Short answer: in this order: lock the phone remotely, ask your home operator to block your line, change the passwords of your main accounts, then report the loss for your insurer. The travel eSIM that was on the phone cannot be moved to another phone: it stays tied to the lost device, and a prepaid data eSIM cannot run up a bill. For data on a replacement phone, you need a new eSIM.
1. Lock the phone remotely
From any browser, on a companion's phone or a hotel computer:
- iPhone: sign in to iCloud's Find My, choose the phone and mark it as lost. That locks it and shows a message with a number to call. Erase it only if you are sure it is gone.
- Android: sign in to Google's Find My Device, choose the phone, then secure it or erase it.
Both need the phone to be online to act. If it is off, the instruction waits and applies when the phone next connects.
2. Block the line that can be billed
Your home line is the one that matters. Whoever holds the phone could make calls on it, and calls from Tunisia on a home line are charged at out-of-zone rates. Call your operator, or use its online account, and ask for the line to be suspended. Its number for calls from abroad is on its website and usually on your contract.
The travel eSIM is a different case. A prepaid data eSIM has no number and no bill: the most anyone can do with it is use the days that were left.
3. Protect your accounts
- Change the password of your main email account first: it resets all the others.
- Then banking, payment and messaging apps. Sign out the lost device where the service lets you.
- If your bank cards were stored in the phone's wallet, tell the bank.
4. Report it
For an insurance claim you normally need a police report from the country where the loss happened, and the phone's IMEI number. The IMEI is on the box, on the purchase invoice and in your Apple or Google account. Ask your hotel or your tour representative which police station to go to.
What happens to the travel eSIM
Our supplier's documentation is clear on this point: an eSIM installed on a phone that is lost or stolen stays tied to that phone. It cannot be downloaded again onto another device, and the QR code from the order email will not install a second time on a new phone. A replacement needs a new eSIM.
If you bought from us, write to contact@esimtunisie.com with your order email address and what happened. We answer every message, and we will tell you what can be done; we cannot promise in advance that the remaining days can be carried over.
Getting back online the same day
- Borrow a phone or use Wi-Fi to do the four steps above.
- If you have or buy a replacement phone that supports eSIM, a short plan is the fastest way back online: the QR code arrives by email after payment. Our 1-day plan costs €6.50 and the 3-day plan €14.90. See the plans.
- If the replacement has no eSIM, a local SIM bought with your passport is the alternative: Tunisia SIM card at the airport, or an eSIM?
Before your next trip
- Turn on Find My or Find My Device, and check you know the account password without the phone.
- Write down the IMEI and your operator's number for calls from abroad, on paper.
- Keep one bank card and one way to receive codes that do not depend on the phone.
- Install the travel eSIM before leaving: how to install a Tunisia eSIM.
If the eSIM was only deleted and you still have the phone: eSIM deleted by mistake.
Sort these out before you leave: travel insurance for Tunisia and medication in Tunisia.