Google will bring eSIM transfer feature to Android this year

Android will get a tool for transferring eSIM profiles later this year, Google revealed at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023.

Google will roll out eSIM transfer capabilities to Android in 2023, which should make the process much simpler than it currently is. For those who haven’t had to mess with eSIM yet, users currently need to unregister an eSIM profile from their old device before reactivating it on the new device. Sometimes, this process requires contacting your carrier (which, as most Canadians know, is a hellish exercise).

Although it’s not clear when these capabilities will arrive, my money would be on Android 14 delivering eSIM transfers. In part, this is due to preview builds of Android 14 featuring in-development pieces of the eSIM transfer tool.

While an exciting development for eSIM, it, unfortunately, won’t totally eliminate carriers from the process. Google also announced that Deutsche Telekom will be one of the first to adopt eSIM transfer on Android handsets. While that means little for Canadians, it does indicate Canadians will need to wait for Canadian carriers to support Android’s eSIM transfer feature.

eSIM has been around for some time, though support from carriers has so far been lacklustre. MobileSyrup’s creative director Brad Bennett recently hopped on the eSIM train after switching to Rogers — his experience was, well, not the best. Read all about it here.