How to install an eSIM on iPhone and Android

Installing an eSIM means adding a mobile data profile to your phone without slotting in a physical SIM card. The whole process is short: open your phone's mobile data settings, choose Add eSIM, scan the QR code your provider emailed you, then switch on Data Roaming for that new line. It takes about two minutes, and you should do it at home on Wi-Fi before you fly, not at the airport after you land. A travel eSIM is data-only, so it carries your internet while your usual SIM stays in the phone for calls, texts and one-time passcodes. The plan itself only starts counting when it first connects to a network at your destination, so installing early costs you nothing.

Before you start

You need three things: an unlocked, eSIM-capable phone, a Wi-Fi connection, and the activation email from your provider. Most iPhones from the XS and XR onwards support eSIM, as do recent Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel and other flagship handsets, but it is worth confirming yours does before you buy a plan. If your phone is locked to a home carrier, an eSIM will not activate, so check that too, and ask your network to unlock it if needed. Do the install on Wi-Fi a day or two before departure, while you can still reach support if anything looks wrong. Keep the confirmation email handy, either on a second screen or printed out, because you may need to scan or copy from it.

Install on iPhone with a QR code

Open Settings, tap Mobile Service (labelled Cellular or Mobile Data on some phones), then Add eSIM. Choose Use QR Code and point the camera at the code on your confirmation, which is easiest to scan from a second screen or a printout. Your iPhone downloads the profile in a few seconds and asks you to label the line. Name it something obvious like Travel so you can tell it apart from your home number, and keep your home line as the primary. Do not delete the profile later to tidy up your settings, because the same QR code usually cannot be scanned a second time.

Enter the details manually on iPhone

If the camera will not read the code, tap Enter Details Manually on the same screen. You copy two things straight from your email: the SM-DP+ address, which looks like a web address, and the activation code, a long string of letters and numbers. A few plans also ask for a confirmation or PIN code, though most leave that blank. Paste each field exactly, with no extra spaces and the same upper and lower case, then tap Next and wait for the profile to install. If it refuses, check you have not swapped the two fields around, which is the usual reason manual entry fails.

Install on Samsung and Pixel

On a Samsung Galaxy, go to Settings, then Connections, then SIM manager, tap Add eSIM, then Scan QR code from service provider. On a Pixel, open Settings, then Network and internet, then SIMs, and tap the plus or Download a SIM instead. Both let you type the details by hand if the scan fails, using the same SM-DP+ address and activation code from your email. Menu names shift slightly between Android versions and brands, so if the wording differs, look for anything that mentions SIM manager, Add eSIM or Download a SIM. Once the download finishes, the phone will ask you to enable the line and may offer to set it as your data SIM.

Turn on Data Roaming for the eSIM line

This is the step most people miss. A travel eSIM connects to a local partner network as a visitor, so your phone treats it as roaming even though it is the plan you already paid for. On iPhone, tap the travel eSIM under Mobile Service and switch Data Roaming on for that line only. On Android, open the eSIM in SIM manager or Mobile networks and do the same. It adds no cost, because your data allowance is already bought and priced, and it does not affect your home SIM, which you should leave with its own Data Roaming switched off so it never quietly racks up charges.

Set your data line, keep your number

With the eSIM installed, choose it as your mobile data line so your internet runs through the travel plan. Leave your home SIM switched on for calls and texts, but do not let it carry data, which keeps bank and login passcodes arriving on your usual number. On iPhone this sits under Mobile Data, and on Android under SIM manager as the preferred data SIM. Make voice calls over the internet with WhatsApp, FaceTime or similar rather than dialling normally while abroad, and you get full connectivity with no surprise charges from your home carrier.

When your eSIM starts working

Installing the profile is not the same as starting the plan. Most travel eSIMs, including ours, begin their validity window on first connection to a network in the destination, not at the moment you install. So if you set it up at home and see No Service or no data on the travel line, that is normal and nothing has gone wrong. When you land, turn off flight mode, wait a minute or two for the phone to find a local network, and the plan wakes up on its own. If your phone stayed on during the flight, a quick restart at the gate helps it register on arrival.

If it still will not connect

If Data Roaming is on and the travel line still shows no internet after you land, work through a short checklist. Toggle flight mode on and off, or restart the phone, so it re-scans for networks. Confirm the eSIM line is enabled and set as your data SIM, and that Data Roaming is on for that line, not your home one. If it still fails, open the network settings, switch carrier selection from automatic to manual, and pick one of the local operators from the list. Most connection problems come down to one of these switches rather than a fault with the eSIM itself.

Common mistakes to avoid

The usual culprits are quick to fix. Forgetting to switch Data Roaming on for the eSIM line is the most common, followed by leaving your home SIM as the data line, so your internet still routes through your old carrier at roaming rates. Deleting the eSIM profile to clear your settings will scrap a plan you cannot reinstall from the same code. And expecting data before you arrive catches people out, because the plan only starts on that first connection abroad, not when you install it at home.

The bottom line

Installing an eSIM is a two-minute job: add the profile from a QR code or by hand, set it as your data line, and switch on Data Roaming for that line only. Do it on Wi-Fi before you fly, keep your home SIM in for calls and passcodes, and remember the plan starts when it first connects at your destination. Get those few settings right and you land already online, on a data-only plan whose price you knew before you bought it. If you are still choosing where to travel, browse the destinations and check your phone is ready first.