Getting your home text codes abroad, and what to do if they stop
Banks, payment apps and logins send their codes to your home number, and a travel data plan has no number. So the home SIM has to stay reachable while the travel eSIM or SIM carries your data. It takes two settings and one check with your carrier.
Set up before you go
- Check international roaming is on for your home number, in your carrier’s app or by asking them. Without it the number does not work abroad.
- Use an eSIM for data if your phone has one: the home SIM stays in. With a physical travel SIM in a single-slot phone, the home SIM has to come out and you get no codes meanwhile.
- Keep your home number’s balance in credit, so it is not suspended while you are away.
How to check and turn on international roaming with China Mobile, Unicom and Telecom
Abroad
- Home SIM: leave it on, turn its data roaming off. Texts still arrive; no data charges run.
- Travel eSIM or SIM: turn its data roaming on and set mobile data to use it.
- Receiving a text abroad is usually free; check with your carrier.
Not getting codes?
- Look at the home SIM’s signal: it should show a carrier name. If it says No Service, turn airplane mode on and off, or restart the phone.
- Check the home SIM is turned on in Settings, not just the travel eSIM.
- Try choosing a network by hand: in the home SIM’s settings, turn off automatic network selection and pick another local carrier.
- Still nothing: ask your carrier whether international roaming is active and the number is in good standing.
Stay safe
- Do not use websites or apps that offer a borrowed or virtual number for receiving codes: anyone else on that number can read them.
- A code is never something a bank or a customer service agent asks you to read out.
Questions
How do I receive my home text codes abroad?
Keep your home SIM in the phone with international roaming on (check with your carrier), turn its data roaming off, and let the travel eSIM carry your data.
Is receiving a text abroad charged?
Usually not; check with your carrier.
Why am I not getting text codes abroad?
Most often the home SIM has no signal or is turned off, or international roaming is not active. Toggle airplane mode, check the line is on, try choosing a network by hand, then ask your carrier.
Can I keep my home SIM in with a travel SIM card?
Only with two slots, or with an eSIM for the travel plan. A single-slot phone using a physical travel SIM cannot receive home codes meanwhile.