How to Install an eSIM: Step-by-Step for iPhone and Android

Installing a travel eSIM takes a couple of minutes. Do it while you still have Wi-Fi — downloading the profile needs an internet connection, and the plan you just bought is not active yet.

On iPhone

1. Open Settings → Cellular (or Mobile Service).
2. Tap Add eSIM, then Use QR Code.
3. Scan the QR code your provider sent you, and let the profile download.
4. Label it something obvious like “Japan trip” so you can tell it apart from your home line.
5. Leave your home line as the default for calls and texts, and set the travel eSIM for Cellular Data.
6. On arrival, turn on Data Roaming for the travel eSIM. This sounds wrong, but a travel eSIM roams onto local networks by design — without it you get no data.

On Android

1. Open Settings → Network & internet → SIMs (Samsung: Connections → SIM manager).
2. Tap Add eSIM or Download a SIM instead.
3. Scan the QR code and wait for the profile to install.
4. Choose the travel eSIM for mobile data, and keep your home SIM for calls.
5. Enable Roaming on the travel eSIM once you arrive.

If it is not connecting

• Roaming is off. This is the single most common cause. Turn it on for the travel eSIM specifically.
• The wrong line is set for data. Check that mobile data is pointed at the travel eSIM, not your home line — otherwise you are about to pay your own carrier for roaming.
• APN not set. Most plans configure this automatically; a few need the APN typed in manually. The provider will give you the value.
• It is too early. Some plans only activate when they first register on a network in the destination country, so nothing happens until you land.
• Restart the phone. Genuinely fixes a surprising share of cases after landing.

One thing to know before you scan: a QR code can normally only be installed once. Do not delete the eSIM profile unless you are finished with it, because reinstalling usually means asking the provider for a new code.