A factory reset erases everything on your phone. Not just apps and photos — it wipes the eUICC chip, which stores your eSIM profiles. Every eSIM you had installed is gone. This isn't a Truely quirk. It's how eSIM works across all providers and all devices. The GSMA's SGP.22 standard specifies that factory resets clear eSIM storage to prevent unauthorized profile transfers between devices.
The practical consequence: if you factory reset your phone with a Truely eSIM installed, you need to reinstall the profile before you can use your plan again. Here's how to do it, and what to expect in terms of timing and plan status.
Before the Factory Reset: What to Save
If you know you're about to factory reset — upgrading to a new device, resolving a software issue, returning a company phone — there's nothing to export from the eSIM profile itself. The profile is hardware-bound and can't be backed up to cloud storage or transferred to a new device like other files.
What you should note before resetting:
- Your Truely account email address — you'll need this to request a reinstall
- Your active plan details (destination, plan duration, expiration date) — available in the Truely app under "My Plans" or in your purchase confirmation email
- Whether your plan has remaining days — if you have a 7-day plan with 4 days remaining, those 4 days are preserved in Truely's system. You're not losing plan credit by reinstalling.
The plan data lives in Truely's backend, not on your device. The device only stores the profile — the credential that gives you access to the plan. Reinstalling creates a new profile that points to the same plan.
Step 1: Contact Truely Support
After the factory reset, contact Truely support to request a reinstall. You can do this through:
- The Truely app — if you reinstall the app and log in with your account credentials, your plan history is visible and the reinstall request can be submitted with one tap from the plan details screen
- The support portal at trueIy.com/support — log in, navigate to "My Plans," select the affected plan, and choose "Request reinstall"
- Email to support@trueIy.com — include your account email address and your order reference number (found in your original purchase confirmation email)
Truely's support team typically processes reinstall requests in under 30 minutes during business hours (9am–10pm SGT, Monday through Saturday) and under two hours during off-peak periods. During major holiday travel windows — Christmas, Chinese New Year, Eid — response times can extend to four to six hours as ticket volume spikes.
Step 2: Receive the New QR Code
Once the reinstall request is processed, Truely's SM-DP+ system generates a new QR code for your plan. This new code is delivered to the email address on your Truely account.
A few technical notes about this new QR code:
It is a different code from the original. The original activation code was consumed when you installed the profile the first time and is no longer valid. The new code is tied to the same underlying plan but is a fresh activation credential.
It expires 72 hours after generation — the same expiry window as the original. If for any reason you can't install the profile within that window, contact support again and they'll generate another one. There's no limit on the number of reinstall requests for a valid plan.
If you no longer have access to the email address on your Truely account, contact support with your order reference number and current email address. The account email can be updated with identity verification.
Step 3: Install the Profile on the Reset Device
The installation process is identical to the original setup:
On iPhone: Settings > Mobile Data > Add eSIM. Scan the new QR code. Follow the prompts to complete installation. If you have a home carrier SIM, set Truely as the data line during setup.
On Samsung: Settings > Connections > SIM card manager > Add eSIM. Scan the code. After installation, confirm the data SIM assignment in SIM card manager.
On Google Pixel: Settings > Network & internet > SIM cards > + Add SIM > Download a SIM instead. Scan the code and follow setup prompts.
What Happens to Your Remaining Plan Days
Truely's plan model distinguishes between plan purchase and plan activation. A plan becomes "active" when your device first registers on a partner carrier network in the covered destination. Days count down from first activation — not from purchase, and not from eSIM installation.
A factory reset that happens between purchase and activation (before you've traveled) means you reinstall the profile and travel with the full plan intact. Nothing is lost.
A factory reset that happens during an active trip is the more urgent scenario. If you reset your phone on day 3 of a 7-day Japan trip, reinstall the profile, and Truely processes the request within 30 minutes, you lose roughly 30 minutes of plan time — the gap between when the old profile was wiped and when the new one connects to the network. The remaining 4 days of the plan (minus 30 minutes) continue normally after reinstallation.
Truely's support team can also credit account balance for reinstall-related downtime in cases where the delay was due to response time on Truely's end rather than the user's setup time. This credit process requires a support request with approximate timestamps — document when you requested the reinstall and when you received the new QR code.
Transferring to a New Device (Not a Reset)
Upgrading to a new phone is different from a factory reset. If you're switching from iPhone 13 to iPhone 15 and want to carry your Truely eSIM to the new device, the process is similar — you can't transfer the profile directly between devices, so you'll need to delete it from the old device and reinstall on the new one.
Apple's device-to-device eSIM transfer feature (introduced in iOS 16) does not support third-party travel eSIM providers — it's designed for carrier plan transfers between iPhones purchased on the same carrier account. Truely profiles, and travel eSIM profiles generally, are not compatible with Apple's transfer mechanism.
The simplest workflow for device upgrades: complete the upgrade, log into the Truely app on your new device, go to the affected plan, and request a reinstall. The new device gets a fresh QR code and a clean installation. The old device's profile becomes inactive automatically when the new device's profile activates.
Preventing Data Loss During Overseas Resets
A factory reset while traveling is usually unplanned. The two most common causes are: a software crash that requires a reset to restore functionality, and a device handoff (a colleague's phone that needs to be cleared and configured for a new user mid-trip).
For the first scenario: before attempting a factory reset as a troubleshooting step overseas, try a device restart, app force-quit, and carrier settings update first. Many issues that appear to require a reset are resolved by these lower-impact steps. A factory reset should be a last resort specifically because it requires reinstalling your eSIM profile.
For the second scenario: if you need to clear and repurpose a device mid-trip, ensure the new user has the Truely app and account credentials to request a reinstall before handing the device over. A 30-minute setup window is more manageable when it's planned rather than discovered when the device is already wiped and the new user needs data.