Install before you fly, because installing needs internet
An eSIM profile downloads over the internet. If you wait until you land, you need wifi to get the thing that gives you data, which is the wrong way round. Airport wifi often requires an SMS code you cannot receive.
Do the install at home, the day before you travel. Keep the line switched off until you arrive.
Installing on an iPhone takes four steps
- Open Settings, then Cellular or Mobile Service.
- Tap Add eSIM, then Use QR Code, and scan the code the provider emailed you. If you are installing from the provider's app, it offers a direct install button instead and you skip the scan.
- Label the line something you will recognise, such as the provider name and the country.
- Choose your home line as the default for calls and messages, so nothing changes until you decide it does.
Installing on Android follows the same shape
Open Settings, then Network and internet, then tap the plus beside SIMs. Choose to download a SIM instead, then scan the QR code.
Samsung phones put this under Connections, then SIM manager, then Add eSIM. Pixel puts it under Network and internet, then SIMs. The wording moves between Android versions, so searching Settings for "SIM" is faster than following a menu path.
Switching the travel line on is a separate action
Installing a profile does not start the data. When you land, open your SIM settings, turn the travel line on, and set it as the line for mobile data. Leave your home line on for calls if you still want to be reachable.
Then turn data roaming on for the travel line. This sounds wrong and it is correct. A travel eSIM connects to a local partner network as a visiting device, so the phone treats it as roaming even though the plan is designed for it.
Turn data roaming off on your home line at the same time
This is the step that saves people money. With both lines active, a phone can fall back to your home carrier and bill you at full roaming rates without telling you.
Open your home line's settings and switch data roaming off before you leave. The travel line keeps it on. Our free versus paid comparison explains when the travel plan is worth buying at all.
Timing the activation protects a short trial
Trials run from 1 day to 7 days, and most start counting from activation rather than install. A 3 day allowance activated the evening before you fly loses a day to your own sofa.
Activate when you land, or when you are certain you are about to need it.
When it does not connect, check these four things in order
- The travel line is switched on and set as the mobile data line.
- Data roaming is on for the travel line.
- Your destination is inside the plan's covered list, which is where regional plans catch people out.
- Network selection is set to automatic, then restart the phone.
If it still fails, most providers can reissue a profile, but reaching support takes a working connection. That is the argument for installing and testing before you travel rather than after.
Deleting a profile is usually permanent
Removing an eSIM from your phone often cannot be undone, and some providers charge to reissue. Keep expired profiles switched off rather than deleted until you are sure you are finished with them.
Phones store several profiles at once, so there is rarely a reason to delete one in a hurry.