Keep your UAE number abroad without an eSIM with phone number

Two lines on one phone: UAE SIM for calls and SMS, eSIM for data

The UAE SIM answers calls and receives SMS; the eSIM carries data. Our single-country eSIMs for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, Egypt, Sri Lanka and the other GCC countries are data-only, so your number stays on the UAE SIM.

Three rules cover the set-up:

• The UAE line keeps its number and stays switched on.
• The eSIM is the data line, with Data Roaming on.
• The UAE line is your main line: its mobile data and data roaming are off.

The third rule is a second lock on top of the operators’ block: on e&, texting UBLOCK to 1010 opens pay-as-you-go data for 24 hours (e&, 15 Oct 2026). One r/dubai commenter (4 Feb 2018) wrote: “Careful, my friend went to the USA and even though roaming was off during the stay, each day something pinged (call center gave some excuse about 4G in the USA).” By the commenter’s account the charge was roughly AED 1.00 to AED 9.00 a day, and it was refunded. That is one person’s experience, and we use it only as a reason to switch mobile data off on the UAE line.

Check that your phone takes two lines. iPhone 17, 17e and Air take no physical SIM (Apple UAE, 15 Oct 2026), so on those phones the UAE line must be an eSIM too. Move it before you fly: e& says “you will need to be in the UAE to request an eSim”. See eSIM-compatible phones.

Set it up on iPhone: line labels, Cellular Data, Data Roaming

On iPhone, the settings live in Settings > Cellular, and the menu names below are Apple’s own (Apple Support UAE, 15 Oct 2026). Install the eSIM first with our iPhone install guide.

1. Open Settings and tap Cellular.
2. If the phone offers a label for each line, call them “UAE line” and “Travel line”.
3. Tap Cellular Data and choose the Travel line.
4. Tap the Travel line, then Cellular Data Options, and turn on Data Roaming.
5. Tap the UAE line, then Cellular Data Options, and keep Data Roaming off.

Leave the UAE line switched on: a line that is off gets no calls or SMS. If the eSIM shows no signal after you land, read what to do when there is no signal.

Set it up on Android: SIM manager and the mobile data line

On a Samsung Galaxy the menu is Settings > Connections > SIM manager (SIM Card Manager on some models); on a Google Pixel it is Settings > Network & internet > SIMs (Samsung UAE and Pixel Help, 15 Oct 2026). Install steps are in the Android install guide.

1. Open the SIM settings (path above) and name the lines “UAE line” and “Travel line” if the screen offers it.
2. Choose the Travel line as the mobile data line. Google: “To access data with your mobile network, turn on Mobile data.”
3. Open the UAE line and switch off its mobile data and its data roaming. If the phone has one roaming switch for both lines, leave it on and check that the Travel line is the mobile data line.

Google notes that some steps “work only on Android 11 and up”. We have not checked the menus on OnePlus, Xiaomi, OPPO or vivo; look for the SIM settings and make the same three choices.

SMS and calls on your UAE number abroad: what e&, du and Virgin Mobile charge

Keep your UAE SIM switched on for SMS while roaming. e& and Virgin Mobile don’t charge for SMS you receive abroad; calls on your e&, du or Virgin Mobile number are charged per minute when you receive them. No operator page we read promises bank OTP abroad.

Sources: e& standard roaming rates (15 Oct 2026), du roaming FAQ (15 Oct 2026), Virgin Mobile country rates (15 Oct 2026). du’s own pages disagree on prepaid incoming calls, so check the du app. We checked Virgin Mobile for Saudi Arabia, the UK and India only.

Roaming can win. Virgin Mobile One Country Data Roaming is free on 20GB+ plans for one country a month from Virgin’s list (34 countries on the page, 15 Oct 2026), so a Virgin line may not need an eSIM there. If you need lots of calls home during Umrah, your e& or du Umrah pack is hard to beat; see Umrah roaming. Per operator: e&, du, Virgin Mobile, and roaming from the UAE.

WhatsApp and other apps stay on your UAE number

A data-only eSIM adds data, not a number, so the number on your apps stays your UAE number. That holds for WhatsApp on eSIM data and for other apps tied to your number. Keep the UAE SIM on for any app that sends a verification code by SMS.

We found no operator guidance on signing in to apps abroad, so we give no steps for it. Calling apps are subject to the rules of the country you are in.

Does a travel eSIM give you a phone number?

Not for India, Pakistan, Egypt, the Philippines or the GCC: an eSIM with phone number is not what we sell there. Every single-country eSIM of ours for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain is data-only: no calls, no SMS, no phone number. A local SIM bought there comes with a local number; our country SIM guides cover what one needs in each country.

Plans with minutes exist for the UK and the USA and in our global plan; we don’t promise a phone number with any of them. Our eSIMs are for use outside the UAE; they do not provide service in the UAE. Install before you fly; it connects when you land. You can get a refund within 30 days of purchase if the eSIM has not connected to any network. See roaming or eSIM.

FAQ