How to install an eSIM

Installing takes about a minute on a recent phone. The short version: connect to Wi-Fi, open your phone's SIM settings, add the eSIM by QR code or activation code, then set it as your data line and turn on roaming when you land.

Updated September 19, 2026

Two rules before you start

  • Installing needs an internet connection. The profile is downloaded, so install on Wi-Fi or your home SIM's data before you fly rather than at an airport with no signal.
  • An eSIM installs once. Delete it from the phone and it cannot be added again, on that phone or any other. A deleted or installed eSIM is no longer refundable.

On iPhone

On iOS 17.5 and later, an eSIM bought in our app installs with a single tap, and iOS handles the steps below for you. Otherwise:

  1. 1 Connect to Wi-Fi. Installing downloads the profile over the internet.
  2. 2 Open Settings › Cellular (or Mobile Service) › Add eSIM.
  3. 3 Choose Use QR Code and scan the code from another screen or a printout. If you are installing on the same phone that holds the code, choose Enter Details Manually and paste the activation code instead.
  4. 4 Give the line a label you will recognise, such as Travel.
  5. 5 Leave your usual line as the default for calls and messages, and choose the travel eSIM for cellular data.

Apple documents the same flow, including which models are eSIM-only and the exceptions in mainland China, in its travel eSIM guide.

On Android

On Android 10 and later, our app hands the activation code straight to Google Play services, so one tap does it. The manual route:

  1. 1 Connect to Wi-Fi.
  2. 2 Open Settings › Network & internet › SIMs › Add eSIM (Samsung: Settings › Connections › SIM manager › Add eSIM).
  3. 3 Scan the QR code, or choose the manual option and paste the activation code.
  4. 4 Name the line so you can tell it apart from your home SIM.
  5. 5 Set mobile data to the travel eSIM and leave calls and texts on your home line.

Menu names differ by manufacturer. Google's Pixel instructions and Samsung's Galaxy instructions cover the wording on those phones.

Installed, but no data

Almost every case is one of the first two below, and the order matters.

  1. 1 Turn Wi-Fi off. The eSIM only carries data while Wi-Fi is off.
  2. 2 Turn on data roaming for the travel eSIM. iPhone: Settings › Cellular › tap the eSIM › Data Roaming. Android: Settings › Network & internet › SIMs › tap the eSIM › Roaming.
  3. 3 Make it your data line. iPhone: Settings › Cellular › Cellular Data › choose the eSIM. Android: Settings › Network & internet › SIMs › Mobile data › choose the eSIM.
  4. 4 Toggle Airplane Mode on, wait ten seconds, then off.
  5. 5 Still nothing? Turn off automatic network selection for that line and pick a local carrier by hand.

Still stuck? Write to support with your order number and we will look at the profile from our side.

When to turn it on

Install before you fly, but leave the line switched off until you land. Plan validity starts when the eSIM first connects to a network at your destination, so switching it on early spends days you have paid for. Your home line keeps your number for calls and texts; travel plans carry data only.

Buy the plan, then install in a minute

The app keeps the QR code, the activation code and these steps next to each eSIM you own, so you are not hunting through email at an airport.

Get it on Google Play iPhone app in review Buy from your browser

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Not sure your phone can take an eSIM? Check compatibility first, or browse plans by destination.