Keep Your Number While Travelling: Dual SIM eSIM Guide (2026)

You can keep your Canadian number while travelling with an eSIM by using your phone’s dual SIM feature: your Canadian line stays switched on for calls and texts, and the travel eSIM is set as the line for mobile data. Messages from your bank, family and apps keep arriving on your usual number, while browsing, maps and WhatsApp run on the travel plan.

The part most travellers get wrong is the setup, not the idea. One wrong toggle can send your data over your Canadian line and start a daily roaming fee from Bell, Rogers or Telus. This guide shows the exact settings on iPhone, Samsung and Pixel, what Bell and Rogers say about texts and calls abroad, and how iMessage, WhatsApp and Wi-Fi Calling fit in.

How does dual SIM work when travelling?

Most recent phones can hold two lines at once: a physical SIM and an eSIM, or two eSIMs. Apple’s guide to using Dual SIM with an eSIM explains that both lines can make and receive calls and messages, while only one line at a time uses cellular data. Google describes the same arrangement on Pixel in its page on connecting to mobile networks, where you choose a separate default SIM for calls, texts and mobile data.

For travel, that split is ideal:

• Canadian line: on, for calls and SMS to your usual number. Data roaming off.
• Travel eSIM: on, set as the mobile data line, with data roaming on.

If you are new to the technology, our explainer on how an eSIM works covers the basics. To check your phone supports two lines and is unlocked, use our compatibility checker or our guide to checking if your phone is eSIM compatible.

How to set up dual SIM to keep your number while travelling

Install the travel eSIM at home on Wi-Fi. With our plans, the QR code arrives by email within about a minute, and the validity days only start when the eSIM first connects at your destination. Our guide to installing an eSIM before you fly walks through the install itself. Then set the lines up as follows.

iPhone

1. Pick the data line. Apple’s guide to using an eSIM while travelling gives the path: Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data, then choose the travel line.
2. Turn on data roaming for the travel line only. Apple’s roaming options guide says to tap the number under Settings > Cellular, then Cellular Data Options, and turn on Data Roaming. Do this on the travel eSIM line. Leave it off on your Canadian line.
3. Decide on data switching. Apple’s Dual SIM guide describes Allow Cellular Data Switching under Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data. Turned on, it lets the iPhone use cellular data from both plans depending on coverage, so leave it off if you want your Canadian line to stay data-free. Apple notes the trade-off: without it, calls to your other number can go to voicemail while you are on a call on the line that is not your data line.
4. Label your lines. Apple shows how to rename each line with Cellular Plan Label in the line’s settings. “Canada” and “Travel” make the rest of the setup much easier.

Samsung Galaxy

Samsung’s guide to managing data on a Galaxy phone puts the controls in two places. Under Settings > Connections > SIM manager, check that both SIMs are switched on, then tap Primary SIM to choose the default for calls, texts and mobile data. Set mobile data to the travel eSIM and keep calls and texts on your Canadian SIM. Data roaming is under Settings > Connections > Mobile networks.

Google Pixel

Google’s mobile network page says to open Settings > Network & internet > SIMs. Under “Your primary SIMs”, set Calls and Texts to your Canadian SIM and Mobile data to the travel eSIM. Then tap the travel SIM and turn on Roaming. Google also notes a Data during calls option. Since a Pixel sends data through the SIM making a call, this lets the data SIM keep working while you are on a call on the other line.

Setting	Canadian line	Travel eSIM
Line switched on	Yes	Yes
Default for calls and texts	Yes	No
Mobile data line	No	Yes
Data roaming	Off	On

Will receiving texts abroad trigger Bell or Rogers roaming fees?

This is the question that decides whether keeping your Canadian line on is free. The answer depends on your carrier and plan, so here is what each carrier’s own pages say, in October 2026.

Bell

Bell’s travel page says the Roam Better daily fee is charged only on days when you make or answer a call, send a text, use Apple Live Voicemail, or send or receive data in a Roam Better destination. Receiving a text is not on that list. Bell’s advice for avoiding roaming charges is to turn off data roaming and not make or receive a call or send a text.

Roam Better costs $13 a day in the US and $16 a day in international destinations, with a maximum of 20 charged days per line per billing period. In practice, receiving a bank code is fine, but replying to a text from your Canadian line on a Bell plan starts a daily charge for that day.

Rogers

Rogers’ roaming charges FAQ addresses customers who opt out of Roam Like Home and keep data roaming off: Rogers says it won’t bill them for incoming text messages or unanswered calls. Sending a text, or making or answering a call, is billed. Rogers also notes that calling your voicemail from your phone incurs pay-per-use voice charges.

For customers who use Roam Like Home, the daily rates are $16 in the US and $18 in international destinations. Rogers also sells Travel Passes: in the US, $25 for 3 days, $50 for 7, $60 for 14 and $80 for 30; internationally, $45, $75, $100 and $120 for the same lengths. For travel eSIM users, Rogers’ FAQ advises setting the travel eSIM as your primary SIM so the Rogers SIM does not connect to a roaming network. Ask Rogers how that setting affects receiving texts on your plan before you rely on it.

Telus

Telus Easy Roam costs $16 a day in the US and $18 a day internationally. We have not found a Telus page that spells out whether receiving a text alone triggers the fee, so confirm with Telus before you travel. Our comparison of Bell, Rogers and Telus roaming vs an eSIM has the full numbers.

Carrier	Daily rate (US / international)	What the carrier says about incoming texts
Bell Roam Better	$13 / $16, max 20 charged days per bill	Not listed as a trigger; sending a text, calls and data are
Rogers	$16 / $18, or a Travel Pass	Not billed when opted out of Roam Like Home with data roaming off
Telus Easy Roam	$16 / $18	Not stated on a page we could verify; ask Telus

Canadian dollars before tax, October 2026, per line.

Tip: Never reply to a verification text or a friend’s SMS from your Canadian line abroad. Reply on WhatsApp or iMessage over the travel eSIM’s data instead.

How to receive 2FA texts abroad

Banks, government services and many apps still send one-time codes by SMS. To receive them abroad:

1. Keep your Canadian line switched on. A code can only reach a line that is on and connected to a local network.
2. Keep data roaming off on that line. That way the line handles SMS while all data goes over the travel eSIM.
3. Read the code, do not reply. Reading an incoming text does not send anything. Replying does, and with Bell sending a text is a listed trigger for the daily fee.
4. Test it before you leave. Send yourself a test text from a family member’s phone while both lines are on, so you know the setup works.

If you would rather not keep the line on at all, many banks and services let you switch to an authenticator app or app-based approvals. Set that up in Canada, before you leave, and keep SMS as a backup.

Does WhatsApp work with a travel eSIM?

Yes. WhatsApp uses mobile data or Wi-Fi, not your SIM’s calling or texting service, so it keeps working with your existing account and Canadian number while the travel eSIM provides data. WhatsApp’s help page on using WhatsApp abroad confirms you can still use your home number with a local SIM while travelling.

There is one catch. WhatsApp says that if you need to re-verify your account, you must have the SIM for that number in your phone with phone or SMS service enabled. That is one more reason to keep your Canadian SIM installed rather than removing it, and to keep the line switched on if a new phone or reinstall is possible during your trip.

Do iMessage and FaceTime keep my number abroad?

Apple’s guide to using an eSIM while travelling says you can keep using FaceTime, iMessage and other apps for calls and messages on your home line while the travel eSIM handles data. Apple’s Dual SIM guide adds that you choose which number or numbers iMessage and FaceTime use when you set up the second line.

Watch for one trap. Rogers’ roaming FAQ warns that iMessage may send a message as an SMS or MMS if it cannot find an internet connection, and those messages result in roaming charges. If your travel eSIM briefly loses data, a blue message can quietly turn into a green one sent over your Canadian line. Check that messages are going out blue before you hit send.

Can I use Wi-Fi Calling abroad on my Canadian number?

Wi-Fi Calling lets your phone make and receive calls on your Canadian number over a Wi-Fi network instead of the cellular network. Availability and fees are set by your carrier, so check with yours before you rely on it.

Phone	Where to turn on Wi-Fi Calling	Official source
iPhone	Settings > Cellular > pick the line > Wi-Fi Calling > Wi-Fi Calling on This iPhone	Apple
Samsung Galaxy	Settings > Connections > Wi-Fi Calling	Samsung
Google Pixel	Settings > Network & internet > SIMs > Wi-Fi calling > Use Wi-Fi calling	Google

Samsung notes that on some carriers you may need to set a roaming network preference inside the Wi-Fi Calling menu. Google advises checking with your carrier for fees before you turn it on.

On costs, Rogers is the most explicit. Its roaming FAQ says you won’t be charged for incoming Wi-Fi calls or calls back to Canadian numbers, including checking voicemail. Making a Wi-Fi call or sending a text to a non-Canadian number while travelling does incur roaming charges, such as the Roam Like Home daily fee. Bell’s travel page does not set out Wi-Fi Calling rules, so ask Bell directly.

Should I turn off my Canadian SIM when I travel?

It depends on what you need from your number. There are three sensible set-ups:

Set-up	Texts and calls on your number	Risk of carrier roaming fees
Canadian line on, data roaming off, travel eSIM for data	Yes	Low, if you do not send texts or make or answer calls
Canadian line off, travel eSIM for data	No, until you turn it back on	None from that line
Canadian line only, with a carrier roaming plan	Yes	Daily fee or Travel Pass on every day you use it

For most travellers, the first option is the best balance: codes and calls still reach you, WhatsApp and iMessage run over the eSIM, and fees only start if you actively use the Canadian line. If you travel with family, our guide to sharing mobile data with family abroad shows how to mix eSIMs and hotspots so everyone keeps their own number too.

If something does not connect after you land, our guide to fixing an eSIM not working abroad works through the settings in order.

Your next step

Check your phone in our compatibility checker, then choose a plan for your trip: the United States, Mexico, Europe, Japan or any of our destinations. Install it at home, set it as your data line, and your Canadian number keeps working for the texts that matter. If you have a question first, our help centre covers the most common ones.