How to Install an eSIM, Step by Step on iPhone and Android

An eSIM is a SIM card that is already soldered into your phone. Installing one does not mean inserting anything — it means downloading a profile onto that chip, usually by scanning a QR code. The whole process takes two or three minutes when nothing goes wrong, and the things that go wrong are almost always the same four. This guide covers the exact menus on iPhone and on Android, and the mistakes worth avoiding.

What do you need before you install an eSIM?

Three things: a phone that supports eSIM, a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection, and the QR code or activation details from your plan. The download is a real file transfer to the SIM chip, so it cannot happen offline. Have the QR code on a second screen or printed.

A quick way to confirm your handset qualifies is to dial *#06# on the keypad. If an EID appears below the IMEI — a 32-digit number that starts with 89 — the phone has eSIM hardware. If only an IMEI shows, it does not, and no app or update will add it.

It also helps to decide in advance which line will do what. A travel eSIM is added alongside your existing SIM, not instead of it, so you will be asked to pick a default for data, calls and messages during setup.

How do you install an eSIM on an iPhone?

Open Settings → Cellular (called Mobile Data in some regions), tap Add eSIM, then Use QR Code. Point the camera at the code, tap Continue when "Cellular Plan Detected" appears, then Add Cellular Plan. Give the line a clear label such as "Travel", and choose which line handles data.

If the QR code is on the same phone — in an email or a browser tab — you do not need a second screen. Since iOS 17.4 you can tap an activation link directly and approve the "Activate New eSIM" prompt. If you were given a string of text instead of a code, choose Enter Details Manually at the bottom of the QR screen and paste the SM-DP+ address and activation code.

Any iPhone from the XS and XR generation onwards supports eSIM, and modern iPhones can store eight or more profiles at once even though only two can be active together. Transferring an existing plan between two iPhones that both run iOS 18.4 or later works over Bluetooth with Transfer From Nearby iPhone.

How do you install an eSIM on an Android phone?

On a Pixel, open Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → Add SIM → Set up an eSIM, then scan the code and wait for the download to finish. The flow is identical in principle on every Android phone: find the SIM section in Settings, choose to add a plan, scan, confirm, label.

What differs is the wording. Some versions say "Download a SIM instead", some say "Add mobile plan", some hide the option behind a small + icon next to your existing SIM. All of them lead to the same screen.

After the profile installs, Android asks you to set SIM preferences — which card to use for mobile data, for calls, for SMS. Set mobile data to the new travel line and leave calls and texts on your home number.

Why is the Android menu different on Samsung, Pixel and Xiaomi?

Because each manufacturer ships its own Settings layout on top of Android. Samsung puts it under Settings → Connections → SIM manager → Add eSIM. Pixel uses Settings → Network & internet → SIMs. Xiaomi uses Settings → SIM cards & mobile networks. The step count is the same; only the path and the labels change.

If you cannot find it on any of them, use the search box at the top of Settings and type "eSIM". That shortcut works across manufacturers and skips the hunt entirely. On a handful of older Android builds the option only appears once a physical SIM is already present.

Should you install the eSIM before you travel or after you land?

Install it at home on Wi-Fi, but leave the line switched off until you arrive. Most travel plans start counting validity from the first connection to a network at the destination, not from purchase or installation, so installing early costs you no days and saves you troubleshooting in an airport.

The practical sequence is: download the profile at home, label it, toggle it off. On landing, toggle it on, set it as your data line, and switch data roaming off on your home line so no background app quietly reconnects to it at international rates.

What happens if you delete the eSIM profile by accident?

It is gone. A QR code can normally be used once, so deleting an installed profile usually means the plan cannot be reinstalled and has to be repurchased. There is no recycle bin for eSIMs, and no copy of the profile stays on the phone after removal.

This matters most during a factory reset, when swapping to a new handset, and when tidying up old lines in the SIM menu. Before you reset anything, check whether the plan you still need lives on that phone. If you are changing phones mid-trip, contact support before deleting rather than after.

Why does the eSIM show no signal after installing?

Nine times out of ten, data roaming is switched off on the new line. A travel eSIM connects to a foreign host network, which the phone treats as roaming even though the plan is designed for it. Open the line's settings and turn Data Roaming on.

The other two usual causes: the travel line has not been selected as the default for mobile data, or the phone is still in flight mode after landing. If all three are correct and nothing happens, restart the phone — the profile often registers on the next network scan.

What are the most common eSIM installation mistakes?

Four account for nearly every failed setup: installing without an internet connection, deleting the profile and expecting to reinstall it, activating the plan days before arriving at the destination, and leaving data roaming switched off. None of them are obvious, and all four are avoidable in under a minute.

A fifth, less common but worth knowing: a carrier-locked handset. A phone still tied to a contract in your home country may refuse a foreign profile even though the hardware supports eSIM. Unlocking is handled by the operator that sold the phone, not by the eSIM.

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