being eSIM compatible is one thing, but it doesn’t matter if your phone is still tethered to your previous carrier’s network. If you brought your own phone to Mint Mobile, make sure it’s unlocked. If it’s still locked to your previous carrier, you’ll need to contact them to get it unlocked.

Check eSIM Lines

If you’re using an iPhone, you can have up to two active eSIM lines, and store at least eight additional lines. Android phones typically support one active eSIM line and allow users to store up to five additional lines (depending on the specific make & model of phone). It’s best to remove any eSIM profiles you’re no longer using to avoid any trouble or confusion when installing a new eSIM. Just remember that once you delete an eSIM from your phone, you can’t get it back.

Remove Your Previous SIM Card

Attempting to install a new SIM while old SIMs are active or even just installed may confuse your phone and disrupt the installation process. Your old SIM card may be interfering with the new eSIM.
Remove your previous physical SIM card from your phone’s SIM card slot to ensure it isn’t hampering things. If you’re not sure how to remove your SIM card, we have step-by-step instructions for removing a SIM card from an iPhone and removing a SIM card from an Android phone.

Ensure Network Stability

Make sure you have a secure Wi-Fi connection or strong data signal throughout the eSIM activation process. In other words…no activating while riding the subway.

SOS Error

If you’ve activated your Mint Mobile SIM and are now getting an SOS error instead of a signal, your phone may still be locked. If you’ve already confirmed that it’s not locked, try these steps:

Toggle the Mint Mobile eSIM off & on in your phone’s settings under “Cellular”
Make sure your Mint eSIM is on and set as the “default” line for data & voice calls
If you’ll be using multiple SIMs, deactivate the others temporarily while you activate your Mint SIM

Keep in mind that most phones only support 1-2 active eSIMs at a time, with some older phones only allowing one active SIM at a time (like iPhone SE, iPhone 12 and some Android phones). If you have a physical Mint SIM card in your phone, you may want to remove it if your phone doesn’t support dual SIM.
Note: If you already tried the above troubleshooting steps, you may need to request a replacement SIM.

Update Your Phone’s Software

Make sure your phone is running on the most up-to-date operating system to avoid any software-related hiccups. You can double-check this in your phone’s Settings menu.

Restart the Phone

Yes, “Did you turn it off and turn it back on again?” is a running joke in the tech industry because, well…it works. A lot of simple issues can be resolved with a quick restart of your phone.

Stuck in “Activating” on iPhone

If your iPhone hasn’t budged from “Activating” in a while, try this:

Go into your Settings app
Select Cellular
Scroll down and click on the phone number you’re activating
Make sure “Turn On This Line” is toggled on

Unable to Scan QR Code

If you’re having trouble scanning your QR code, make sure the code itself isn’t distorted/blurry and that your camera is working properly with a clean lens. You can also try increasing or decreasing the brightness of the screen the QR code is on. If it still won’t work, install the eSIM manually and enter the SM-DP+ address & activation code provided in your email.

Verify eSIM Profile Installation

Ensure your eSIM profile has been correctly installed on your phone.

For iPhone:

Go to Settings
Select Cellular
Look at Carrier and verify if your eSIM profile is listed and named as you originally named it. Also, confirm that the associated network is correct.
- Note: Your phone might automatically change the name you gave the eSIM you’re installing if other eSIMs or SIM cards are installed on the phone. Therefore, it’s crucial to verify the correct network to ensure you’re looking at the right eSIM profile.

For Android:

Option 1

Go to Settings
Select Network & Internet (if you don’t see this, try the steps for Option 2 below)
Then select Mobile Network
Look at Carrier and verify if your eSIM profile is listed and marked as Primary

Option 2

Go to Settings
Select Connections
Then select SIM Manager
Scroll down to Primary SIM and make sure your eSIM profile is selected

These steps may vary depending on your Android make & model, so we recommend referring to your user guide to confirm.

Still not working? Let us help

If after all this, you’re still unable to activate your eSIM, reach out to our Care team for assistance. Just be sure to give them a call from a different phone than the one you’re activating the eSIM on.